Around this time of year, I tend to plan my 'summer' holidays to ensure I have a decent chance of picking up some migrants on the move, squeeze in some seawatching and just get out birding as often as possible, as almost anything is possible. I had originally planned for something similar to last year with a couple of single weeks followed by a fortnight in early October. However, I wasn't entirely happy with the weeks I'd chosen to avoid a clash with colleagues with school age children. Neither was I sure that any of the rest were ideal, so I came up with an alternative plan. As I don't work Wednesdays, for the use of 2 days annual leave I can have 5 days off in a row (counting the weekends). So I decided to see if I could use a similar amount of days leave but spread over 9 weeks, meaning I would only be working 2 days a week until well into October - a perfect compromise (though it also practically guarantees that all the good birds will no doubt show up on those 2 days!).
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Guillemot
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The first of my weeks of only working 2 days was the last full week in August and for the Wednesday I decided on an early start and a trip to Balmossie to try to add to my Dundee list for the year as I close in on my target of 125 species from within the city. However, I stayed in bed a bit longer than intended but was still on my way to Broughty Ferry by 0830. It did mean that I was likely to linger longer in the afternoon however allowing me to hopefully check through the gulls and waders as the tide came in from around mid-afternoon, as they moved closer to the path. Blackbird, Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, House Martin, Collared Dove and Starling were noted as I headed first for Swannie Ponds which I hoped would give me a few species that I might not get elsewhere.
Mallard, Mute Swan, Moorhen, Coot, Black Headed Gull and Lesser Black Backed Gull as well as Magpie were found at the ponds with flyover Goldfinch and Pied Wagtail also joining them on the list. I headed next for a quick walk through Eastern Cemetery. Swallow, Blue Tit, Goldcrest, an Oystercatcher in flight, Robin, Wren, Chaffinch, Rabbit and Grey Squirrel made for a relatively productive choice of route. As I neared the Stannergate and the river I could hear the faint calls of a distant Sandwich Terns and eventually managed to see the birds far out across the river. I stopped to photograph an interesting looking young Gull - which I think is most likely just a Herring Gull. There was a small flock of Turnstones nearby and a Grey Heron also. A Rook overflew.
A Buzzard passed overhead while out on the river a Cormorant was seen flying low downriver. Further on towards Broughty Ferry I added a Common Gull down on the shore and a small flock of House Sparrows near the small footbridge over the railway line by the boat sheds. Curlew, Eider, a couple of Redshanks and another Grey Heron were seen around the outflow pipe area at Douglas Terrace. I eventually reached the Broughty Castle area around 1015. There was a reasonably sized flock of Swallows and House Martins swooping around the top of the building catching insects. A bit of a panic among these hirundines indicated a raptor was around. A Sparrowhawk passed through northwards without showing any interest in the panicking birds. However, a bird a bit higher in the sky caught my attention and a few photos were taken to confirm my suspicions as to what it was.
I have for a few years suspected that if Skuas are routing up the Forth to cut across the country to the west coast in Autumn as they have been observed doing so in relatively large numbers then at least some birds must surely be doing similar using the Tay as a starting point. Unfortunately I've not seen any of the birds doing that very thing (though a Fulmar from the Nature Park, and a dead Kittiwake youngster in a hedge at Scone Palace did suggest that some seabirds were heading west up the Tay). However, I had seen a Great Skua heading downriver from the direction of the docks once previously. The bird on Wednesday was also a Great Skua - a new bird for my Dundee 2021 list too (having already seen a very distant bird tucking into a kill at Lunan Bay on my recent trip down the Angus Coast with Ian, for my main year-list).
I wandered down to the harbour wall by the Castle and had a look around. There were Guillemots on the water relatively close in, a small group of Turnstones foraging among the seaweed down below me as well as a few Pied Wagtails on the sand. A pair of Rock Pipits put in a brief appearance (photos showed that 1 was ringed). As I scanned I happened to look up just in time to see a small flock of Canada Geese flying towards the Castle from the direction of the river. Once they had passed I noticed what appeared to be a Razorbill a bit further to the east, out on the water. I headed round to the other side of the Castle for a better view, which confirmed I had my second Dundee 2021 tick of the day. I spent the best part of the next hour photographing the Guillemots as they fished close in to shore and a rather tame young Herring Gull on the sand. In addition, a pair of Bar Tailed Godwits showed nearby for a very short time.
A bit further out in the river I spotted a Tern fishing that wasn't just a Sandwich Tern. It was a Common Tern - yet another Dundee 2021 year-tick. Having spent a couple of hours in the general area of the Castle I decided I should continue on eastwards towards Balmossie. By now the tide was well out and I stopped to photograph a Carrion Crow attempting to subdue a large Crab before it gave up, with the contest a draw. Although there was a lot of beach exposed by the low tide, large parts of it were still mostly under an inch or so of water. There were hundreds of birds further out by the water's edge but rather than risk disturbing them and getting wet feet I headed for the small local nature reserve but not before grabbing a few photos of Bar Tailed Godwits and Ringed Plovers. A Grey Seal was seen out on the river and a distant Osprey was picked out well over towards the Fife side of the river. A Sparrowhawk high above the road was harassed by a couple of Swallows.
