0899 : A Day Of Two Halves - Second Half (10/10/21)

I was editing my photos from the morning's vis-migging up the Law around lunchtime on Sunday, when my birding pal, Jacqui messaged me about something. As we chatted via WhatsApp I happened to look out of the living room window and noticed that the visibility was really good and the light was rather nice. I decided that I would head out for some afternoon birding and Jacqui decided that she too would head out. Jacqui was going to check some woodland in Fife in the hope of finding Nuthatch and I decided I would likely head for Ninewells Community Garden (via Balgay Hill) to try and see the Nuthatch there, which has recently started visiting their feeders.

Nuthatch

I headed out again just after 1315, finding things a bit quieter than they had been in the morning. Starlings on the floodlights at Tannadice, a Herring Gull on a roof, Magpies on the grass between the football stadiums and a flyover Feral Pigeon got my second outing of the day underway. Blackbird, Chaffinch, Robin and Blue Tit were noted nearby and a few minutes later a Red Admiral butterfly flew past me while a Dunnock called in the background. Having never actually walked the 'Miley' before I decided that as it wasn't too large of a detour I would finally pay it a visit. A slight wrong turn on my way there gave me Oystercatcher and a close view of a Sparrowhawk before Carrion Crow and Woodpigeon were seen further along Clepington Road.

Goldcrest and House Sparrow were added as I neared the 'urban nature reserve' - a mile long stretch of what was once a railway line. Wren and Long Tailed Tits were heard near the northern end and Bullfinch was heard near the southern end with a whole lot of nothing in between. I suspect that in April/May there is probably a lot more bird activity though probably not anything I can't see just as easily elsewhere in the city. As I neared Balgay Hill I added Coal Tit and a Jay which flew over from Ancrum Road towards Loons Road. There were a few gulls on the football pitches - one or two Black Headed Gulls and a few Common Gulls. A Goldfinch flew over.

I decided that I would walk up the hill where things are generally quieter rather than take the flat route around the base of the hill. A Robin and a Great Tit were seen on the ground by the side of a large gravestone surrounded by a wall. As I took the short-cut past the wall, I heard a Nuthatch call, and looked up to see one a few feet above me on a branch. I took a few photos before it flew further up the tree. Another Nuthatch called from a different tree, not too far away, and I was able to glimpse both as they moved around though I failed to get anymore photos. I then spent some time watching a Jay breaking into an Acorn in a tree high above me, before it flew down to the ground near the top of the hill, as if looking for somewhere to cache the contents of its apparently full crop.

Moving on again, a Grey Squirrel was seen near the 'Stock Dove Tree' though there was a Woodpigeon in the tree rather than the now almost expected Stock Dove. I reached Ninewells Community Garden around 1455. The local Jackdaws were making a fair bit of noise. The feeders were relatively quiet with Blue Tit, Great Tit and Chaffinch seemingly the only visitors as I stood and watched from nearby. One of the Garden regulars stopped for a chat, and it turned out he remembered me from a guided walk I led at Riverside Nature Park some years ago. He put out some extra food to try and tempt the Nuthatch in.

A Common Darter dragonfly zipped around, stopping very briefly, mostly along the edge of the roof of the building. A small skein of Pink Footed Geese overflew. A few Jays were seen in flight, as was a Stock Dove. A Pied Wagtail was heard. A Dunnock crept around nearby, with a Robin keeping a low profile further back. A Wren was quite vocal near the Ivy to the north side of the feeders, and a Coal Tit dropped in to the feeders a few times. A Magpie eyed me warily as it weighed up the risk of visiting the feeders with me close by before thinking better of it, and retreating again. Eventually a Nuthatch put in an appearance, allowing me to get a few photos of it on the peanut feeder. Thankfully it came back a bit later and I was able to get a few photos as it waited warily just behind the feeders.

With mission accomplished and time now wearing on, I left the garden at about 1625. As I closed the wooden gate behind me a Great Spotted Woodpecker and a flock of Long Tailed Tits flew over me towards the feeders. I quietly headed back in to get a few photos of the woodpecker on the feeders before heading homewards again a few minutes later. A Mistle Thrush flew over as I left the hospital grounds and a Siskin was heard in Balgay Cemetery. The second part of the day's birding had yielded a total of 32 species (taking the total for the day to 39) as well as a surprise dragonfly. It was also the first time I've managed to see Nuthatch at two separate locations in Dundee - hopefully a sign of things to come, as the species becomes more established within the city.

Nuthatch

Jay

Jay

Jay

Jay

Jay

Grey Squirrel

Woodpigeon

Chaffinch

Chaffinch

Pink Footed Goose

Pink Footed Goose

Great Tit

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Dunnock

Magpie

Magpie

Great Tit

Great Tit

Dunnock

Chaffinch

Blue Tit

Nuthatch

Nuthatch

Nuthatch

Chaffinch

Chaffinch

Blue Tit

Dunnock

Robin

Great Tit

Nuthatch

Nuthatch

Nuthatch

Great Tit

Great Tit

Pink Footed Goose

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Birds - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mistle Thrush, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Wren.

