Leap year birding...

Today started quite early at 5.00am when I was woken up by a bird singing very loudly outside. I got up to check it out and it was a Song Thrush sitting in the tree just outside the garden singing his heart out. I never heard bird song so loud and clear before. I spent a good 40 minutes standing in the dark with the window open listening. It was also quite worrying because it was only my first of the year.

Later on the afternoon I headed out for a couple hours. First stop was Ferry point in Dingwall. It was about an hour before high tide and there were plenty of birds about. Good numbers of Redshank with Dunlin mixed in and c30 Oystercatcher. Plenty of Wigeon with some Teal. Lot's of Common, Black-headed and Herring gulls. I headed along the path beside the old canal and there were the usual treecreepers flitting about from trunk to trunk on the broadleaves lining the footpath. Further round were a couple of Curlew, 16 Shelduck and 2 Mute Swans out on the open water. Then all of a sudden out of nowhere a few thousand geese descended on the bay. So many it was hard to count but I estimate 500 Greylag and 2000 Pink-footed. It was quite a spectacle. I tried for almost an hour to find some White-fronted or Bean Geese but they were either absent or I just didn't pick them up. I did see a Greylag with a red neck collar but it was too far away to read it. On the way back to the car I managed by second Song Thrush of the day (and year).

Pink-foots and Greylags

Treecreeper

Teal

Wigeon

Second stop was the Dingwall business park to check up on the "white-winger" situation. I located the 1st-winter Glaucous but there was no sign of the Iceland gull unfortunately. A couple of interesting crows came close.

Carrion / Hooded hybrid? Comments welcome.

Last stop of the day was Recastle over on the South side of the Black Isle. Plenty of Mallard and Teal in the bay aswell as a pair of Shelduck. Large group of Common and Herring gulls on the water. But the highlight was a group of 6 Pintails including 3 impressive looking drakes. A new species for me and a nice end to the afternoon. Unfortunately I was losing light and they were too far away for any decent pictures. Just as i was leaving 4 Whooper Swans flew over the bay headed towards Beauly.

That's why birders go to Iceland...

Ok apologies for the cheesey title but I seem to have been putting in quite a bit of effort to see the Gulls that are around this winter. To sum up there have been 3 species of gull reported that are rare in these parts, Glaucous, Iceland and Ring-billed. So far I have only connected with the Glaucous which was superb in it's own right but I was hungry for more.

Anyway I had a fairly disappointing Gull day during the week so I decided to try again today (28th). The weather started off frosty and overcast. I tried the school/library carpark again as the library is open but no school, excellent I thought but no kids = no chips = no gulls. It was very quiet. I tried the old bread trick at the boating pond but again just Herring and Black-headed Gulls.

Adult winter Black-headed Gul

I headed round to the fish factory at the business park to see what I could find and as I turned the corner towards the back of the building immediately locked on to a "white" gull. I just knew I was in luck. I parked the car and made my way over and yes it was just what I had hoped, an Iceland Gull, I had finally connected with one during this white-winged gull invasion to the UK this winter. Another life tick for me and a truely beautiful looking bird. The Glaucous was also present and they were almost side by side which was great for comparing the two. It showed very well but the light was poor for photos. After an hour I moved on after noticed a small group of 5 Bullfinch in one of the trees. I always enjoy seeing Bullfinches.

To Ferry Point now and not long after I pulled up a convoy of 6 cars pulled in all full with birders, a local group perhaps. They all headed for the point whilst I decided to enjoy a walk West towards the river mouth. By the now the weather was perfect, sunny, frosty and calm conditions. Ben Wyvis looking stunning covered in snow against the clear blue sky. The usual suspects were present with a pair of Goldeneye in close to shore giving good views. The hedgerows were full of birds, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, and one of my favourites, the Brambling. There was also Yellowhammers, Reed Buntings and a good number of Tree Sparrows. Heading further along the track and all of sudden there was an influx of geese, greylags with a good number of pink-footed giving fairly close fly-by views. Near to the small white building I stopped and scanned the small islands, there was loads of birds around. More Goldeneye, 3 Little Grebes, Lapwing, Teal, Wigeon, many geese, a Cormorant, Redshank, Great Black-backed, Herring and many Common Gulls. I scanned the Common Gulls for the off chance the Ring-billed might in there somewhere but to be honest I would be very hard pushed to pick one out if it was not an Adult with my limited experience. Even in the bird guides, 1st and 2nd winters look the same to me.

I turned and headed back to the car, an excellent day of birding and weather. I then decided with the light the way it was to head back to the fish factory to try and get some better photos. When I arrived there was another birder in my usual parking spot but they left after a short time. The Iceland Gull was still there and was easily picked out. It looked even more stunning in the sunlight and I got some half decent record shots whilst enjoying the bird.

