Having not ventured out at the weekend followed by a couple of days off work ill, I really needed to get out somewhere on Wednesday. I was in need of some exercise, some fresh air and some vitamin D. I also needed to try to add something new to my Dundee 2021 list. I weighed up the options and figured that Balmossie again provided my best chance of an addition or two. As a new year is rapidly approaching the number of days (and even hours) available for birding are increasingly rather limited, so I really need to attempt to make the most of those remaining. I was up early and headed out before sunrise into what was a rather overcast day.
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| Great Northern Diver |
Herring Gull, Carrion Crow and Feral Pigeon provided the first few species for the list followed by a Magpie before I reached Baxter Park. Wren, Woodpigeon, Blue Tit and Pied Wagtails were noted before I took a detour to investigate a large flock of mixed gulls on the grass to the south of the pavilion, down towards the tennis courts. There were more Herring Gulls plus Black Headed and Common Gulls but unfortunately nothing of any rarity. I continued on along Arbroath Road adding House Sparrow and Robin as well as a few Mistle Thrushes before I headed downhill towards Stannergate for the walk along the waterfront to Broughty Ferry and onwards to Balmossie and the Dighty Burn outflow.
Redwing was heard but not seen and an Oystercatcher and a small skein of Pink Footed Geese passed overhead both very quietly - for the species. Blackbird was seen near the railway line and a Rabbit watched me pass by a little further on. A charm of Goldfinches and a flock of Long Tailed Tits joined the other species on the list just before I got my first views of the river. A Little Grebe was on the water just off the end of the harbour. Although the sun had risen around half an hour earlier the light levels were still poor so the camera stayed in the bag. A Grey Heron flew along to land on the shore near the Little Grebe and I spotted a small group of Turnstones foraging among the pebbles and seaweed on the beach.
A Dunnock called loudly from the wasteground behind the car park and a male Bullfinch showed well for a few seconds from the top of a small tree in the same area. I scanned out across the river regularly but found the Tay rather quiet. I did eventually pick out a few distant Eider. Near the sailing club huts a few Ringed Plover were half-hidden by the water's edge, while a Redshank picked along the shore nearby. There was no sign of any Divers - either Red Throated or Great Northern. A drake Red Breasted Merganser swam past almost within touching distance after I photographed a female Eider which came ashore at the foot of one of the ramps doen to the water. A Cormorant flew upriver. The light was still not improving any, despite it being an hour since sunrise but the camera was pressed into service anyway.
A Rock Pipit was found near the castle but only a small group of roosting Oystercatchers were around at the harbour area. I continued on along the beach for a few hundred metres but failed to add anything other than a Starling, seen in flight to the north over the houses. I wandered up off the beach and continued across the football pitches passing a mixed flock of Oystercatchers, Common Gulls and a few Black Headed Gulls. I spotted a very distant group of birds off to the east, high in the sky. They were waders and a few grab shots showed them to be Bar Tailed Godwits. Although high tide was around lunchtime, most of the beach was already underwater so I chose to press on to Balmossie and the mouth of the burn while there was still a chance to see some birds there.
A Great Tit was in trees at the rock garden and I noted a few Rooks around
on the shore as I neared the Dighty outflow. The numbers of gulls there was
quite low and scanning through them proved fruitless though a Great
Black Backed Gull did show up a little further out on the water. A small
flock of Dunlin flew in to join the Redshanks and Turnstones at their high tide
roost. There were a number of Oystercatchers on what was left of the
beach while on the water were around twenty five Wigeon, a handful of
Mallards and a small-ish group of Goldeneye. A Cormorant and a Shag were
noted but there were no Divers that I could see anywhere. Further out
were large numbers of Eider with a few small groups swimming closer as
the tide rose further.
I lingered for around an hour before I
decided I wasn't going to add anything new and headed back westwards. A
small flock of birds in flight turned out to be Siskins and Linnet. A
detour through the local nature reserve was quieter than of late though
Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Goldcrest, and Treecreeper were all noted as well
as a calling Stock Dove and a few more overflying Siskins. A Greenfinch
was in trees near where I saw the House Martin last month. I stopped to
photograph a couple of Rock Pipits just below the eastern wall of the
castle. A hyperactive Spaniel off the lead was barking at something out
on the water, threatening to dive in to 'fetch' it but appearing not too keen on water. I was surprised to
see that what it was barking at was actually a Great Northern Diver, a
bit further out than last week, but headed in my direction.
