As this year edges closer to the end, the available birding hours slip away, and I really need to make as much of an effort as I can to use them as effectively as possible. I would like to add more species to my Dundee 2021 list but the vast majority of possibilities are already on there and the rest are rather more unlikely. For Wednesday's birding I had a choice of heading west to Riverside Nature Park, or east to Balmossie again. I had planned to do a pre-dawn to post-dusk day at the park but rain had been forecast pre-sunset when I went to bed on Tuesday night, so I abandoned that option at that point. That left another trip out to Balmossie. To be fair however, the chances of getting a new bird there were probably slightly higher than at Riverside anyway.
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Common Gull
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I headed out into what was another rather drab and overcast grey day around 1040. Jackdaws, Feral Pigeons, Herring Gull and Starling were noted fairly quickly. I soon added Robin, House Sparrow and Blue Tit at Baxter Park followed by a Magpie, then Carrion Crow and Chaffinch before I reached the western end of Eastern Cemetery. Blackbird, Redwing, Woodpigeon, Mistle Thrush and a Coal Tit were seen as I skirted round the edges of the graveyard. Heading off downhill towards Stannergate I added a few Black Headed Gulls near the large crossroads about half-way down. An Oystercatcher flew over.
A Wren and a Dunnock were noted at the end of the dockyards when I reached the Stannergate. There were a couple of Grey Herons around on the initial stretch of the river with a Cormorant picked out distantly on the river. A few minutes further on towards Broughty Ferry I found both Redshank and Turnstone down on the shore. Although the river was overall rather quiet there were a few Red Breasted Mergansers visible. There were also one or two Eiders around. I found that one of the jettys at Broughty Ferry was actually accessible again after all the flood prevention work and was able to wander out to the end for a better look at the river for the first time in a long time. This did give me a Rock Pipit and I inadvertantly spooked a roosting Grey Heron that I hadn't seen from the bottom of the ramp.
A Grey Seal showed out on the river just off the castle, and a different Rock Pipit with a metal ring was photographed picking around on the largely exposed rocky 'islet' there. Unfortunately the very poor light meant that on most photos the letters and numbers on the ring were unreadable. Scanning out across the river I spotted a couple of distant Red Throated Divers and another Cormorant. On the beach just beyond the castle I added a Common Gull to the day's list. A couple of Pied Wagtails scurried around on the sand. I decided to stay on the beach for a few extra minutes as I continued east.
A dog off the lead running on ahead of the dog walker spooked a number of Bar Tailed Godwits, though thankfully there were still a few which stayed put along with some Redshanks and Oystercatchers. The dog walker rather uncharacteristically more or less apologised for the disturbance and I took the opportunity to explain why disturbance at this time of year can be such a strain on the birds. Moving on again, I added a Curlew and a trio of Sanderling. As I neared the main roosting/feeding area just west of the Dighty, another dog sent every bird at the mouth of the burn skywards. Hundreds of gulls flew off in all directions, with waders and ducks also panicking. Needless to say, given that I'd walked around 5 or 6 miles to get there, I was a bit annoyed.
Thankfully, the birds in front of me on the shore stayed put and were joined by a small number of birds from the burn mouth. Wigeon, Mallard, Ringed Plover and Dunlin and a single Knot joined the slowly lengthening list for the day. The owner of the dog which had flushed everything was heading my way at this point and actually asked me if I'd seen anything good. I said I'd just walked about 6 miles only for a dog to flush the birds I'd been hoping to check for something good. He did acknowledge that it had been his dog and once again I explained why disturbance wasn't a great idea and that there are now very few areas of beach in Angus or Fife where birds are undtroubled by dogs. He said he'd let his dog know....
I scanned through what was left at the mouth of the Dighty, managing to add Goldeneye and Great Black Backed Gull a bit further out but nothing else of note. After hanging around for around 20 minutes or so I decided to head in the direction of home again. I detoured through the small local nature reserve adding a Stock Dove on a house roof beyond the railway line, a few Goldfinches and a Great Tit. A trio of Collared Doves were seen around the large block of expensive looking flats at Beach Crescent. A Shag was just offshore at the outflow pipe at Douglas Terrace and as I headed along the waterfront I looked up to see a Sparrowhawk gliding over.
Unsurprisingly I failed to add anything new on the river or shoreline, though there were a handful of Redshanks, Turnstones and Oystercatchers around and a few more Cormorants on the water. As I crossed the road at Eastern Cemetery I spotted a pair of corvids swooping down towards a conifer. On top of the conifer was a Buzzard which eventually had had enough of their mobbing and flew off, with the crows going in the opposite direction, their mission apparently successfully accomplished. I cut along to Baxter Park but by this time what little light there had been was dwindling and birds were few and far between. I ended the day having recorded 46 species, though I could have added at least another 2 or 3 more if I'd headed in either direction via Swannie Ponds.
With regards to the disturbance of roosting/feeding birds on the beaches by dogs I'd like to see the RSPB and those TV naturalists with a large social media reach begin to highlight the issue and to bring it to public awareness. In Angus and Fife the areas used by waders which I can think of that don't get much (if any) disturbance from dogs are Montrose Basin, Barry Buddon (when flags are up), off Dundee Airport/Invergowrie Bay, and the Eden Estuary (particularly the north side). Given the length of potential feeding/roosting areas along both these coasts that should be available these sites amount to a tiny fraction. From posts on twitter I suspect the Lothian coast may be even more pressured with few areas free from dogs. It is hardly surprising that most wader species are struggling these days given disturbance at all times of year.
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Red Throated Diver
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Eider |
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| Cormorant |
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Rock Pipit
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Rock Pipit
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| Cormorant |
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Red Breasted Merganser
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Bar Tailed Godwit
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Grey Seal
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Common Gull
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Common Gull
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| Turnstone |
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| Eider |
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Oystercatcher & Bar Tailed Godwit
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Bar Tailed Godwit
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| Sanderling |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Oystercatcher |
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Oystercatcher, Turnstone & Knot
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Ringed Plover
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| Dunlin |
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Dunlin & Oystercatcher
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Herring Gull (oiled?)
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Herring Gull
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Ringed Plover & Dunlin
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Herring Gull, Wigeon, Dunlin & Ringed Plover
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| Goldeneye |
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Carrion Crow
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Dunlin & Ringed Plover
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Bar Tailed Godwit
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Grey Seal
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| Starling |
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Red Breasted Merganser
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| Shag |
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| Shag |
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| Redshank |
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| Turnstone |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Cormorant |
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| Cormorant |
Birds - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Knot, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Redwing, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Sanderling, Shag, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Turnstone, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Grey Seal.