0813 : Sunny Afternoon Stroll (28/11/20)

Having had a run of at least partially wet weekends recently I decided I should probably try to get out somewhere this weekend as dry, sunny weather was forecast. An idea for an early start went the usual way, and I stayed in bad for a few hours extra. When I did eventually surface I got organised for a walk to Balmossie. I decided I would take a scope as very light wind and sunshine meant that conditions would be decent for picking out distant birds in the outer Tay. Rather than go without a camera, I decided to take an older camera and the relatively lightweight option of a 70-300mm lens. The combination of scope and camera, plus binoculars did mean a fair bit of weight to carry on what would be roughly a 12 mile round trip.

Long Tailed Tit

It was around 1115 when I headed out into the sunshine. As I discovered relatively quickly I was a bit over-dressed and the scarf and gloves soon went in the pockets. A Coal Tit on a feeder in Court Street was a nice bird to add so close to home. As I reached Clepington Road I noticed the Feral Pigeons all taking flight - which usually suggests a raptor is nearby. The culprit was soon spotted by myself, and a Carrion Crow which gave chase to the Buzzard which headed towards Caird Park. A quick check at Swannie Ponds delivered a couple of Goosander but the rest was fairly standard fayre.

Rather than take my usual route towards Eastern Cemetery I decided to walk down the Kingsway, just in case there were Waxwings feeding on the Rowan berries. Unfortunately the best I managed was a couple of Mistle Thrushes. Reaching the Stannergate I had a quick check of the river but birds were largely absent. A few Turnstones, a Redshank and a Common Gull were noted but the walk along the waterfront to Broughty Ferry was largely poor for birds. Rock Pipit and Pied Wagtail were seen near the Lifeboat shed and a large skein of Pink Footed Geese headed north. A Grey Seal was seen distantly out on the river.

Further on a Linnet flew over as I diverted into the small local nature reserve. This proved relatively productive with Redwing, Great Tit, Jay, Bullfinches, Blackbirds, Long Tailed Tit, Blue Tit and Stock Dove all noted though overall the area was relatively quiet. A roosting Grey Heron with the Turnstones and Redshanks at the outflow at Balmossie was a nice surprise though the whole lot being flushed by an out of control dog, with the owner on the opposite side of the Dighty, was not. Neither was the ignorance and attitude of the owner when challenged about it.

Scanning out over the river I was able to add a few more distant species - Razorbill, Guillemot, Great Black Backed Gull, Goldeneye, Red Breasted Merganser, Eider and Great Black Backed Gull but the hoped for Great Northern Diver was nowhere to be seen. By now the light was fading as the sun headed for the horizon and I set off on the long walk homewards. A couple of Grey Herons and a flock of Curlews were seen in the gloaming as I slowly walked home, my bag weighing heavily on my shoulders. Overall not a classic day out but I did manage to see 48 species without finding anything too exciting among them, though I did manage to get a few reasonable photos.

Goosander

Goosander

Mallard

Goosander

Tufted Duck

Tufted Duck

Tufted Duck

Turnstone

Common Gull

Pink Footed Goose

Turnstone

Turnstone

Cormorant

Rock Pipit

Pied Wagtail

Pied Wagtail

Pied Wagtail

Turnstone

Redwing

Redwing

Bullfinch

Long Tailed Tit

Long Tailed Tit

Long Tailed Tit

Long Tailed Tit

Long Tailed Tit

House Sparrow

House Sparrow

Wren

Turnstone, Redshank & Grey Heron

Grey Heron

Redshank & Turnstone

Redshank & Turnstone

Redshank & Turnstone

Collared Dove

Curlew

Grey Heron

Grey Heron

Grey Heron

Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Razorbill, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Starling, Stock Dove, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Woodpigeon, Wren.

Mammals seen - Grey Seal.

0812 : Into The Dark.

As October slipped into November the amount of daylight available for birding on my walk to and from work diminished further. Thankfully even in the pre-dawn darkness there were birds around to be heard, and some seen in the gloom, though being able to identify the calls and songs is a major help. At the other end of the day there was less birding by ear to be done as the birds had by then mostly gone to roost by the time I was leaving work. It was still been possible to identify some of the birds still around before it got too dark but not surprisingly the birds being noted tended to be broadly similar from day to day though with the odd surprise or two thrown in. This post is likely to be the last general round-up account till after the new year.

Peregrine

On Monday 2nd November the total for the day was 22 species with Collared Dove and Song Thrush both noted along with a surprise Common Crossbill duo at Balgay Hill, seen in flight at the western end over the cemetery. Pink Footed Geese were added on the way home. Tuesday the 3rd could only scrape together 17 species. Black Headed and Common Gulls were seen in the gloom at the football pitches. Most days the first birds seen or heard were Blackbirds and Robins, with Carrion Crows, Herring Gulls, Wrens and Redwings also noted before there was enough light to be able to identify other species and the 3rd was no exception. Also most days Pink Footed Geese were noted in varying sized skeins arriving from the north as darkness descended though there were a few days where a few birds were seen in the morning.

A Peregrine low over Pentland Avenue just after 0700 was a surprise on Thursday 5th, with one of the Cox's Stack birds seen on the way home. Bullfinch and Siskin were both heard in the morning and a flock of Long Tailed Tits were spotted. Surprisingly I managed to record a total of 23 species, though 9 were heard only. Friday the 6th surpassed that total number of species noted with 24. Grey Wagtail, Bullfinch and Long Tailed Tit were all visible on my way to work and Siskin was once again heard. On Monday the 9th, a Lesser Black Backed Gull as I reached work was a surprise. Two fire alarms during the working day meant some extra time outside in daylight adding Dunnock, Magpie, Grey Wagtail and Chaffinch to the list. A Jay on the way home took the day's total to a respectable 23 given the reduction in daylight even from a few days earlier.

Wet weather on Tuesday the 10th meant even fewer species noted with only 15 for the day. A heard only Bullfinch and a few Redwings was really as good as it got. Thursday the 12th's best among a very disappointing total of just 12 species was a Sparrowhawk being chased by a Carrion Crow after work. Rain in the morning had meant a Redwing sighting was the best I could manage. A slightly better haul of 16 species was noted on Friday the 13th with a small flock of Bramblings over my work and a lone Grey Wagtail seconds later as I headed for home. Both species were very welcome - the Bramblings in particular, as they were new for the 'commute' list.

In total over the two weeks covered in this post I've managed to see or hear 34 species with Crossbill, Brambling and Peregrine probably the best though the Lesser Black Backed Gull was notable for being so late in the year. I've just purchased a relatively cheap pair of "night vision" binoculars which might mean I try to find a few owls on my way home at some point soon. Reviews of these binoculars are quite favourable so this might actually turn out to be achievable - and as Barn Owl has recently been noted (in the dark) at Riverside Nature Park and I've seen Tawny Owl once after dark at work, there is no real reason why it shouldn't be. All photos featured here are older photos.

Bullfinch

Redwing

Blackbird

Coal Tit

Long Tailed Tit

Starling

Collared Dove

Blue Tit

Magpie

Common Gull

Woodpigeon

Grey Wagtail

Wren

Goldcrest

House Sparrow

Common Crossbill

Jay

Bullfinch

Black Headed Gull

Carrion Crow

Magpie

Sparrowhawk

Herring Gull

Chaffinch

Robin

Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Brambling, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Crossbill, Common Gull, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Peregrine, Pink Footed Goose, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Woodpigeon, Wren.

Mammals - Rabbit.