Having gone back to sleep on Saturday instead of getting up and heading out somewhere I decided that I would get up and out on Sunday. Despite not really having much sleep for some reason, I was up at around 0700 and decided after some deliberation to head for Guardbridge. Once again it was passage waders that would be the targets, with the secondary consideration of having plenty of photo opportunities regardless. Although the weather forecast was for sunshine, it was cloudy though still relatively bright with fairly light winds.
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| Grey Heron |
I headed out at around 0910. There were high flying Swifts once again above Arklay Stret. House Sparrow, Woodpigeon and a single Magpie were also seen within the first few minutes of my walk to the bus station. Blackbird, Feral Pigeon, Collared Dove, Starling, Carrion Crow and Herring Gull all followed quickly. A single Blue Tit and a female Chaffinch were added as I headed down Dens Road. Rooks at St Michaels and Jackdaws in Leuchars rounded off the non-Guardbridge part of the list.
The hide was unsurprisingly empty when I arrived which meant I was able to set up at my favourite window. It was relatively quiet on the water and there were scattered groups of waders opposite with the gulls up near the bend in the river to the north. Lapwings and Redshanks made up the majority of waders, and a small group of Mallards were swimming along the shoreline. A few Swallows swept low over the water catching flies and one or two having a drink on the move. A Wren flew low across the slope in front of the hide, a favourite haunt for the small bird. Among the Herring Gulls, were a few Lesser Black Backed Gulls and Black Headed Gulls. A bit of hunting found a few Oystercatchers.
Great Tits and Blue Tits were at the feeders in small family parties. Well out on the exposed mud I found a number of Curlews. A pair of Cormorants flew downriver over towards the army base. A couple of Pied Wagtails were next to fly by - a species more usually seen on the grass on the way into the hide. A Common Gull glided by upriver. The first Grey Heron landed opposite on the shore spooking a few Redshanks. Some more scanning with the small scope I'd decided to carry with me found a few Dunlin. There were double figure numbers of Mute Swans well down the river. The first Osprey of the day flew over heading up the river.
The D500 allowed me to confirm a small group of birds in flight as Linnets, and a few minutes later the local Buzzards put in an appearance. More scanning found a party of Goosanders. Two Robins showed at the feeders, one adult and one juvenile. Great Black Backed Gull was next onto the list, followed a short while later by a small group of Teal in eclipse plumage. A Coal Tit visited the feeders and looking up I spotted the second Osprey of the day circling above the river directly in front of the hide. Unfortunately for me, it chose not to dive for a fish and headed off northeast. Photos showed that this bird had a dark blue leg ring, possibly coded CS.
The local Kingfishers are usually a bit more visible around July and August than earlier in the year, and I had a nice view of one flying low past the hide. Young Shelducks were next onto the list as a small group flew past. I was joined in the hide by a family from Fife, with the young son being the one with the binoculars. A Little Egret turned up down towards the bend in the river, but there was still no sign of any rarer waders, despite plenty of searching. The tide was coming in but it turned out to be a very low high tide with a large area of mud still uncovered even at the highest point of the tide.
I found a few Eiders in the river, and a third Osprey overflew, this one carrying a transmitter aerial on its back (possibly the same Balgavies born bird seen there earlier in the year?). A Sparrowhawk mobbed one of the local Buzzards giving the family longer views than normal of the species before it vanished off over the trees. I found a couple of Turnstones among the Redshanks. The Fife family left and it was a while before I was joined by anyone else. A small group of Goldfinches and rather unusually , a Grey Wagtail, flew over.
Brian Williamson from Dundee Naturalists Society joined me and we watched 2 Ospreys out towards the mouth of the river just minutes after a single bird flew south carrying a fish. Another was on one of the 'Osprey posts' and 2 more were spotted over Balgove Bay. A Common Sandpiper landed briefly in front of the wall below us, but quickly departed again. We also had views of a Little Egret catching an eel opposite the hide, and the Kingfisher showed briefly again. A few more folk came into the hide for brief spells before I eventually headed for home around 1620, gratefully accepting the generous offer of a lift back to Dundee from Brian.
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| Osprey |
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| Linnet |
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| Swallow |
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| Osprey |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Lapwing |
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| Shelduck |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Buzzard |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Curlew |
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| Goosander |
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| Osprey |
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| Teal |
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| Little Egret & Lapwing |
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| Redshank |
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| Rabbit |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Robin |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Lapwing |
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| Little Egret |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Little Egret |
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| Carrion Crow |
Some nice photos (especially of Grey Herons) made the visit worthwhile, even if the lack of anything more unusual than Turnstones was found among the waders. 47 species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kingfisher, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shelduck, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Teal, Turnstone, Woodpigeon, Wren.
