For my midweek outing, and last day of my early May break, I was hoping to get up early and be out for around 0500 and then retracing my route from January 1st, I would walk to Balmossie to arrive before the place was over-run with dog walkers. There wasn't a whole lot of likely additions to be had on the way to Balmossie but the walk would hopefully give me an idea of what Warbler species are to found along the Dighty in late Spring. At Balmossie, I was hoping that I might find a late Iceland Gull, or a Little Gull in with the gull roost, or maybe a Fulmar well out over the river, or perhaps a Diver that I haven't yet seen this year. However, as always it would be a case of seeing what I could find and just enjoying the opportunity to get out birding again.
 |
Hooded Crow
|
The alarm failed to persuade me to get up at 0400, but afterthe best part of another 2 hours sleep I got out of bed and made it out by 0700. The later start wasn't ideal but I would have to make the most of things. It felt quieter than expected on the walk to Swannie Ponds where Tufted Duck and Mute Swan were noted but little else. After 30 minutes walk I made it to the Dighty Burn between Douglas and Whitfield and set off along the path to the sound of Blackcap, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff. I managed to see all 3 though the camera stayed in the bag. A pair of Oystercatchers swept over before I was drawn to the burn where I could hear a singing Dipper. It was another ringed bird - Blue over Silver/Orange over Blue, and it was rather unconcerned by me standing watching it as it waded in the fast flowing water.
Moving on, I soon added a Great Spotted Woodpecker in flight and a Collared Dove in a small tree by the path. A Grey Heron was seen in the fenced off area across the other side of the burn. A Song Thrush was heard singing and a male Reed Bunting proved a bit easier to see, as it too sang nearer to the path. Wren and Pheasant were both heard as I neared the dual carriageway. Although I knew that the track on the other side of the road was a dead end, I decided to explore anyway. A trio of Roe Deer were in the scrubby area behind Sainsbury's, and a Whitethroat showed really well in a tree just above head height and only a few feet away. The first Swallow of the day sped over.
Reaching the T-junction of burns I considered crossing via the small stony island exposed by the lower water levels, but as the field beyond was full of cattle, I decided against it. A pair of Mallard were seen on the burn and a Stock Dove flew off, while an Oystercatcher probed around on a grassy area by an industrial unit building. I could hear the sound of a Dipper singing but it wasn't coming from the direction of the burn. It was coming from the sky and ahead of me, rather than from the direction of the burn. I looked up to see 2 Dippers passing over me, one slightly behind and offset from the other. I suspected that it had to be some sort of display flight, though I'd never heard of anything similar. I did find an account of similar online later at home, including photos - though it appears to be seen only rarely.
From across the other side I heard the reeling of a Grasshopper Warbler but there was no likelihood of seeing the bird from where I was, so I continued on, with the Roe Deer warily watching me as they fed. A singing Yellowhammer showed reasonably well as I wandered back to the road after what had been an interesting detour. Rather than follow my previous routes from there I decided to take the direct route down Claypotts Road and Westfield Road beyond to the Tay. From there I would follow the river east to Balmossie. This would give me a chance to check the water and beach on the way, rather than have to wait till later on my way back.
I reached the waterfront at Douglas Terrace around 0845 and was surprised to see a trio of Goosander not too far offshore. Further out were a number of Black Headed Gulls and Common Gulls. I added Turnstones roosting in their usual spot at the lifeboat jetty. I checked the river from the castle but things were very quiet. As I walked along towards the car park just beyond the eastern side of the castle I was sure I saw something large break the surface, relatively close in to shore a few hundred metres further on. Watching through binoculars I soon had confirmation that there was a Bottlenose Dolphin not too far out from the beach. I hurried along towards the area where I saw the Dolphin coming up for air, pointing it out to a few folk nearby.
A few minutes later, I was in the right area and spent the best part of the next 2 hours watching at least 5 or 6 Dolphins coming up to the surface to breathe, or sometimes thrashing around in the water while chasing Salmon (successfully as a few photos I managed to get showed). Unfortunately I managed to not get photos of two complete breaches when the whole Dolphin was clear of the water for a second or so. I pointed the large cetaceans out to a few folk walking dogs (despite the signs forbidding dogs on the beach between May 1st and the end of August(?)) and a woman collecting sea glass who was until then oblivious to the large sea creature around 30 feet away from her. Along the beach, a group of folk watched them for varying amounts of time, the calm water making them easy to see, even well out in the river towards Lucky Scalp island and Tayport.
In addition to the Dolphins which were often easy to pick out owing to the cloud of gulls above them, there were birds to be seen as well - Cormorant, Eider, Shelduck, Sand Martin, House Martin, Swallow and even a Common Sandpiper seen low over the water, heading upriver. Things eventually quietened down around 1100 and I wandered on to Balmossie where there were a mix of gull species, a small flock of Eider with a few Wigeon, a pair of Gadwall and Goldeneye, 3 Red Breasted Mergansers off the burn mouth and even a 'bottling' Grey Seal nearby. There was distinct lack of waders except for a few Oystercatchers and I accidentally spooked the gulls when I sat down on the rocks to rest my tired legs for a short while.
