More East Coast and Local Birding

Since my last post I've continued to make use of my travel cards for long walks and excellent birding. I also enjoyed an excellent trip by car, thanks to Stephen!

On the 18th it was a bus from Edinburgh to Thorntonloch. Things were a lot quieter than on the 15th but there were still a few birds around if you were patient and looked hard enough!

The berry bearing bushes at Thorntonloch proved popular with a number of species including this Chiffchaff ....

and this Song Thrush .............

Off the sea wall at Torness, I was surprised to see this Red-throated Diver, still with much of its red throat!

 

From here I walked along the John Muir Link passed Skateraw towards Barns Ness. I stopped at the small burn/clump of rosebay willowherb and with other birders tried to get views of a reported Dusky Warbler.

 

 

I managed a 10 second glimpse of what was probably the bird but not enough to confirm its identity! A flyover of 18 Barnacle Geese offered some compensation .....

 

 

Realising that time was tight and as the original intention was to enjoy a long walk, I headed off towards my bus connection in Dunbar.

 

It was strange to see White Sands Bay at high tide as on nearly every other walk the white sand has glistened in the sun!

 

 

Whilst the sand might have been lacking, the usual Stonechats (3 in this instance) were not. And although the sun was low in the sky, I managed a record shot of this bird ...

 

 

Thankfully, I made the bus connection with c5 minutes to spare!

 

On Friday we both travelled up to Aberdeen and explored the Girdle Ness area .... 

 

 

 

The trip can be summed up as being a very pleasant walk but a failed twitch - Daurian Shrike!

 

Yesterday, I travelled through to the East Coast, courtesy of Stephen and we stumbled across 4 cracking Shorelarks at John Muir Country Park .....

 

 

I also found a distant Dark-bellied Brent Goose

 

 

From John Muir Country Park we headed to White Sands Quarry just in time to see some geese fly off. We were told they were Bean Geese but again as I can't be sure of their ID they became another possible sighting rather than confirmed!

 

 

There were lots of other birds in the quarry and we agreed this would be a good place to visit on a regular basis...

 

 

Having explored the east coast we stopped at Garnqueen Loch in Glenboig on the way home and were impressed by the range of wildfowl to be found in such a relatively small loch - yet another place worthy of further visits ...........

 

 

Finally, some recent sightings from the Greater Glasgow area, courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine:

 

Sunday 23 October 2016
Two drake Ruddy Ducks on Garnqueen Loch.
70 Fieldfares flew north over Pollok Country Park, and two Nuthatches at the feeders.

Friday 21 October 2016
A Chiffchaff with a tit flock at Garnkirk Moss Wood, Glasgow.
A Kingfisher over the causeway at Milngavie Reservoirs at 0930 hrs.

Wednesday 19 October 2016
90 Fieldfare and 18 Redwing at Gartloch Pool.

Mammal Record
Evidence of a Pine Marten (footprint, droppings) at Garnkirk Moss Wood (NS675675), possibly the first recent record for Glasgow.

  

Leading and Birding - East Coast Magic

Yesterday I led an RSPB Glasgow Group outing to the east coast - East Coast Magic 1.

East Coast Magic trips have become a tradition with the group where the aim is to travel to the east coast on two consecutive days in October and hope for a 'fall of migrants' and maybe even some rarities!

Being the leader, I had to decide where we were heading and having consulted tide times, weather forecasts and recent reports, I concluded we should start at St Abbs NNR in the Borders - a journey of c100 miles. Agnes who was driving made good time and we arrived after around two and a quarter hours.

We travelled through some heavy rain but when we arrived, as per the forecast, it was now just a light drizzle. We set off around the Mire Loch and a few hours later we had seen a good range of birds but nothing too unusual - loads of Goldcrests, Robins and thrushes as well as Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps, Brambling, Redstart and a very confiding Lesser Whitethroat which is normally very skulking. We also had a flyby of Pink-footed and Barnacle Geese.

