Cramond Update

The blog has gone very quiet recently, for no reason other than simply that university life had been all-absorbing for the last few months. I write now with first year already behind me, astonishingly. It’s a particularly peculiar feeling, as a monumental and truly life-changing uni year has finished in which so, so much has happened, yet I can remember eking out two Balearic Shearwaters at Saltcoats a couple of days before moving in as if it was literally yesterday. Christ! Sadly, moving out of uni halls has made me temporarily homeless in Edinburgh, so I won’t be able to patch the new birding homeland for me that is Cramond until late summer; in the meantime I’ll just have to hope that I don’t miss anything major!  Anyhow, picking up where I left off last time…

February saw me with the most free time I’ve had all year, so I was able to manage another good long session on site before the month was finished. During the a.m of 18th, wader numbers remained fairly consistent, with at least 140 Barwits, 5 Greenshanks with 230 Redshanks, 160 Oystercatcher, 120+ Dunlin and 110+ Curlew but nothing particularly new on this score along the mudflats. However, 64 Pink-footed Geese were a welcomed but very much expected new species here. A mile out into the Firth of Forth at Cramond Island, the sea was as flat as a millpond. This proved very productive in terms of clocking diver and grebe numbers, with at least 25 Great Crested Grebes and 12 Red-throated Divers noted. Scanning from Barracks Point eventually produced a smart adult winter Black-throated Diver on the sea not far out towards Inchmickery, the undoubted highlight of the day and probably the main patching highlight at this beautiful site so far. Great Northern Diver and Red-necked Grebe would now do very nicely indeed! Other new species here included a single flyover Siskin and numerous Linnets and Meadow Pipits. Since that day more or less, I have been particularly enthusiastic to work this underwatched but uniquely placed little promontory.

towards Hound Point and the Forth Rail Bridge

March was an exceptionally busy month, hence I only managed one visit!  I was determined to make 26th a productive one, with a mind to catching up with early spring species and Patchwork Challenge. The first two Chiffchaffs were noted on site singing towards the Almond Walkway. Wader numbers had dwindled somewhat, yet 3 Greenshanks remained among 185 Redshank, 100 Barwits, c.130 Oystercatcher, 60 Curlew and 40 Dunlin, so not entirely unhealthy apart from on the Calidrid front. As has increasingly become the case so it seems, much of the action again came from Cramond Island. Standing steadfastly against the battering wind from Barracks Point, I was intrigued by a relatively substantial movement of auks to and fro along the Forth, some just frolicking, others presumably heading towards Bass Rock. Mixed flocks of at least 350 auks passed through in c.50 minutes, with a good number of the less distant birds evidently being Razorbills. I felt as if this passage would herald something better and within half an hour 4 Puffins, pot-bellied but not porculent, headed east, briefly landing on the sea mid-way between Cramond Island and Inchkeith but slightly too distant for me to appreciate the wonders of their kaleidoscopic conks. Most of the obvious seabirds made an appearance for the first time, with at least 130 Gannets taking advantage of a good shoal very distantly, as well as numerous Fulmars, Kittiwakes and a partly expected bonus in the form of a cracking male Long-tailed Duck heading east. As I headed back towards the causeway along Western Nook, the song-flights of cascading Linnets and Meadow Pipits echoed along the folds of foliage extending from Tegmalm’s Wood in the encroaching incandescent sunset.

Barracks Point, with Arthur’s Seat in the distance (26/3/14)

sunset on the mudflats, an exceptionally low tide! (26/3/14)