A pair of Sandwich Terns flew past and with only the addition of a young Great Black Backed Gull during my spell of scanning the area near the burn mouth I decided I should start heading for home as the sky was beginning to look rather dark and threatening and with 6 miles to go and rain forecast at some point, I really didn't want to push my luck too far. Reaching the small car park at the end of the esplanade I stopped to scan again. Well out over the river I picked up a flock of birds low over the water. They appeared to be heading from Fife towards Balmossie. Eventually they became identifiable - a small flock of Feral Pigeons (or maybe more likely racing pigeons?).
Looking back towards Tentsmuir Point when the pigeons had landed by the burn mouth I picked up a single bird following the same course as the pigeons. It appeared to be a crow but somtheing about it appeared to be strange but unfortunately heat shimmer was making it difficult to get a decent view. I decided to take photos instead of trying to rely on just my eyes via the binoculars. This proved to be a good idea as the photos showed that while it was a crow, it was a completely unexpected Hooded Crow - though it was impossible to rule out a hybrid while looking on the back of the camera outside. Thankfully once I got home it was easy to see that it was an actual Hooded Crow with all the black and grey in just the right places, and the correct pale-ish shade too. An unexpected Dundee tick for me, as well as a year-tick. A Jackdaw followed the same route a few seconds later.
As I was too tired to walk back to photograph the crow when it landed by the Dighty mouth (and suspecting at that stage it would be a hybrid) I detoured into the small nature reserve instead, stopping to photograph a Chiffchaff and noting Robin, Wren and House Sparrow. I added a heard only Bullfinch a little later. As I exited the nature reserve at the western end I spotted what were probably the earlier Sandwich Terns out on a small sandy island just offshore. As I wandered on again, a pair of Linnets took flight before landing in a small tree. Unfortunately they were to be my last addition for the day and a rather odd route home compounded by a road closure that stopped me getting back to the esplanade made sure that was the case. A quick stop at Swannie Ponds found a few Coot chicks with adults and the white female (domestic?) Mallard with a small group of ducklings bobbing along perilously close to the assembled mass of Herring Gulls.
All in all it turned out to be a very different sort of day. Other than on a boat trip it was the longest sustained view I'd had of Dolphins in the Tay, and also the closest views from land at Broughty Ferry. I'd had one brief view of a solitary Dolphin from Tayport Harbour that was around 10 feet away but it didn't linger. The Dipper display flight was a really unusual thing to witness and finding another site in Dundee for Grasshopper Warbler was a big plus. The one year-tick (in bold) among the 59 species recorded was an unexpected Dundee tick for me and one that I suspect was actually a migrant bird on its way back to Finland or Russia. It would be interesting to know where it had overwintered. The Gadwall pair at Balmossie was also relatively unusual. The one downside was just how tired I was when I got home.
 |
Goosander
|
 |
Bottlenose Dolphin
|
 |
Bottlenose Dolphin
|
 |
Bottlenose Dolphin
|
 |
Bottlenose Dolphin
|
 |
Bottlenose Dolphin
|
 |
Bottlenose Dolphin
|
 |
Bottlenose Dolphin
|
 |
Bottlenose Dolphin
|
 |
Bottlenose Dolphin
|
 |
Bottlenose Dolphin
|
 |
Bottlenose Dolphin
|
 |
Bottlnose Dolphin (& Salmon)
|
 |
Bottlenose Dolphin (& Salmon)
|
 |
Bottlenose Dolphin
|
 |
Bottlenose Dolphin
|
 |
Common Sandpiper
|
 |
Bottlenose Dolphin
|
 |
Bottlenose Dolphin
|
 |
Bottlenose Dolphin
|
 |
Bottlenose Dolphin & Herring Gull
|
 |
Bottlenose Dolphin
|
 |
Bottlenose Dolphin
|
 |
Bottlenose Dolphin
|
 |
Cormorant
|
 |
Bottlenose Dolphin
|
 |
Pied Wagtail
|
 |
Pied Wagtail
|
 |
Shelduck
|
 |
Eider
|
 |
Wigeon & Mute Swan
|
 |
Gadwall (& Mute Swan)
|
 |
Mute Swan
|
 |
Eider, Goldeneye, Lesser Black Backed Gull & Herring Gull
|
 |
Eider
|
 |
Red Breasted Merganser
|
 |
Great Black Backed Gull & Herring Gull
|
 |
Carrion Crow
|
 |
Carrion Crow
|
 |
Swallow
|
 |
Feral Pigeon (Racing Pigeon?)
|
 |
Hooded Crow
|
 |
Hooded Crow
|
 |
Hooded Crow
|
 |
Jackdaw
|
 |
House Sparrow
|
 |
House Sparrow
|
 |
Sandwich Tern
|
 |
Common Gull
|
 |
Magpie
|
 |
Magpie
|
 |
House Sparrow
|
 |
Linnet
|
 |
Herring Gull
|
 |
Oystercatcher
|
 |
Herring Gull
|
 |
Domestic "Mallard"
|
 |
"Mallard"
|
 |
"Mallard"
|
Birds - Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Cormorant, Dipper, Dunnock, Eider, Gadwall, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Grasshopper Warbler, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull,
Hooded Crow, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Reed Bunting, Feral Pigeon, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Shelduck, Siskin, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Whitethroat, Wigeon, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals - Bottlenose Dolphin, Grey Seal, Roe Deer.