Butterfly - Red Admiral.

Dragonfly - Common Darter.

0898 : A Day Of Two Halves - First Half (10/10/21)

The weather forecast for Sunday was actually pretty decent with no inclement weather forecast and some actual sunshine for most of the day. I had intended on an early start and trip to Riverside Nature Park to see how the vis-mig there compared to that from the top of the Law. However, I was too tired to walk the hour each way, so decided rather than stay in bed I would head back up the Law and see how things were in the sunshine rather than the windy overcast conditions of the previous couple of visits.

Carrion Crow

I was undecided what to wear as the temperature was forecast to be quite warm but I found that when I headed out at 0710 that it was actually colder than expected and at the top of the hill it was even colder in the wind and I was glad I'd chosen to over-dress. Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Robin, Carrion Crow, some Pink Footed Geese and Blue Tit were noted on the walk to the hill, with a Pied Wagtail heard as I climbed the steps. At the top, it was even busier than the previous day with quite a lot of folk around to watch the sunrise. I got organised at my usual spot for a start time of 0725.

The first Meadow Pipit went through ten minutes later and three Linnets followed suit five minutes after that. Oystercatchers could be heard somewhere to the north. Another three Meadow Pipits headed southwest after one was heard calling just before the Pink Footed Geese began to leave from their roost on the river. Three Starlings headed over before a Chaffinch flew past going east. Another heard only singleton and a group of five Meadow Pipits plus a heard only Pied Wagtail were followed by four single Meadow Pipits giving a fifteen minute flurry of activity, even if it was mostly just Pipits.

Bullfinch was heard but not seen, before the first of the Magpies put in an appearance. During the quiet spells I watched the resident group of Carrion Crows 'playing' in the wind, with one attempting to grab a plastic tube sticking out from a light on the mast, while in flight. Another toyed with a pine cone which it dropped and caught in flight, while others chased each other around and even indulged in some very Raven-like aerobatics.  At one point, one of the birds actually smacked a wing off the metal of the mast with an audible 'thump' but showed no obvious discomfort. A Goldfinch flew by and Coal Tit and Dunnock were both heard calling. A Woodpigeon flew past, potentially another migrant. The movement of geese skeins to the northwest of the city seemed quieter than on my previous visits. A Lesser Redpoll went west at 0819 with three more Meadow Pipits following two minutes later.

Another single and a pair followed around 0830. Two local Bullfinches flew round the hill. A bit of a surprise at 0838 were a small group of four Swallows. As I watched them continue on their way west, a trio of Goosanders passed the hill from the north towards the river. A Sparrowhawk put in an appearance at 0839. Between 0840 and 0900 another dozen or so Meadow Pipits were noted in dribs and drabs. A single Mistle Thrush headed north east at 0900. A Goldcrest was heard from the trees. Things then slowed down ever further than they already were with just two single and one pair of Meadow Pipits noted over the course of the next 25 minutes.

I heard Skylarks calling from somewhere high above on a couple of occasions but failed to see them. A pair of Reed Buntings headed southwest at 0923 and another Redpoll was heard a couple of minutes later. A Red Admiral butterfly landed on the building below the mast and sunned itself out of the wind. Despite the crawl of migrants getting even slower I stuck things out till 1000 with more Skylarks heard but not seen and a couple of Chaffinches seen around 0945. Another Sparrowhawk was seen to the southwest being harassed by a corvid, and at 0959 I spotted two rather distant birds heading south. House Sparrow and Blackbird were noted on the walk home.

Despite the better weather conditions it seemed to be mostly Meadow Pipits that were moving through with much less variety than previous days. It was interesting that there was much less evidence of Chaffinches - suggesting that some of the birds assumed to be locals may well have been migrants stopping off to feed up around the hill after all. I managed a total of 30 species which was marginally less than both Thursday and Saturday's totals. Although it was a lot colder than expected it was still an interesting couple of hours with the exploits of the 'teenage delinquent' Carrion Crows keeping me amused during the often lengthy lulls.

Linnet

Pink Footed Goose

Starling

Meadow Pipit

Meadow Pipit

Goldfinch

Pink Footed Goose

Carrion Crow

Carrion Crow

Carrion Crow

Meadow Pipit

Meadow Pipit

Pink Footed Goose

Goosander

Sparrowhawk

Sparrowhawk (& Pink Footed Goose)

Sparrowhawk

Meadow Pipit

Meadow Pipit

Carrion Crow

Woodpigeon

Carrion Crow

Carrion Crow

Carrion Crow

Mistle Thrush

Pink Footed Goose

Meadow Pipit

Carrion Crow

Carrion Crow

Pink Footed Goose

Carrion Crow

Pink Footed Goose

Reed Bunting

Carrion Crow

Carrion Crow

Bullfinch

Carrion Crow

Magpie

Carrion Crow & Sparrowhawk

Red Admiral

Birds - Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Tit, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Lesser Redpoll, Linnet, Magpie, Meado Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swallow, Woodpigeon, Wren.

Butterfly - Red Admiral.