I
decided to head up into the castle grounds for a raised viewpoint and
the likelihood that the bird would be less aware of my presence than if I
stayed where I was. This proved to be a good decision. The bird
appeared to be the second of last week's birds - the one with the
partially black bill. I spent around an hour watching the bird fishing
successfully - though a few times the fish it caught were too large for
it to actually swallow and they were let go again. The Diver did drift
in relatively close a few times but mostly spent its time further out.
The light had improved at last, though this did mean that when the sun
was out, the light was behind the bird, which wasn't really ideal. I still
managed to take quite a few photos and improved on last week's photos
too.
The bird eventually started to drift further out and back
towards where it had arrived from so I decided to continue homewards. A
Sparrowhawk was seen over some of the big gardens at Douglas Terrace. Further on, I
decided to check Craigie Drive for Waxwings as it is a fairly regular
spot for them at this time of year. As they have been notable by their almost complete absence this year, I
wasn't expecting to find any. An unidentified moth flew past me as I
walked up the stairs from the Stannergate to cross the main road, and a
Sparrowhawk was seen as I neared Craigie Drive. Needless to say, there
were no Waxwings around.
I continued up to Eastern Cemetery
where Mistle Thrushes and Redwings were relatively active. I spooked a
Buzzard and added yet another Sparrowhawk as well as a Grey Squirrel
before I left the Cemetery. Swannie Ponds gave me a few more species for
the day - Coot, Moorhen, Mute Swan and Tufted Duck, as well as two
ringed Black Headed Gulls (white JMK7 from Norway, and Yellow 2XLD from
Scotland), both of which are regular wintering birds. Nothing else was
noted before I reached home around 1445 having recorded a total of 55
species of birds and once again succeeded in getting decent photos of
Great Northern Diver - and from a different angle to last week. Despite the mostly
gloomy conditions it was a very mild day and a relatively enjoyable walk
overall.
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| Eider |
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Red Breasted Merganser
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Red Breasted Merganser
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Red Breasted Merganser
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Common Gull
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Carrion Crow
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| Starling |
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Pied Wagtail
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| Bullfinch |
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Oystercatcher & Common Gull
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Common Gull
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Mallard & Eider
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Dunlin & Ringed Plover
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Great Black Backed Gull
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| Goldeneye |
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| Eider |
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| Wigeon |
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| Wigeon |
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Common Gull
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| Redshank |
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Redshank, Turnstone, Mallard & Wigeon
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Great Black Backed Gull
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Redshank, Dunlin & Turnstone
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| Goldeneye |
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| Redshank |
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| Dunlin |
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| Dunlin |
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Turnstone & Redshank
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Common Gull
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Wigeon |
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| Wigeon |
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| Rook |
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Dunlin & Ringed Plover
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Ringed Plover
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| Goldcrest |
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| Robin |
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| Greenfinch |
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Rock Pipit
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Rock Pipit
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Rock Pipit
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Great Northern Diver
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| Great Northern Diver |
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| Great Northern Diver |
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| Great Northern Diver |
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| Great Northern Diver |
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| Great Northern Diver |
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| Great Northern Diver |
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| Great Northern Diver |
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| Great Northern Diver |
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| Great Northern Diver |
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| Great Northern Diver |
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| Great Northern Diver |
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| Great Northern Diver |
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| Great Northern Diver |
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| Great Northern Diver |
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| Great Northern Diver |
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| Great Northern Diver |
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| Great Northern Diver |
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| Great Northern Diver |
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| Great Northern Diver |
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| Great Northern Diver |
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| Great Northern Diver |
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Pied Wagtail
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Rock Pipit
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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Black Headed Gull (White JMK7)
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Black Headed Gull (Yellow 2XLD)
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Birds - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Northern Diver, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Linnet, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Redwing, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Shag, Siskin, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.