1030 : Egrets, I've Had A Few... (26/10/22)

Little Egret

Wednesday was forecast to start rather wet, which was a bit irritating as I did want to get some birding done. With the clocks going back at the end of the month, in addition to an increased likelihood of unfavourable weather over the next 8 weeks or so leading up to the end of the year, time is quite literally running out for reaching my target of 140 species in Dundee this year. Once the heavy rain of the morning had passed at around 1130, I decided to get out and down to Balmossie once again, to try for the very elusive Grey Plover.

Feral Pigeon, Herring Gull, Goldfinch, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Starling and Grey wagtail gave me a steady, if unspectacular, start to the day's birding. Robin, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Blue Tit and Redwings were noted as I headed to and then through Baxter Park. A Sparrowhawk drifted over as I neared Old Craigie Road. Woodpigeon and Wren were added to the list as I waited for a bus, having decided I might as well save myself a bit of effort and time by catching the next number 73. Thankfully when it arrived, it was largely empty upstairs, so with mask in place I took my seat and headed for Balmossie.

I arrived there around 1235 and started checking the waders first in the area where I'd expect to find a Grey Plover if there was one about. There were Bar Tailed Godwits and Oystercatchers by the water, along with a few Curlew and a Grey Heron. Black Headed, Common and Herring Gull were noted, while out on the water were a number of Wigeon and a lone young Mute Swan.A pair of Linnets flew past. I found Redshank, Ringed Plover and Turnstone among the seaweed before the first Dunlin put in an appearance. Rock Pipits and Pied Wagtail were down on the upper reaches of the beach. Further out in the estuary were some distant Eider. A Jay flew by, just to the north of the railway line, while Rook and Jackdaw were found among the seaweed along with Starlings. There was no sign of any Grey Plover though.

After around 15 minutes I spotted a pair of Little Egrets that must have arrived while I was looking at a different part of the beach. They were soon joined by a third bird - which was my best total for the species north of the Tay. Ian messaged me to let me know that Jon Cook had reported 3 Little Egrets on the Angus grapevine. I replied to let him know I was actually watching them. I had a look around but couldn't see Jon Cook anywhere. The sun disappeared behind a very large black cloud which had rather ominously moved over from the west and looked likely to deposit some rain relatively soon. As I photographed the Egrets, a fourth Egret appeared from somewhere, doubling my previous best total for the species. Looking at photos later at home it turned out I'd managed to overlook one of the four while photographing the other 3 birds earlier.

The rain started and I sought shelter under the footbridge where the path runs below it, which thankfully did provide enough shelter for the short while the rain was falling. Once the rain shower cleared I wandered out for another look at the birds along the beach and offshore. Long Tailed Tits could be heard in the trees by the railway line and a Great Black Backed Gull was floating around offshore. I kept scanning through the birds on the beach, though almost all were flushed by a woman with 2 dogs who seems to make a habit of it, as I'm certain I've seen her do so before.

She appears to be looking for something along the beach (perhaps sea glass?) and seems oblivious to the numerous birds she flushes. She continues right to the end of the pipe where the Redshanks and Turnstones attempt to roost before turning back and flushing the whole lot from the beach again. She could see I was photographing these birds on the pipe, and I gestured to her about the birds she was about to flush but she ignored me and did it anyway. So frustrating. I later shot some video of her and 3 other dog walkers flushing the roosting Dunlin and Ringed Plover flock (along with Redshank and Turnstones) from further along the beach a few times. Her 2 companions continued on west along the beach but she turned round and headed back along the beach pushing the same birds east along the shore, flushing them another 2 or 3 times, adding to her previous efforts. So much disturbance from just a single ignorant/oblivious(?) person.

I had to double back a little near the end of the esplanade when I spotted a yellow ringed Black Headed Gull. I had my suspicions that it would be a returning bird, and it was (Yellow 2BA7). I headed into the local nature reserve on my walk back towards Broughty Ferry. Blackbird, Goldcrest, Coal Tit, Chaffinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit and a flock of Long Tailed Tits were all seen in there. The reserve seemed quite sheltered from the wind which had increased in strength throughout the afternoon. A Grey Heron and a small flock of Redshanks with a single Turnstone were roosting on the stone breakwater east of the lifeboat station. A Cormorant was perched on the handrail along the walkway to the lifeboat, which is the first time I've seen the species there. With the wind in my face for the walk home, I decided I would try Strathern Road and Craigie Drive for Waxwings, although I knew it was still a little too early for the species with only low single figures being seen so far elsewhere. Needless to say, I drew a blank.