1st-winter Glaucous for comparison

Glaucous

1st-winter Iceland Gull - Larus glaucoides

Iceland

Iceland

Iceland

Bullfinch (for my girlfriend)

So 2 out of 3 gulls and I am very happy to be able to pick these out of a crowd and ID them. Although as I write this the Ring-billed was reported at front of the library / school on the grass at 14.00. I was there just after 14.00 for a quick check and I didn't see anything (don't I feel a bit stupid!).

Anyway coming to the end of January and my list stands at 70 species with 8 life ticks, a very enjoyable first month of the year.

More Glaucous hunting...

Was a lovely frosty, sunny day when I woke up and I just couldn't resist going out. I decided to check out the fish factory in Dingwall again for the Glaucous Gull thats still hanging around and maybe get some better record shots.

I arrived about half 10ish and I locked on to the gull straight away, showing well on the fish factory roof. Unfortunately though the harsh light from the sun at it's current angle meant that attempting photos was a bit pointless. All the gulls looked like dark silhouettes, so I decided to spend some time at Ferry Point and come back later on.

The views from the point were stunning in the sunshine, tide was pretty much all the way out. A single Redwing was calling from the top of one of the trees which is my first this year as was a Grey Heron round the corner near the shore. There were the ususal numbers of Wigeon, Redshank and Dunlin with all the gulls and a Little Grebe at the river mouth. Large numbers of Geese, c2000, kept coming and going whilst I was there which is spectacular to watch when they all take off together. Another year tick was 6 Whooper Swans that could be seen on the other side of the firth. Curlew and Oystercatcher also present. A pleasant morning and by now it was 12.30 and I headed back to the fish factory.

The angle of the sun was a bit less harsh now and the Glaucous was almost still in the same place on the fish factory roof. I started taking some snaps and I managed to at least get some half decent record shots this time with different profiles instead of just head-on shots like last time which is no help for ID. After watching it for half an hour and looking over the pictures I'm fairly confident it is a 1st-winter bird.

Posing nicely for plumage detail shot.

1st-winter Glaucous Gull

Glaucous Gull

So some beautiful weather, some half decent shots of the Glaucous and 3 year ticks, a good morning I would say.

A Glaucous in a haystack...

As mentioned before I have been trying to improve my gull ID skills lately and it was reported recently on the Highland & Moray Birds forum that a Glaucous gull had been since around the fish factory at the Dingwall business park so I thought I would have a go and try and locate it.

I left the house at around 11:00am and headed to the Dingwall Business park. I pulled up at the front and started scanning the rooftops, there were gulls everywhere, and nothing like the stench of fish on a Sunday morning to make you feel alive. It was one of those overcase grey drizzly days but I persisted. At first it was a bit overwhelming as I had never even seen a Glaucous in the flesh before but I started by just looking for something that looked "different". So far no luck, so I moved around to the back of the factory and away from the puzzled glances of our Polish imports. At the back was a much better view of more gulls but again it was difficult to pick anything out with the poor light and the fact that they kept getting disturbed every few minutes. I was able to pick out Herring, Great Black-backed and Lesser Black-backed but after 45mins I was about to give up when I happened to look at 3 large gulls on the roof of the building accross the road from the front, so I made my back around with a large skein of geese flying over and a Wren in the hedgerow (my first of the year) seen on the way. As I came back into view of the 3 gulls they were still there and it was obvious one was slightly larger and paler. I kept moving closer and got a half decent view of the gull and some record shots and I was fairly certain I had found a Glaucous! Upon returning home later that day I had it confirmed online, my first Glaucous Gull, probably a 1st-winter and my second life tick this year. The Glaucous breeds in Arctic Regions and a few hundred are seen each year during winter in the UK and Ireland And you know what? This gull stuff is good fun and addictive.

Glaucous Gull & 1st-winter Herring Gull

Probably 1st-winter Glaucous - Larus hyperboreus

I decided to check out some other gull "hotspots" in Dingwall, the boating pond in Pefferside Park and the Academy. Pefferside park was fairly quite but a Red Kite flew over and a Grey Wagtail (another first of the year) was spotted near a large puddle before flying off. There was a few Herring and Black-headed Gulls but nothing else of note and the Academy was even more quiet with just a few Herring Gulls. Overall though an enjoyable couple of hours.

Adult winter Black-headed Gull

I've noticed that this blog has had a few visitors now from UK and further afield. Please leave a comment if you feel like it, it would be nice to hear from some of you about what you think.