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| Nuthatch |
It doesn't seem like a year has passed since my last Review Of The Year post though quite obviously it has been. There have been over 130 individual posts in that time telling the story of my birding in 2022. Most of the birding in that time has taken place within Dundee's city boundaries with only 13 trips elsewhere over the course of the whole year. Having set myself a target figure that I wasn't sure was even achievable, I've done a LOT of walking from home to the ends of the city to give myself a decent chance of reaching that figure. My Dundee140 list was my prime focus this year, with my year-list barely even registering and looking back over sightings from outwith the city while preparing for this post, there were some that I could only vaguely remember the details of. The Dundee ones I can mostly recall exactly where I saw them and all sorts of little details. So, without further ado, on with the highlights package, beginning with the Dundee stuff....
My first bird of the year wasn't a Herring Gull for once, but a Black Headed Gull which made a pleasant change. On the 1st of January, the walk to Balmossie and back via the Dighty Burn produced a very decent haul of 61 species, the best of which was a Water Rail found using my thermal imager. I was successful on the 2nd at Balgay Hill searching for Nuthatch and a few of the other regulars there. This year saw 3 known nest sites around the hill for the Nuthatches with all 3 nests successfully fledging a combined total of at least 10 youngsters (though very likely more). The 5th of January got me a few Whooper Swans and the first Tawny Owl encounter of the year came at Balgay Hill as I headed for work on the 11th. An unseasonal Common Sandpiper was a surprise at City Quay on the 15th - though it transpired that Lainy had actually found the bird a few weeks earlier at the end of December but was unaware the species is usually just a summer visitor, so never mentioned it.
A trip to Clatto to get a Gadwall following a tip-off from Lainy also got me a Woodcock in the wood behind the reservoir thanks to the thermal imager and an early Lesser Black Backed Gull on the 23rd. The month ended with a White Tailed Eagle sighting over Invergowrie Bay and a pair of Peregrines on the Ninewells chimney spotted as I headed home from Riverside Nature Park. Curiosity got me Snipe and Jack Snipe at Trottick when I decided to check some potential habitat. New additions were hard to come by in February but a Kingfisher on the Dighty (the first of quite a few sightings of the species around the city this year at multiple locations) and a distant Raven crossing the Tay were both nice to catch up with. Ravens seem to be another species which is becoming more regular around, and over the city, which again is interesting to witness as it happens.
March kicked off with a Lesser Redpoll at Riverside Nature Park while I was looking for a reported Sanderling in the bay. I didn't find any Sanderling but I did find something better, a Little Stint - not a common bird in the bay, and definitely not in Spring (if early March even counts as Spring!). Another trip to Clatto on the 12th got me a Great Crested Grebe, but unusually there was no sign of any Little Grebe. I went out on the 16th hoping I might run into an Chiffchaff or two and managed to do precisely that. I also ran into a pair of Little Egrets at Broughty Ferry which were a welcome bonus. Later in the year, I had 4 of these birds together in more or less the same place - another indication of another species increasing locally. Some early morning 'skywatching' at the Law on the 23rd scored me my first Dundee sighting of a Crossbill in 2022.
At Ninewells Community Garden around 0900, just 2 days later, I happened to be looking for a Bullfinch I could hear calling when I spied something larger drifting overhead - a Red Kite. Yet another species seemingly on the increase locally. Away from the birds I was able to get photos of Smooth Newts at Riverside Nature Park for the first time and also managed to find a fresh looking Comma butterfly in the sunshine at the park too on the 27th. On the 30th while looking out my bedroom window, I managed to luck onto a high flying Osprey heading north. As things turned out, it was the first of many Osprey sightings throughout the summer, mostly around Balmossie and Invergowrie Bay but also from the Law and the top of the Hilltown area.