A Buzzard was seen in Eastern Cemetery where it was forced into a tree by some of the resident Crows and Magpies. I stumbled on the very unusual sight of a Herring Gull in (or more accurately, on) a tree, which necessitated the camera being removed from the bag again for a quick record shot. I continued on from there to Swannie Ponds where Coot and Mallard gave me the final pair of new species for the day. Although I ended the day on a slightly disappointing total of 47 species, it was good to get a new personal high total for another species on the increase in Dundee, following on from the recent doubling of my previous highest Mediterranean Gull total with 2 adult birds seen together at the Balmossie roost a fortnight before. All in all, it was a decent enough afternoon's birding though with the frustration of the repeated flushing of the birds from the beach.

Eider

Jay

Wigeon & Little Egret

Bar Tailed Godwit

Little Egret

Dunlin, Redshank & Turnstone

Little Egret & Oystercatcher

Rock Pipit

Carrion Crow

Redshank & Dunlin

Rock Pipit

Mute Swan

Pied Wagtail

Redshank

Turnstone & Redshank

Black Headed Gull (Yellow 2BA7)

Wigeon

Goldcrest

Blue Tit

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Great Tit

Rock Pipit

Grey Heron

Herring Gull

Birds - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Linnet, Little Egret, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Redwing, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Turnstone, Woodpigeon, Wren.

1029 : Berries For Brunch (23/10/22)

Redwing

My original plan for birding on Sunday was for a repeat of Saturday's Riverside Nature Park visit. However, when the alarm went off, I felt a bit too tired to get up, so instead I went back to sleep.  It was 4 or 5 hours later before I finally got up out of bed. The weather forecast was for heavy rain sometime around mid-afternoon which didn't leave too much time for actual birding, if I was to head for either Balmossie or Riverside Nature Park again. With 'winter thrush' flocks arriving in good numbers over the previous few days, I decided I might as well try Eastern Cemetery to see if there were any there, as it is usually a very reliable site for Redwings and Mistle Thrushes, as well as the odd Fieldfare around this time of year. There is also the chance that those same thrush flocks may drag along something a little more exotic with them - maybe a Waxwing flock, or something even better....

I headed out at around 1115. Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Starling, Feral Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Magpie and Robin were all noted before I'd even left my street. Grey Wagtail, Blue Tit and Jackdaw were added as I walked up Court Street towards Clepington Road. As the Mains Terrace central area can be quite good for those same Redwings etc, I decided I'd be crazy not to check there too. Mains Loan was shut to traffic as was the road into Mains Terrace itself. A Blackbird called from the trees near Mains Loan as I wandered along the pavement. I could hear Redwings as I neared the junction with Castle Terrace and as I stopped to look for them, a Jay flew past just above treetop height. A good start...

A few seemingly very wary Redwings were flying into a small Rowan tree between some of the larger trees to feed on the small orange berries. Some were less wary than others though and I managed to get some reasonably decent photos with the Autumn leaves providing some nice colours to complement the birds plumage. A few Blackbirds were in some of the other trees. Overhead a few Skylarks overflew, their calls audible due to how quiet the street was. While photographing the Redwings and Blackbirds, a small flock of Siskins flew in and a Wren alarm called from within the bushes nearby. A skein of Pink Footed Geese passed westwards to the north over Caird Park.

Chaffinches, a pair of male Bullfinches, a Great Tit, a Black Headed Gull, a return visit from the Jay, a few Magpies, Jackdaws and Carrion Crows kept my camera busy over the next half an hour or so. A Goldcrest was seen in a Sycamore and a loose flock of Lesser Redpolls passed westwards. A Song Thrush, Dunnock and Rook added to what was already quite a productive visit. Best of all, however was a male Blackcap which tucked into the Rowan berries - making a pleasant change from photos of the species eating Elder berries at this time of year. Eventually I had a walk around the outside of the central area and ended up talking to a couple in their driveway for about 15 minutes about the wildlife they could expect to see in front of their house.

