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Great Spotted Woodpecker
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Although I'm not too keen on going birding when the temperature creeps above a certain point on the thermometer, I also feel like I can't keep wasting opportunities to get some birding in, as there is always a chance that I'm going to miss something really good (and with my target of 140 species in Dundee this year looking tricky already, I can't keep running that risk). It isn't impossible to get good birds from the relative comfort of my living room but for every day with White Tailed Eagles or Waxwings there's at least a year's worth of the much more mundane selection of Starlings, Herring Gulls and Magpies. I did consider an early start and a trip to Riverside Nature Park for Saturday morning but a later start meant a change of plan, as well as a change of direction.
I headed out at around 0845. There were birds about but nothing too exciting. House Martins were seen over Clepington Road. The area where I'd seen a trio of Linnets earlier in the year has all been ripped up and bulldozed. I doubt whether the bushes will have been checked for nests first, though perhaps they were. It has all happened during the breeding season anyway and another piece of relatively undisturbed habitat has gone the way of so many others, most likely to be replaced with more houses (and the now 'usual' driveways, slabs, 'chuckies' and plastic grass). I continued on to Swannie Ponds. There were a few Black Headed Gulls back at the ponds, as well as a single Common Gull, and I found a ringed Lesser Black Backed Gull (GN03706) which was ringed in Broughty Ferry a few years ago.
In addition to the gulls, the Mute Swans still have five Cygnets and there are a few young Coots and Mallards around. The adult Mallard drakes are now starting to moult into eclipse plumage. A Chiffchaff could be heard calling from the trees nearby as were Greenfinches and Blue Tits. I headed down Pitkerro Road to the Dighty where a Grey Heron was seen stood in the middle of the burn just downstream from the bridge. Wren, Robin and Song Thrush were all noted as I wandered along the path eastwards towards Drumgeith Park. A Large White butterfly flitted by above the vegetation while a few Ringlets kept much lower down among the greenery. The amount of vegetation did make seeing the burn itself rather tricky.
I continued on eastwards and noted the first Great Spotted Woodpecker of the day near the reedy area where I found Water Rail on the 1st of January. A male Reed Bunting was singing among the reeds and a Sedge Warbler was heard very briefly. An adult and young Rook overflew. A Whitethroat showed reasonably well in a tree further on. A cyclist stopped to chat as I was watching a few butterflies near the Baldovie recycling building. It turned out that he had recently discovered this blog and actually recognised me. A Sparrowhawk with prey circled up and a Grey Wagtail was heard calling. I had a fleeting glimpse of a Common Blue butterfly in front of a sloping earth bank but I lost sight of it. An Oystercatcher was heard calling somewhere to the north but it went unseen.
Another passer-by stopped to tell me he had seen a Terrapin in the burn a few days ago (which isn't great news). A small group of Swallows swept over and I found a party of Long Tailed Tits in the small stand of conifers. Continuing on again I was able to add Pied Wagtail and a Bullfinch. A couple of Meadow Brown butterflies (which I'd been expecting to find) were seen before I reached Baldovie Road. The first Dipper of the day was seen (and heard singing) a little upstream from the wooden bridge along the Fithie Burn. I crossed the road to check out the short section of the burn bordering the northern edge of West Pitkerro Industrial Estate. I added Chaffinch, Blackcap and Buzzard there and saw a couple of different Great Spotted Woodpeckers (a male in flight and a youngster). I was able to get very close to the young woodpecker which was actively searching for food in a dead tree. Unfortunately the sun was directly behind the bird which made getting decent photos a bit tricky. Thankfully it did move a short distance to a better lit branch in another nearby tree.
A small flock of Sand Martins passed by - potentially early migrants heading southwards. Another Dipper, this time a youngster moulting into adult plumage, was found singing on a small exposed pebble 'beach' as I retraced my steps back along the Dighty between Douglas and Whitfield. Willow Warbler and Collared Dove were next onto the list before I found myself concentrating on the butterflies along the sloping banking where I'd seen the Common Blue earlier. I added Green Veined White and Small Tortoiseshell to the butterfly list for the day. There were more Ringlets and a few Meadow Browns around also. I spotted a small butterfly low along the edge of the path but it wasn't a Ringlet. I managed to see where it had landed and got close enough to get a few photos of a female Common Blue.
I caught a glimpse of what I was convinced was a dragonfly before I was joined by a pair of small children who asked what I was taking photos of. I told them I was photographing the butterflies and pointed out a few Ringlets by the path. I mentioned the possible dragonfly, and the younger of the two described what a dragonfly looked like to her slightly older brother. The dragonfly - a fresh looking Common Darter then put in an appearance over the path and both of them were able to see it in flight, before their mum shouted to them and they headed off on their bikes to catch up with her. I spent some time getting photos of the Common Darter perched on the tops of nettles and spotted a second a bit further back from the path before I moved on again. A Sparrowhawk circled overhead and a Buzzard was harassed by a Herring Gull shortly afterwards.
I contemplated heading for Spring Grove in Baxter Park but routed via Swannie Ponds again where the mix of species was similar to those seen earlier in the day. I took a few more photos at the ponds before calling it a day and heading for home. A Jackdaw was seen over Clepington Road and I arrived home at around 1400 having seen or heard a total of 46 species of bird, 6 species of butterflies and 1 of dragonfly. Although it was rather warm I didn't feel as exhausted as I had expected to, though I was glad that I didn't have any further to walk, having been on my feet since 0845. Despite not finding anything too unusual it was still a worthwhile exercise.
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Lesser Black Backed Gull (GN03706)
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Lesser Black Backed Gull
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Black Headed Gull
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| Whitethroat |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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Sedge Warbler
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Great Spotted Woodpecker
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| Dunnock |
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Great Spotted Woodpecker
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| Dipper |
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| Mallard |
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House Sparrow
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Blue Tit
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| Swift |
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Meadow Brown
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Collared Dove
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Willow Warbler
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Common Blue
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Small Tortoiseshell
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| Ringlet |
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Common Darter
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| Buzzard |
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| Coot |
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| Mallard |
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House Martin
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Birds - Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Dipper, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Sedge Warbler, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies - Common Blue, Green Veined White, Large White, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Small Tortoiseshell.
Dragonflies - Common Darter.
