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To Autumn ( Verse 1)
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness John Keats |
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11th November : Troon and Irvine Harbour The weather predictions for Central Scotland were not encouraging. A period of rain was to have cleared slowly from the west. I decided to go to the Ballast Bank at Troon and hoped conditions would improve as the afternoon progressed. We visited Stewartfield Morrisons cafe for breakfast (8/10, slow service) before travelling through some quite nasty weather, via the M77, to Troon. Troon: The rain had eased as we arrived in Troon. We noticed bird flocks busy on the shore near the North Shore Road car park. The light was very poor for photography, nevertheless, I was able to take some record shots of some small waders that were shuffling across the damp sand. Redshanks and Dunlin made up much of the flock but I also spotted a few Ringed Plover and the odd Oystercatcher. I also captured an image of rain-soaked Bittersweet berries (see “Pictures of the Week”, below).
We didn’t spend long at the North Shore Road as the rain was intensifying. Instead we drove along Harbour Road to the car park at the north end of Ballast Bank. We sat there in the car until the rain went off. The tide was coming in as we moved slowly along the north shore. A few Turnstones were picking their way along the shingle beach, foraging for invertebrates. We then came across a juvenile Great Black-backed Gull (2nd calendar year) fending off other smaller gulls that were after the large fish it had claimed. Anxious to consume it as quickly as possible before it could lose it to a more dominant gull, it tried to down it in one but try as it might, the fish was just too big. The Turnstones we had been watching earlier suddenly fled off around the harbour wall.
A pair of very pretty drake Eider passed overhead heading south. John spotted the bobbing snout of a Grey Seal only about 20m out. We then decided to walk along the shore along the length of the Ballast Bank. A pair of Oystercatchers and a Redshank were standing in the rain. I wondered if they were as annoyed as us that it hadn’t cleared up by then.
A Shag flew south. We discussed the quickest way of telling Shags from Cormorants. I always look at forehead, eyes and beak. In the Shag, the beak and forehead meet at a point rather than being on a continuous line. The Shag’s eye set in feathered plumage rather than edging onto an unfeathered area. Lastly, the Shag’s beak is slimmer and doesn’t have as prominent a hooked tip as that of a Cormorant. A wee Rock Pipit made a brief appearance. We had had an eye open for a reported Water Pipit but it didn’t show, sadly. However, a small flock of Purple Sandpipers did make an appearance. They weren’t very skittish so I was able to get some close shots, albeit in poor light. Near the car I got a picture of a Starling, but the light was so low, and the rain was so unrelenting that we decided to move north to Irvine Harbour. We could see that it was much brighter there.
Irvine Harbour : We got a very sunny welcome at the Irvine Harbour car park as is shown by the panorama below. The sunlight broke through the rain clouds and created a double rainbow as it fell on the last of the raindrops
Heartened by the presence of light, we set off along the path toward the mouth of the River Irvine. As we passed the “Bridge of Scottish Inventions” we saw a Shag sitting drying its wings, midstream on top of a metal post. Close to there, a Grey Seal, very like the one we saw at Troon, appeared for a short time before submerging and disappearing out of sight. A majestic adult Great Black-backed Gull coasted past overhead to survey the sand dunes to the south of the river. Higher in the sky, and travelling in the opposite direction, a Coastguard rescue helicopter passed by, probably travelling from Prestwick to Glasgow airports.
Next we got our first view of a Cormorant, a handsome specimen dashing down the Irvine, bathed in orange sunlight. Note the heavy hooked beak and shallow-sloping forehead. John was amused by a pavement Lottery sign that was pathetically bobbing at the edge of the water. Perhaps a customer was so disillusioned he chucked into the river, or maybe it was a mindless vandal. Next to the Coastwatch/toilet block, a fine-looking Herring Gull sat waiting for that tasty chip casually tossed from one of the many parked cars. At the viewpoint at the end of the walkway we got a dramatic and very picturesque, and amber, view of Ailsa Craig some 50 miles to the south.
As we walked back to the car, a Red-breasted Merganser flew up stream, emptying its store of guano as it passed. Yet another Shag eyed us as I snapped it, while a few metres away, a Common Seal surfaced for a few moments until it noticed it was getting its picture taken. Note the “W” shaped nostrils and “dog-like” head, which are characteristics of the Common Seal. Our final shots were of a pair of birds that were hanging around the car as we prepared for tea, a Carrion Crow and a Jackdaw (see “Pictures of the Week”, below). They were lucky as I had kept a few bits of food from the morning’s breakfast. There was no way they were getting any of our pastries, but they were very enthusiastic when I chucked them bits of toast and fried bread - in competition with sharp-eyed gulls who wasted no time zooming in on the goodies.
