Tuesday's weather forecast was probably the best of the week with any possible rain coming in around 1600 or so. My plan for an early start fell by the bedside and when I did eventually get up I still wasn't sure where I wanted to go. However with little to be gained by heading to Clatto and Camperdown I settled on heading out to Balmossie, though my chances of adding anything new seemed quite limited. However, my recent Hooded Crow sighting at Balmossie was still relatively fresh and a sign that all it really needed was a bit of luck.
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Turnstone
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It was after 1100 when I got out. Rather than head for Swannie Ponds and the Eastern Cemetery as I normally do, I decided on a slightly more direct route. Carrion Crow, Feral Pigeon, Starling, Blue Tit and Blackbird got my list started in unspectacular form. Lesser Black Backed Gull a little further on was also a bit underwhelming but an unexpected Swallow did pick things up slightly as it swept overhead near the bottom end of Baxter Park. Woodpigeon, Dunnock, House Sparrow, Pied Wagtail, Chaffinch and Greenfinch continued the run-of-the-mill theme as I headed down to the cycle path which runs along between the railway line and the docks.
I crossed the bridge to reach the cycle path and a bird circling to the north caught my eye. Out came the binoculars - confirming my suspicion of a Peregrine. Unfortunately before I managed to get the bird in focus with the camera a gull had chased it off northwards and out of sight. Still, it was a relatively decent bird on the list for the day. Heading eastwards along the path I was able to add Goldfinch, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Goldcrest and Blackcap. Oystercatcher was seen over the docks before a Green Veined White butterfly flitted past me. I passed the small cafe which is accessible from the docks as well as the cycle path and continued on eastwards.
Movement on the ground down to my left caught my eye and I had my first Cinnabar Moth sighting of the year. I was able to pick it up and photograph it with my iPhone while it rested on my hand - the colder than normal May temperatures a big help to me, but of no benefit to the moth. Before I reached the end of the cycle path I had seen another 5 or so of these red and black moths. Reaching the Stannergate I was able to add Long Tailed Tits and Linnets to the list. A couple of Whitethroats squabbled and a Rabbit ran for cover when it saw me. A Rook flew over - another reasonably 'good' bird, though more or less expected where I was.
A flock of Herring Gulls were congregated on the shore with a Grey Heron resting on the seaweed covered spit beyond. A distant bird to the north of the railway line proved to be a male Sparrowhawk carrying prey - which may or may not have been a Robin (photos seem to show some red). The rest of the walk along the waterfront was very quiet with almost no birds at all seen, or heard, bar a few Oystercatchers and Gulls plus House Sparrows and Starling around the houses. A few Turnstones were roosting on the lifeboat jetty as usual with a larger group in Broughty Ferry harbour, near the Castle. Also there was a single Rock Pipit. Another pair of Rock Pipits tangled by the road at the castle and another was picking about on a large sand pile topped with seaweed and things at the top end of the beach beyond the small building next to the castle.
I added a very distant Great Black Backed Gull sharing a sand-bar further east with Eiders and Herring Gulls before I detoured in to the small nature reserve. This proved relatively interesting with a pair of Carrion Crows seen "anting", as well as Coal Tit, Siskin, Robin, Bullfinch, Song Thrush and a heard-only Great Spotted Woodpecker all noted before I returned to the esplanade. I almost didn't bother continuing on to Balmossie as although I could see there were lots of Mute Swans there, I watched from a distance as a dog flushed them and the gulls near the mouth of the Dighty sending them all much further out. As expected, by the time I reached the Burn mouth there was very little to see close in and as it was a very low tide the birds were a few hundred metres away. This didn't stop another dog, with no sign of an owner anywhere in sight running all the way out to chase the already disturbed flock even further away before it ran back to wherever the owner actually was.
While on the subject of dog walkers, I had actually had to point out to an owner near the end of the esplanade that her small dog which was toddling on a good bit behind her had actually left something behind which she was legally required to pick up. Which, to give her her due, she went and did without any complaint - though if she'd been paying attention to what her dog had actually been doing she would not have had to walk quite as far to do so. If your dog is behind you then you're not watching what it is doing - even if you're looking back every now and then, there is still a chance you could miss it doing something requiring your attention.
A flock of small waders - Dunlin and Ringed Plover were flushed by yet another dog walker from the beach at Monifieth before I spotted a smaller group much closer to where I was sitting. A Common Gull duo joined one of the few remaining Herring Gulls that were still quite close in. A pair of Sand Martins flew over. A Collared Dove headed towards the houses beyond the railway line as I started my walk back in the direction of home. I added what was surprisingly my first Magpie of the day in the rock garden and spent a wee while in the small nature reserve pointing out Bullfinches, a large flock of Long Tailed Tits and a few other birds to two older ladies who had stopped for a chat when they saw the camera and binoculars. A Wren was the only new bird noted there however.
While photographing the Turnstones at the harbour again another couple stopped to have watch them picking around among the seaweed and I ended up chatting to them for about 10 minutes about birds too. A surprise male Greenfinch landed next to the Turnstones below us. With what looked like a heavy shower over Dundee and ominously moving in my general direction I headed for home. I'd seen quite a low total number of just 45 species - with only really the Peregrine being close to unexpected. Not a classic day's birding by any stretch of the imagination, though the Cinnabar Moths were nice to see.
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Cinnabar Moth
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Cinnabar Moth
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Carrion Crow
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Grey Heron
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Sparrowhawk
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Bee sp.
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Cranefly sp.
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Weevil sp.
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Grey Heron
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Turnstone
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Turnstone
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Turnstone
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Turnstone
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Turnstone
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Rock Pipit
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Rock Pipit
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Turnstone
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Rock Pipit
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Rock Pipit
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Rock Pipit
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Rock Pipit
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House Sparrow
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House Sparrow
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Linnet
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Carrion Crow ("anting")
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Mute Swan
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Herring Gull & Carrion Crow
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Common Gull & Herring Gull
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Carrion Crow
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Sand Martin
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Collared Dove
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Dunlin
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Ringed Plover
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Ringed Plover & Dunlin
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Dunlin
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Ringed Plover & Dunlin
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Starling
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Starling
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Magpie
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Magpie
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Magpie
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Green Veined White
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Chiffchaff
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Chiffchaff
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Chiffchaff
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Chiffchaff
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Chiffchaff
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Long Tailed Tit
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Long Tailed Tit
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Long Tailed Tit
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Bullfinch
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Bullfinch
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Long Tailed Tit
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Long Tailed Tit
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Blue Tit
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Long Tailed Tit
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Carrion Crow
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House Sparrow
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Turnstone
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Turnstone
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Turnstone
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Turnstone
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Turnstone
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Turnstone
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Turnstone
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Turnstone
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Turnstone
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Greenfinch
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Greenfinch
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Birds - Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sand Martin, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swallow, Turnstone, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterfly - Green Veined White.
Mammal - Rabbit.
Moths - Cinnabar Moth.
