Week ending: 27th October: Barns Ness, Torness and Tyninghame Bay (JMCP).

This Sunday a band of rain was predicted to move in from the west. I therefore opted to visit Barns Ness and Torness, which are far enough east to escape the cloud and rain until late afternoon.

Clouds	Rain	Tides

When I arrived at Barns Ness, the sun was shining and the sky was mostly blue with only a few clouds. The tide was rising and there were Redshanks, Curlew and Oystercatchers foraging in the shallows not far from the shore. Flighty Starlings were feeding on piles of washed-up seaweed.

Redshank	Curlew
Oystercatcher	Starling

Rock Pipits and Linnets too were on the seaweed, but were constantly interrupted by passing walkers. Only a few wildflowers were still in bloom such as Sea Rocket and Sea Mayweed.

Rock Pipit	Linnet
Sea Rocket	Sea Mayweed

I turned my attention to the birds I could see on exposed rocks some 100m from the shore. Scanning west to east with my camera on high zoom I first noticed more Oystercatchers…..

 ….. but then came upon a large flock of beautiful Golden Plovers. 

I moved to a position on the shore which was a bit closer to the birds (taking care not to put them up) and zoomed in even further with my camera. I also snapped a Redshank which had just caught what seemed to be a small starfish. A Great Black-backed Gull stood on a small rock a bit further out. I also took a picture of the Barns Ness lighthouse which seemed to be hosting a short-wave radio event as it was surrounded by tall antennas.

Golden Plover	Redshank
Great Black-backed Gull	Barns Ness Lighthouse

I walked eastwards around the shore, towards the lighthouse and viewed a pair of feeding Mallards near the shore not far from the rough footpath. A Little Egret  passed overhead flying westwards, low across the rocky shore. As I tried to photograph it, I was watched by a Carrion Crow that seemed unthreatened by my presence.

Drake Mallard	Female Mallard
Little Egret	Carrion Crow

I photographed Starlings that were nesting near the top of the lighthouse. In the undergrowth in a derelict garden just east of there, a tiny Wren was moving through a bush. Next, a lone Whooper Swan passed overhead, but I could only manage a record shot in which the yellow band on the swan’s beak is clearly seen. Also it was honking like a Whooper Swan . At this point I became aware that the acrid smoke from the nearby cement works was blowing low over the area so I headed back toward the car. I took time to snap a solitary Harebell. Also, a Stonechat flew onto a nearby bush and posed for a couple of pictures. Near the car park I passed a fungus that was probably a mature Field Mushroom . 

Starling	Wren
Whooper Swan	Harebell
Stonechat	Field Mushroom

I relocated a couple of miles east, to the Torness Power Station car park and set off along the concrete coastal path. I was on the lookout for a Black Redstart  and a some Snow Buntings that had been reported the previous day. Straight away, though, a White Wagtail watched me from a concrete dolos  before it hunted flies a few metres in front of me. I spotted a Redshank snoozing on another dolos, one of the many hundred dolosse (plural of “dolos”) that make up the coastal defence beside the power station. A bit further along the path I saw a Purple Sandpiper on a rock in front of the line of dolosse. Eventually part of the path lead onto a breakwater from which one can view the Barns Ness lighthouse and the Bass Rock to the west. (Note the coastal protection dolosse that line the breakwater). I continued past the power station buildings to reach the end of the concrete walkway and from there I viewed a large concrete structure (purpose unknown to me) upon which several Cormorants were standing. Clouds had rolled in by this point which dimmed the light.

White Wagtail	Redshank
Purple Sandpiper
Juvenile Cormorant...

A bit disappointed that I’d not seen the Black Redstart or Snow Buntings, I set off back along the walkway, but on the upper level walkway which has been constructed to allow passage when the sea is stormy. The clouds cleared briefly as I paced along the upper walkway when I noticed a couple of birders looking towards me through their binoculars. At first I thought, “How rude”, until I suddenly realised that they could be watching the Snow Bunting, so I stopped immediately. Three wee Snow Buntings were edging towards me as they pecked at the gravel path. They got closer and closer until they were only about 2 metres away. I stood very still and they only flew off when another walker approached with his dog.

Delighted at seeing the buntings, I had a skip in my step as I resumed the walk to the car. However, I wasn’t finished yet. A Robin looked up at me from the dolos it was standing on. A bit further along the pathway I passed a Dunnock  that was sitting on the boundary wall. Below it on a dolos was a Rock Pipit, pausing during a brief sunny interval. Just before I reached the car there was a female Reed Bunting on a boundary fence.

