Stonefaction's 2010 list. (1 Viewer)

[Stonefaction]

5th March

An enjoyable day out to add another couple to the list. First off to Scone Palace for Hawfinch. Quite a few around, although they were all way up in the tops of trees so the photo opportunities were rather limited.
After that down to Argaty for Red Kites. What a great place, with brilliant views of between 20-30 Red Kites circling round near the hide, and being fed. Snow on the ground so lots of light reflected onto the undersides of the wings - great for photos. Also got a Male Crossbill up a tree near the hide too. I think I'll be going back there at some point.

127. Hawfinch
128. Red Kite

 

[Stonefaction]

7th March

Last night's Owl hunt drew a blank, but today added a new bird to the list.
Took a trip to Lunan Bay where among the long tailed ducks, Common Scoters and Red Throated Divers, a single Razorbill was seen.
From there we headed to Montreathmont Forest, again we got Crossbill when we got out the car (plus Redpoll, Siskin and Goldfinch), and Great Spotted Woodpecker.
Bittern was showing well at Kinnordy a few hours before we got there.....it was back in hiding....and no owls on the way down the road at dusk either.

129. Razorbill

 

[Stonefaction]

13th March

Another Owl hunt, this time around the Glenfarg area produced a brief sighting of a Tawny Owl, so no.130 was added to the list.

14th March

Stopped in at Guardbridge as the tide was heading back out, and thanks to the keen eyes of a regular there, the Spotted Redshank that appears to have overwintered there was picked out along the north bank of the Eden feeing with a couple of Greenshanks.

130. Tawny Owl
131. Spotted Redshank

 

[Stonefaction]

21st March

A nice pleasant afternoon at Guardbridge once again came up trumps with another two birds for the year list - one of which was a lifer. Plenty of birds around, with good views of the Spotted Redshank, 2 Snipe and managed to find a Whimbrel among the Curlews, a good thousand or so geese with 1 White Fronted (a lifer for me) and 1 Barnacle hidden away within the (mostly) Pink Footed and Greylag. A pair of Gadwall also put in an appearance.

132. Whimbrel
133. White Fronted Goose

 

[Stonefaction]

23rd March

Quite probably one of the best birding days I've ever had (and thanks to my girlfriend for all the driving). Set off northwards to try and get the Great Grey Shrike at Rhynie and King Eider at Burghead. Headed up through Glenshee. Decided not to stop at the ski centre to scan for Ptarmigan as the hilltops were in the clouds. Heading downhill from there however we got lucky when a Ptarmigan flew right across the road in front of the car and landed at the side of the road.
Up to the Rhynie area and stopped to scan the fields for Black Grouse and picked up 4 together. The first lifer of the day for me.
Headed round the corner to the car park. Scanned the bushes and in the fourth one sat the Great Grey Shrike. Lifer number 2 of the day. It flew off just as I was swapping scope for camera, but managed a record shot.
Headed northwards to Burghead for the King Eider after that. When we got there, the bay looked totally bereft of birds. A bit of scoping produced a number of Velvet Scoters, then a few groups of Eiders. Then I found it, all on its own, but nice and clear, although a bit distant. My third lifer of the day! Managed a few distant record shots. Picked up a small group of Razorbills and some Long Tailed Ducks after that before heading back to Elgin and southwards down the A95 towards the A9. Got stuck at roadworks near Mains of Dalvey (I think) and was having a look at a few Woodpigeons and Oystercatchers feeding in a field when I saw a bird with noticably black wingtips fly into view. Initial thought was Lapwing, but when I had a nosey through my wee binoculars a white rump and a pale blue-grey topside gave me a male Hen Harrier hunting very low over the field. Grabbed the camera and tried a few quick shots just as we got moving. Unfortunately, it had slipped from shutter priority to program mode and all the shots were way too blurred. Number 5 for 2010 of the day though.
Pushing our luck a bit we stopped off at the Loch Garten visitor centre to see if we could see Crested Tit. Plenty small birds around but the light was poor, and only Chaffinch and Coal Tit were positively ID'd, before we headed for home.
What a day!

