Sunset on Blindwells

Late March 2018 and the next phase of Blindwells development is suddenly underway, with clearance of all scrub from NW end of the site, including the willow "mangroves" at either end of the main pond and the wood between pond and railway. Hargreaves plan. Access is discouraged due to machinery for moving the timber etc, but a few shots here (some poor quality, as could only get in at dusk). [NB see previous blog for details and photos from previous years, there are a range of breeding birds on the site, including some very rare in SE Scotland.]

No idea on purpose of this bird scarer, the main users of the open area are Curlew (22 on 6 April) and corvids, not sure what threat they are perceived to be!

Updated shots from Minewater treatment scheme (MTS) below, some recent harvesting of reeds, nicer diversity of habitats in the three tanks with bits of open water and some denser reeds - Mute Swans look set to breed again, also with some other waterfowl. 120 Pied Wags were roosting in the top tank reed bed, site of a large Swallow roost last two years. These will hopefully continue, though increased disturbance round the MTS once houses on site will likely impact on some of the other breeding bird there, including ducks.

I'm now in contact with Stuart MacPherson, Biodiversity Officer at East Lothian Council, and have agreed to supply full bird data (#sescotatlas breeding birds, WeBS counts, etc.) - no requests have been received by me from developers; Bryan Hickman has also provided the following list of odonata (dragon/damselflies) at the main pond, where TWIC also had a recording day which we attended in 2009. An important colony of Grayling butterflies is also located in same area.

Emerald Damselfly ( Lestes sponsa )
Common breeding species every year.

Large Red Damselfly ( Pyrrhosoma nymphula )
Scarce breeding species not recorded every year but has been seen ovipositing.

Azure Damselfly ( Coenagrion puella )
Common breeding species every year.

Common Blue Damselfly ( Enallagma cyathigerum )
Common breeding species every year.

Blue-tailed Damselfly ( Ischnura elegans )
Common breeding species every year.

Common Hawker ( Aeshna juncea )
Small numbers breed each year.

Four-spotted Chaser ( Libellula quadrimaculata )
Small numbers breed each year.

Common Darter ( Sympetrum striolatum )
Large numbers breed every year.

Red-veined Darter ( Sympetrum fonscolombii )
Single record of this migrant species and the second for Lothian.

Black Darter ( Sympetrum danae )
Adults recorded one year only with a pair in tandem.

A number of southern species are moving north and with suitable management this area could be important in the future.

Concluding with some sunset shots from the top of the site at dusk on 4 April, stunning views looking out over the Forth, small video (MP4).

Postscript - it's all over, earthworks commenced mid-July 2018 and the main pond was filled in during fourth week of August, the end of an era for a great site for wildlife :(

Wknd 31 May - 1 June

Into June and onset of summer birding - cycling round the area as far as Macmerry produced a few of those increasingly valued rural species, Grey Partridge, Kestrel, Stock Dove, 2 Oycs, Swift and stacks of Tree Sparrow, also Barn Owl; but negative on Quail and Spotted Flycatcher and also blank at Penston where territorial Yellow Wagtail in 2012, brief look only last year. One find was an occupied GSW nest in a tree full of holes between Chester Hall and Greendykes, a species I failed to nail for NT47H in Longniddry Dean last year, so a late atlas confirmation (increase from 6 to 23 confirmed in East Lothian north of the Tyne).

A crepuscular trip on Monday via Redcoll, Cottyburn and Spittal again yielded no Quail, in places occupied in previous years, but one Sedge Warbler, two hooting Tawny Owls and two more Barn Owls, one of which first spotted on a road sign c. 23:15hrs, then hunting over cereal, plunged to make a kill then flew over my head with prey in one foot, a strong clue to breeding.

May patchwork total now 115 species (137 points) which is already 94% of last year, mainly because last year I was elsewhere a lot of the time for atlas. No comparison with the amazing achievements of John on Tiree!

Down at the beach very little on Gosford Bay or Sands, 10 Greylags roosted, but report of 2k Common Scoter off Musselburgh so it seems many of our remaining sea duck have moved down there - leaving me to wonder how the Queen Eider got past here!

Wknd 18-19 May

Gosford Bay dusk Sunday now deserted inshore with clear out of northern breeding ducks, just this couple (pair?) of Red-necked Grebes out on glassy sea with a tanker closer to Craigielaw than I've ever seen. Per BWP "Pair-formation starts on migration or on breeding waters.", so they could indeed be a pair, but since migration is always nocturnal overland but may be diurnal along coasts I guess it depends where they're going whether they will be able to remain together. Further out, still c. 110 Common Scoter in two groups, 87 Velvet Scoter with just 13 Red-breasted Merganser and a single drake Long-tailed Duck remaining in the shallows, also a pair of Shelduck which seem to linger every year and may possibly nest in Gosford? [Last weekend it was 320 Common Scoter, 220 Velvet, 20 RBM, 3 LTD and 1 RNG, also 2 Puffin, 1 RTD; 129 Bar-tailed Godwit on Gosford Sands.]