The summer migrants started to flow in as April got going with Blackcap on the 2nd, Sand Martin on the 13th, Willow Warbler on the 16th (along with what was my first Fieldfare of the year - incidentally my 100th species for the year in Dundee). I added Swallow on the 23rd as I went to check out the western edges of the city beyond Liff. I found Tree Sparrow in the area as well as having good views of a Brown Hare. The 24th produced Grasshopper Warbler and House Martin down by the Dighty Burn and a Whitethroat showed up at Riverside Nature Park on the 27th. A surprise find on the 28th at the other end of the city was Dundee's first record of a Speckled Wood butterfly in the Broughty Ferry local nature reserve. By the end of the summer these butterflies had also arrived at Riverside Nature Park and Balgay Hill. On the 29th I was surprised to look up and see a Marsh Harrier over the Nature Park. What was likely the same bird seemed to visit semi-regularly to hunt, with at least another 5 sightings that I'm aware of over the course of the next few months, including a few more of my own.
Having caught up with most of the expected summer migrants as they arrived in April, May proved a bit quieter around the city as far as 'new' birds were concerned. I did find a Wheatear at Riverside Nature Park on the 8th, as well as having a sighting of an Otter. The first Swifts of the year were seen over Ninewells Avenue as it began to rain when I was heading home from work a little early on the 10th. On the 15th, I had nice views of a pair of Wood Mice (and also 2 Field Voles) in Baxter Park. A return visit to Clatto on the 28th finally added Garden Warbler thanks again to Lainy's persistence in searching for them. I added a bonus Little Grebe pair at the Ardler Village pond on the walk home.
I was slightly surprised to add another 3 species on the 1st of June with Canada Geese spotted from Eastern Cemetery as they crossed the Tay then Sandwich Tern and Gannet a little later from Balmossie. In addition, the Bottlenose Dolphins were active and as I watched them, I had great views of an Osprey with a large trout it had just caught heading north over the beach. Looking out my bedroom window just after 2300 on the 5th of June added Pipistrelle Bat to my list of Dundee mammals for the year, though the one in December in Balgay Cemetery was probably more of a surprise. On the subject of surprises, I wasn't expecting to see a Fulmar circling around Cox's Stack as I walked to work but that was what I saw on the 21st. Another right place, right time sighting and my only sighting of the species from Dundee this year.
The usual mid-summer lull when it gets a bit too warm to do anything too strenuous meant I didn't do very much birding in July but a trip to Riverside Nature Park on the 13th finally got me my first Lapwings of the year for the city list. The 4th of August added the first migrant Tree Pipit on its way back south as I headed to work, with a hooting Tawny Owl in the afternoon a bit of a surprise. August was most certainly the month for the unexpected. Keith Edwards had tipped me off that he had seen Greenshank a few times so I popped down to the Nature Park on the 10th and was rewarded with not just 1, but 2, of these birds. Things got even better a little later when I turned round to see a raptor a little to the south flying out over the outer bay. The obvious white rump on the slim brown bird led to me grabbing as many photos as I could. Although it didn't turn out to be one of the 'rare' pair of Harriers, Hen Harrier was most definitely not on my list of likely birds for seeing in Dundee.
If that was unexpected, then the following Wednesday morning as I headed for the Nature Park once again produced what was probably an even more unlikely encounter. I could hear Magpies and Blackbirds mobbing something in a stand of trees and went to investigate. I was hoping for an Owl. It wasn't an Owl. My camera was still in the bag when a Pine Marten wandered along a branch about 6 feet above me and back into cover. Out came the camera as I waited and waited (as the Magpies were still in place, suggesting the Marten was too). Eventually it showed again and I managed to get a few photos - though the camera focussed on a branch in front of the animal but there was enough detail visible to prove the sighting. Mark Wilkinson tipped me off about a Mediterranean Gull in Invergowrie Bay and persistence and bloody-mindedness in less than favourable conditions eventually got me the bird on the 21st. Later in the year, I managed to find 2 adults together at Balmossie (again, another bird on the increase locally, though slowly).