Robin	Dunnock
Rock Pipit	Female Reed Bunting

Finally I headed for John Muir Country Park (JMCP) where the juvenile Red-backed Shrike had been seen. I looked for about an hour in the area mentioned on social media report of the bird. While I did that I came across a fungus, probably, Fool's Funnel, growing on grass-covered sand dunes. I was was joined by another couple of birders - the same guys who were watching the buntings, and together we located the Red-backed Shrike in the middle of a section of forest that had been destroyed by Storm Arwen in 2021. The shrike was about 60m away from us when we first located it. We were annoyed when it took flight, but it actually landed about 40m away and then it got closer still at about 30m, so we got some decent shots in nice sunlight.

Fool's Funnel	Juvenile Red-backed Shrike...

This was an extremely enjoyable and successful outing. I photographed 27 species, my favourites being the Red-backed Shrike, Snow Bunting, Golden Plovers and Purple Sandpiper. My only regret is that I didn’t see the Black Redstart but that’s nature-watching!

Week ending: 20th October: RSPB Baron’s Haugh

I was on my own again this week. Storm “Ashley” was threatening Central Scotland, bringing 80 mph wind gusts and much rain to most of Scotland, from Saturday night, through to Monday. I decided that it would be advisable to stay close to home so I ventured to my local reserve, RSPB Baron’s Haugh, Motherwell.

Cloud Cover	Rain

Most of the clouds and rain had cleared by the time I arrived at the car park and I set off along the path that would take me to the Marsh Hide. Most of the wild flowers in a plant tub at the edge of the car park had lost their blooms apart from a lovely Musk Mallow plant, still dripping with rain drops from its overnight soaking. As the footpath descended toward a gap in the trees I spotted a fungus (yet to be identified) just poking through the long grass. A few steps further down the hill, a pretty Brown-lipped Snail was making the hazardous journey across the path. I think it made it. There were hardly any flowers in bloom in the grassland through which the path passes. Single Knapweed and Dandelion flowers were all I could see.

Musk Mallow
Fungus ( T.B.C. )	Brown-lipped Snail
Common Knapweed	Dandelion

Eventually I reached the Marsh Hide where I met a few fellow birders, one of whom kindly pointed out a Kingfisher that was sitting low among reeds in the marsh to the left of the hide. I was lucky enough to capture the bird with its catch, which looked like a small Stickleback. Looking out onto the scrapes, there were quite a few ducks  - Mallards, Wigeon and Teal, all nicely illuminated by bright sunshine.

Kingfisher...
Mallard	Wigeon
Teal...

News was passed among the birders that a Jay had just landed in the grass to the right of the hide. Most of the them weren’t fussed, one telling me that, “It has been landing closer on the access path all morning” (attracted by the piles of seed they had put there). I photographed the Jay anyway because it might not have reappeared on the path. When I checked the path, there were Magpies and a Grey Squirrel at the seed. I returned to my scanning of the scrapes and beyond, photographing a lovely Mute Swan that was paddling among some Gadwall ducks, about 100m from the hide.

Jay	Magpie
Grey Squirrel	Mute Swan

The record shot below shows a couple of pairs of the Gadwall.

I believe that there was a female Shoveler duck (beside the Mallard) which I only noticed (due to its long beak and body shape) as I was processing the shots. A Pink-footed Goose emerged from the long grass at the back of the scrape. Apparently it has been in that area for some weeks. Closer to the hide, there were a few Moorhens and a couple of Jackdaws.

Female Shoveler	Pink-footed Goose
Moorhen	Jackdaw

Delighted with my sightings, I decided to check out the Causeway Hide. On my way there I found a mature Shaggy Inkcap fungus below pathside trees. Also in those trees was a Grey Squirrel that might have been thinking that it couldn’t be photographed so deep into the woods - however the high camera zoom and the strong sunlight did the trick. Cattle were grazing in the field adjacent to the path as I reached the Causeway Hide. 

Shaggy Inkcap	Grey Squirrel

The hide faced the strong sunlight which hampered the view somewhat. However I was able to make out that there were healthy numbers of Black-headed Gulls and Lapwings. I also spotted a juvenile Grey Heron that was perching on exposed branches.

Black-headed Gull	Juvenile Grey Heron
Lapwing...

Occasionally the flighty Lapwings would take off for no apparent reason and circle the estate for a few minutes before returning to their original positions.

