Lothian Birding (1 Viewer)

[Morg]

If you had just found yourself a barred warbler then it was... If that was you, then I found the corn bunting just after we spoke but you were nowhere to be seen... I think you went off for the YbW?

 

[Big Den]

Couldn't have been you then Geoff. I found the Yellow-browed in the campsite at the back of seven and had to leave at half eight, much to my disgust.

Thankfully though, I managed to catch up with the Marsh & Barred Warblers at Barns Ness this morning. There was also a few Blackcaps, Chiffchaff and a Brambling all at the wire dump this am. Quite a few Redwings moving around also. Common Redstart in the small triangular wood at Whitesands :t:

 

[Mike swims like a fish]

Best was a Corn Bunting that passed through being harassed by chaffinches - they clearly didn't like it much poor thing! I gave Darren a call who was nearby with Dave - it turned out they had something better. Cheers for the Marsh Warbler boys - nice subtle bird to get to grips with!
Geoff

Hi Geoff

Not sure that Marsh Warbler is that much better than Corn Bunting these days.....there have been more of the former than the latter in the time I have been up in Lothian, which is 7 years now!

Managed a dirty twitch for the Marsh Warbler on Thursday, as well as pulling in the Whitesands YBW as well.

Back down the coast this morning, after a brief stop at Aberlady to see the geese leave (Ross's there still and then in fields east of Fenton Barns), the Marsh was showing well again, Barred Warbler very briefly in the Wire Dump (Ian Andrews had another in the camp site) and lots of movement of passerines. Many finches & Skylark moving through to the south, as well as some Pinks, but I wasn't really doing what I should have been and vis migging them. On to Torness & Thorntonloch, where nothing better than Redstart & Garden Warbler.

I'm sure there is something better out there, it just needs someone to find it! My only worry is it could have been me - the thrush calling like a Blackbird which zipped away from me at the Wire Dump and into the quarry area, certainly wasn't a Blackbird........:eek!:

 

[WelchS]

Not sure that Marsh Warbler is that much better than Corn Bunting these days.....there have been more of the former than the latter in the time I have been up in Lothian, which is 7 years now!

Agreed, this is also my 7th year in Lothian and despite having stumbled across a singing Marsh Warbler I was thinking my chances of Corn Bunt are now close to zero. An encouraging sighting surely and if the Fife population continues to strengthen perhaps there will still be a chance of one on vismig - they do still go down the east coast in small numbers, e.g. Spurn.

Confined to the garden this morning also noticed a decent (for here) FLAB movement, including a nice flock of 15 Crossbills; a Jay over SW was first for the garden, they are currently irrupting in southern Scandinavia but this one must have been a local as it seemed to have a beak full (acorns).

 

[Morg]

I'm sure there is something better out there, it just needs someone to find it!

There was - Steppe Buzzard!!! See photo a few messages above - more details to follow...:eek!:

Geoff

 

[Stonefaction]

Oops, meant to post much earlier and got sidetracked, so if I don't get a reply in time, then its my own fault.
I've seen mention of the "wire-dump" at Barns Ness in a few places. Heading over to East Lothian tomorrow, and am wondering if this bit is obvious/easy to find, or if not, can someone please post directions for me, please.
Thanks in advance.

 

[WelchS]

Oops, meant to post much earlier and got sidetracked, so if I don't get a reply in time, then its my own fault.
I've seen mention of the "wire-dump" at Barns Ness in a few places. Heading over to East Lothian tomorrow, and am wondering if this bit is obvious/easy to find, or if not, can someone please post directions for me, please.
Thanks in advance.

The wire dump is in the obvious hollows adjacent to the entrance road at the top of the hill overlooking the foreshore, immediately before the entrance to the ex-caravan park and within sight of the lighthouse. If you look carefully you can see old rolls of rusty wire amongst the vegetation and rare warblers...

 

[Stonefaction]

Thanks for the info, WelchS. Don't know if we were on the right track or not, but we came in via Skateraw, and drove north along to where the map I had indicated a road down to the right (just past East Barns), only to find it blocked by two large piles of earth. We were running behind schedule so didn't have time to go all the way round the cement works (as I've done in the past on my only other attempt at Barns Ness). Looks like we didn't miss anything anyway, but had a productive day regardless. Saw the Great Northern Diver, Red Necked, Slavonian and Great Crested Grebe at Ferny Ness, as well as Velvet Scoter. Small flock of Sandwich Terns and a large flock of Golden Plover (with a Bar Tailed Godwit and a single Knot amongst them) at Gosford Bay. Flock of Knot flew west past Musselburgh, and we managed to see Curlew Sandpiper on the scrapes as well. Hunted for Ross's Geese but drew a blank (one reported in Angus today...typical!). Did manage to see some Barnacle Geese at Aberlady though.
An enjoyable day in decent weather. We'll be back.

 

[WelchS]

Thanks for the info, WelchS. Don't know if we were on the right track or not, but we came in via Skateraw, and drove north along to where the map I had indicated a road down to the right (just past East Barns), only to find it blocked by two large piles of earth.

