Eider and Long-tailed Ducks, Burghead

The prime reason for my visit to Scotland was to catch up with some of the sea ducks off the Moray coast, in  rough weather the Eiders and Long-tailed Ducks take shelter in the small harbours dotted along the coast giving superb opportunities for photography. Of course plans are made flexible and I just had to incorporate Crested Tit, Capercaillie and Dipper.  This was again modified to take in a couple of our furry friends - the Red Squirrels and Mountain Hares that are resident in the Cairngorms.

So with a planned absence of ten nights and a target list of 26 species I set off towards bonnie Scotland. The endless miles of motorway to Carlisle, my planned overnight stop, were interspersed with occasional bird sightings. Stokenchurch cutting on the M40 gave great views of a least 20 Red Kites and several Buzzards, just after Wigan I was dive bombed by a Sparrowhawk, straight across the bonnet of the car. The sun eventually came through the overcast grey skies and I mused whether to have a trip list, a Scottish list or both.

After a really comfortable night I set off for Musselburgh on the Lothian coast, having calculated that the detour would be worth a life tick, as the Surf Scoter has been inhabiting the estuary of the River Esk for several weeks. I chose the scenic route through the Pentland Hills which affords spectacular views, unfortunately the weather gods had decreed thick mist for the whole journey. No birding from the driving seat on this journey, utmost concentration on the road but traffic in both directions was extremely light. Just after Romanno Bridge I spotted a huge flock of Greylags so large that the field at the bottom of the valley was totally grey, I don't think I have seen so many grey geese at one time. As I descended towards Edinburgh I could see a crack of light in the gloom and approaching the coast things brightened up considerably, unfortunately not enough for any real photography. As I parked next to the river in Goose Green Place I was greeted by a small flock of Goldeneye cruising up and down the river, the males doing their fantastic neck bending and bill pointing display. Setting up the scope I could see rafts of Eiders, Long-tailed Ducks, Common and Velvet Scoters, Bar-tailed Godwit and many other birds but no Surf Scoter. I was reluctant to venture further down the sea wall as leaving the car, which was loaded with all my gear, was not really an option so after a while  relocated to the viewpoint at Prestonpans where I found similar birds augmented with a host of Slavonian Grebes and Shags. A quick visit to Ferny Ness, where birding from the car is easy, gave a similar list of species. Then on to Fenton Barns, a field of rape occupied by a fairly large mixed herd of Mute and Whooper Swans and a surprise covey of Grey Partridges.

Whooper family enjoying the rape.

Doesn't time fly when you are enjoying yourself? My allotted 3 hours had rapidly disappeared and it was time to navigate the Edinburgh City Bypass and the Forth Road Bridge. I could have had more time but I wanted to reach Grantown-on-Spey in the daylight

Day One - Alturlie, Loch Flemington and Burghead.

I started my exploration of the Moray Firth at Alturlie Point, where I expected to find rafts of sea birds similar to those at Musselburgh, not today, scattered flocks of Eider in the distance but nothing at close range. The weather was superb, warm sunshine and light winds, a situation that wasn't to last. Four hours after the view of the Kessock bridge was taken a howling gale was blowing along the Firth.



Kessock Bridge, Inverness - what's the white stuff in the distance??

Loch Flemington lies just inland from the coast and, as I was passing on my way to Nairn Beach, I decided to drop in to see the long staying American Coot. In fact to tell the truth I had done a bit of research and the info from John and Mick, who had been up a couple of weeks before, was spot on. As I parked in the lay-by another birder, Tim Cowley, kindly got me on to the bird. I had stupidly left my books and notes in the boot of the car and as I was reluctant to spook the bird, Tim kindly provided identifying features, thanks Tim very grateful.

So my first day commenced with a Mega life tick, feeling satisfied I made my way to Nairn. By now a full onshore gale was developing, Nairn was quiet so I made it hotfoot to Burghead. This little fishing harbour was made "famous" by Chris Packham on Winterwatch and since has become a weekend mecca for bird photographers, much to the chagrin of the local birders, who previously had this little gem to themselves.

Burghead is another venue where you can use the car as a hide, parking on the quayside allows close views of the birds. As I arrived I could see a flock of white dots at the far end of the harbour, large breakers were coming over the harbour wall and ducks were happy to find shelter.

Sheltering Eiders

The Eiders were joined by a dozen or more Long-tailed Ducks which were in full winter plumage, everything was quiet and serene until several Grey Seals arrived and the birds became spooked. A pattern developed, as fishing boats came into the harbour they were followed by the seals, hoping for a discarded fish or two and the birds decamped to the outer entrance until the seals disappeared. Unfortunately the Eiders were not left in peace, they continued feeding on crabs within the harbour but were plagued by Gulls which waited within the flock and pounced upon any individual that surfaced with a catch. Of the reported juvenile Great Northern Diver no sign - but of course that meant a return visit.

 

 

 

 

By now the car was shaking in the wind and covered with salt spray, time to leave, so I headed inland to recce other venues. Finding birds was difficult in the strong winds. On the Forres to Grantown road I expected to find Red Grouse, just two made momentary appearances. Broomhill Bridge is a racing certainty for Dippers, not at the moment, not a rock in sight on a very swollen river, heavy rain and snow melt putting the flow over the banks. Before I came up there had been heavy snow and this was evident on the tops, making the landscape very picturesque.





River Spey from Broomhill Bridge - somewhat high.

Plenty of snow on the tops.