Unlike the Lapwings, the Lesser Black-backed Gulls stood their ground (in the understanding that they were unlikely to have been snatched and eaten by a passing raptor).

I scanned the far north end of the Haugh and noticed a lone juvenile Cormorant drying its outstretched wings. There was also nice finds of a Black-tailed Godwit and a Ruff which were foraging in the shallows. Some Common Snipe were gathered on dead tree remains. 

Juvenile Cormorant	Black-tailed Godwit
Ruff	Common Snipe

Again I was delighted with my sightings and next I made for the River Clyde which is just beyond the Haugh. I came across Candlesnuff fungi growing on discarded branches near the footpath. Along the river bank there are clumps of the very invasive foreign plant species, Himalayan Balsam - beautiful but deadly to the river environment.  I was initially disappointed to find the river devoid of birds and just as I was about to walk off , I heard a Buzzard call from overhead and then it circled fairly near across the river. After I photographed it I noticed a Little Grebe had surfaced with a fish mid stream right in front of where I was standing. 

Candlesnuff	Himalayan Balsam
Common Buzzard	Little Grebe

No sooner had I snapped the Little Grebe, a young Cormorant flew upstream over the river - perhaps it was even the one I photographed earlier. It splashed into the water, but then it quickly decided to perch midstream on the remains of a tree where it stretched out its wings right in front of me, leading to what is probably the best shot of the visit. On my way back to the car I noticed yet another fungus - Glistening Inkcap  which was growing profusely on and around a fallen log. My final shot of the visit was of a very accommodating Speckled Wood butterfly sunning itself on large green foliage.

Juvenile Cormorant...
Glistening Inkcap	Speckled Wood Butterfly

The visit was very enjoyable and successful with 33 species photographed. My favourites were the Cormorant, Jay and Kingfisher and I’m always pleased to find interesting fungi. The weather didn’t turn out to as bad as was predicted - in fact the conditions were pleasant. Let’s hope they’re as pleasant next week.

Week ending: 13th October: Linlithgow Loch 

John wasn’t able to join me this week, and that was probably just as well since a family matter curtailed the time I could allocate to our usual Sunday excursion. I ended up at beautiful Linlithgow Loch - not an inferior choice since we’ve visited there many times (last in at the start of this year). It was though, a brief (2h) afternoon visit. The weather was dry, on the cold side and overcast, with a thin layer of cloud through which the Sun was merely a white glow, which brightened up the loch, but not by much.

Cloud Cover	Rain

Below is the view of historic Linlithgow Palace  that greeted us on arrival at the west side of the loch.

A Rook was foraging around the park benches near the car park and a couple of people were at the edge of the loch, feeding bread to the birds. The big Mute Swans were bossing the show but birds of the large flock of frantic Black-headed Gulls were raiding them aerially and pinching their crusts, as were a few Mallards and Herring Gulls that were trying to get in on the action. I moved along the path towards the Fishing Club jetty where I could see there were birds, such as the juvenile Cormorant drying its wings, on the boats and walkways.

Rook	Mute Swan...
	Black-headed Gull...
	Juvenile Cormorant

The Cormorant was about 10m from the footpath, but it ignored me and carried on preening. Mallards, Moorhens and Jackdaws were hopping around on the fishermen’s boats.

Juvenile Cormorant	Drake Mallard
Moorhen	Jackdaw

Just beyond the jetty, two geese - a Canada Goose and an Emden Goose  - glided by parallel to the lochside, through some Tufted Ducks and a few Coots. Also there were some Herring Gulls on the water.

Canada Goose	Emden Goose
Drake Tufted Duck	Female Tufted Duck
Coot	1st Cycle Herring Gull

I next decided to double back and walk to the north side of the loch. I came across a outcrop of Shaggy Scalycap fungi on the middle of the short grass just beyond the short footbridge over a small burn. There were very few wildflowers in bloom, only some Creeping Thistles. The view of the loch is obstructed by tall vegetation, mainly Common Reeds.

Shaggy Scalycap...
Creeping Thistle

I snapped the last flowering Hedge Bindweed  and I also passed some clapped out Common Ragwort. The hedgerows along the north side of the path were lined with large, pretty white Snowberry  beneath which were patches of White Deadnettle.

Hedge Bindweed	Common Ragwort
Common Snowberry	White Deadnettle

Near the north bank opposite the palace there were a quartet of Little Grebes, two adults and two juveniles, diving for fish. They might have been practicing their skills as I didn’t see any fish being carried to the surface. A Speckled Wood fluttered behind me onto some ochre leaves. Further out in the loch there is a small, wooded island where cormorant perch.

