Wednesday Wanderings In August - Part 1
Two Wednesday wanderings have occurred since my last report. The first, a week ago yesterday, saw us (Stonefaction (Barry) and I) heading for the Tay Marshes in a downpour. Barry had tried to head me off by texting a later start due to the weather forecast, but due to my resistance to mobile phone use, I didn't pick the message up until I arrived at the normal pick up point at the original pick up time. Barry had guessed it would be hit or miss as to whether I picked up the text, so not hearing from me, he arrived at the original time anyway.
Rather than head straight for the marshes, we stopped off at Riverside NP to scan the trees around the car park area. There was little to see in the heavy rain, so we headed to Errol, where we parked up and waited for the rain to abate, as forecast. It took about twenty minutes, but from that point on it was a fine day.
The main target at the marshes was Bearded Reedling. I had already made four or five attempts this year to find this bird at this hotspot for them, but with no success.
We explored the area in front of Tay Lodge initially. No Beardies here, but we did get good views of Marsh Harriers. A Sparrowhawk over the reeds did not fill me with confidence that our target would make a showing, however, we soldiered on towards Port Allen along the woodland path, scanning over the reeds where there were breaks in the trees. On the way, we did find a surprise Little Egret.
There was little at Port Allen, and certainly no Beardies, so we were soon making the march of the defeated back to the car. From Errol we headed back to Dundee, over the bridge and into Fife.
Our next stop was Boarhills. Parking in the village, we headed down the rough farm tracks to the pond. On the way, we found few birds, though noticed a large group of diving Gannets just off the coast. What we did find on our walk though, was a multitude of Painted Ladies. Approaching the pond, Barry spotted a Great Skua heading along the coast. This was the only real highlight in this area, so after moving around the pond to the little salt marsh for a quick scan of the birds on the rocks, we retraced our steps to the car.
Heading back North now, we were soon parked at the driving range just outside St Andrews. A quick hike along the coastal path where it cuts across the golf course, saw us at the Balgove Hide. We had hoped that the now receding tide would draw some waders onto the newly exposed mud flats. There was little action, although three Greenshank were seen at distance.
Last stop of the day was a quick visit to the Eden Centre. This produced two more Little Egrets, and this time they were close to us, as they sauntered up the bank on our side of the river.
Not a prolific day's birding, but an enjoyable one, with some good birds seen. Leaving Barry to catch the bus at Guardbridge, I headed home, but could not resist dropping in at the Wilderness for a quick scan . Here I found my first Ruff of the year and also three Green Sandpiper. :t:
Two Wednesday wanderings have occurred since my last report. The first, a week ago yesterday, saw us (Stonefaction (Barry) and I) heading for the Tay Marshes in a downpour. Barry had tried to head me off by texting a later start due to the weather forecast, but due to my resistance to mobile phone use, I didn't pick the message up until I arrived at the normal pick up point at the original pick up time. Barry had guessed it would be hit or miss as to whether I picked up the text, so not hearing from me, he arrived at the original time anyway.
Rather than head straight for the marshes, we stopped off at Riverside NP to scan the trees around the car park area. There was little to see in the heavy rain, so we headed to Errol, where we parked up and waited for the rain to abate, as forecast. It took about twenty minutes, but from that point on it was a fine day.
The main target at the marshes was Bearded Reedling. I had already made four or five attempts this year to find this bird at this hotspot for them, but with no success.
We explored the area in front of Tay Lodge initially. No Beardies here, but we did get good views of Marsh Harriers. A Sparrowhawk over the reeds did not fill me with confidence that our target would make a showing, however, we soldiered on towards Port Allen along the woodland path, scanning over the reeds where there were breaks in the trees. On the way, we did find a surprise Little Egret.
There was little at Port Allen, and certainly no Beardies, so we were soon making the march of the defeated back to the car. From Errol we headed back to Dundee, over the bridge and into Fife.
Our next stop was Boarhills. Parking in the village, we headed down the rough farm tracks to the pond. On the way, we found few birds, though noticed a large group of diving Gannets just off the coast. What we did find on our walk though, was a multitude of Painted Ladies. Approaching the pond, Barry spotted a Great Skua heading along the coast. This was the only real highlight in this area, so after moving around the pond to the little salt marsh for a quick scan of the birds on the rocks, we retraced our steps to the car.
Heading back North now, we were soon parked at the driving range just outside St Andrews. A quick hike along the coastal path where it cuts across the golf course, saw us at the Balgove Hide. We had hoped that the now receding tide would draw some waders onto the newly exposed mud flats. There was little action, although three Greenshank were seen at distance.
Last stop of the day was a quick visit to the Eden Centre. This produced two more Little Egrets, and this time they were close to us, as they sauntered up the bank on our side of the river.
Not a prolific day's birding, but an enjoyable one, with some good birds seen. Leaving Barry to catch the bus at Guardbridge, I headed home, but could not resist dropping in at the Wilderness for a quick scan . Here I found my first Ruff of the year and also three Green Sandpiper. :t:
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