Page 11 - Out Birding Issue 109 Winter 2022

perches. Two of them were ‘helpers’ – adults not breeding themselves but helping the nes􏰀ng pairs feed the young – presumably, they are related in some way to the adults, perhaps last year’s young?
Thanks to everyone who joined for part or all of the event, it was great to see you all. Mike
Forth Estuary 20/08/2022
The ‘Upper Forth’ is my local patch but this was a new loca􏰀on for GBC and having the convivial company of other members made a nice change. Four of us met at Bo’ness on the south shore. With 􏰀me against us, we quickly headed to our first birding spot at Kinneil, to get there while the 􏰀de was s􏰀ll high. Kinneil is situated beside Grange- mouth oil refinery and a sewage works – who wouldn’t be in rush to get there?!
At high 􏰀de the extensive mudflats are covered, with many roos􏰀ng birds forced on to a lagoon beside the sea wall. As we approached, we heard the call of a Greenshank and there turned out to be a nice group of five. Other waders along the lagoon edge included Redshanks, Lapwings and a single Golden Plover. In the middle of the lagoon was a large huddle of godwits, with the challenge being to spot the Bar-tailed Godwit amongst the hundreds of Black-tailed Godwits. A couple of Knots were also picked out, hiding in the forest of godwit legs. Before we could further test our wader ID skills a very black cloud came over and we ran for cover as the rain started, hearing a Com- mon Sandpiper calling as we did so. We found a sheltered spot overlooking the estu- ary where the water was do􏰁ed with around 500 Shelducks.
Once the rain eased, we walked back to the car to drive round to our next spot: Black- ness. As we started our walk, dozens of Greylag Geese flew into roost, including some pale ‘farmyard’ types. We walked passed impressive Blackness castle which sits on a promontory above a large bay. With the sun now shining it was a pleasant place to stop and scan to see what was about. And the answer was terns, lots of terns. In late summer the area holds a large post-breeding flock and there were around 300 Sand- wich and 200 Common Terns roos􏰀ng. It was nice to see a good number of juvenile birds amongst them, but we couldn’t pick out any other tern species. There were also some small waders to look at, including Ringed Plover and Dunlin, as well species that are uncommon this high up the estuary: Sanderling and Turnstone.
We sat in the park for lunch, where Starlings and Greenfinch were among the small birds we saw there. We then had a walk through the woods and with the birdlife now quiet there were no distrac􏰀ons from having a good blether. We returned along the beach. A group of Great Crested Grebe were on the sea and Curlew on the rocks. A few Swallows and House Mar􏰀ns were foraging overhead and as we passed the castle again we saw a late Swi􏰂 visit a nest site in the ramparts. A sign that summer wasn’t quite over yet.
Graeme
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