Having been intending on walking out to Broughty Ferry and Balmossie for a while now and never quite getting around to it I decided that I would finally give it a go on Saturday. However, despite my plan to get out of bed early I slept in again meaning a later start which was likely to impact on what birds and how many species I was likely to encounter. The weather wasn't too bad with relatively light winds and a not too warm/not too cold temperature when I headed out at about 1240.
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Pied Wagtail
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An odd call from one of the few trees I can see from my window drew my attention for a minute or so but went quiet when I tried to record it, though it was probably a Great Tit. I decided not to spend any time in any of the usual stops on the route so additions to the list were relatively few at Baxter Park and Eastern Cemetery. As I walked down Craigie Avenue the first Buzzard of the day flew over from the north to join a spiralling group of gulls which promptly headed off in another direction.
While checking the gull roost site at the wasteground at the end of the docks a police van drew up and asked me what I was doing as they'd been asked by the port security to check me out. They were happy enough with my explanation and headed off again, as I continued eastwards having only added a couple of Grey Herons. The Tay was relatively calm and it was easy to pick out quite distant birds on the water. There were a few Guillemots dotted around and a drake Eider. Much further on a single Great Black Backed Gull appeared on the river but overall it was pretty quiet.
The tide was further in than I expected it to be so the local Redshanks and Turnstones were all roosting at the lifeboat jetty. There was at least 1, possibly 2, Grey Seal(s) around towards the harbour though views on the surface were brief. I added Rock Pipit and Pied Wagtail by the castle and a Buzzard headed out across the Tay pursued by the local Carrion Crows. A female/young Mallard was in the harbour and a skein of Pink Footed Geese flew inland as I headed along to check out the small nature reserve. A single Linnet flew over just before I got there.
Things were relatively quiet at the small local reserve though I did find a small mixed feeding flock of Tits where a Coal Tit gave nice close views. A Mistle Thrush was perched high in a tree across the other side of the railway line. I found a Stock Dove alittle further on and with a bit of persistence a Bullfinch I had heard calling. A flock of Goldfinches circled round a few times before I exited the site along by the Barnhill Rock Garden. As the tide was well in I decided against adding any more distance to my walk by choosing to give Balmossie a miss. Instead I headed to what was left of the beach to scan out across the river. One of the jack-up rigs was being towed out to sea from the harbour and I had an idea for a photo as it was passing the castle, so with a bit of luck I could check the birds as well as getting the hoped for photo.
Out on the river I could see some distant Eider, a Cormorant and a Red Throated Diver. A trio of Goosander flew past and a small group of Wigeon were also spotted about half-way out. While trying to photograph the Diver, I discovered that there were actually three rather than just the one. Once the rig passed I headed back towards Dundee. A Grey Wagtail was seen in flight near the sailing club huts and a Wren was added at the Stannergate while a Razorbill was picked out far across the river towards Fife. By now my legs were starting to ache and my concentration was starting to wane. I decided to more or less double back on my earlier route rather than detour via Swannie Ponds (where I could add a couple of species for the day).
A Buzzard being harassed by Carrion Crows as I neared Baxter Park's eastern entrance did catch my attention. Seconds later I spotted a Sparrowhawk - as did a Jackdaw which set off in pursuit. The Sparrowhawk gained height but the Jackdaw wasn't giving up. I was able to keep the pair in view as I passed through the park though they were getting higher and higher in the sky. They were still tussling even higher in the sky - just 2 dots - as I reached Albert Street, though I did lose sight of them behind the buildings there and was unable to see them when I did have a more open vista. I made it home around 1715 having seen 43 species of bird and 3 of mammals but overall it was a slightly disappointing outing - though that was my own fault for not getting out of bed early enough, I suspect.
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Common Gull
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Guillemot
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Eider
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Redshank & Turnstone
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Grey Seal
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Eider
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Black Headed Gull
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Rock Pipit
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Pied Wagtail
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Cormorant
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Rock Pipit
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Rock Pipit
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Buzzard
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Buzzard
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Mallard
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Mallard
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Pink Footed Goose
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Goldfinch
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Coal Tit
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Coal Tit
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Mistle Thrush
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Goldfinch
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Bullfinch
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Red Throated Diver
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Red Throated Diver
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Pied Wagtail
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Rock Pipit
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Pied Wagtail
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Rock Pipit
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Guillemot
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Cormorant
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Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Cormorant, Dunnock, Eider, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Razorbill, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Turnstone, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals seen - Grey Seal, Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.
Butterflies seen - Red Admiral.
