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| White-billed Diver |
On Monday the 9th of February, White-billed Divers rather unexpectedly started to appear in the Forth, and numbers of birds (both alive and dead) seemed to increase as the week progressed. Unfortunately the weather was awful on the Wednesday which meant I didn't get out to check to see if there were any White-billed Divers in the Tay. Given the numbers in the Forth, my suspicion was that there surely had to be at least one in the Tay. On Thursday evening, Lainy and I, via WhatsApp, discussed the possibility of getting out at the weekend to try for one. While I was stuck at work on Friday, Lainy messaged me at 1100 to tell me she had a large diver at the Stannergate but that she hadn't managed to get a photo, but her suspicion was that it might be a White-billed Diver. I suggested she put word out to the other Dundee birders, so that hopefully there would be more 'eyes' looking, meaning a better chance of the bird in question being relocated and hopefully confirmed to be this mega-rare species.
This she did, and it was to pay dividends. Keith went for a walk in the afternoon and refound Lainy's bird off the 'grassy beach' just before 1500 though he too initially talked himself out of it being a White-billed. He did however manage to get photos, which showed a rather nice adult White-billed Diver. I weighed up my chances of making it to the area where the bird was before sunrise. I wasn't keen on getting on a busy bus, so instead I decided to check the Tay between Bridgeview Station restaurant and City Quay instead. Needless to say, this wasn't productive, though it did mean that there likely wasn't much point in checking the same area again over the coming days. By the time I made it to City Quay the Diver had moved further east towards the lifeboat station. With only my 'old' Svbony scope with me, I managed to see a large dark bird disappear underwater off Douglas Terrace, but it could have been pretty much anything. I would have to try properly on Saturday morning.
Thankfully, the weather forecast for Saturday was pretty decent. I decided I wanted to be at the Stannergate as it was getting light, in the hope that the bird might be close in to shore at that time. I headed out just before 0650. It was still fairly dark but both Herring Gull and Robin were noted immediately. Blackbird, Wren, Woodpigeon, Magpie, Dunnock, House Sparrow and Song Thrush were all noted on my rather quick walk to the Stannergate where as usual there were a few Rabbits around. As soon as I could see the river I started scanning. Along the shore I quickly picked up Curlew, Redshank and Black-headed Gull. Just beyond the first outflow pipe (with the yellow X marker), there was a Diver relatively close in. I quickly took a few photos - White-billed Diver, on the list, almost immediately.
I put word out on the ADBC WhatsApp grapevine, knowing that it was highly likely there would be an influx of birders over the course of the day, assuming the bird stuck around. A Shelduck flew past, as did a skein of Pink-footed Geese. Greenfinch, Goldeneye, Common Gull, Cormorant, Turnstone and Mute Swan were all added over the next few hours and I was joined by Lainy before the expected 'twitching' crowd descended. Thankfully the bird gave fairly decent view, fishing not too far offshore, and the birders were mostly content with the views on offer, while still allowing the bird to feed without any hassle.
I'd messaged Rohan and Dana to let them know this was an opportunity to not miss out on, and both popped down for a while, and both were successful in seeing the bird. There was a small flock of displaying Red-breasted Mergansers, mostly ignored by the photographers who only had eyes (and lenses) for the much rarer vistor. The glare off the water did make it tricky to pick out the bird at times, as it worked its way back and forward between the Stannergate and Douglas Terrace throughout the course of the day. Other birds noted as we watched the Diver included Stock Dove, Shag, Starling, Oystercatcher, Redwing, Great Tit, Goldfinch, Great Black-backed Gull and Carrion Crow.
Despite a bit of an issue with Lainy's car which required intervention from Lainy's husband Adam around 1600, Lainy dropped me off at home after a very enjoyable day's birding. A few extra species for the day were noted as we passed Swannie Ponds - Coot, Grey Heron, Mallard and Feral Pigeon which took my total for the day to 36 species, with the obvious highlight being the first White-billed Diver in the Tay (upriver from Barry Buddon, at least) since 1954. It was also my 102nd species of bird from within Dundee in 2026 and probably one of the rarest species I've seen in the Tay. It did make a pleasant change from the usual Cormorants and Eiders.
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| Shelduck |
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| White-billed Diver |
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| Pink-footed Goose |
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| Red-breasted Merganser |
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| Red-breasted Merganser |
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| Red-breasted Merganser |
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| White-billed Diver |
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| Shag |
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| White-billed Diver |
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| White-billed Diver & Red-breasted Merganser |
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| White-billed Diver |
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| White-billed Diver |
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| White-billed Diver |
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| White-billed Diver |
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| White-billed Diver |
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| White-billed Diver |
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| Black-headed Gull |
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| White-billed Diver |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| White-billed Diver |
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| Redshank |
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| Redshank |
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| Herring Gull & Oystercatcher |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Curlew |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Black-headed Gull |
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| Cormorant |
Birds - Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Carrion Crow, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Eider, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Black-backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pink-footed Goose, Red-breasted Merganser, Redshank, Redwing, Robin, Ferla Pigeon, Shag, Shelduck, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Turnstone, White-billed Diver, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Rabbit.