134. Ptarmigan
135. Black Grouse
136. Great Grey Shrike
137. King Eider
138. Hen Harrier

 

[Stonefaction]

27th March

A wee detour on the way back from St Andrews following a hunch got me my first Sand Martins of the year.
EDIT: Checking my photos from Saturday, it appears I also got a flock of 27 Brent Geese dropping in at Out Head, St Andrews. Another nice wee bonus.

28th March

Went out looking for Wheatear and Puffins but drew a blank, but managed to get another 2 for 2010. First stop - Monifieth (nothing much), then Monikie (likewise) on to Arbroath, where it was rather windy and sometimes a bit wet too. Had a wander along the cliffs and eventually heard the kitt-ee-wake calls for the first time this year. A few dotted around on the cliffs apparently nesting. A wee group of Linnets and a few Skylarks plus Oystercatcher, Curlew and a single Ringed Plover were dotted around the fields at the top of the cliffs. Not much to see offshore though. No Wheatear yet.
Up to Auchmithie then, looking for Puffin, but once again another blank. On the plus side that's two more birds to look for again next weekend...
After that a brief stop at Balgavies Loch - Greylag, Tufted Duck and Buzzard, plus a couple of Sand Martins. On to Loch of Kinnordy where it was a similar mixture to the past few weeks. Brown Hare and Red Squirrel put in appearances as did the second of today's birds - an Osprey. It took a fair bit of stick from a couple of Crows, (as did a Buzzard later), but hovered in front of the Swamp hide giving a few photo opportunities. Not a bad day....

139. Sand Martin
140. Brent Goose

141. Kittiwake
142. Osprey

 

[Stonefaction]

Another weekend, and with the benefit of Easter Monday off work, the opportunity to once again add to the list. Saturday, had a wander out past RAF Leuchars to the Goosepools, but the only tick picked up was a rather unwelcome little tick nymph (absolutely tiny) and undeterred by my tucking the jeans into the socks. These things seem to be on the increase unfortunately...hopefully this will be the only one that gets past the defences this year.

4th April

Took a run through Fife to the Largo Bay area, stopping at Buckhaven - nothing new but a Red Throated Diver flew past. At Leven, better views of the Red Throated Diver, plus Velvet Scoter and Common Scoter. Found a lone drake Surf Scoter briefly, but couldn't find it again when I scoped the same area later.
Moving further round the bay, scoped more sea ducks, plus Sanderling on the shoreline, and a distant Red Necked Grebe (a lifer for me).
Stopped at Earlsferry but only saw a few Eiders and some Oystercatchers before having to head for home.

143. Surf Scoter
144. Red Necked Grebe

5th April

A wee run along the Angus coast, still hoping for Wheatear. Not much at Monifieth (Bar Tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Sanderling), so headed to Arbroath. Still no Wheatear around, but saw a few Ringed Plover in the field by the cliffs along with Curlew and Oystercatcher. A small flock of Linnets and a Kestrel at Cliffburn Gulley. Onward then to Auchmithie, not too much offshore except some Herring Gulls and Fulmars, plus a few Eiders. After scoping the bay for a while picked up a solitary (the year's first) Puffin bobbing along on the swell.
Stopped off at Usan, hoping for migrants but none around - Song Thrush, Yellowhammer and Linnet being the highlights.
Stopped off at The Lurgies, and picked up an Osprey almost straight away. Still Greylags and Pink Foots around and a few Whooper Swans. No new birds picked up though.

145. Puffin

 

[Stonefaction]

8th April

Thanks to my girlfriend, a trip to Balgavies Loch was made possible tonight in the hope of seeing two lifers for me that had been reported in the past few days. In the end it all came down to timing. Had we been a minute later arriving, we'd have missed the Bewick's Swan (with 6 Whoopers) flying off....and had we been a minute earlier leaving the hide, we'd have missed the Great White Egret flying in to roost too. My girlfriend got her first Bean Goose too (one calling in a small group of Greylags departing in the gloaming). A very cool evening's birding.

146. Bewick's Swan
147. Great White Egret

 

[Stonefaction]

10th April

Watched a flock of Little Gulls feeding at Monikie Country Park in the sunshine (snapping away with the camera...lots of blurred shots and a few good ones), then down to Easthaven where we finally found Wheatear (2 birds) and White Wagtail ( 2 seperate birds on beach).

