Lothian Birding (122 Viewers)

[Neil Grubb]

I had a pleasant morning with one of my tetrad visits exploring new ground at Cowden Cleugh, not far from the new Dalkeith Campus, and accompanied by Bruce Kerr. This is a strip of mixed woodland with a small burn, adjacent to which is a large shelter belt and several hedgerows. There is also a strip of new woodland marked 'long strip' on the OS maps. We also visited a small area of wood next to Fordel Services on the A68. I had reccied this area at the start of the year and it was very quiet although the habitat looked good. Today Cowden Cleugh was carpeted with bluebells in places and full of bird song. A few roe deer were present. We found 27 species:

goldfinch, chaffinch, bullfinch, blue tit, great tit, coal tit, song thrush, blackbird, robin, wren, dunnock, yellowhammer, willow warbler, sedge warbler, blackcap, chiffchaff, whitethroat, skylark, swallow, crow, rook, woodpigeon, sparrowhawk, great spotted woodpecker, starling, herring gull, pheasant

Notables missing were magpie, goldcrest (despite plenty of suitable habitat), greenfinch, long tailed tit, buzzard and house sparrow. May try to get these for roving records as I'm sure they will be around.

Neil

 

[G Anderson]

White Stork

Just 'lucked out' with a White Stork seen from the mouth of the Esk, the bird circling over Inveresk! Arrived at 1015 to see Phil Bould looking a bit anxious with a phone in one hand and bins in the other. He put me on to it and we watched it for about 15 minutes before losing it behind some trees. It may have come down in the fields around Inveresk.

This is probably the ringed escape thats been reported around south-east Scotland for months but the bird was too far to see rings (so maybe its 'real'!) First I've seen in Lothian/Scotland.:t:

 

[markgrubb]

Have been up Carnethy Hill twice this week successfully avoiding Dotterel. The last time being on Friday when a really heavy shower reveled to me that my cheap waterproof trousers were impermeable and that my midpriced top has serious problems at the seams. Still the ever faithful wood warbler at Penicuik on the way back was some form of bonus

3 siskins on the bird feeder was a surprise on Saturday-a month later than I've had them before

Today went to Musselburgh first thing and well, the early bird doesn't catch the stork-just the ever faithful BlackTG and a grasshopper warbler on the scrapes. unlike some jammy late risers

On to Ormiston and the annual visit to the railway line walk to Cousland. The most striking finding was 17 sedge warblers(best previous total was 11)-lots of amazing mimicry-11 in one stretch of wetland. 3 garden warblers singing and for once all coming into view. Met Bruce Kerr who was complaining that there were no lesser whitethroat to be heard in a usually good area. 5 seconds later one was singing from high up in the hawthorn scrub-got brief views and left him to what I thought was the impossible task of getting a pic- but apparently he managed. 2 lesser redpolls were singing and a grasshopper warbler singing. Loads of the more common warblers with 8 whitethroat and 5 blackcaps etc. Back at the car park put the gear in to the boot and looked up to see a spotted flycatcher swooping down to grab an insect just 10 yards away.

After the last 2 wet summers it was encouraging to see such a good haul this year

 

[Donno]

John Muir Country Park

Just back from a weekend in Eyemouth. During my stay I popped up to John Muir Country Park and spotted a Stork (white with black tail) in a field next to the Family Fun Day place. I didn't have the sense to look for a ring on it so can't say if it was the escapee mentioned above.

I must say that the park was excellent and I shall be returning as soon as I can, if only to watch the Gannets diving in the bay at high tide.

 

[WelchS]

Bit late to say so now, but I also had a near miss with a White Stork last Sunday evening 19:55hrs - on the train in to Edinburgh, just as it was leaving Muss station had a very brief glimpse of a what appeared to a resting stork in the ploughed field btwn there and QMU (c. NT330716). Could not get back till Monday when clearly it had gone, but reckoned if it was one it would have been seen by someone else.

 

[markgrubb]

The weather forecast was dire from mid morning so headed out at 7.

First port of call-Woodhall Dean-a real struggle to find the usually reliable redstarts-none on the main path-one singing up an unpathed small valley. With the oaks coming in to full leaf it took 15 minutes to get a decent view.

The main birding highlight was 4 singing garden warblers-only 2 having the decency to come in to view. Back at the car I heard some subsong and thought maybe GW no 5- but the bird flew up from broom into a hawthorn in view and gave characteristic lesser whitethroat song.