I headed next for Swannie Ponds with Woodpigeon, Mistle Thrush and Goldfinch joining the birds already on the list during the short walk to the ponds. Just before I crossed Stobsmuir Road, I caught sight of a Sparrowhawk overhead and quickly retrieved my camera from the bag to grab some photos of the male bird before it drifted off towards the area I'd just arrived from. A Grey Heron was on the island, with plenty of Mallards hauled out among the rocks along the edge of the top pond. A pair of Moorhens were bathing at the back of the island, with a Coot beyond them. There were only a couple of Tufted Ducks visible and the Mute Swan family were at the lower pond. Among the Black Headed Gulls (including 3 ringed birds) were a couple of Common Gulls and a few Herring Gulls. A Pied Wagtail flew over, as did another small group of Redwings.

Although there had been a hint of blue sky when I was at Mains Terrace the visibility was rapidly worsening with the cloudbase lowering and by the time I'd reached Eastern Cemetery, the tops of the trees were enshrouded in mist. There were numerous thrushes around as hoped but it was almost pointless trying to get useable photos of them given the conditions. That didn't stop me trying and both Redwings and Mistle Thrushes were photographed, along with a Greenfinch and Coal Tit. Rabbit and Grey Squirrel were seen before I decided there was little point in lingering at the cemetery, so after just over 2 hours out I called it a day and headed for home. Despite the brevity of the actual birding time and the distance covered (a little over a mile in each direction) I managed to record a total of 41 species, which I was quite pleased with and was also able to get some fairly decent photos.

Blue Tit

Redwing

Siskin

Song Thrush

Redwing

Blackbird

Chaffinch

Blackcap

Magpie

Jay

Great Tit

Jackdaw

House Sparrow

Sparrowhawk

Tufted Duck

Black Headed Gull (White J0214, Green J63P & ?)

Common Gull, Herring Gull & Black Headed Gull

Greenfinch

Coal Tit

Woodpigeon

Mistle Thrush

Birds - Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Redpoll, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Wren.

Mammals - Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.

1028 : Eastern Promise In The West End? (22/10/22)

Pink Footed Goose

A combination of factors meant that I didn't get any birding done on my mid-week day off work, but with some really good birds turning up on easterly winds on Friday, I was determined to get out birding on Saturday. Although the coast is almost always the best place to catch up with migrants brought in on favourable Autumn winds I decided to try Riverside Nature Park, rather than head to the eastern end of the city. My thinking was that Barry Buddon (outwith the city's boundaries) looked a much likelier place to stop for food and shelter than Barnhill Rock Garden or the small Broughty Ferry local nature reserve. So, I planned to get down in time for sunrise. If it was misty, I'd look for grounded migrants and if it wasn't I'd see how the vis-mig was going before searching for grounded migrants once that calmed down.

Things didn't look overly promising for vis-mig when I looked out the window before I got organised and saw that it appeared to be rather misty. However I hoped that would result in a better chance of finding birds in the bushes and trees at the park. I headed out the door at 0645 to the usual sound of a Robin in the darkness. As expected there weren't many birds around, a few more Robins, a Blackbird and a Pink Footed Goose being all the next half an hour managed to produce. Thankfully as the darkness began to lift a few more birds were waking up. Wren, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Song Thrush, Redwing, Goldcrest, Herring Gull, Dunnock and Blue Tit were noted over the next half an hour or so before I reached the park.

It was still slightly before sunrise and the cloud base was still rather low with visibility of less than a mile in any direction. I had decided to take the thermal imager with me, to increase my chances of finding birds hidden in the bushes and trees. Wren, Redwing, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Robin, Herring Gull, Song Thrush, Curlew, Woodpigeon, Mistle Thrush and Blackbird were quickly added to the list around the eastern extremities of the park. I met Keith as he arrived and we teamed up to double our chances of finding something decent. The thermal imager found a 'blob' of heat in below some bushes but it turned out to be a Rabbit. We added Chaffinch and Greenfinch before we spooked a Woodcock that I hadn't picked up with the thermal imager as I had been looking at the bushes rather than the ground. It flew off quickly, but out of our sight as our view was blocked by the hedgerow it had apparently been below.

The Woodcock did give us a bit of hope that we might find something fairly good. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was seen in flight and we soon picked up a handful of Fieldfares passing overhead, along with some more Redwings. A Goldcrest was spotted as we headed for the Lochan. Moorhen and Teal were added there along with Mallard. Feral Pigeons passed by to the north. Yellowhammer and Skylark joined the other birds already on the list as we wandered along to the hide. The thermal imager helped find a few birds but nothing we hadn't already seen. Blackcap, Bullfinch, Long Tailed Tit and Pied Wagtail were noted around the hide area, with both Magpie and Jackdaw also around as we wandered back to check the outer part of the bay.