Apologies, should have mentioned general access info, I believe you have to go in via White Sands to the north, but not been there myself for a while!

Looks like we didn't miss anything anyway, but had a productive day regardless. Saw the Great Northern Diver, Red Necked, Slavonian and Great Crested Grebe at Ferny Ness, as well as Velvet Scoter. Small flock of Sandwich Terns and a large flock of Golden Plover (with a Bar Tailed Godwit and a single Knot amongst them) at Gosford Bay. Flock of Knot flew west past Musselburgh, and we managed to see Curlew Sandpiper on the scrapes as well. Hunted for Ross's Geese but drew a blank (one reported in Angus today...typical!). Did manage to see some Barnacle Geese at Aberlady though.

Not a bad haul - GCG is perhaps the rarest amongst those - I had not seen one at Ferny Ness for over 2 years until one showed up there mid-Sept, not seen it since mind you. Seems the Ross's were last seen Saturday pm, hopefully they will be refound elsewhere; one would expect they would not be hard to relocate, then again there was a recent report of 39 (!) Snow Geese (4 blue morph) in Oxon and some large-ish groups also last year including Oxon, Lancs and Orkney - no doubt most/all are feral/escapes but as far as I know their origins are unknown, it's hard to imagine them successfully hiding anywhere.

 

[markgrubb]

I was down in E Lothian this am. Pretty misty and a fine drizzle at first. At Barns Ness there were loads of thrushes in the bushes and trees-around 70 redwings and double figures of fieldfares and blackbirds. A few bramblings flew over calling and a group of 10 landed in the trees behind the old campsite.

 

[Birdspotter]

Been very quiet in Lothian I see whilst I was awayo

 

[Kris Gibb]

Been very quiet in Lothian I see whilst I was awayo

You timed that quite well did you not! Back just in time for the Bluetail showing up. These guys that naff off up north and then make it back in time for the biggy. More jam than Hartley's

 

[Birdspotter]

More jam than Hartley's

And very SWEET it was too

 

[Mike swims like a fish]

And very SWEET it was too

I think the jam I had this week was very bitter................:-C

 

[Big Den]

I think the jam I had this week was very bitter................:-C

Not so good then Mike...
I've had plenty JAM this week, Red-flanked Bluetail, Great-grey Shrike and Pallas's Warbler to name but a few. Here's hoping for some of the same next week

 

[Mike swims like a fish]

Not so good then Mike...
I've had plenty JAM this week, Red-flanked Bluetail, Great-grey Shrike and Pallas's Warbler to name but a few. Here's hoping for some of the same next week

Given the weather forecast hope is likely to be all you or I will have - sods law really as I'm likely to not need to work away this week as well

 

[Birdspotter]

Tried for the Shrike this afternoon but upon arrival punters were walking all over the moor so not suprisingly no sign of the bird!
Will go after work tomm when it's quieter.

 

[Stuarty]

Thought I'd better get back into this!

The missus just started a job with less hours than her previous one, and the wee boy started school in the summer, so we've got more time to get out and about again. We thought we'd start off easily by exploring the woods behind our home in Whitburn, and what a couple of hours we had! Firstly, I missed a dipper due to spotting three waxwings in a tree next to the main road! We had three additional dipper sightings in all within the half-mile stretch of the burn, however I reckon we just saw the same pair twice. Unfortunately we never saw any further waxwings, although they were undoubtedly part of a larger flock.

Closer to the house we saw a sparrowhawk with a blackbird in its talons, a flock of redwings and multiple flocks of fieldfares, the latter of which also made themselves visible from the house itself throughout the rest of today. I know by most birders' standards none of the birds I saw are anything extraordinary, however it just goes to show that you don't have to go far from home to enjoy yourself.

Feels good to be back! :t:

 

[markgrubb]

I had my first morning out today for 3 weeks, a mix of work and holiday keeping me away until now.

It was an 8/8 blue sky day first thing, one degree on the car thermometer and no wind. The JMCP car park was almost empty at 8am, a good omen as there are often dogwalkers aplenty first thing. A scan of the saltmarsh revealed one bloke with 6 large dogs tearing about the saltmarsh. Not surprisingly we saw little on the walk out. 75 twites were on the beach and 2 pale bellied brent geese on the empty bay. Walking back things were quieter and the 7 shorelark were feeding quietly-a splendid sight. I wonder when there were last this many in Lothian. Maybe Calum will know. We had about 10 minutes of good views before 5 people with 8 dogs again scattered birds to all corners and we headed for the car.

Barns Ness was quiet but there were plenty of pipits around. We watched one pair for about half an hour. One was definitely a water pipit. The other was also pale but with less distinct supercilium, less white underparts and less clear streaking that extended slightly further down the breast. I couldn't be sure of the id but wondered about littoralis

 

[Big Den]

Cracking morning down at Torness this morning. A 3 hour sea watch produced 1000+ Little Auks, 2 Great-norther Divers, 2 Red-throated Divers, Short-eared Owl in off the sea. A few Purple Sands and just as we were about to leave, Kris found a Grey Phalarope on the beach at Thorntonloch to round a good day off.