Little Grebe	Juvenile Little Grebe
Speckled Wood Butterfly	Cormorant

Due to time constraints I tracked back towards the car park. Just after the little footbridge I noticed a family of Great Crested Grebes  gathered in front of the reeds at the northwest corner of the loch. Annoyingly they were mostly preening but I managed a few satisfactory shots. The hedges along the side of the path was dotted with the red berries of Dog Roses  (hips) and Common Hawthorns  (haws). 

Great Crested Grebe...	Juvenile...
( Wild ) Dog Rose	Common Hawthorn

The light had been improving markedly over the last stages of my walk. The fishermen too must have appreciated the brighter conditions. And the panoramic view of the palace was brought to life.

Typically, just as I was about to leave, the Sun broke through and large blue patches of sky began appear. So I got my camera back out of its bag and put in another half hour of photographing. I got better shots of the much underrated Mallards and also spotted some Flesh Flies  and also a sneaky shot a Common Darter  sunning itself at the edge of the loch.

Drake Mallard	Female Mallard
Flesh Fly	Common Darter Dragonfly

The lovely Mute Swans look even more beautiful in decent light. I also spotted a Cormorant fishing about 40m from the lochside. Before I left the water’s edge I noticed a few fading Water Mint flowers. My final photo was of a Ruby Tiger Moth  caterpillar crossing a tarred footpath- a bit risky but I think it made it.

Mute Swan	Juvenile Cormorant
Water Mint	Caterpillar of the Ruby Tiger Moth

For such a short visit I was pleased with the number (29 species) and variety of the sightings. My favourites were the various berries, the Little and Great Crested Grebes and the Shaggy Scalycap fungi. Hopefully things will get get to normal next week - weather permitting.

Week ending: 6th October 2024.  Aberlady, Longniddry Bents and Morrison’s Haven

Rain was predicted for Sunday throughout most of Central Scotland. Curiously, the exception was the Lothian coast, where it was to be merely mild and cloudy. Hence I chose to visit the Lothian coast between Aberlady and Musselburgh.

When John and I drove into Aberlady LNR car park the weather was, as we Scots say, dreich. Contrary to the weather prediction it was raining lightly, but we didn’t let that stop us as we scanned the Peffer Burn. The tide was low and rising and the burn meandered widely on its way across the exposed sands of Aberlady Bay. There were large flocks of gulls, mainly Herring Gulls.

John directed my attention to a pair of Shelducks  that were dabbling about 150m away. We heard the approach of a flock of geese that crossed the far reaches of the bay, but they were too far out and the light was too dim to identify them. Soon after that, a group of Curlew flew a lot closer across our vision. I snapped a Carrion Crow as it foraged in the saltmarsh.

Shelduck	Geese
Curlew	Carrion Crow

A group of Wigeon waddled into view when they arrived at the banks of the Peffer. The drakes were shedding their eclipse plumage for their more familiar markings.

We decided to cross the wooden footbridge in order to perhaps get better views of the birds feeding around the Peffer. That immediately paid off as John spotted a Curlew and a Redshank through the gloom. I took pictures of a patch of Sea Rocket and also the berry-laden branches of a Sea Buckthorn bush.

Curlew	Redshank
Sea Rocket	Sea Buckthorn

Below is the a view of the wooden footbridge looking across the Peffer Burn towards the car park.

As we were walking back across the bridge, a glance upstream revealed a Little Egret that was picking its way through a pool of large number of Mallards. I also noticed that there was a Goosander present.

We returned to the car and drove back towards Aberlady. We stopped briefly to scan the Peffer Burn on and around which seemed to be filled with birds. But first I discovered wildflowers were still blooming along the grasses verges of the footpath, notably Apple_mint, Bramble, Large Bindweed and White Deadnettle.

Apple Mint ( Round Leafed Mint )	Bramble
Large Bindweed	White Deadnettle

More geese flew across the bay, again too far off in the poor light to get a decent identification. When I finally cast my eyes across the burn I found Lapwings and Shelducks wading in the shallows. Whilst these sightings were expected, my next sighting was not: a trio of White Doves. These were certainly not wild birds, but most probably were kept by a local pigeon fancier.

Geese	Lapwing
Shelduck	White Dove

We turned off the A198 for the Kilspindie golf club car park. Below is the view from the car park looking over the west side of the bay, towards Aberlady.

