Looking towards Carsethorn on the Nith.
Well today (7th Sept) would naturally be a bit of an anticlimax wouldn't it? It certainly seemed so although Southerness Point was quite good first thing with 3 Pale-bellied Brent Geese, a Whimbrel, Greenshank and 5 Sandwich Terns on the beach. Plenty of Mipits overhead and on the rocks with a couple of Wheatears and single Siskin and 2 Redpolls heading south.Drizzle set in so we did a bit from the car, scanning fields and finding a single White Wagtail with the pipits in a ploughed field. Caelaverock was pretty quiet with the only noteworthy bird being the 5 Ruff with the Lapwings and a Peregrine overhead just as we left. We had to check out the Pacific Golden Plover of course as there had been no news and as we drove through Annan the mobile bleeped with a text to say it was there. The "D&G Grapevine" had been red hot once again as there was a crowd of one (from Newcastle!) assembled at Dornock but the plover had just flown off with Goldies having been flushed by a Peregrine. We waited around but no luck, but 100+ Pintail and 80+ Blackwits were noteworthy here.
Seafield at Annan as the tide rose was busier than we'd seen it of late with 30+ Dunlin, single Knot, 12+ Ringed Plovers and 2 Greenshank but the phone rang again as we were on our way to Newbie. It was Pat Baines with news of Marsh Harrier at Mersehead RSPB.
Loafing quackers at Mersehead - there's a Garganey there somewhere!
Viewing from the Meida Hide seemed the best harrier-finding tactic at Mersehead so we headed straight there with ducks flying around over the marsh there just had to be a harrier out there? Mrs B came good finding a female Marsh Harrier (a D&G lifer for us) flying along the back of the marsh being harassed by gulls. Top spotting - eleventh hour stuff and we never saw it again. About 200 Starlings were coming into roost and a Peregrine was causing havoc out there too. A scan of the ducks on the cleared marsh (some nice reserve management having been completed of late) revealed a Garganey in with the Teal and Shovelers. Another great day in D&G.