Keith found a Shoveler and a pair of Ruff at Riverside on the 1st of September. I prioritised the Shoveler and eventually managed to get a look at it. As it turned out, it lingered at the Lochan for a few weeks before moving on. The Ruff took a bit more effort - though it turned out I had actually managed to photograph them among the other relatively distant waders without noticing them. A return visit on the 2nd came up trumps however with the duo being seen and photographed in flight around high tide but not being seen as the tide receded later. Keith had managed to add Sanderling to the park list as well as finding Curlew Sandpiper on the 6th of September. I headed down on the 7th but failed to find the Sanderling but was successful with the Curlew Sandpipers. I was using my holidays to try to catch up with as much of the Autumn movements as possible and a Ring Ouzel past the Law with a few Mistle Thruhses on the 10th was the highlight of an early morning vis-mig session.
At Balmossie on the 11th I had a brief sighting of a bird that I just couldn't fathom what it actually was - though an underside view from slightly behind isn't a view that regularly features in fieldguides. Thanks to grabbing a few photos and Mark Lewis's helpful suggestion of what the call I thought I'd heard might be, the bird was identified as a very unexpected juvenile Rose Coloured Starling. Oddly, the very distinctive undertail coverts didn't really seem to warrant much of a mention in any of the books I checked. From the angle I'd seen the bird they were really the only stand-out feature. Without the photos (and the camera focussing for a change!) it would've been one that got away. It did show again the following day, though only seemingly for Graham Smith. In addition to the Starling, the 11th was very productive with Common Tern, Kittiwake, Arctic Skua, Red Throated Diver, Sanderling, Arctic Tern and Guillemot justifying my decision to take my 'good' scope to Balmossie. The extra weight of the DSLR with a 70-300mm (rather than my usual heavier kit) proved its worth too.
The rest of September failed to live up to the heights of the first third of the month but things picked up a bit once again in early October. I managed to get Brambling from both the Law and Riverside Nature Park while vis-migging. A Hawfinch in flight in Caird Park was another very unexpected catch. Another 'scope' day at Balmossie, with Lainy along to get the record shots this time proved productive with an unexpected Puffin near the Dighty mouth, along with an Arctic Tern, a Mediterranean Gull and a more distant Razorbill. On the walk back, I gambled on scanning the Tayport saltmarsh edges as Mark Wilkinson had a Barnacle Goose as well as another 3 Puffins and a few Brent Geese from there. Remarkably we managed to find the Barnacle Goose but couldn't pick out any of the Brent Geese Mark had also found. I did manage to find another Barnacle Goose much closer to Dundee's actual boundaries from the track by the new cemetery at the back of Clearwater Park a bit later in the year.
I met up with Susan Falconer on the 12th of October to try to add something else to my list. The weather wasn't in our favour to start with but we ended up at Balmossie as the tide came in and the sun came out. I found a couple of Mediterranean Gulls before Susan picked out a very welcome Little Gull too. I was edging closer to my target figure with the Little Gull being number 138. There were still a few species that I had yet to catch up with including Grey Plover, Stonechat and Waxwing. Of the 3 the Grey Plover was likely to be the easiest. Remarkably Keith managed to add one of those to the Nature Park list on a rainy morning visit, but it failed to hang around long enough for me to catch up with it. Keith's run of new 'waders' for the park list continued into November with a Green Sandpiper - a species that felt a bit overdue for the park. I met Keith at the park on the 2nd and managed to spot the bird in flight before it landed on the railway embankment along by the reedbed. It didn't linger there long and I'm not sure it was seen again after that. Yet again, right place at the right time.
I was now within touching distance of my target. I tried for Grey Plover at Balmossie again but to no avail. As November drew to a close I decided to head out looking for Waxwings on the 26th despite the grey and showery weather. Remarkably given how few Waxwings had turned up in the country at this point, despite predictions of a bumper year, I managed to find one perched with Starlings in the tops of the tall trees at the Kingsway end of Mid-Craigie, where the school used to be. Once again, it was a bird that didn't hang around for long after I'd seen it, but thankfully I got a couple of record shots. It was also the bird that got me to my target at last. I had managed to see (or hear - Tawny Owl) 140 species in Dundee in 2022. A few days later, almost inevitably, I managed to finally catch a couple of Grey Plover in flight at Balmossie then in mid-December I ran into a Stonechat at Broughty Ferry which took my total to 142.
