Still having things on my mind, I turned off the alarm and went back to sleep and didn't get up until after 0900. With warm and sunny weather I figured I should still make the effort to get out birding somewhere and see if I could add anything for my year-list. My best bet for adding more than 1 species seemed to be the Tay reedbeds which meant a bus to Errol and a bit of a walk but with no real time limits it would be straightforward to do.
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| Treecreeper |
I headed out at 1040 to head into town to catch the bus out to Errol which was due to leave the bus station at 1102 and which I was hoping to catch in the city centre around 1108. Herring Gull and Woodpigeon started the list off, followed by Goldfinch and the strange sight of a skein of Pink Footed Geese low over the Alexander Street area just as the bus into town arrived. The birds had changed direction to a more northwesterly routing when I saw them from the bus. Carrion Crow, Blackbird and a Pied Wagtail were all seen on the walk to the bus stop in Union Street. I caught the number 16 bus around 1110 and sat upstairs.
Birds were few and far between until we reached Invergowrie where I added Jackdaws and Lesser Black Backed Gulls. As the bus made its way through Longforgan I spotted a raptor circling above the village. Out came the binoculars and an unexpected Osprey went on the list. From the dual carriageway I spotted 4 Roe Deer stood in the middle of a field as we headed for Inchture. House Sparrows were added as we passed through that village a few minutes later.
Arriving in Errol, I hoped there might be House Martins around above the village but there were none. I walked down Gas Brae where I found a small flock of yellowhammers and Reed Buntings feeding and bathing in the field next to the path. A Blue Tit was in the bushes. A Meadow Pipit flew in and landed in one of the large Oaks. Behind me a Skylark climbed skywards singing loudly. A Tree Sparrow was found higher up in the Oak and a small group of Linnets flew over. A few Starlings flew over before a Chaffinch showed up. A Stock Dove was spotted flying off over the fields just before a Dunnock popped out in the brambles.
Reaching the woods at the bottom of the track I watched a pair of Coal Tits flitting around. A White butterfly was seen over the field nearby, my first butterfly of the year. The second was seen a few minutes later when I wandered down past the house to check over the reedbeds - a Peacock resting on the ground. Off to the east a Buzzard pair were seen circling above the trees and a Pheasant male was wandering around among the vegetation at the bottom end of the open area before the reedbeds. With almost no wind it was easy to hear things that might usually be drowned out - one of those was the constant buzzing of hundreds of bees around the catkins on a tree. A Curlew flew upriver. I'd been hearing a Chiffchaff singing and eventually managed to see the culprit, though a second bird was also heard from further back in the trees.
I found the highest spot I could and scanned repeatedly over the reeds eventually picking up a single distant
Marsh Harrier out to the east, gliding over the reeds. My first of the year. A few minutes later, a second year-tick was added when I spotted a
Bearded Tit low over the reeds to the east, though much closer than the Harrier. A pair of Swallows twittered their way over westwards. Blue Tits and Linnets popped into the trees nearby before I headed up to the path through the trees to walk to the Port Allen pools.
I had good views of a couple of Treecreepers including one with a sublingual oral fistula (where the tongue protrudes through a gap in the lower bill) and have forwarded photos/details on to Dr Jim Reynolds at University of Birmingham who is conducting a research project into the condition (I've seen gulls with the condition before) - so if you have any sightings/photos then see this link for how/where to report/send them -
Oral fistula project . I also added Great Tit, Song Thrush, Robin and a distant Cormorant perched on a navigation light tower out on the river. A pair of Shelducks flew downriver and a few Sand Martins and Swallows passed over as I stood looking out over the reedbeds from the raised viewpoint area near the pools.
Having negotiated a rather muddy section of the path, I made my way down to the corner of the banking overlooking the eastern pool. Most of the birds were rather distant, with a Mute Swan pair, a Little Grebe pair, a number of Goldeneye (at least a dozen), Tufted Ducks, Mallards and a Grey Heron all seen. I could hear odd noises from the reeds beside me, but couldn't work out what they were, though the mystery was solved later. A small flock of Wigeon flew upriver and alarge skein of Pink Footed Geese were seen over the far side of the river heading east.
I could hear a Bearded Tit calling once or twice and eventually managed a quick view of the bird as it flew low over the reeds. A pair of Coots swam out into the open on the pool. I headed up into the trees again to continue along to check the other pool. A pair of Great Crested Grebes were seen, and a Kingfisher was heard twice. I spotted another birder and asked if he'd seen anything. It turned out he was doing a WEBS count and I joined him for a spell picking up a
Canada Goose flying downriver past a group of 4 Whooper Swans on the Tay. The birder was David Bell and he knew of me through Riverside Nature Park which he'd been involved with the setting up of. I picked up some interesting snippets of information during the brief time we spent walking along to Port Allen.