We had endured another spell of miserable weather, but another fairly satisfactory day in terms of sightings. We had cream filled chocolate eclairs with our teas. We do hope for better weather next week. Pictures of the Week:
4th November Stevenston and Saltcoats Brighter weather was forecast for the west coast of Central Scotland so we made for “old faithful”, Stevenston. Our usual breakfast choices at the normally brilliant Stevenston Morrisons Cafe were disrupted by some annoying menu changes (7/10). On Stevenston Point we were surprised by the strength of the wind and roughness of the sea. The tide was high but ebbing and birds seemed unsettled by the conditions. As we got out of the car, a sizeable flock of small waders flew north over the Point. These were mainly Ringed Plovers, Sanderlings and Dunlin. On the water south of the Point, many Black-headed Gulls were bobbing up and down and only very occasionally would they take to the wing (see “Pictures of the Week”, below).
A 3rd cycle Herring Gull seemed perfectly at ease as it hovered in the wind. John pointed out that the waves had created sea foam, or spume, on the rocky shore. Next our attention was drawn to the concrete outflow that had emerged into view as the tide fell. A Redshank and 5 Purple Sandpipers were wading in the shallow water over the concrete structure.
A 1st cycle Herring Gull coasted over the choppy waters followed by a few Black-headed Gulls. A lone juvenile Oystercatcher with a dirty bill completed our observations on the Point as we’d decided to check out the Ardeer Quarry LNR , as we had not been there for a while. On arrival I got a couple of nice shots of a Mallard nicely lit by the low Autumn sun (see “Pictures of the Week”, below).
A family of Mute Swans looked right at home at the north end of the pond, but that was about it. The rest of the pond was very quiet, but then I spotted a flock of Curlew in what used to be a pitch and putt course. As we moved to a better position to photograph the Curlews I snapped a wee chattering Wren (see “Pictures of the Week”, below) and, in the same bush, a Robin and a Dunnock. Before we could get to the Curlews, a dog walker put them up. All was not lost though as they settled some 100m away, at a point we’d pass on our way around the reserve.
A few years ago the managers of the nearby Ardeer Peninsula ordered a cull of “a three figure number” of Roe Deer. Since then, fewer Roe Deer have been seen in the Ardeer Quarry LNR. We didn’t see any on this visit. Many of the footpaths were lined with berry-laden Hawthorn bushes. We were disappointed not to find any Blackbirds, Thrushes or Starlings feeding on those red berries. As our mild Autumn continued I noticed a few flies were still about, some resting on oak leaves, lapping up the sunshine. The Curlews has moved on again from where we had seen them settle, however I did see some Great Tits were flitting about feeding in the high branches, but there were far fewer birds than we had expected. On our way back to the car though we passed the Curlew flock in the place we had first noticed it. They were fairly close and very well lit.
Our final destination was Saltcoats Harbour. There was still a stiff breeze but the tide had receded a fair bit. Oystercatchers and Curlews were picking their way across the damp rocky shore. As we moved around the sea wall we passed an adult Herring Gull that was sitting rather regally on top of tall rock. John spotted a Seal bobbing up and down in the choppy waters some 50m offshore. I, sadly, didn’t catch it before it dived, never to be seen again.
The view to the north across South Bay to Ardrossan is dominated by the Ardrossan Wind Farm high above the town. As I photographed the windmills from the promenade, a pair of Herring Gull were sounding off below me. What they were getting quite so animated about, I’m not sure, but it probably involved food. I snapped a few Turnstones foraging amongst the seaweed. Back at the car, just as we settled for tea, our final picture of the day was of a young Starling that was moving in amber light about the car park picking up little morsels left by those messy humans.
The tea was accompanied by a delicious vanilla and almond Danish pastry. We were fairly satisfied with our haul. Ardeer Quarry LNR was a bit of a let-down though. In the past we’ve seen a lot more there, such as Roe Deer, Buzzard and Kestrel. The local newspaper reported recently of regular anti-social behaviour in the Reserve . What a shame it might be having a bad effect on the consolidation of the site as a nature reserve. Pictures of the Week:
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