I had missed out on a few species - Spotted Flycatcher (Lainy had a family of them at Templeton Woods), Slavonian Grebe (looked for but not seen off Balmossie), Pintail (Mark and Keith I think both had them in Invergowrie Bay), a possible White Fronted Goose was in one of my photos of geese on the river but wasn't actually 'seen' by Keith or me at the time, and Golden Plover (heard by Lainy) which gave a possible 147. I don't think either Whimbrel or Spotted Redshank were seen this year. I doubt very much that 150 is doable, and I think aiming for 145 is likely to end in failure but nevertheless that will be my target figure in 2023. I intend to put in even more effort and hopefully my run of decent birding luck will continue with more completely unexpected species turning up. Thanks once again to all those who have helped me to catch up with birds around the city especially Keith, Lainy and Mark. I wonder if a combined total of 150 species in 2023 is doable (whether or not my 145 is)?
My first bird of the year wasn't a Herring Gull for once, but a Black Headed Gull which made a pleasant change. On the 1st of January, the walk to Balmossie and back via the Dighty Burn produced a very decent haul of 61 species, the best of which was a Water Rail found using my thermal imager. I was successful on the 2nd at Balgay Hill searching for Nuthatch and a few of the other regulars there. This year saw 3 known nest sites around the hill for the Nuthatches with all 3 nests successfully fledging a combined total of at least 10 youngsters (though very likely more). The 5th of January got me a few Whooper Swans and the first Tawny Owl encounter of the year came at Balgay Hill as I headed for work on the 11th. An unseasonal Common Sandpiper was a surprise at City Quay on the 15th - though it transpired that Lainy had actually found the bird a few weeks earlier at the end of December but was unaware the species is usually just a summer visitor, so never mentioned it.
A trip to Clatto to get a Gadwall following a tip-off from Lainy also got me a Woodcock in the wood behind the reservoir thanks to the thermal imager and an early Lesser Black Backed Gull on the 23rd. The month ended with a White Tailed Eagle sighting over Invergowrie Bay and a pair of Peregrines on the Ninewells chimney spotted as I headed home from Riverside Nature Park. Curiosity got me Snipe and Jack Snipe at Trottick when I decided to check some potential habitat. New additions were hard to come by in February but a Kingfisher on the Dighty (the first of quite a few sightings of the species around the city this year at multiple locations) and a distant Raven crossing the Tay were both nice to catch up with. Ravens seem to be another species which is becoming more regular around, and over the city, which again is interesting to witness as it happens.
March kicked off with a Lesser Redpoll at Riverside Nature Park while I was looking for a reported Sanderling in the bay. I didn't find any Sanderling but I did find something better, a Little Stint - not a common bird in the bay, and definitely not in Spring (if early March even counts as Spring!). Another trip to Clatto on the 12th got me a Great Crested Grebe, but unusually there was no sign of any Little Grebe. I went out on the 16th hoping I might run into an Chiffchaff or two and managed to do precisely that. I also ran into a pair of Little Egrets at Broughty Ferry which were a welcome bonus. Later in the year, I had 4 of these birds together in more or less the same place - another indication of another species increasing locally. Some early morning 'skywatching' at the Law on the 23rd scored me my first Dundee sighting of a Crossbill in 2022.
At Ninewells Community Garden around 0900, just 2 days later, I happened to be looking for a Bullfinch I could hear calling when I spied something larger drifting overhead - a Red Kite. Yet another species seemingly on the increase locally. Away from the birds I was able to get photos of Smooth Newts at Riverside Nature Park for the first time and also managed to find a fresh looking Comma butterfly in the sunshine at the park too on the 27th. On the 30th while looking out my bedroom window, I managed to luck onto a high flying Osprey heading north. As things turned out, it was the first of many Osprey sightings throughout the summer, mostly around Balmossie and Invergowrie Bay but also from the Law and the top of the Hilltown area.