For much of April I was in Norfolk, hence just two visits were managed in the approach to exam season. My visit on 5th was primarily to show friends the area so was thus very quiet, yet I still managed new species in the form of Grey Wagtail at the Almond Mouth, and both Stock and Collared Doves. A proper visit on 29th April was unfortunately both tight and a slight screw up in terms of predicting tide times: by the time I had arrived, half the causeway had already been submerged by the merciless Firth of Forth. The pace that the tide can swoop in at Cramond is frightening, and I am admittedly still learning my craft when it comes to anticipating arrival times in terms of maximising my chances both on Cramond Island and at the estuary mouth. If anything though, this proved beneficial on the day as it allowed for good views of the first ‘true’ spring passage waders on patch. No less than 30 Black-tailed Godwits – a good number of which were in stonking sumplum – shared the increasingly negligible mud flats hugging Long Green Woods with 80 Barwits, at least 120 coming-on-sumplum Dunlins, 150 Oystercatchers, 90 Redshanks and 65 Curlew. It was invigorating to watch these Blackwits in with the Cramond wader regulars, not only because of their beauty but because their presence symbolized the start of my spring passage wader experience here; an omen to more productive times ahead in late summer I hope: Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper and Spotshank are high on my agenda. This visit was also useful for catching up with the crop of expected commoner warbler species, with 2 Willow Warblers, Blackcap and Whitethroat present in and around the Cramond Walkway, and of course the first terns of the year offshore: at least 6 Sandwich and 10 Commons, as well as a single Arctic being harassed by a couple of belligerent Lesser-Black Backed Gulls.

looking back towards the mouth

This May was always going to be particularly pain-staking, as the urge to get to the patch possessed me during revision and exams. To my own academic benefit, I didn’t get out to Cramond until Tuesday 20th, shortly after my exams had finished. As I only had a relatively small window, the best I could manage was arriving within a couple of hours of high tide, thus again preventing me from getting out to the island. It was another productive day for passage waders, however, with my first Ringed Plovers here being a lovely sight. Totals in a 2 hour session in and around the mouth produced: 150+ Ringed Plover in flighty, disparate groups (largest group sat at 58), 70 Barwits, 50 Dunlin, 40 Curlew, 20 Redshanks, 6 Blackwits, 4 Knot, 2 Grey Plover (including one in sumplum shining out of the grey gloom) and another new species in the form of a lone Sanderling in with a few Calidrids on Cramond Sands. 4 House Martins and 3 Swallows were also at the latter spot. Kestrel and Buzzard were the only raptors on show, even though it felt like an Osprey day.

Finally, I headed via Cramond for a final once-over straight after moving out of uni halls on 25th . The visit was short and the tide was exceptionally low, rendering most waders distant. However, a posse of 28 Ringed Plover, 16 Dunlin and 1 Turnstone were close in by the causeway, and at least 80 Barwits were present not too far out. I finally got out to Cramond Island for the first time in what felt like an age. Reasonable numbers of Fulmar, Gannet and Auk sp were moving through offshore, but after half an hour’s bash it seemed pretty quiet. At the last minute I clocked the only new species of day heading north-west, a posse of 23 Common Scoter (5♂ and 18♀ ); given that both the Scoter species are slightly trickier west of Musselburgh and that nigra is oddly the least regular of the two, this was quite a noteworthy finish to an immensely enjoyable first half of the year on site.

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In just 9 visits so far, I’ve managed 88 species and 102 points for Patchwork Challenge at Cramond; not that bad a haul and certainly indicative of what harder work and prolonged periods on site will produce in the future. Yearly aims? I’m thinking 110+ species, but it may well surprise me if I put more time in from late summer onwards. The first five months of patching this beautiful area have been far less frequent than I would have liked them to have been, mostly because real life has been very busy. That aside, my immersion into the elements of Cramond’s diverse habitats and birds has been seamless: its hoards of waders on the soft estuarine flats off which shades of light playfully bounce and merge, the beautiful folds of a spring-time Cramond Island and the island encompassed view of the Firth of Forth when seawatching from Barracks Point, are already absorbing themselves into my conscience. The bond grows stronger every visit; therein lies the beauty of patching.

Thanks for reading,

Joseph

Cramond: My New Lothian Patch

Ever since I’ve arrived in the beautiful Auld Reekie (more commonly known as Edinburgh), I’ve been trying to scout a local patch within reasonable distance of the city. Back in Semester 1 I had my eyes on another inland patch, Blackford Hill, on the south-western edge of the city. Only twenty minutes from my halls, the place had promise back in the autumn, holding my first Nuthatch in Scotland and decent vis-mig including many winter Turdus and 4 Crossbills overhead back in late October. Despite its productivity on the first two visits though, I didn’t quite feel the urge at the end of the day to work it regularly. After all, I already had Costessey House Private Estate in Norfolk as my inland patch.

