Rather than stay in all day to avoid being out in 20 degree heat, which I don't enjoy, I decided that I might as well visit Guardbridge for a few hours. The tide would be coming in with high tide around 1600 so if there were any waders passing through the Eden estuary there was a chance of seeing them as the birds were pushed in closer by the rising water levels. I wasn't really expecting anything too unusual but I would certainly see more than if I stayed at home.
 |
| Canada Goose |
It was around 1225 when I left to walk into town to catch the bus to Fife. As is commonly the case, Herring Gull was the first species onto the list with Swifts overhead rapidly following the gull onto the list. That was it however until I was on the bus to Guardbridge. Feral Pigeons were seen as the bus reversed out of the bus station stance. A Blackbird flew across the road in front of us as we turned onto the inner ring road. Cormorants were seen on Submarine Rock as we crossed the Tay. Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon and Linnet were spotted between the bridge and the 5 roads roundabout. Jackdaw and Collared Dove were once again seen in Leuchars. Small White butterflies flitted around by the roadside. House Sparrows and Swallows were added as the bus headed out of Leuchars and a small flock of Starlings were in the fields on the outskirts of Guardbridge.
Heading in to the surprisingly empty hide I was able to add a Dunnock and a pair of Chaffinches to the list. Blue Tits were on the feeders when I got inside while out front a Black Headed Gull stood atop one of the recently reinstated wooden posts. There were plenty of Mute Swans on the river and a Buzzard circled round to the north of the conifers opposite. A Great Tit joined its smaller cousin on the feeders. A pair of Canada Geese were upstream of the swans. Lapwings were dotted along the far shore. More scanning found the first Oystercatcher of the day as well as a Little Egret stood near a Grey Heron at the bend in the river.
Redshanks and Curlews weren't unexpected finds and dneither were the Goosander or Mallards resting on the outflow pipe opposite the gull roost. There were Black Headed Gulls including a couple of fresh youngsters, a single Common Gull, plenty Herring Gulls and at least 9 Lesser Black Backed Gulls. Tree Sparrow was spotted at the feeders. Small White butterflies seemed to be constantly active in front of the hide though bees were notably fewer in number. There were 3 Ospreys perched in their usual spots far out in the estuary, 2 on posts and a 3rd on a smaller stump.
Great Black Backed Gull was found in the usual spot on the red-brick ex-paper mill building alongside Herring Gulls and Feral Pigeons. A single female Eider was down by the bend in the river. It was more of the same for the next half an hour until a trio of summer plumaged Black Tailed Godwits appeared. A Goldfinch flew by and a small flock of Linnets were spotted on the fence opposite. A pair of Common Sandpipers put in a brief appearance as the tide rose, flying over the river to disappear just down to the right of the hide, hidden from line of sight from the hide by the vegetation.
The hoped for interesting wader never showed up though a final count of 21 Redshanks shows that numbers are on the increase. A trio of Shelduck were found round beyond the 'goalposts', and a small group of Sand Martins skimmed low over the water before joining a few Swallows higher in the sky. A Song Thrush flew off as I exited the hide at around 1510 to head for home and a pair of Pied Wagtails were seen while I waited for the bus to arrive. House Martins were added from the bus on the way back to Dundee.
Not a classic afternoon though a fairly standard mixture of species were seen. Photo opportunities were rather limited also. I ended the afternoon with 43 species which seems to be about the average for a Guardbridge visit in July.
 |
| Buzzard |
 |
| Black Headed Gull |
 |
| Grey Heron, Little Egret & Lapwing) |
 |
| Buzzard |
 |
| Canada Goose |
 |
| Mallard |
 |
| Black Headed Gull |
 |
| Carder Bee |
 |
| Linnet |
 |
| Black Tailed Godwit, Grey Heron & Lapwing |
 |
| Grey Heron |
 |
| Little Egret |
 |
| Redshank |
 |
| Redshank |
 |
| Grey Heron & Redshank |
 |
| Grey Heron & Redshank |
 |
| Herring Gull & Lesser Black Backed Gull |
 |
| Grey Heron |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Eider, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Mallard, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Feral Pigeon, Sand Martin, Shelduck, Song Thrush, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Tree Sparrow, Woodpigeon.
Butterflies seen - Small White.
The rarest sighting of the day however happened once I got home. A USAF B-2 Stealth Bomber on its way back to the USA passing over Dundee. Only the 2nd time I've seen 1 from Dundee, and the 3rd time overall.
 |
| B-2A Spirit |
 |
| B-2A Spirit |
 |
| B-2A Spirit |
