Bird project 15 - Bullfinch & Goosander

Over a week ago I headed up to Scotland. I hoped to visit a few nature reserves just west of Edinburgh, if the weather co-operated. In fact it's been mixed, but not the total washout (or more accurately, blowout) my last visit turned out to be.

I wasn't expecting any new species, and was happy with the month's total as it stood. However, a few birds I don't expect to see at home (like yellowhammers and dippers) are found here, so I kept my eyes and ears open. On my last trip out, yesterday, I was doubly lucky - but it was two different species that I saw.

15/101.
Pyrrhula pyrrhula Bullfinch

Location: Footpath (former railway line) east of Pumpherston, West Lothian, Scotland.
Conditions: Very mild, sunshine interspersed with cumulus.
Photograph quality: Mostly 2, some 1.

Comments: I'd already photographed a distant buzzard, and quite a few small songbirds that turned out to be willow warblers, and I was only a couple of miles into my 8-mile walk. I kept hearing quiet peeping noises from the shrubs either side of the path, so I stopped, and stared into the bushes. I was expecting at best a goldcrest, but instead noticed a bright peach-coloured bird. I assumed a chaffinch, but almost immediately realised what it was - a bullfinch. Unmistakable, even though I've never seen one before. Much brighter, with the black head, shorter beak, and habit of nibbling buds. The female was close behind, but hid until the last moment, when she flew on ahead and perched on a branch in the open, before they both flew off across the path. The female (immediately above) is duller, but still a very fine bird.

Given how few of these are seen near where I live, this was a real stroke of luck and the highlight of my trip.

16/101.
Mergus merganser Goosander

Location: Flying over the Almond River valley, just west of the Camps Viaduct, West Lothian, Scotland.
Conditions: Bright but cloudy, mild.
Photograph quality: 3.

Comments: I was crossing the viaduct, a very impressive structure at least 80 feet tall, which carries a footpath high over Almondell & Calderwood Country Park. There were lots of birds, and it was a great vantage point, being at treetop level with good views either way along the valley. I caught a flock of birds out of the corner of my eye that moved like ducks, but seemed too large, so I fired off three shots before they disappeared. Only on inspection the next day did I see they were mergansers. After some considerable thought and reading, I have determined they are goosanders, not the very similar red-breasted merganser (which I saw last year). Note the females, with the brown heads - there is a sharp divide between the head colour and the pale body, which is diagnostic of this species. A real unexpected bonus!