There were a few thousand Pink Footed Geese in the outer bay, mostly just beyond the edge of the mud. The low visibility in all directions was keeping them all down, though periodically a few birds would take flight, circle round for a few minutes then land again, as they were unable to see where they wanted to go. Keith got his scope out to check through the geese and I did the same using just binoculars. I managed to find a trio of Canada Geese just behind the Pinkies and took a handful of photos to check later at home. Unfortunately as Keith was scanning through the flock, a large number of them took flight. The light was still rather poor, so even with a good scope, it was very difficult to find anything different.

Checking the photos later at home, I did find a trio of potentially interesting geese - one appeared to be a Greenland White Fronted Goose - which would be a new species for the park list, but as it only appeared on a single rather grainy photo, it is one I'm not going to count unless it is found again and confirmed. Another appeared to have more of an orange bill, rather than a pink one, but again was only on one grainy photo. The third bird appeared to be a Pink Footed Goose with orange, rather than pink, legs and was photographed taking flight. In addition to the geese we were able to see Oystercatchers, Redshank, Wigeon, Cormorant and Dunlin on the mud and pipe. Siskin and Lesser Redpoll overflew before Keith had to head off home.

I returned to the bay after checking the bushes along the route back to the car park. The tide had risen a little further but the number of geese in the bay had dropped again. Grey Heron and Goosander were both new and a small group of Tree Sparrows dropped into the trees in front of me. Reed Bunting, Great Tit, Starling and Meadow Pipit provided a few more species over the next 20 minutes or so. Both Bar Tailed and Black Tailed Godwits were seen as the tide pushed the birds further into the bay, along with Grey Wagtail and Common Gull. I wandered along to the hide but failed to find anything new among the at least 700+ Dunlin on the mud. A few Goldfinches were finally spotted as I walked back to look at the bay again as the visibility finally appeared to be improving.

A Sparrowhawk upset the roosting waders as it flew low over the bushes and a Rook was seen over the bay a little later. I had a chat with another couple of birders (Chris and Eleanor) who were also scanning out over the bay, before we headed off again in opposite directions to see what else we could find, though not before the Sparrowhawk made another low pass in front of us. More birds were passing over the park - Redwings, Mistle Thrushes, a few Fieldfares and Skylarks mostly, as the clouds finally seemed to be clearing. However, the brief glimpse of blue sky didn't last and I remembered a little bit too late that heavy rain was forecast for around 1600. I called it a day and headed for home having noted a total of 54 species at the park.

A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard on the Perth Road as I contemplated catching a bus into town, only to find that it had been cancelled. Goldfinch, Bullfinch, Woodpigeon, Long Tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Starling, Feral Pigeon, Black Headed Gull and Pied Wagtail took the total number of species for outwith the park to 22 species, but unfortunately for me, the forecast rain arrived while I still had around 25 minutes or so to go on my walk home, which meant I got a bit wetter than I wanted to. The total number of species recorded on the day was 55 - just one species was seen only outwith the park (Coal Tit). While Fife picked up another prospective first for the region (Stejneger's Stonechat) and a very nice selection of other birds including their second Red Flanked Bluetail of this Autumn, Dundee flattered to deceive once again. We will strike it lucky eventually.... (though Keith did get a Barred Warbler last November, so there is definitely still time for a really 'good' bird again this Autumn).

Canada Goose, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Dunlin & Redshank

Wigeon

Blackbird

Siskin

Pink Footed Goose

Yellowhammer

Cormorant

Mallard

Tree Sparrow

Meadow Pipit

Redshank, Black Tailed Godwit, Teal & Dunlin

Dunlin

Pied Wagtail

Long Tailed Tit

Black Tailed Godwit

Goosander

Song Thrush

Mistle Thrush

Reed Bunting

Dunlin & Redshank

Sparrowhawk

Curlew

Blackbird

Fieldfare

Redwing

Carrion Crow

Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Herring Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Song Thrush, Starling, Woodpigeon, Wren.

Birds (at Riverside Nature Park) - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Lesser Redpoll, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Wigeon, Woodcock, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.

Mammals - Rabbit.