148. Little Gull
149. White Wagtail (never sure whether or not to count this as a seperate bird or not)
150. Wheatear

 

[Stonefaction]

April 11th

A bit of fog and an easterly wind suggested the possibility of a few migrants around, so we headed off to Fife Ness, but drew a bit of a blank (Goldcrest, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Yellowhammer and Dunnock). The fog cleared and a lovely sunny day ensued. A look in Denburn Wood drew another blank (Great Tit, Robin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk). Decided to visit Kilrenny Common and eventually found a new bird for the year - the first Willow Warbler, as well as Buzzard, Yellowhammer and the usual wee birds. Stopped in at Kilconquhar and Guardbridge on the way home, but missed out on Green-Winged Teal at the latter.

151. Willow Warbler

 

[Stonefaction]

April 15th

Courtesy of my girlfriend, Mandy, another 'twitching trip' was made tonight. This time to Loch of Kinnordy. Got into the hide to hear that the 4 Cranes had just flown off. Thankfully, they hadn't gone very far, just over the fence back into the field. Managed a few record shots (closer than my only other Crane pics).
2 successful hunting trips by Osprey(s), and an extremely close encounter with a Tawny Owl (almost flew in the window of the hide we were sat at!) rounded off a nice night.

152. Common Crane

 

[Stonefaction]

April 17th

Another Angus trip, with an overdue trip to Forfar Loch to start with. Picked up Swallow (and Sand Martin) almost straight away out over the loch. Blackcap, Willow Warbler and Bullfinches were all seen along the north side. Then picked up the second bird of the year at boat club spit. A Common Sandpiper flew in and wandered about by the edge of the water.
Went to Kinnordy, Backwater Reservoir and Loch of Lintrathen (and back to Kinnordy) but failed to pick up anything else new.

153. Swallow
154. Common Sandpiper

 

[Stonefaction]

April 23rd

Off to Morton Lochs with standrewsbirder in the rain. Picked up my first House Martins in with Swallow and Sand Martin hawking over the loch. Added Chiffchaff singing on the wee island in front of the hides (Willow Warblers were also around in numbers). Didn't see, but heard, Sedge Warbler singing, but overhanging trees prevented us from seeing this one.
Stopped off at the Piggery pool on the way out and got a lifer for me, my first ever Green Sandpiper.
A partially flooded field on our (scenic) way back to Guardbridge produced a nice wee surprise in the shape of two Little Ringed Plovers. So four new for 2010 despite the weather (coulda been five had that Sedge Warbler shown itself.....)

155. House Martin
156. Chiffchaff
157. Green Sandpiper
158. Little Ringed Plover

 

[Stonefaction]

April 30th

Another run round Northeast Fife. Back to Morton Lochs for a second attempt at Sedge Warbler produced a few birds out front of the hide (although none showing for much more than a second or two at a time). Decent views of Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff and Blackcap too.
Nothing much at Guardbridge (Greenshank and Knot being the pick of the bunch).
Rossie Bog was more productive quality-wise. A Wood Sandpiper (a lifer for me) had been reported earlier in the week, and we managed to pick it up quite easily (once we found the bog itself). Also overflying the area were a flock of Swifts (my first of the year). Great Spotted Woodpecker and Pintail were also around.
Rossie Bog didn't add anything notable to the day list, but gave decent views of the same warblers we'd seen at Morton Lochs (except for Sedge Warbler which was heard - as was the ever-elusive bogey bird - Water Rail), although the Blackcap this time was a female.

159. Sedge Warbler
160. Wood Sandpiper
161. Swift

(-2 if you don't count Feral Pigeon & White Wagtail).

Only 8 short of equalling last year's total, and just a third of the year gone.....

 

[Stonefaction]

May 1st

Tay Reedbeds looking for, and getting, Marsh Harrier (distant views) and Whitethroat (brief view), then off to Glen Isla looking for Cuckoo. Drew a blank with that one, but scoping the ridgeline of one of the hills at the head of the glen produced what I think can only be a Ring Ouzel (blackbird shaped bird briefly perching atop a small wooden structure) and a Red Grouse. Lots of Red Deer also near the top. Roe Deer in the glen below, as well as a fox. Loch of Kinnordy produced a few Wheatear surprisingly (- had good views in Glen Isla too). Managed a total of 58 species today.