The summer migrants started to flow in as April got going with Blackcap on the 2nd, Sand Martin on the 13th, Willow Warbler on the 16th (along with what was my first Fieldfare of the year - incidentally my 100th species for the year in Dundee). I added Swallow on the 23rd as I went to check out the western edges of the city beyond Liff. I found Tree Sparrow in the area as well as having good views of a Brown Hare. The 24th produced Grasshopper Warbler and House Martin down by the Dighty Burn and a Whitethroat showed up at Riverside Nature Park on the 27th. A surprise find on the 28th at the other end of the city was Dundee's first record of a Speckled Wood butterfly in the Broughty Ferry local nature reserve. By the end of the summer these butterflies had also arrived at Riverside Nature Park and Balgay Hill. On the 29th I was surprised to look up and see a Marsh Harrier over the Nature Park. What was likely the same bird seemed to visit semi-regularly to hunt, with at least another 5 sightings that I'm aware of over the course of the next few months, including a few more of my own.
Having caught up with most of the expected summer migrants as they arrived in April, May proved a bit quieter around the city as far as 'new' birds were concerned. I did find a Wheatear at Riverside Nature Park on the 8th, as well as having a sighting of an Otter. The first Swifts of the year were seen over Ninewells Avenue as it began to rain when I was heading home from work a little early on the 10th. On the 15th, I had nice views of a pair of Wood Mice (and also 2 Field Voles) in Baxter Park. A return visit to Clatto on the 28th finally added Garden Warbler thanks again to Lainy's persistence in searching for them. I added a bonus Little Grebe pair at the Ardler Village pond on the walk home.
I was slightly surprised to add another 3 species on the 1st of June with Canada Geese spotted from Eastern Cemetery as they crossed the Tay then Sandwich Tern and Gannet a little later from Balmossie. In addition, the Bottlenose Dolphins were active and as I watched them, I had great views of an Osprey with a large trout it had just caught heading north over the beach. Looking out my bedroom window just after 2300 on the 5th of June added Pipistrelle Bat to my list of Dundee mammals for the year, though the one in December in Balgay Cemetery was probably more of a surprise. On the subject of surprises, I wasn't expecting to see a Fulmar circling around Cox's Stack as I walked to work but that was what I saw on the 21st. Another right place, right time sighting and my only sighting of the species from Dundee this year.
The usual mid-summer lull when it gets a bit too warm to do anything too strenuous meant I didn't do very much birding in July but a trip to Riverside Nature Park on the 13th finally got me my first Lapwings of the year for the city list. The 4th of August added the first migrant Tree Pipit on its way back south as I headed to work, with a hooting Tawny Owl in the afternoon a bit of a surprise. August was most certainly the month for the unexpected. Keith Edwards had tipped me off that he had seen Greenshank a few times so I popped down to the Nature Park on the 10th and was rewarded with not just 1, but 2, of these birds. Things got even better a little later when I turned round to see a raptor a little to the south flying out over the outer bay. The obvious white rump on the slim brown bird led to me grabbing as many photos as I could. Although it didn't turn out to be one of the 'rare' pair of Harriers, Hen Harrier was most definitely not on my list of likely birds for seeing in Dundee.
If that was unexpected, then the following Wednesday morning as I headed for the Nature Park once again produced what was probably an even more unlikely encounter. I could hear Magpies and Blackbirds mobbing something in a stand of trees and went to investigate. I was hoping for an Owl. It wasn't an Owl. My camera was still in the bag when a Pine Marten wandered along a branch about 6 feet above me and back into cover. Out came the camera as I waited and waited (as the Magpies were still in place, suggesting the Marten was too). Eventually it showed again and I managed to get a few photos - though the camera focussed on a branch in front of the animal but there was enough detail visible to prove the sighting. Mark Wilkinson tipped me off about a Mediterranean Gull in Invergowrie Bay and persistence and bloody-mindedness in less than favourable conditions eventually got me the bird on the 21st. Later in the year, I managed to find 2 adults together at Balmossie (again, another bird on the increase locally, though slowly).