At Blindwells in the afternoon an odd singing Chiffchaff with double-units occurring in song every second or third element, but nothing else beyond that. Perhaps a mixed singer of some sort? Unfortunately mobile phone recordings failed. Also there 2 male Wheatear at the MWTS (1 male and 1 female last week, breeding possible?) and Grey Partridge in song a belated patchlist addition (species 114). Mute Swan nest, above, this year on the top MWTS tank, plenty of construction materials there!

A quite different nest, the lichen dome of Long-tailed Tit at East Fortune ponds - survising from last year - not an atlas tick as had detected young there but nice to confirm they had bred there. Very little on WeBS ponds, Mute Swan AWOL at Drem pools, where main pond now ringed by electric fences contra otters.

Stopped at 4 places on the way back from North Berwick to listen for Quail and had just one calling east of Rattlebags quarry, 21:50hrs. By contrast a good haul of Grey Partridge sightings recently, 1 in song from cereal behind Tesco at North Berwick, pr over road at the Heugh, 1 singing Fenton Barns, 1 on Drem airfield, 1 singing Seton East, 1 on track by Prestonpans railway station Thu/Fri, and 1 singing at Hoprig on Monday!

Not a complete post without a gull, this 2nd-sum LBB was scoffing tourist scraps in Princes Street gardens. Some 2nd-sum visit breeding colonies perhaps to learn the ropes, they may attempt to breed (gull-research).

Wknd 19-20 April

Heading out for WeBS/waterbodies survey on Sunday, and passing the furniture place at Fenton Barns, two gulls on the roof, easily overlooked and I drove past; a few seconds later pulled up, that Herring seemed to have yellow legs !? reversed and got above pic of the pair - right hand bird fairly bulky, intermediately dark grey mantle, red orbital, solid yellow legs and ... thick band on P5! But I knew it would be another morganii hybrid. Started preening and sure enough, the thick band on P5 is only on the outer web, nothing on inner, inset pic - a more even band is needed for YLG, spanning both webs. A less obvious hybrid than some though, I'm not sure that the leg colour is out of range for YLG, see also shot below where clearer.

Also had a narrow dark subterminal band on the bill, shown better below, so probably immature, perhaps 4th summer - and given the apparent size seems to be a different bird to the more slender individual seen last week which had more of a LBB jizz about it. So now two breeding season records to complement Geoff's array of winter sightings and these birds are presumably resident and breeding somewhere locally - I wonder if any of the local seabirds people have noticed them?

5 swans at Chapel probably Mute, all Whoopers finally cleared out.

On nests, old Goldfinch at East Fortune NT58K and Linnet at Prora ex-landfill NT57J were breeding confirms. Frustratingly young Robins at large at former site, failed to prove these in 6 years and now too late! Did slightly better with the Woodpigeon at Fenton Barns dairy, beady eye just visible:

Water bodies were not very exciting, Tufties at Mungoswells farm resr, Prora farm resr (first visit, pic below) and East Fortune. Had previously seen swans flying in to the Prora resr, looks a great site, deep set, just a shame it is so inaccessible within the secure area, indeed this was my first visit after 10 years of visiting adjacent Chapel. Waughton farm resr nearly dry, good mud but no waders. At Drem pools the fishery owner has suffered bad losses to otters and now has an electric fence round the main pond, Mute currently inside the fence, which may actually help it?

Early on Sunday counted sea ducks off Ferny Ness with a stunning breeding Slavonian Grebe close in, a ravenous horde of 57 Red-breasted Mergansers on a fishing mission through the shallows, a marvellous flock of c. 100 Long-tailed Ducks on glassy sea to NE with 25 more off Seton, and a total of at least 645 Velvet Scoter scattered over the Bay, some well offshore. Only one decent group of feeding Common Scoter out mid-Forth. Now 4 Sandwich Tern on rocks (two off Seton yesterday). A Sand Martin sang cheerily as it flew directly over W and a Blackcap was in song from the scrub, not a morning for migration though.

Wknd 12-13 April

Winter not quite done - still 19 Whoopers (6 juv) at Chapel in grass - winds must be hindering their departure.