It’s time to find a coastal patch, I told myself. One that has the propensity to produce properly decent finds. At the end of last year I scoured potential sites that would fit this agenda. Musselburgh, whilst easily accessible, seemed far too obvious, and I was aware that it is very well watched during peak passage periods. Aberlady, despite being a major consideration, was that bit too far in the end, and someone else was doing it for Patchwork Challenge. I needed an underwatched, coastal site, easily accessible by public transport that no-one else was likely to cover for PWC. Then I found it. Cramond. A look on Google Maps and it fitted the bill: a large estuarine expanse with an island about a mile out into the Firth of Forth, ample potential for Larus, waders and for a wide range of sea-faring species, even migging passerines on the island possibly, but most fundamentally I had gathered that it was underwatched. With that virtual scout of the area I was good to go, and Cramond was submitted for PWC 2014 in the Coastal Scotland and NGB leagues. Mostly importantly of all though, I knew already that I’d found a patch I’d be working for years to come.

To have a look at the habitat at Cramond for yourself and quite literally get a picture of the different parts of the patch that I’ll be talking about from here on in, click here or where Cramond is hyperlinked above. I first visited with a mate from university on 12th January, so it wasn’t solely a birding visit as we were both keen just to discover the area for the first time. However birding still dominated on what can only be described as an excellent start to patching at this gorgeously picturesque new patch of mine. As we turned the corner past the quaint Cramond Inn and numerous bone-white cottages, the Firth of Forth appeared into view and with it the beautiful Almond Mouth, its creeks acting an outlet to the sprawling mudflats beyond. On the mudflats were hundreds of Larus and winter waders, dying to be sifted through. So the scope went up, and patch birding at Cramond began.

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One of the first species I get onto is a wintering Greenshank, feeding in the nearest creek to me among large numbers of Redshank. More or less immediately I had been surprised: a relatively irregular wintering wader that I had by no means expected, a very decent start. I began by scanning the waders, and was delighted by their copiousness. Widely dispersed across the mudflats on either side of the causeway leading to Cramond Island, there must have been some 150 Dunlin, 80 Bar-tailed Godwits, 150+ Curlew, 250+ Redshank, 100+ Oystercatcher and 20+ Turnstone. Aside from the Greenshank, a single Knot and at least 4 Grey Plovers were also mixed in, albeit distantly. All the commoner gull species were present, but Black-headed Gull numbers must have sat at least at 300.

Behind the roving groups of waders, at least 70 Wigeon were loafing about off the Firth of Forth, along with some Shelduck and the odd Goldeneye and Eider. In front of them, milling about on their own at the mudflat’s edge, I was very pleasantly surprised to connect with 2 Pale-bellied Brent Geese; bonus! They unfortunately kept pretty distant, but in the gorgeous crisp winter light were much enjoyed; it’s always nice to connect with these birds at any site in Scotland, as they’re by no means an easy species to catch up with in these parts. Before I headed to the pub for lunch, a juvenile Peregrine capped things off for now, causing absolute mayhem as swirling groups of Calidrids took to the skies. A pair of Buzzard were also noted over Long Green Woods.

phone-scoped image of the two hrota Brent Geese, Cramond (12/1/14). The dire, dire quality makes them just about visible (back right and back left)

My mate and I, a hearty lunch and a couple of very cheap pints later (£1.50, ridiculously decent price for great brews), headed across to Cramond Island, traversing the estuary encompassed causeway. Just the fact that this pathway across the sands existed, that we were literally walking into the Firth of Forth, felt amazing, let alone the magical metamorphosis from the causeway being submerged to suddenly appearing; at high tide, its as if the causeway doesn’t exist. As we first reached land on the beach at Causewayside Nook, I deciphered that this was where the majority of the waders in the area roosted at high tide. We wandered inland, checking out numerous abandoned WW2 barracks and heading through dispersed mixes of sycamore and coniferous foliage, or ‘Tegmalm’s Cover’ as I have come to call it, where I presume the famed Tegmalm’s Owl seen on the island in the 1880s was favouring. In the cover Redwing, Fieldfare and several other commoner passerine species were noted, whilst offshore I clocked a single Great-crested Grebe, a Red-throated Diver and a few Red-breasted Mergansers, as well as Cormorant and Shag. As a promontory for seawatching and diver + grebe watching, this seemed promising. As I was with a mate and it was starting to get dark, I wasn’t able to work Cramond Island as much as I’d have liked and we had to call it a day. For a first visit it had been very productive, however, enough so to get me back there for some full on birding a few days later.