Song Thrush, Great Tit, Coal Tit and Bullfinch as well as a Small Copper butterfly and a Pill Woodlouse were the additions at the nature reserve, with Large White and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies being added as I headed back down to the beach again. I found a few Dunlin with more Ringed Plovers, and a Stock Dove flew over. An Osprey flew over as I reached the end of the Esplanade and proceeded to hunt over the river towards Balmossie. There were still good numbers of Mute Swans and Goosander around the burn mouth area. I scanned through the gulls there looking for, but failing to find, a Mediterranean Gull. I did add Great Black Backed Gull and a few Kittiwakes though. As I scanned through the birds near the burn mouth I chanced upon my 4th new Dundee tick for the year in the shape of a Ruff. A nice surprise and a very welcome bonus bird.
I spent the next hour or so sitting watching the Ruff being brought in closer by the rising tide, taking lots of photos in the process. A few more Osprey fishing attempts were observed. A Rook was seen on one of the small islets in the burn outflow. A pair of Knot dropped in among the Redshanks as the last remnants of beach disappeared below the water. This did mean that I ended up with close views of the Knot and Ruff as well as Redshanks, Turnstones and a single Dunlin. Sometime after 1630 I decided I should probably call it a day and head for home. There were lots of Sandwich Terns (and a Common Tern) at the lifeboat station jetty (also a few Common Gulls and some Redshanks) with rings seen, but not read, on a number of them. One final addition before I eventually arrived home was a Willow Warbler at the Stannergate.
I finished the day having seen or heard 58 species of bird, of which 4 (in italics) were new for my Dundee 2021 list, as well as 3 each of mammal and butterfly. The 4 new species has left me requiring just one more to reach my target of 125 species, slightly earlier in the year than expected. Curlew Sandpiper or Mediterranean Gull seem likeliest, though there are a number of other possibilities too. Given the close views of a number of species in good lighting conditions I took over 900 photos. All in all, not a bad way to start my Autumn holiday season birding, though I did end up rather tired by the time I'd walked the 5 miles or so home again in the sunshine, which had replaced the overcast skies around lunchtime.
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Herring Gull
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Black Headed Gull
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Lesser Black Backed Gull
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Buzzard & Carrion Crow
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Rook
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Goldfinch
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Cormorant
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Oystercatcher
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Common Gull
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Curlew
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Grey Heron
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Eider
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Redshank
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Sandwich Tern
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Collared Dove
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Swallow, House Martin & Goldfinch
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Great Skua
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Great Skua
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Sparrowhawk
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Sandwich Tern
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Sandwich Tern
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Sandwich Tern
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Swallow
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House Martin
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Rock Pipit
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Pied Wagtail
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House Martin
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Guillemot
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Black Headed Gull
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Guillemot
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Goldfinch
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Pied Wagtail
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Canada Goose
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Razorbill
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Guillemot
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Guillemot
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Common Tern
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Common Tern & Black Headed Gull
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Bar Tailed Godwit
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Guillemot
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Common Tern
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Fish sp.
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Lesser Black Backed Gull
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Herring Gull
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Herring Gull
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Grey Heron
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Starfish sp.
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Herring Gull & Starfish sp.
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Herring Gull
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Guillemot
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Black Headed Gull
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Guillemot
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Guillemot
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Herring Gull
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Herring Gull
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Common Gull
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Grey Seal
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Osprey
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Guillemot
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Guillemot
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Guillemot
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Guillemot
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Carrion Crow & Crab sp.
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Bar Tailed Godwit
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Common Gull
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Ringed Plover
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Sparrowhawk
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Pill Woodlouse
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Small Tortoiseshell
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Osprey
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Ringed Plover
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Mute Swan, Goosander, Herring Gull & Common Gull
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Ruff
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Mute Swan
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Osprey
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Osprey
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Kittiwake & Herring Gull
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Kittiwake & Lesser Black Backed Gull
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Rook & Turnstone
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Herring Gull, Dunlin & Ruff
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Black Headed Gull
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Dunlin
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Black Headed Gull (Norwegian ringed "White J4CP")
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Ruff
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Ruff
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Ruff
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Dunlin
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Goosander
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Turnstone
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Dunlin
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Knot
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Knot
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Ruff
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Knot
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Knot & Turnstone
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Turnstone & Ruff
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Knot
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Turnstone
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Ruff
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Ruff
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Black Headed Gull
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Swallow
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Sandwich Tern & Common Gull
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Sandwich Tern & Common Tern
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Sandwich Tern & Common Gull
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Birds - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull,
Common Tern, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull,
Great Skua, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kittiwake, Knot, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail,
Razorbill, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook,
Ruff, Sandwich Tern, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Turnstone, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies - Large White, Small Copper, Small Tortoiseshell.
Mammals - Grey Seal, Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.