In the same area, in excess of 1000 LWHG, mainly Herring of course, also 29 LBB and what I presume is my old friend, a intermediate dark-mantled yellow-legged bird which has set off alarms for me since summer 2008. Thanks to Geoff's efforts I'm now much more confident that this is a LBBxHG hybrid, structurally it is quite slight compared to Herring, quite a long narrow primary projection, large white primary tips and crucially pale yellow legs, no match for the bright orange-yellow on some adult LBB. As we know many Herrings don't travel so far in winter it may well be that is is one of the same Larus morganii which winter on the Edinburgh coast - though seemed to be a full adult, also unringed so not the same as Geoff's last. Didn't manage any good shots but the bird is quite obvious on this pic below the left-hand end of the seeder:

Also 3 White Wagtails amongst 25+ Pied following plough with the gulls. Having done swans and gulls did a spot of atlas nests, much more difficult in the space of a week as the hawthorn has flourished, nevertheless within 100m of hedge at Craighead Cottage found an old Linnet's nest (confirm for NT58A), also a Goldfinch first below; then at Mungoswells 200m of hedge contained 3 Blackbird, another Goldfinch second below (confirm for NT47Z), remains of a Dunnock nest and a fine Whitethroat (apparently!) made of grass and lots of blue twine:

Admittedly it is hard to be sure these old Goldfinch nests are not 7 years old or older, but in these cases I'd had 7/11 individuals during TTV's in NT47Z/NT58A, enormously more likely they had bred and I'd failed to find the nest. One occupied nest spotted at Fenton Barns:

Back to the morning, tried vismig again at the King's Chair, Gullane, after so many Mipts passed Cleveland yesterday - only a few passing here, expect brisk wind depressed any decent movement (full counts).

Saturday - single Swallow flew over football training on Longniddry playing field, into strong wind, female Sparrowhawk again over the wood. Dusk produced 670 BHG (80% ad-sum), 120 Common Gull, 12 LBB at the Seton roost, though as usual the BHG were all concentrated east off Longniddry c/p 1.

Wknd 29-30 March

As expected a significant departure of Whoopers, just 37 remaining (6 juv) munching grass at Muirton, no sign of yellow-UL9.

On the same entrance track within 100m, 3 nests, a beautiful ball of grass lined with some hair and feathers, a Linnet; another with 30m (BWP mentions neighbourhood groups, some nests within a few metres), finally the remains of a Dunnock nest mainly roots remaining also feathers in the cup. Both species are breeding confirms for NT58F, 25 is not bad for nearly all arable farmland. Could probably have found a few more Linnets with systematic searching, tricky now as hawthorn leaves are emerging and laying is typically late April.

Seton roost at dusk - c. 1050 BHG, 600 Common Gull and 1 ad-sum Mediterranean Gull. 51 Wigeon.

During week - Oycs on roof of Engineering labs daily, mating again, also a frentic party of five birds over. Herring Gull also mating on same roof. Will these be happy bedfellows I wonder - Oycs presumably well used to living amongst multitudes of gulls.

Rook nests at Longniddry now 27 Longniddry Farm, 22 Kitchener Cres, 15 Fernyness Wood, 4 railway station c/p - a remarkable redistribution as just two years ago virtually all were in the main wood, and at the farm only 1 of 9 nests survived the winter but 3 on 14/3, 10 on 20/3, 18 on 24/3, 27 on 28/3. Nests first built at station car park last year and initially plundered to build new nests to west now themselves rebuilt and occupied! Possible that the bulk of the sticks used in the nests are recycled from year to year? Does rebuilding provide a benefit in reducing parasites resident in the nest I wonder?

Wknd 22-23 March

100 Whoopers still today, 9 juv (b4, b2, b2, b1), 67+19 in favoured grass fields at Prora (pics) and Muirton, the rest at Upper Mill Burn, Dirleton. Coincidence on total as juvenile number is different from last week. Most busy grazing at times, which also revealed a ringed individual, yellow-UL9, the first sighting of this bird here, seems to have arrived since mid-Feb, another indication of turn-over. [Post-script - still c. 50 Whoopers at same place from train on Tuesday]

One last look for Blackbird nest at Longskelly, failed, but found a nice little Whitethroat nest which is a breeding confirm for NT58D. Grass structure, lined with needles of Scots pine, first two pics below. A nearby Woodpigeon nest consisted entirely of pine twigs - these pines just over the fence on Archerfield perimeter. Atlas analysis is now well underway and some of the warbler change maps, including Whitethroat, are quite fascinating, may do a separate post on that if time.

Seton roost - BHG up again at 1610, vast majority now in full breeding plumage.

During the week Oycs on roof of engineering labs daily, flying in piping like crazy every time, then having a nap before flying off to feed again; 2 prs over one day.