Prominent in the burn were a pair of Little Egrets, one wading mid-burn and the other preening on rocks, watched by a Herring Gull. An Oystercatcher was treading the water until it came across what I hope was a first for me - an Oystercatcher with an oyster. A juvenile Shelduck was in the vacinity search for food, as was a calling Curlew.

Little Egret...
Oystercatcher...
Juvenile Shelduck	Curlew

Next we experienced our closest-yet fly past of geese and so were able to establish that they were Pink-footed Geese . Meanwhile the preening Little Egret took to the water for a feed. On our way back to the car John noticed that a Grey Heron had appeared midstream in the Peffer not far from some snoozing Wigeon.

Pink-footed Goose	Little Egret
Grey Heron	Wigeon

Another flock of geese were sounding in the distance as they flew in from the Firth of Forth.

They circled overhead and it became obvious that they were Barnacle Geese. They breed mainly in Greenland, Iceland, and Spitsbergen, and locally around the Baltic Sea. They came down just west of the bridge we were crossing an hour before.

They seemed a bit uncertain, just standing around, which made me wonder if they were new arrivals from the Arctic.

Pleased that we’d seen the Barnacles, we relocated to Longniddry Bents car park from where Scoters had been seen in the Forth Estuary. The light was becoming very dim and although the Scoters were there, they were about 200m from the shore. However it was time to test my Coolpix P950’s high magnification. The resulting picture is shown below. In it you can see Common Scoters and Velvet Scoters.

The record shots below confirm the presence of Velvet and male and female Common Scoters, and perhaps a Slavonian Grebe , although in poor light the plumage is similar to that of the female common Scoter. There is also a Surf Scoter amongst the group but I could not confirm this. We also saw Eider just beyond the Scoters. As I took these shots some Turnstones and a Herring Gull descended onto the rocks in front of us.

Velvet Scoter	Common Scoter
Eider Duck	Slavonian Grebe

Turnstone	Herring Gull

Our final stop of the trip was at Morrison’s Haven, which is on the coast just east of Levenhall Links, Musselburgh. It is a great place to see seals when the tide is low since they lounge on the exposed rocks when the sea level falls. So we were a bit disappointed then when we saw that we were too late as the incoming tide had already covered the seal’s favourite rocks. But here’s a picture I took there a few weeks ago:

However, we were compensated with great views (considering the poor light) of a juvenile Cormorant which was standing on the end of a huge boulder on the edge of the sandy shore beside the footpath. Also on the boulder were some roosting Oystercatchers and some Turnstones, some of which dashed onto the water’s edge just below where we were standing in the search for food. A Redshank joined them as a male Pied Wagtail appeared catching flies on the beach. Suddenly a mature Cormorant flew in and chased the juvenile off of Its rocky perch and then spread its damp wings. The young Cormorant looked up to the adult (possibly its parent). I wonder how long it will be before the young cormorant is able to displace the adult.

Juvenile Cormorant	Turnstone...
	Redshank
Pied Wagtail	Cormorant

Fairly satisfied with the late flurry of sightings we started back to the car and I gave the water near the boulder a last scan to make sure there wasn’t a seal surfacing for air - and there was. A large Grey Seal surfaced a few metres from the Cormorants.

There’s nothing that finishes off an outing better that a “Sammy the seal” sighting (as John calls them). But we weren’t finished yet. We poured the teas and started on the strawberry tarts when a couple of Stonechats flew onto the car park boundary fence. I hurriedly put down my tart and grabbed my camera and snapped the bonny wee birds - before resuming my tea.

Stonechat...

Black-headed Gull	Common Darter Dragonfly
Cormorant
	Speckled Wood Butterfly
Stonechat	Tree Bumblebee

FUNGI

Blushing Bracket	Glistening Inkcap
Shaggy Inkcap	Trooping Funnel
Trametes Pubescens	Clouded Funnel
Tawny Funnel

PORTRAITS

Tufted Duck	Robin
Oystercatcher	Grey Heron

WATER BIRDS

Canada Goose	Common Snipe
Great Crested Grebe	Great White Egret
Grey Heron	Mallard
Moorhen	Teal
Pink-footed Goose	Purple Sandpiper

PERCHING BIRDS

Bullfinch	Jackdaw
Jay	Kingfisher

Magpie	Red-backed Shrike
Rock Pipit	Snow Bunting

Brown Lipped Snail	Grey Squirrel
Holly	Lesser Stitchwort
Ruby Tiger Moth Caterpillar

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