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| Chaffinch |
Being a Sunday the bus service to Errol was only every 2 hours, meaning a rather hurried 2 hour attempt, or a probably longer than necessary 4 hours. I decided that I would hurry to the site, and if I found the bird quickly, I'd hurry back, otherwise it would be a 4 hour stint, plus an hour by bus each way. I headed out to catch the 1000 bus picking up Feral Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Herring Gull and Woodpigeon almost immediately. Goldfinch followed soon after but there were no further additions until I was about to get on the bus when a Lesser Black Backed Gull was seen on buildings at the bus station and a Grey Wagtail flew over.
The bus journey out to Errol seemed to take longer than it actually did and the birds were rather few and far between though I did actually manage to add a few more species. Starlings and Jackdaws were seen in Invergowrie, with House Sparrows being seen in Longforgan. A Song Thrush was a plasant surprise as one landed on a garden hedge in the village. Swallows were seen over the fields and Rooks were feeding in some other fields near Errol airfield.
Arriving in Errol, I headed quickly down Gas Brae, stopping only to note House Martin and Collared Dove. Tree Sparrow and Yellowhammer were seen at the small community garden. A singing Skylark was picked out against the clouds as it climbed high into the sky. There were plenty birds heard as I hurried along the path through the trees towards Port Allen though only a Robin was seen. From the nettle patch viewpoint a Reed Bunting was added. A quick check of the eastern pool added Mallard, Coot, Great Crested Grebe, Sedge Warbler and Gadwall.
The western pool held a Grey Heron, a pair of Shelduck and a Mute Swan. A pair of Goosander flew over eastwards at speed. A Chiffchaff was seen in the trees along the enxt stretch of teh walk, with a pair of Canada Geese flying out from behind a stand of trees.A pair of Grey Squirrels were seen and a Roe Deer ran off when it spotted me before I saw it. Eventually I reached the area I'd been told about and although the vegetation was thicker than ideal I found a likely spot where a bird could be heard calling loudly from the reeds. Unfortunately it was another Sedge Warbler.
I tried a little further on where a second bird was singing, though a bit more distantly from where I was standing. There were too many reeds between me and the bird, wherever it was. I had to make a decision on whether to wait and hopefully see the bird, or hurry back to errol to catch the bus. I chose the first option. Thankfully, after another 10 minutes or so, I spotted a Reed Warbler perched atop a reed, singing loudly. Unfortunately, I failed to re-find the bird with the camera, so a photo of the species will likely have to wait till next year now.
With my target species finally 'nailed' I started a slow walk back towards Errol. A Buzzard was chased by a Carrion Crow and among the trees I added Great Tit, Blue Tit and Willow Warbler to teh relatively short list for the day. There were a few Green-Veined White butterflies around and rather a lot of Orange Tips, which are always great to see, though not always easy to photograph. Thankfully, I managed a few photos of a male on a Lady's Smock flower. A female Pheasant was flushed as I wandered along the track.
After a spot of lunch, I looked for a Goldcrest I could hear and had great close views as it foraged among the low branches of a conifer just a metre or so above my head. A pair of Treecreepers were nearby. A Chaffinch was another addition before I visited the eastern end of the eastern pool again. A Peacock butteerfly was still loitering in the area. A male Marsh Harrier was seen quartering over the reeds. Blackcap and Great Spotted Woodpecker were spotted as I walked back along the track through the trees. Rabbit and Small Tortoiseshell butterfly were the final additions as I headed back up the hill at Gas Brae to catch the 1455 bus back to Dundee, and home. One very unwelcome "year tick" was the discovery on my leg of an attached, rather small, Tick. Thankfully I was able to remove it later at home, though I'm not certain I got it completely and cleanly out, owing to its small size.
Not a classic day by any means, but another target bird seen and added to my year-list (in bold) which is still ahead of last year at the same time. 44 species of bird were seen, along with 3 mammal species and 4 butterfly species.
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Sedge Warbler |
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| Blackbird |
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| Orange Tip |
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| Great Crested Grebe |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| Chaffinch |
Species seen -Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Coot, Gadwall, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Mute Swan, Pheasant, Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sedge Warbler, Shelduck, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Swallow, Tree Sparrow, Treecreeper, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.
Butterflies seen - Green Veined White, Orange Tip, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell.
Mammals seen - Grey Squirrel, Rabbit, Roe Deer.