Onto the coast where the rain was a mere spit-Barns Ness had a few birds about-70 or so ringed plovers on the beach was impressive as were the close in gannets struggling to stay offshore in the brisk NE wind. The old caravan park had some birds skulking in the bushes-2 migrants-one spotted flycatcher feeding briefly before heading SW and another lesser whitethroat that sang briefly

Looks like the rain is just reaching us now-maybe a good day to be out tomorrow as it clears and with east winds still with us?

 

[Mike swims like a fish]

Looks like the rain is just reaching us now-maybe a good day to be out tomorrow as it clears and with east winds still with us?

That's certainly what I'm hoping for Mark - that said it's Lothian, so you can just never tell whether a good forecast will flatter to deceive.

I'll hopefully be out early tomorrow on the North Sea coast giving it a bash for migrants - even if there is a fall of scarce migrants it will be a whole host better than it has been over the last few weeks. I suspect it will feel a bit cold and perhaps even wet, if the rain doesn't stop overnight, but with a bit of luck it will be worth it

Mike

 

[markgrubb]

The day dawned with yesterday's rain away but the easterly wind was still present. So conditions looked promising and it was off to Skateraw and Barns Ness where there were a fair few of Lothian's good birders out early.

Skateraw had a female pied flycatcher in the plantation by the waterfall and a lesser whitethroat. 2 whimbrels were on the rocks and there were a couple of whitethroats and a wheatear, Annoyingly 5 minutes after I left an icterine warbler flew into the waterfall area giving brief views to 3 observers-it was not seen again

Barns Ness had a spotted flycatcher, lesser whitethroat, 4 yellow wagtails, 2 white wagtails, 3 whitethroats, 2 common sandpipers, 70 ringed plover, 3 whimbrels and last of all, a wood sandpiper on the tiny pond by the wire dump.

So a scattering of migrants. Hard work eeking them out but quite a good morning out

 

[Neil Grubb]

Woodhall Dean - redstart sights and sound

Woke at 5.30 a.m. to a green woodpecker yaffling, probably from my garden. As ever he's taking the mick and had disappeared further up the glen by the time I could get out the door! So still no garden tick :-C

Big brother and I drove out to Woodhall Dean, and had great weather and a very good morning. Willow warbler, chiffchaff and whitethroat were all singing around the car park, and as we entered the wood a garden warbler was singing (3 heard altogether) and we saw a couple of roe deer. Further in, where the wooden bridge crosses the burn, the first of three spotted flycatchers was seen. Mark did a good job picking out a very distant redstart song but we couldn't locate the bird. Later on we had better luck, again thanks to Mark's sharp hearing. Attached are both pics and audio of the redstart which showed beautifully at the wood edge (my apologies for clicks, pops and background noise but this is my very first foray with a digital audio recorder).

Plenty of blackcap were heard, and we saw several yellowhammer along the west boundary of the Dean. Buzzard were seen overhead being hassled by corvids as usual.

We then took a quick run up to the Pencaitland railway walk at Cousland - saw about a dozen sedge warbler and several reed bunting but no sign either of grasshopper warbler or lesser whitethroat although it was after mid-day by that time.

Neil

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Nice recordings Neil - what are you using?

 

[Neil Grubb]

Nice recordings Neil - what are you using?

I got a used Zoom H4 stereo handheld recorder from a music shop in Edinburgh. It came without manual or software but I've downloaded a manual and it saves music in .wav or .mp3 format so files are easily edited. Next time I use it I'll use the high gain setting on the microphones.

Can you recommend software to produce sonograms ?

Neil

 

[Neil Grubb]

Sorry, I know this is rather off topic but for Andrew's benefit here is a recording I just made from the garden, using the high mic gain settings, seems better with good stereo effect (one blackbird left and one right).

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I've got an H4 myself, although I tend to do most recording with a Fostex FR2-LE. The Zoom is good with the inbuilt stereo mic and the gain up high - good for ambient recordings.

Try Raven Lite or Syrinx for sonograms:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp/raven/RavenOverview.html
http://www.syrinxpc.com/

 

[Neil Grubb]

Try Raven Lite or Syrinx for sonograms:
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/brp/raven/RavenOverview.html
http://www.syrinxpc.com/

Thanks Andrew, to save boring the pants off of Lothian Birding posters I am moving this chat to Bird Sounds, Recording Equipment and Discussion section - have posted my first sonogram from Raven Lite there :king:

Neil

 

[markgrubb]

Student exam week over so a free day-just lovely weather. Lovely blue sky, warm day.

