With decent weather forecast for a change on a Saturday I didn't want to spend all day indoors. However, I couldn't get motivated to go particularly far to look for birds, so instead I decided to dig out my macro lens and search for insects instead. Any birds seen along the way would be a bonus. It took a bit of deciding where to actually go however, and I eventually settled on walking into town and out along the Perth Road to Seabraes which used to be a decent site for Common Blue butterflies and other insects. It was around 1410 when I eventually emerged into the sunshine.
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| Diamondback Moth |
It seemed to be much colder than forecast as I headed into town, with a rather cold light wind blowing. A Magpie chuckled loudly from a tree round the corner from home but stayed hidden. Blackbird was first onto my list of birds, with Herring Gull added on Dens Road. Woodpigeon and Starling were next, followed by Carrion Crow and Feral Pigeon as I neared the Wellgate Centre. Lesser Black Backed Gull was added in the City Centre.
When I eventually reached Seabraes it was still slightly chilly, so
insects seemed to be in rather short supply with only a bumblebee or two
seen in the overgrown area to the west of the steps. A Chiffchaff was
heard calling, but not seen. A Magpie flew up into the trees, while
Dunnock and House Sparrow foraged among the bushes. A Whitethroat was a
nice surprise before I crossed the road to search the mostly bare stony
ground in front of Vision. Again however insects seemed to be in short
supply. A single Wasp - possibly
Ancistrocerus
gazella, was photographed. Apparently this family of wasps is difficult
to ID, so it goes down as only a possible. As far as I could tell this
species hadn't been recorded this far north yet (and still hasn't).
There
were numerous spiders and ants wandering around and I managed photos of
some of them. Flying insects were distinctly few in number with no
butterflies or moths at all, and only a few flies and bees, and an
Ichneumon wasp. A few Linnets overflew, and a calling Oystercatcher was
seen up towards Perth Road. A 7-spot Ladybird and a couple of bugs - possibly a Parent Bug
nymph and another unidentified one, were seen before I wandered towards
the footbridge over the railway line. Blue Tits were in the bushes by
the tracks and the plants here were alive with small moths, which I
eventually managed to see well enough to ID as Diamondback moths, of
which there has apparently been a massive influx this summer. There were
certainly plenty (over 100?) in a small area of ground.
A Pied
Wagtail overflew as I headed west towards Roseangle. A second Magpie was
seen opposite the car park. A few more Chiffchaffs were heard as I
walked up the street, with one in particular near the road at Laing's
Bar, but all went unseen. I headed back into town before deciding to
detour to the roadbridge landfall to see if the family of 9 Mallard
ducklings and their other were still in the pool they had been seen in
almost a fortnight ago. When I arrived I didn't see them, until I turned
around and noticed the ducklings in the mouth of the flood drain with
the mother duck sleeping alongside. With the sun now rather warm I
headed home.
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| Wasp sp. (possibly Ancistrocerus
gazella) |
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| Spider sp. |
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| Ichneumon sp. |
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| Shieldbug nymph sp. (possibly Parent Bug) |
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| Bug sp. |
 |
| 7-Spotted Ladybird |
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| Spider sp. |
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| Fly sp. |
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| Bluebottle |
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| Mallard |
Not many birds seen, nor many insects but a decent wee wander for what was essentially a city centre Saturday afternoon outing. 16 bird species seen - Blackbird, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Dunnock, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Feral Pigeon, Starling, Whitethroat, Woodpigeon.