Broomhill Station on the Strathspey Railway - known to TV viewers as "Glenbogle"

A New Year's Birding Begins

The first birding day of the New Year is always different. For those of you who don't keep lists then this will be a bit baffling. Today was a day when the slate was wiped clean, each bird stands equal amongst others as it has not yet attained "year tick" status. The rare Lesser Yellowlegs that we were seeking at Lepe Country Park was on a par with the Song Thrush that we noted on the path to Stansore Point. Eagerly we logged Chaffinch, Greenshank and Redshank before spotting the obliging Lesser Yellowlegs. Even the Dunnock and Green Woodpecker were welcome attractions, birds that in the forthcoming months will be more or less ignored whilst we search for more exotic specimens. Back at the car park three Pied Wagtails ensured that we had reached double figures, disappointingly the sea was empty.

A short drive along the flooded coast road, stopping to view the Dark Water gave us Oystercatcher, Teal and Wigeon. A flyby of Shoveler and Greylag, the list was ever increasing

After a while we came to a fork in the road, which way? Martin chose Inchmery Lane and we made for Exbury House - an excellent decision. As we drove along what is the entrance to the Beaulieu River we could see, through the trees and into the sun, that there were lots of birds out on the mud. We parked next to the spot where the Exbury River enters the main river, in the stream a Little Egret and then totally out of the blue a Long-tailed Duck which remained close enough for a decent shot.

 

What - no rain??

 As we returned to Lepe, we noted a Buzzard being mobbed by Crows, a flock of Redwings and another Buzzard, an extremely pale breasted specimen, sat out in the warm morning sun. The list was growing. Where next?  A short detour to Hythe Marina where A Great Northern Diver had been reported, alas nothing but two Mute Swans and a House Sparrow - Tick - Tick!!


Next was a visit to Hill Head just along from Titchfield Haven where some friendly birders conned us on to two Velvet Scoter. Nothing to be seen of the Kittiwakes that had been frequenting the surf line just before we arrived. As we left, the Mallard flock on the creek provided an addition to the list. The Yellow-legged Gull that inhabits Stokes Bay had gone missing, probably due to the amount of walkers both human and canine using the beach. So, as planned, we ended up at Walpole Park to record "Waldo" the Ring-billed Gull, exactly a year and one day since I had last snapped him. Several Common Gulls had us fooled for a time but finally he arrived at his favourite location by the pond. His glinting yellow eye and more "menacing" demeanour clinching the tick. Apparently this is Waldo's eleventh winter spent in Gosport where he is always welcome.

"Waldo"

  

 

 

 

A Common Gull - not the same class as Waldo

 So at 12:30 on our first day out there was a quiet satisfaction of a good day already in the bag. There could be only one venue to spend the afternoon - the North Wall at Pagham - no brainer.  On the wall we were given New Year greetings  from the two Daves who gave us a list of birds present and then happily told us that the Little Owl had disappeared some time earlier. Never mind, the recent heavy rain had flooded the fields to the north and the birds were taking advantage of the available food. Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Lapwings and wildfowl in abundance. It took some time but I finally located the single Ruff and a flyby of a Common Snipe was well received.

Then Dave Shepherd received a call from Ian informing him that two Whooper Swans were on Ivy Lake at Chichester Gravel Pits - a nod is as good as wink to a blind man and off we went. On arrival, before we located the Whoopers, we added Great Crested Grebe, Gadwall, and for Martin, a confirmatory Shoveler as he had missed the earlier flyby. Then as the light faded we found and recorded the Whoopers. Finally, thanks to Andrew House, we added Pochard to the list.  A great day out with the final tally being 67 species, 66 seen and one heard, well what more do you want of the Cetti's Warbler.

Oddly enough the small birds are missing from the list, whether we weren't looking or it may be that the westerly breeze had deterred them from venturing forth, finches and tits were notably absent.

 

 

 

 

Long-tailed Duck

A small window in the weather gave me the opportunity to twitch the female Long-tailed Duck reported to be in the lagoons at the Hayling Island oyster beds. As I parked up I could see three birders in the distance, peering into the gloom. Lifted by the possibility of the bird being present my walking pace increased. As I approached I received a cheery wave from Russ Tofts who informed that the bird had just disappeared, had the jinx struck again?? Not a bit of it, some minutes later he relocated the bird - thanks Russ.  The bird was fairly mobile, so in the company of another birder, I moved further out on the sea wall and found it feeding closer to the wall in the adjacent lagoon, giving me the chance to obtain some decent record shots.



 

An all too frequent view



The heavens opened ..... time to go.

Some time later I was joined by  the "Financial Birder",  see his cracking blog here. Unfortunately the bird had disappeared so Jeff made his way further along the coast. I wandered off with the intent of looking for the Little Owl but changed my mind and re-joined Jeff who immediately located the bird. Although it came toward us it never came as close as previous. Nice to meet you Jeff.

The stygian clouds that had been dumping masses of rain on Fareham and Portsmouth arrived over Hayling and it was time to beat a hasty retreat home. I did have a quick look for the Little Owl by the old railway track but nothing found .....one day!

Update:

I received information from Jos Hooijmeijer of the University of Groningen that "Ruff B1WAWR" was ringed on the 1st January 2001 in Southwest Friesland and that my sighting report on the 25th September 2013 at Oare Marshes was the first received for this bird.

 

Another mystery is the fungi that I photographed close to Budd's Farm Sewage Works, none of my fungi books, including the latest Collins output, have anything similar. If you have any idea I would be grateful for an answer.