The weather wasn't really suitable for photography but I did manage record shots of a Brambling ......

Brambling - Mire Loch, St Abbs - 15 October 2016

 

... and some Pink-footed Geese ...........

 

Pink-footed Geese - over Mire Loch, St Abbs - 15 October 2016

 

With the weather forecast suggesting the rain would slowly clear-up from the east coast, the plan was to leave St Abbs early afternoon and head for Torness and/or Barns Ness. Receiving some up-to-date info (thanks Fiona), I decided we should head for Torness and the car park next to the visitor centre. When we arrived it was quite dull, hence no photos - so here is one I took earlier  .....

 

Torness Power Station - Visitor Centre car park - 2015

 

There were a number of birders present and we were soon looking at Pallas's Warbler (2), Yellow-browed Warbler, Great Grey Shrike, lots of Goldcrests, Redstart, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and the 'resident' Peregrine on the Power Station. Although the sun did come out I was too busy enjoying the birds so my camera stayed locked in the mini bus - I always find if I don't have my camera I get great views of the birds!

 

So a great day with life ticks for some of the Group. I was a wee bit disappointed as I had hoped that we might stumble across a Dusky Warbler or a Radde's Warbler, but it wasn't to be.

 

Sadly, I was not able to go on the 'East Coast Magic 2' trip today as I am the announcer at Glasgow Speedway - even more sadly the speedway was postponed, due to rain, so I could have gone!

 

 

Twitching and More!

I get a bit annoyed when 'populist' TV/radio programmes describe all bird watchers as 'twitchers'. But then wondered is there a definition of a 'twitcher'?

I found some interesting definitions on the internet and this perhaps sums up the situation:

Birdwatcher -  anyone who watches birds whether at a kitchen window, reservoir or nature reserve.  Owning binoculars immediately qualifies you. Birdwatchers let birds come to them.

Birder - a birdwatcher who (almost certainly) owns a scope, watches a local patch (patch worker), knows his or her stuff and looks for certain birds at certain times of the year. A birder knows birds by call as well as appearance; keeps a log of their sightings and may photograph them or take notes in the field.  Likes to find their own birds. May go on the odd twitch occasionally (see below) .

Twitcher - a birder who will travel great distances in his home country to see birds they haven't seen in that country before. They will almost certainly know how many birds they have seen in Britain. Twitchers chase specific individual birds. The best Twitchers know their birds extremely well. Some just do it for a bigger list!

So, since must last update, based on the above, I've been:

1. Twitching twice, albeit I ended up birding as the target species was not to be found;
2. Birding twice, once on my local patch; and
3. Volunteering to clean up a local wildlife site in Glasgow, a category not included in the above!

Twitch no.1 - Red-flanked Bluetail - Denburn Wood, Crail - 7 October 2016
Lynda joined me for this epic journey by public transport to Crail. The day was overcast and drizzly but no sign of the Bluetail or any other birds, apart from Robins, Blackbirds, Wrens and the odd tit. We did, however, have a nice coffee stop in St Andrews and a very pleasant late lunch in Crail!

Entrance to Denburn Wood

 

Twitch no. 2 - Hooded Merganser - Barr Loch, RSPB Lochwinnoch - 10 October 2016

Although present early morning, it had flown off by the time I arrived! I did, at least, find my own Chiffchaff!

 

Barr Loch

 

My other birding trips were through to Torness and Thorntonloch on the 11th - a flock of 49 Golden Plover was the highlight - and visiting my local patch, Bingham's Pond, on the 12th.

 

It was good to visit Bingham's Pond a few days after I helped at the Friends of Glasgow's LNRs clean-up on the 8th. The volunteers really made a positive impact, but sadly a few bits of litter had already started to accumulate around the footpath yesterday.

