STONEFACTION BIRDING: 0909 : I Do Want A Plover (24/11/21)

0909 : I Do Want A Plover (24/11/21)

There has been a bit of a rush to head to the Tay reedbeds recently to try to get photos of the Bearded Tits there, which have apparently been showing well and in very good numbers. Twitter has had plenty of photos posted over the past week or two, and apparently Facebook is similar. Although I've only got a couple of very distant, and very fuzzy, flight shots of this rather colourful species I declined the kind offer to head for the reedbeds with Lainy on Wednesday to try for the birds ourselves. The reason for declining the offer was that one of the few species that I should have by now in Dundee this year is Grey Plover and with disturbance by dog walkers at lower levels during the week, I decided that I should head to Balmossie to hopefully add the species to my Dundee 2021 list instead, with my Dundee 2021 list my main birding priority this year.

Treecreeper

As things worked out, it was another later than intended start. With high tide not until around 1700 (after sunset) it wasn't really an issue. I headed out around 1120 noting House Sparrow and Herring Gull in my street. Starling, Feral Pigeon, Blue Tit, Robin, Jackdaw, Magpie, Dunnock and Carrion Crow were all added as I walked to Swannie Ponds for a quick look at the birds there. It was a fairly typical mix of species with Herring Gull and Black Headed Gull (yellow 2XLD the only ringed bird seen), Mallard, Tufted Duck, Coot, Moorhen and Mute Swan all there. I moved on quickly with Eastern Cemetery my next stop in the hope of 'winter thrush' flocks.

Blackbird, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Greenfinch and Coal Tit were seen along with a Buzzard at the cemetery but the only evidence of any 'winter thrushes' were a couple of Redwings and a couple of Mistle Thrushes. A Buzzard was pursued by a flock of Carrion Crows when it took flight as I passed. I reached the Stannergate around 1205 after adding Goldfinch on the walk down from the cemetery. A Chaffinch overflew but there was no sign of any Rabbits where I often see them. A Red Throated Diver was off the end of the docks, and a Grey Heron was seen out on one of the 'points' out from the beach, with another landing close by. A single Pink Footed Goose was seen heading upriver distantly. A pair of Little Grebes was a slight surprise as I set off along the walkway towards Broughty Ferry.

An Oystercatcher flew past and a Cormorant was seen fishing out on the river. A Mistle Thrush and a pair of Siskins were noted as I passed the Eagle feathers sculpture. An Eider was seen well out in the river with a small flock of Red Breasted Mergansers a little closer to the Dundee side of the river. The pipe at Douglas Terrace again added Curlew and Redshank for the list and a Common Gull flew over. A Pied Wagtail was heard near the castle but not seen, though a small group were seen down on the sand later on as I headed homewards. Despite much scanning I failed to add anything new though a couple of Cormorants and a small group of Oystercatchers were on the rock island just off the harbour wall. Another Little Grebe was in the harbour along with a Redshank and a Curlew.

Heading along towards Balmossie I added a distant adult Great Black Backed Gull stood out on a spit of sand and a calling Wren at the entrance to the small nature reserve. I spent more time than planned in the reserve as I watched a number of birds feeding in a tree just a few feet away from me. Blue Tit, Great Tit and Bullfinch were seen in addition to Goldcrest and a very relaxed Treecreeper which was my main focus (no pun intended) for photos. Returning to check the shoreline I added Bar Tailed Godwits on the small sandy area down from the football pitches. Continuing onwards I added a flock of Turnstone, Dunlin and Ringed Plover around their usual haunts but I failed to find any Grey Plovers or even Knot which was slightly disappointing having walked so far in the hope of what should have been an 'easy' tick for the Dundee 2021 list.

Jonathan Patullo was doing a WEBS count at Balmossie and we had a brief chat before he headed on to count some more birds further to the east while there was sufficient light to do so. The only additions for the day were Wigeon and Rook though I did spend some time checking through the gulls but I failed to even find a Mediterranean Gull among the Commons, Black Headeds and Herring Gulls. Knowing that it was only around an hour till sunset I set off homewards around 1440. A pair of Swiss Air Force F-18 Hornet fighters were a nice bonus for me as they headed south having visited Lossiemouth (an even better plane had gone over above clouds earlier - an actual military serialed Hawker Hunter also on its way to Lossiemouth). I snapped a photo of a bird in flight that was flying 'differently' as I walked along past the small car park but didn't check the photo at the time. A Song Thrush was seen near where I'd added the Bar Tailed Godwits.

As I was wandering along past the row of houses at The Esplanade to the west of the castle around 1500 I had to do a double take when I though I saw a hirundine above the chimneys. Sure enough, it was, though not a Swallow but a House Martin - a juvenile moulting into adult plumage. I grabbed as many photos as I could as it hawked around the houses before it disappeared over the dunes and continued on eastwards and out of sight. Checking my photos later at home I discovered that the bird flying 'differently' earlier had actually been the same bird though because of the distance and the time of year, a hirundine hadn't even crossed my mind at the time. A few Collared Doves were roosting in a bare tree by the small 'garden' just west of the car park and the crazy golf course.

The walk back along the Stannergate was relatively light on birds though a rather nice sunset was photographed instead. A flock of Turnstones, a skein of Pink Footed Geese, a flock of Curlews coming into roost and the two Little Grebes seen earlier roosting just offshore were the main highlights until I reached Baxter Park around 1635. As I entered the park I stopped when I heard a Tawny Owl calling a few times from one of the gardens nearby. Unfortunately an attempt to get a recording with my phone proved pointless with only a couple of quieter calls heard but not picked up by the microphone. I made it home for around 1650 slightly less tired than expected.

Despite having failed to get Grey Plover I did manage a total of 54 species with the House Martin being the main highlight (along with the Swiss Hornets!) and the addition of Tawny Owl to my Baxter Park birds. It was also good to get more close up Treecreeper photos. One notable feature of the day was a distinct lack of any Auks on the river - no Guillemots or Razorbills at all. Usually there are one or two around at this time of year and with the high numbers over the past few months I would have expected a few stragglers to still be around but there were none that I could see. The three Little Grebes were also worthy of mention - having had just one bird last winter around the Douglas Terrace end of the waterfront a few times. All in all, it was another worthwhile wander.

Redwing

Mistle Thrush

Red Throated Diver

Grey Heron

Little Grebe

Chaffinch

Siskin

Mistle Thrush

Common Gull

Red Breasted Merganser

Oystercatcher

Curlew

Eider

Oystercatcher

Little Grebe

Curlew

Redshank

Cormorant & Oystercatcher

Eider

Curlew

Redshank

Great Black Backed Gull

Blackbird

Blue Tit

Goldcrest

Treecreeper

Bullfinch

Treecreeper

Goldcrest

Common Gull & Bar Tailed Godwit

Bar Tailed Godwit

Dunlin & Ringed Plover

Ringed Plover & Dunlin

Goldfinch

Herring Gull, Black Headed Gull, Common Gull & Wigeon

Common Gull, Herring Gull, Black Headed Gull & Wigeon

Wigeon

Carrion Crow & Great Black Backed Gull

Goldfinch

House Martin

Bar Tailed Godwit

Song Thrush

Wren

Mute Swan

House Martin

Collared Dove

Pied Wagtail

Red Breasted Merganser

Pink Footed Goose

Turnstone

Curlew

Black Headed Gull

Little Grebe

Birds - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Little Grebe, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Redwing, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Siskin, Song Thrush, Starling, Tawny Owl, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.

A few bonus photos of the Swiss Air Force F-18 Hornets (and A - single seater and a B - two seater) from a detachment to RAF Leeming for night flying practice.