Cramond Island as viewed from Causewayside Nook

the mudflats as viewed from Cramond Island

The weather was superb when I returned on 16th January, but unfortunately I’d mis-timed my visit, arriving too late to catch the waders on the rising tide. It therefore transpired that the few hours I spent there were at maximum high tide. This was obviously a downer for waders and meant I could not get to Cramond Island, but through the scope from the Almond Mouth I was chuffed to pick up 4 Greenshank roosting among the Redshank at Causewayside Nook on Cramond Island. Waders completely occupied the nook, though mostly Redshank (200), Bar-tailed Godwit (40) and Oystercatcher (150+) on this occasion. In the very little mud that was left at the Almond Mouth I was also very happy to pick up not two but three hrota Brent Geese: much closer this time, but they were quickly pushed out by the tide and eventually flew towards Dalmeny and South Queensferry. With the little resources I now had I resorted to looking offshore, which proved to be successful, producing a partly expected but much enjoyed patch lifer in the form of 2 Slavonian Grebes along with 6 Great Crested Grebes pretty distantly offshore towards Silverknowes: easily the highlight of the day. As I watched these grebes from Cramond Sands, a Rock Pipit also made itself known. The sea was largely pretty quiet, so after a while I head inland for the first time and established my southern patch boundaries, wandering up the River Almond along the Cramond Walkway. This produced woodland species such as Bullfinch, Goldcrest and Long-tailed Tit, and most notably a pair of Goosander on the river; the habitat here looks ideal for Dipper and Kingfisher so I am expecting both these species at some point.

Cramond Island in true island form, cut off by the high tide

Finally, I made my first February visit to Cramond this Sunday just gone (10th February). Mostly the same fare were in evidence, though there was an obvious lack of Brent Geese. Greenshank numbers really did bewilder me this time round. In the receding tide, 7 Greenshank were lined up together with the ubiquitous Redshanks (150). Bar-tailed Godwit and Dunlin numbers also reached new peaks, with at least 130 of the former and 200+ of the latter. 50+ Golden Plover late on were a completely new addition, whilst 80 Knot were distant in line with the edge of Long Green Woods nearby 150+ Curlew. Lone Canada and Greylag Geese were also noted – surely its only a matter of time till Pinkfoot makes an appearance – whilst Wigeon numbers sat at around 50. I also made it to Cramond Island for the second time, where a very close Slavonian Grebe was the highlight off Barrack’s Point along with 3 Great-crested Grebes, Red-breasted Merganser, and new species with Guillemot and Razorbill. This little promontory has been very productive so far, so I am hoping it will produce decent seabirding come the right conditions, and maybe a Red-necked Grebe? At the Almond Mouth towards dusk, 2 Little Grebes were a surprise new species, and 4 Goosander and singing Song Thrush were also present. I was there that day for a good 4 and a half hours: as things progress towards spring I hope to spend similar amounts of time at this wonderful site.

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So there you have it! Cramond, well and truly my Lothian patch now. In three visits it has already produced 60 species, including noteworthy species such as Slav Grebe, Peregrine, Brent Goose and Greenshank: a very good start indeed. It has already showed its potential to produce quality species, and I am confident that with further persistent sifts through those waders, those gulls and those grebes, something decent will be unearthed. What will it be? Red-necked Grebe? Med Gull? A stint sp. in the spring? Only time will tell, but I can’t tell you how much it excites me that, from those three visits alone, I know it will produce some proper gold soon enough. When? Only time will tell, but in the meantime, BRING IT ON!

Thanks for reading,

Joseph