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| Coot |
With my holiday week off work getting off to a reasonable start on Wednesday with the addition of Whitethroat to my Dundee 140 list, I wanted to keep the momentum going and to try and add something else new on Thursday. I figured that a trip to Balmossie was most likely to give me a chance at doing so. I've still to catch up with Grey Plover and Sanderling there this year and the likes of Ruff or Whimbrel passing through northwards were also a possibility. As regular readers will know, disturbance is almost always an issue down there from dog-walkers and their charges but also from walkers in general who are oblivious to the birds, so it is often the case that any migrant dropping in for a breather and a feed won't get a chance to rest and will be off again within a few minutes, so luck always plays a big part in being there at the right time.
It was another later than ideal start as I headed out the door at around 0850. I decided I would head for the cycle path along between Dundee Docks and the railway line to see if there were any Cinnabar Moths on the wing yet (Lainy is hoping to see one this year, so I was doing a quick 'recce' on her behalf). Blackcap in Baxter Park was the only thing of any real note on the walk to get there. Chiffchaff, Linnet, Pied Wagtail and a few more Blackcaps were noted as I headed along the cycle path, but there was no sign of any moths, Cinnabar or otherwise. An Orange-Tip butterfly was seen near the eastern end though, but 2 House Martins hawking for insects over the trees were the main highlight.
Things were rather quiet on the walk out to Broughty Ferry too with low figures of a handful of species seen - Oystercatcher, Curlew, Eider, Turnstone, Black Headed Gull and a couple of Grey Herons. A Goldfinch and a Linnet did pose nicely on the gorse in the sunshine. A pair of Rooks overflew but the omens didn't seem great for getting anything new, though there is always a chance of a surprise, no matter where I'm going. With wildlife and nature in general, it is safe to say you just never can tell. I popped into the local nature reserve at Broughty Ferry which did add a few more species for the day including Bullfinch, Siskin, Swallow, Song Thrush, Stock Dove and Willow Warbler.
I then headed back to check the beach as I wandered on to Balmossie. Mute Swans could be seen off the Dighty mouth and there was the usual gull roost with a Great Black Backed Gull rather obvious among the slightly smaller Herring Gulls. As I got closer I was able to pick out Wigeon, Mallard, Oystercatcher and Redshank. There was a flock of Turnstones on the pebble islets in the burn mouth. I scanned with my small scope and found a Godwit. Unexpectedly it wasn't the usual Bar Tailed but a Black Tailed Godwit. A little further offshore there were a couple of pairs of Red Braested Mergansers drifting on the tide. A drake Shelduck flew in and landed on the river.
A lady I'd previously spoken to last year while she and another woman were doing a butterfly transect by the Dighty at Baldovie stopped for a chat. As we were discussing what was around, a black labrador off the lead made a bee-line for the swans, scattering everything else in all directions. There was no shout from the owner to call the dog back and it rocketed into the water. The Mute Swans swam a bit further out while the dog paddled out after them. However, the dog seemed to realise that (s)he wasn't going to catch any of them and turned back to shore before trotting back to the owner who did put the dog on a lead when it returned. Further along the beach towards Barry Buddon I photographed a single dog-walker with 9 off-lead dogs on the beach. It is impossible to be 'in control' of 9 dogs at once - unless you have very well trained dogs - which isn't likely when you're being paid to exercise someone else's dogs.
With the now almost inevitable sense of frustration once again in tow I decided to head homewards, though I was undecided whether or not to head for the Dighty at Baldovie or not. I was chatting to a couple from further north when 2 cyclists stopped. It turned out to be Lainy and Adam out for a cycle around the Green Circular Route (and some other additional bits). We had a short chat before they headed off again. I added a Peacock butterfly at the Barnhill Rock garden before heading back into the local Nature Reserve. Little did I know that I was in for quite a surprise there.
Although I hadn't ruled out Baldovie I decided I would check out the reserve again anyway. I had just started along one of the paths at the fork by the bridge over the railway when I became aware of a butterfly flitting past me. However, it wasn't white or orange or red as would be expected for this time of year. It was brown and although it was in flight I was ceratin I'd seen yellow-ish spots on the wings. I needed it to settle where I could see it. Thankfully it landed a few seconds later, and close enough to the path to confirm my suspicions. It was a Speckled Wood butterfly - which I was fairly certain would make it a 'first' for Dundee. I concentrated on getting photos and posted one on my Twiter account. I messaged Lainy, Keith and a regular visitor to the reserve I know through Twitter to let them know, in case they wanted to see it.
Over the next hour or so I watched the butterfly make short flights around a small 'copse' between the two paths though it always landed in places where it could sun itself but which were almost useless for photos. I took some anyway. I showed the butterfly to a few passing folk who asked what I was photographing, or if I'd seen anything good. While watching the butterfly I had good views of Bullfinch and Chiffchaff and heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker calling and drumming from the other side of the railway line. I also stopped to watch a small bee burrow into a sandy part of the path and waited for it to resurface. It didn't so I moved on again.
I had decided to head back along the river and to save the Dighty run for another day. I added a Rock Pipit near the harbour and half an hour later at the end of the Esplanade and Douglas Terrace I spotted a soaring Sparrowhawk circling up with a couple of gulls. A few more Eiders were noted towards the Stannergate as well as a Grey Heron being pursued by the local Carrion Crows before I headed for Eastern Cemetery. A Goldcrest was added there but it was very quiet. I decided that I could add a couple more species at Swannie Ponds and chose there rather than Baxter Park for my final spot of birding before heading home.
A Buzzard was being harassed by gulls as I waited to cross the road to the ponds and the photos taken when I reached the other side were rather rushed and not much use. A Coot had built a nest next to a traffic cone which had been painted to look like a lighthouse by the RC model ship enthusiasts and had added a couple of daffodils to the pile of weed it was intending on raising a family in. These made it quite a picturesque nest as far as Coots nests go. A few Tufted Ducks were the final addition for the day taking the total to 52 species of bird, 1 of mammal and 3 of butterfly.
Soon after I got home I posted photos on Butterfly Conservation East Scotland's Facebook page (as there is no other way to contact the local recorder) and asked if it was a first for Dundee. I'm still waiting for a reply, though Lainy did let me know later that the sighting was shared in at least 2 local groups as a Dundee first - though there was no mention of the finder (until Lainy added that detail and a link to the photos on my Twitter). Doesn't seem the best way to encourage sharing of sightings, significant or otherwise. An interesting day in the end even if the birds were slightly underwhelming, though there were some nice photo opportunities along the way.
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Cormorant & Grey Heron
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| Linnet |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Rook |
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House Sparrow
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Turnstone |
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Black Tailed Godwit
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Mute Swan (& out of control dog)
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Speckled Wood
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| Blackcap |
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| Bullfinch |
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Bee sp.
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House Sparrow
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Pied Wagtail
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| Starling |
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| Eider |
Birds - Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Eider, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Bacekd Gull, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Shelduck, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Wigeon, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies - Orange Tip, Peacock, Speckled Wood.
Mammals - Rabbit.