 

Volunteers at Bingham's Pond - 8 October 2016

 

Finally, some local sightings courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine:

 

Tuesday 11 October 2016

Still two drake Ruddy Ducks on Garnqueen Loch; nearby 7 Gadwall on Woodend Loch, and 30 Gadwall and 7 Shoveler on Gartloch Pool, Glasgow.
Three Shoveler on Frankfield Loch, Glasgow.

 

Monday 10 October 2016
Now two drake Ruddy Ducks on Garnqueen Loch.
Two, possibly three Ring-necked Parakeets in Hillview Drive, Clarkston this morning.

 

Friday 7 October 2016
A drake Ruddy Duck on Garnqueen Loch.
Two Redwings on rowans in Gartloch Village, Glasgow.

Late news for 4 October 2016
A Yellow-browed Warbler in Knightswood, Glasgow.

Thursday 6 October 2016
Eleven Shoveler and 470 Teal at Bridgend Farm Pool, Kirkintilloch.
Seven Shoveler and 18 Gadwall at Gartloch Pool, Glasgow.
Twelve Shoveler and 198 Lapwings at Frankfield Loch, Glasgow.
Still two Nuthatches at the feeders in Pollok Country Park, Glasgow, and a Jay by the Police Recreation Ground.
Two Stonechats and two Shoveler at Harelaw Reservoir, Barrhead, also three Sparrowhawks overhead.

 

 

 

East Coast Magic

With high pressure over Scandinavia and a forecast of easterlies I travelled through to the east coast on Monday and Wednesday. In retrospect, Tuesday and Thursday could have proved to have been better!

On Monday, I travelled by bus from Edinburgh to Thorntonloch/Torness where I spent a few hours hoping for some 'rarities'. Similarly, on Wednesday a bus to Thortonloch/Torness before walking the John Muir Link to Skateraw, Barns Ness, Whitesands Bay and Fluke Dub before reaching Dunbar and a bus back to Edinburgh.

A few record shots and some reasonable images:

Record shot - Yellow-browed Warbler - Torness - 3/10/16

Brambling - Thorntonloch - 3/10/16

 Torness - 3/10/16

 

Barnacle Geese - Torness - 5/10/16

 

Redstart - Torness - 5/10/16

 

Barns Ness - 5/10/16

 

Juvenile Barnacle Goose + barnacle - east Dunbar - 5/10/16

 

 

 

Bingham's Pond Event and Birding Update

Firstly, news of an event being held by the Friends of Glasgow's LNRs at Bingham's Pond on Saturday 8 October 2016 from 10.30am.

They aim to pick up litter and trim back vegetation encroaching over the footpath and bag it for collection by Council staff. It is hoped they will also be able to spend some time providing information about the Pond’s birds.

Tools and gloves will be provided, but if you want to bring your own feel free to do so!

The day starts at 10.30am and they expect to stay until c3pm. So if you can spare half and hour or more they would be very pleased to see you! Snacks will also be provided.

A few years ago they undertook a similar project at the Pond and made a big difference:

Pond Dipping Area - before

Pond Dipping area - after

On the birding front I've been out with the mid week Glasgow RSPB Group to Musselburgh and also paid visits to RSPB Lochwinnoch, St Andrews and Anstruther.

Record shots of Grey Plover and a few of the many Gannets offshore at Musselburgh:

A view across the Aird Meadow at RSPB Lochwinnoch and one of the 50 Snipe viewable from the Tower:

... and proof that whilst it was pouring with rain in Glasgow on Friday it was very pleasant in Fife:

St Andrews

Anstruther Harbour

Finally a few local records, courtesy of the SOC Clyde Grapevine:

Wednesday 28 September 2016
Seven Pink-footed Geese east over Robroyston Park LNR at 1000 hrs.

Thursday 22 September 2016
A Whooper Swan for its second day at Hogganfield Loch.

Tuesday 20 September 2016
Two Nuthatches calling in the area of the walled garden, Pollok Country Park.