A pair of Grey Wagtails flew past as David headed off to his car and I settled down for a brief break. I was joined by another birder who recognised me, but as usual, I didn't recognise. It was Tim Gulson, who I sort of know from Dundee Airport and my previous involvement with spotting other winged things. We had a good chat too, while a pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers tussled in the tall trees behind the house opposite. A
Willow Warbler appeared in the tree behind us, giving me my 4th year-tick of the day. A Blackcap was heard singing but not looked for. A skein of Pink Footed Geese flew low over the houses before Tim headed off.
I had a wander down to the breach in the banking of the western pool. A pair of Long Tailed Tits were seen in the small tree opposite. Out on the river I could see a Canada Goose, 2 Mute Swans, a small group of Teal and what appeared to be a wader stood on something in the water. Eventually I was able to see that the bird was a Snipe and a few minutes later it flew over and dropped at the western end of the pool. A drake Red Breasted Merganser was also out on the river and a distant Black Headed Gull was spotted flying east. A Rook flew over before I headed back up into the trees.
I had around 90 minutes before the bus I was hoping to catch back in Errol so I decided I would have another stop at the banking at the eastern end of the pool to look for Bearded Tit again. As I walked along the track I was aware of movement across the rather flooded burn and looked across at what initially appeared to be a running black Cat. It wasn't - it was an American Mink, an animal I'd never seen before. I took a few photos and the Mink stopped to look across at where the sound was coming from giving me even better photos. It moved on and so did I, though it spotted me and turned tail back along the bank. I gave chase but lost it when it disappeared up a small channel at right angles to the burn. Not a great addition to the local fauna given their predatory instincts though hopefully the local Otter(s) will see it off.
Back down on the banking I had another glimpse of a flying Bearded Tit and a few Reed Buntings. I also solved the mystery of the strange squeaky noise I'd been hearing from the reeds. It was Common Toads in amplexus - where all the males grab onto a female and hold on hoping to be allowed to mate. I found two which were covered in smaller males to the extent that the female couldn't be seen below them. Just after 1600 I moved on again and stopped to photograph a pair of Bullfinches feeding in a small tree by the path before the "viewing area". From here I had more Sand Martins and Swallows feeding high overhead and was in the process of photographing them when I heard a Tawny Owl calling. I hurried to the gate behind me and looked back towards the direction where the sound had come from - near where I'd seen the Mink, I think but unsurprisingly drew a blank.
A trio of Jays were seen though, giving me another species for the day, and a Siskin dropped into the trees above me. Movement on the ground ahead of me down the slope turned out to be my second American mammal of the day - a Grey Squirrel which ran up a tree and leapt from the higher branches into another tree, before repeating the feat into a third. By now, it was just after 1630 and I still had Gas Brae to walk up, which is always a longer walk than it seems from the opposite direction. I photographed a pair of mating Chaffinches on a lamp post at the top of the hill and watched a Jackdaw drop sticks down a chimney opposite the bus stop. A Collared Dove was another addition before the bus turned up. A few Oystercatchers in a field by the dual carriageway and a Rabbit by the turning circle in Longforgan went on the list and a Great Black Backed Gull flew past the bus in Invergowrie.
A good afternoon's birding with 64 species of bird seen (and another few heard only) including 4 year-ticks (in bold) as well as my first butterflies of the year, my first Toads and my first ever Mink. Not a bad way to spend an afternoon.
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Peacock butterfly |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Pheasant |
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| Linnet |
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| Buzzard |
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| Treecreeper (with sublingual oral fistula) |
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| Dunnock |
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| Wigeon |
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| Shelduck |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Chaffinch |
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| Chaffinch |
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| Goldeneye |
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| Canada Goose |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| Canada Goose |
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| Snipe |
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| Red Breasted Merganser |
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| Snipe |
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| Blue Tit |
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| American Mink |
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| American Mink |
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| Tufted Duck |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Great Crested Grebe |
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| Common Toad |
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| Little Grebe & Goldeneye |
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| Common Toad |
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| Common Toad |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Sand Martin |
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| Grey Squirrel |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Chaffinch |
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| Chaffinch |
Species seen -
Bearded Tit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard,
Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Tit, Mallard,
Marsh Harrier, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Shelduck, Siskin, Skylark, Snipe, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Whooper Swan, Wigeon,
Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.
Heard only - Blackcap, Kingfisher, Tawny Owl, Wren
Animals - American Mink, Common Toad, Grey Squirrel, Rabbit, Roe Deer
Butterflies - White sp. Peacock.