162. Marsh Harrier
163. Whitethroat
164. Ring Ouzel

 

[Stonefaction]

May 2nd

Started the day at Kinnordy and finally (after many attempts) got a Water Rail, right out in the open. A lifer to begin the day with. Osprey, Marsh Harrier and Jay were nice additions also to the list for the day.
Headed to Montrose Basin after "the Big Sit" ended, and picked up Common Tern, the second new bird of the day.
A wee wander out at Ferryden added Sandwich Tern (no.3 for the day). Got Corn Bunting and Puffin on the way home too.

165. Water Rail
166. Common Tern
167. Sandwich Tern

 

[Stonefaction]

May 9th

First day of the holiday to the South of Scotland (and a wee bit of Northeast England). Scooted cross-country then down the Ayrshire coast to Stranraer. Managed distant views of Black Guillemot off Girvan, but had much closer views later in Portpatrick harbour (just 1 bird though).

168. Black Guillemot

 

[Stonefaction]

May 10th

Up and out from the B&B for 9ish, and along to Wood of Cree. A single Willow Tit flew across the road in front of us as we headed up the road from Minigaff to the reserve. Picked up another lifer in the shape of Pied Flycatcher, loads of them around. No Tree Pipit or Redstart seen but eventually managed to find a Wood Warbler singing on our way back downhill to the car. As I was trying to get a decent photo through the branches another one flew in and a fight ensued with the two birds chasing through the trees.
Along to Ken-Dee Marshes after that, where we got Garden Warbler singing not far from the car park. My 4th lifer of the day. Great views up close of Nuthatch on the feeders at the hide, as well as Red Squirrel (and a wee Bank Vole en route).
Managed to see 3 Red Kites en route to Dumfries. After tea we popeed down to Mersehead but there wasn't anything new there for us, but it was still worth a nosey.

169. Willow Tit
170. Pied Flycatcher
171. Wood Warbler
172. Garden Warbler

 

[Stonefaction]

May 11th

A run across country to the Hirsel first on the agenda. Saw Nuthatch there and plenty other smaller birds, but overall found it a wee bit disappointing (maybe been spoiled by Wood of Cree).
Over the border after that, stopped in at Seahouses and watched the Kittiwakes on the cliffs and Eiders being fed by hand on the beach.
After tea, took a run out to Holy Island, but it wasn't quite what I was expecting so we headed back over the causeway. Stopped at the western end to take a few photos and happened to look up, just in time to see a large white bird fly over quite low. Snapped a couple of quick photos, and was very surprised to see it was a Snow Goose.....not a bird I was expecting to see on my holidays (although had 2 at Strathbeg a year ago this week).
Popped down to Bamburgh castle to get some sunset photos on the beach. The angles were a bit off, but we snapped away till the colours faded away. As we were walking along the beach, I heard the unmistakable sound of a Grasshopper Warbler reeling from the slopes below the Castle. I raced off in the general direction, and luckily enough, he reeled again, allowing me to get a better idea of where he was.......right in among lots of thorny wild roses and nettles. Picked my way up the steep slope to near the castle itself. Heard him reel again, very close by. The light was poor so I went for plan B....a wee bit of whistling random (hopefully) bird-like sounds.....Up he popped for a nosey, flying a few feet and dropping again, then doing the same again.....result! Another lifer.

173. Snow Goose
174. Grasshopper Warbler

 

[Stonefaction]

May 13th

Back home, bit knackered but not wanting to be stuck indoors all day we decided to go hunting for Cuckoo. En route to the places we had seen them last year (Backwater Reservoir and Glen Isla) a medium sized bird was spotted in flight at a partially wooded small hill. A very noticable yellow-greenish rump ID'd it as Green Woodpecker (yet another lifer - my 'first' sighting turned out to be a false alarm). No Cuckoo at Backwater Dam, but a wee group of Crossbills was a small consolation.
Dropped into Loch of Kinnordy on the way back, despite the heavy rain. My girlfriend spotted movement through the reeds right in front of the Gullery hide and we were rewarded with brilliant views of not just 1, but 2, Water Rails wandering about right under our noses in front of the hide. The first bird sauntered across the open space, while the second one showed great fleetness of foot and shot across the gap. Managed a few pics (will post later). Less than two weeks ago we'd never even seen one, let alone had close-up views.
No Cuckoo, but hardly a wasted trip....

175. Green Woodpecker