On Saturday (19th October) I led an RSPB Glasgow Group outing to the east coast - starting at St Abb's Head NNR then moving back up along the Lothian coast.
Whilst at St Abb's we concentrated on the Mire Loch and I was able to get everyone onto a male Sardinian Warbler - a UK/Scottish tick for everyone; and a life tick for a few. We also had good views of Yellow-browed Warbler and other passage migrants such as Goldcrest, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Bullfinch, Redwing and Ring Ouzel. ID photos of both the rare warblers follow, although I would stress they weren't taken at the loch!
Sardinian Warbler (Gran Canaria)
Yellow-browed Warbler (Glasgow)
We left St Abb's and headed for Torness Power Station and Thorntonloch where we added Brambling and Tree Sparrow to our list. This was quickly followed by a stop at the Whitesands Quarry near Barns Ness. On a casual glance, the quarry didn't look too promising, but when you looked closely there were a good selection of wildfowl, waders and gulls present - including Scaup, Shoveler, Pochard, Lapwing and Curlew.
The Glasgow Group scan the quarry
We then moved to the Barns Ness area. Although the light was fading we still added new birds such as Golden Plover and Stonechat.
Some of the Group at the top of the 'wire dump'
As the sun began to set we headed home with the ever reliable Karen Hill at the wheel. A quick count indicated we had seen 75 species of bird - a good start to the weekend!
On the Sunday we headed for Fife starting at Fife Ness before heading for Kilminning/Balcomie Farm. We spent a lot of time looking for 'rarities' and sadly we didn't manage to connect with them (albeit few people did!). Most of the Group did see Brambling, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Long-tailed Duck and we finished with a 'day list' of 40 species and a weekend list of c85.
On Monday evening I travelled to Ayr and was made most welcome by the RSPB Central Ayrshire Group - a big thank you to all those that turned out on a foul night. A photo from my presentation 'In the Footsteps of Livingstone' follows:
So a WEBs count plus three day-long guided walks and three evening presentations in eight days - its a good job I'm retired!
Don't forget the Friends of Glasgow's LNRs talk on Thursday 24th - thankfully, I shall just be chairing the meeting rather than speaking! See earlier post for more details.
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