Trip reports

Fieldtrip - Musselburgh and Aberlady Bay

Saturday, 20 December 2008

If you've been birding for a year or two, you'll have worked out which birds you only see in the winter. Annoyingly, identifying a Common Scoter and mentioning knowledgeably that it's a winter visitor, won't always satisfy your less experienced friends. They'll expect you to know things, like where they come from. 'The North' is too flippant an answer.
'Russia and Scandinavia' is usually a safe bet. Russia is so big that most wildfowl wintering in Britain breed along its northern coasts or on its islands. Hardy waders such as Knot or Grey Plover call Siberia home. No wonder they think Britain is mild! Scandinavia also covers a large enough area, especially if you use it to include Iceland and the Danish possession of Greenland the Arctic island of Spitsbergen belonging to Norway.
Now you're on a roll! Press home your advantage by adding that the species also breeds in North America - true for most wildfowl and waders, it seems. To sound particularly expert, use the technical term for this - 'holarctic'- or, for very northerly birds such as Knot and Grey Plover- 'circumpolar'. For wildfowl, such as Scoter, you might want to chance your arm at this point and say a few breed in Scotland. There is a good chance of being right.
As I go through the winter visitors we saw on our trip to Musselburgh and Aberlady Bay, I'll mention where the species inconveniently don't fit into the above model.
It was a crisp, bright winter morning as our expedition ventured north, stopping only to call in at the award-winning public toilets at Haddington. As we got off the coach at Musselburgh, ('The Honest Toun' apparently), we were each handed a mince pie, courtesy of Graham, to fortify us on our mission. On reaching the shores of the Firth of Forth, we were rewarded with a clear view of the Edinburgh skyline on the far bank and, on our side, dozens of Turnstone, our first winter visitor of the day. As far as I know, none nest in Scotland. They were accompanied by Redshank and Oystercatcher, both resident birds. Further out in the estuary were other waders too: the resident species Curlew and Dunlin; and the winter visitors Bar-tailed Godwit, Knot, and Grey Plover. None of these three winter visitors breed in Scotland, Grey Plovers don't breed anywhere in Scandinavia and Knot only in Greenland. Siberia and North America are the main home for these two birds.
The wintering ducks were more of a challenge. Not only were they more distant, they also had the frustrating habit of diving. Stepping up to a telescope to see a Long-tailed Duck (none breed in Scotland), you might be confronted with a view of empty water. A few Common Scoter do breed in Scotland, Velvet Scoter don't, but they congregate round Musselburgh in winter feeding mainly on...mussels! There were plenty of Goldeneye too, which breed in Scotland and also as far south as Germany as well as all the usual northerly places. Slavonian Grebe was another winter visitor reported by some members. Resident wildfowl were represented by Eider, Mallard, Mute Swan and Canada Geese.
To imagine the scene fully, add in four species of gull, Starling and the odd Cormorant.
To make maximum use of the limited daylight, we ate on the coach as we travelled to Aberlady Bay. Pouring a flask on a moving coach is one of the least-publicised birding skills. On arrival, there was plenty of time, as we queued for limited toilet facilities, to look along the burn at the many Wigeon (winter visitors that tick most of the boxes including breeding in Scotland, but not North America), and Shelduck (a resident). Crossing the wooden bridge over the burn, we were met with the beauty of the orange berries of sea buckthorn. From within the bushes we could hear the unmistakeable chortle of Fieldfare, a winter thrush, a few of which breed in Scotland, but absent from America. We had to work a little to see our first ones, but during the next couple of hours we saw hundreds.
Another notable sighting as we crossed the heath was a female Stonechat which, contrary to our theme of movement, stayed remarkably still despite our close approach. Although this allowed good views, it made me wonder about the health of the bird. There were also good views of two Goldfinches.
At the seashore, a Pink-footed Goose flew in and landed on the beach. The Pink Feet that winter in Britain, breed in Iceland and Greenland. Another population breeds in Spitsbergen and winters in Denmark, Germany and the Low Countries. There were also closer views of Long-tailed Duck and Scoter. That makes it sound easier than it was. It was more like this: '...it's up again...it's down again...up again further left...dived...I've lost it now'. Another winter visitor present was Red-throated Diver, some of which definitely stay in northern Scotland in summer - I've seen them. A Grey Seal swam right up to the rocky shoreline.
Lagging behind the rest of the group, a few of us saw a Sparrowhawk flying low over the golf course and then two Roe Deer, who didn't think we were worth running away from.
One last word on winter migrants: it's even more complicated. Even when looking at a common 'resident' species such as Blackbird, Robin or Pied Wagtail on this trip, I reminded myself that this individual bird might have actually migrated from another country for the winter, perhaps from the North or perhaps from the East. Even the experts don't fully understand migration patterns, so, for wildfowl and waders at least, stick to 'Russia and Scandinavia'.
Philip Jordan

Bird list Musselburgh and Aberlady 20th Dec 2008
Red Throated Diver
Slavonian Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Cormorant
Grey Heron
Mute Swan
Barnacle Goose
Pink Footed Goose
Shelduck
Mallard
Wigeon
Eider Duck
Common Scoter
Velvet Scoter
Long Tailed Duck
Goldeneye
Red Breasted Merganser
Common Buzzard
Moorhen
Oystercatcher
Ringed Plover
Grey Plover
Lapwing
Knot
Sanderling
Turnstone
Dunlin
Redshank
Bar-tailed Godwit
Curlew
Black Headed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black Backed Gull
Wood Pigeon
Feral Pigeon
Collared Dove
Wren
Dunnock
Robin
Stonechat
Song Thrush
Redwing
Fieldfare 1,000s
Blackbird
Goldcrest
Magpie
Jackdaw
Rook
Carrion Crow
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Goldfinch
Bullfinch Total = 54 species.

Also seen

Grey Seal 2
Roe Deer 1
Stoat 1