Off to the Pentlands and Bavelaw. From the car park to the reservoir must be about the best place in Lothian to see/hear redpoll- 7 or 8 flew over calling as I headed up. At the reservoir a distant cuckoo was calling from the trees to the north. Despite the dry weather there was next to no muddy banks-2 redshanks and 3 common sandpipers on the far shore.

Up in to the hills-sadly no whinchat at a good regular spot from the last 2 years-and only one stonechat over 2 miles. A ring ouzel at the waterfall singing for a good 10 minutes from one perch-and then another cuckoo at Loganlea.

After the walk back went to Harperrig-2-300 starlings, mostly juvenules were squawking in the fields around the water-quite a raucous sight-once again water levels were very high despite the very dry recent conditions. No birds at all note round the margins so walked along the forest edge. Having walked a mile or so seeing little I headed back and saw a bird perch on top of a lonesome tree amongst an acre or so of stumps. Immediate thoughts were mipit but then it sang and it was typical tree pipit song. I have heard them before calling as they flew over on the E Lothian coast but this was my first Lothian visual sighting. I have to confess even with my scope it wasn't that easy to pick out the differences-personally I find it much easier to id birds by song/call than by visuals.......

So a good morning out-tried out my new camera but most efforts are shameful-here's one pic of a ringo

 

[Neil Grubb]

A very warm and still morning today - I walked along the Penicuik-Dalkeith railway in the section between Rosewell and the path to the gunpowder factory. Warblers still in full song, including numerous blackcap, willow warbler and chiffchaff as well as goldcrest in the conifers by Lea Farm. Also spent a pleasant half hour watching a pair of spotted flycatchers where the road bridge crosses the path nearby. One garden warbler near where the path opens out of the woods heading east. There were a couple of singing whitethroat on the open section near Rosewell along with yellowhammer.

On the way down the (closed) road towards my house I caught sight of a young warbler moving in undergrowth - then realised there was a brood of four, probably newly fledged. I guess these are either chiffchaffs or willow warblers and not surprisingly heard no adult song. I've attached some shots - it's quite difficult to see but in pics 2 and 3 all four juveniles are in the frame. Any suggestions ?

A very pleasant morning, no spectacular birds but great fun. Hope to go back to film the flycatchers this afternoon or tomorrow.

Neil

 

[Neil Grubb]

Tetrad visit and redpoll

Being the last day for tetrad timed visits for early breeding season, I did my last tetrad visit today. This was a section in Lothian between Leadburn and Penicuik. Unfortunately I couldn't get out until lunchtime today so the total species count was low at 24 - hopefully I can make amends on the second visit.

I stopped the clock ten minutes into my TTV when I chanced upon several redpoll. I was struck by their flight calls which were almost incessant. There were three pairs present at least, and after an hour I had worked out a pattern in their movement. I returned home to get my HD camera, and also shot some stills and recorded audio. The light was super today for filming and photography. Unfortunately the site is very close both to a main road and to some kind of large development / earthworks, so there was a lot of background noise.

Other highlights were a flock of around 200 starlings, many juveniles among them, wheeling noisily about, and a stand-off between a pair of curlew obviously defending their territory, and a couple of carrion crows. I think the curlew stood firm!

I'll post a link to the video footage later on once I've uploaded it.

Neil

 

[Neil Grubb]

and audio links and a couple more pics. Video on http://www.vimeo.com/4929994

 

[Stuarty]

Had a wee dotter up to Bavelaw today, highlights were a fleeting Jay, Redpolls flying overhead, the call of an unseen Cuckoo, and an unidentified rodent almost running over my shoe. Also, maybe someone who reads this thread can help here: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?p=1497589#post1497589

 

[markgrubb]

Hmm, mighty quiet on this thread-mighty quiet on the bird front too

Was just over into Borders region doing a tetrad this am-glorious still sunny weather. After a slog up a 1900 foot hill the highlight for me was seeing 3 golden plover in breeding plumage in the grass with their wonderful plaintive call-a real birding highlight for me. Otherwise 2 pairs of ring ouzels feeding young and mightily displeased at my presence. The waders were a real sod to pin down for evidence of breeding. All the expected upland birds were in good numbers-stonechat, grey wags,dippers etc. About 30 species(next to no trees) but it took 3 and a half hours so some will go in as roving records