Keith found a Shoveler and a pair of Ruff at Riverside on the 1st of September. I prioritised the Shoveler and eventually managed to get a look at it. As it turned out, it lingered at the Lochan for a few weeks before moving on. The Ruff took a bit more effort - though it turned out I had actually managed to photograph them among the other relatively distant waders without noticing them. A return visit on the 2nd came up trumps however with the duo being seen and photographed in flight around high tide but not being seen as the tide receded later. Keith had managed to add Sanderling to the park list as well as finding Curlew Sandpiper on the 6th of September. I headed down on the 7th but failed to find the Sanderling but was successful with the Curlew Sandpipers. I was using my holidays to try to catch up with as much of the Autumn movements as possible and a Ring Ouzel past the Law with a few Mistle Thruhses on the 10th was the highlight of an early morning vis-mig session.
At Balmossie on the 11th I had a brief sighting of a bird that I just couldn't fathom what it actually was - though an underside view from slightly behind isn't a view that regularly features in fieldguides. Thanks to grabbing a few photos and Mark Lewis's helpful suggestion of what the call I thought I'd heard might be, the bird was identified as a very unexpected juvenile Rose Coloured Starling. Oddly, the very distinctive undertail coverts didn't really seem to warrant much of a mention in any of the books I checked. From the angle I'd seen the bird they were really the only stand-out feature. Without the photos (and the camera focussing for a change!) it would've been one that got away. It did show again the following day, though only seemingly for Graham Smith. In addition to the Starling, the 11th was very productive with Common Tern, Kittiwake, Arctic Skua, Red Throated Diver, Sanderling, Arctic Tern and Guillemot justifying my decision to take my 'good' scope to Balmossie. The extra weight of the DSLR with a 70-300mm (rather than my usual heavier kit) proved its worth too.
The rest of September failed to live up to the heights of the first third of the month but things picked up a bit once again in early October. I managed to get Brambling from both the Law and Riverside Nature Park while vis-migging. A Hawfinch in flight in Caird Park was another very unexpected catch. Another 'scope' day at Balmossie, with Lainy along to get the record shots this time proved productive with an unexpected Puffin near the Dighty mouth, along with an Arctic Tern, a Mediterranean Gull and a more distant Razorbill. On the walk back, I gambled on scanning the Tayport saltmarsh edges as Mark Wilkinson had a Barnacle Goose as well as another 3 Puffins and a few Brent Geese from there. Remarkably we managed to find the Barnacle Goose but couldn't pick out any of the Brent Geese Mark had also found. I did manage to find another Barnacle Goose much closer to Dundee's actual boundaries from the track by the new cemetery at the back of Clearwater Park a bit later in the year.
I met up with Susan Falconer on the 12th of October to try to add something else to my list. The weather wasn't in our favour to start with but we ended up at Balmossie as the tide came in and the sun came out. I found a couple of Mediterranean Gulls before Susan picked out a very welcome Little Gull too. I was edging closer to my target figure with the Little Gull being number 138. There were still a few species that I had yet to catch up with including Grey Plover, Stonechat and Waxwing. Of the 3 the Grey Plover was likely to be the easiest. Remarkably Keith managed to add one of those to the Nature Park list on a rainy morning visit, but it failed to hang around long enough for me to catch up with it. Keith's run of new 'waders' for the park list continued into November with a Green Sandpiper - a species that felt a bit overdue for the park. I met Keith at the park on the 2nd and managed to spot the bird in flight before it landed on the railway embankment along by the reedbed. It didn't linger there long and I'm not sure it was seen again after that. Yet again, right place at the right time.
I was now within touching distance of my target. I tried for Grey Plover at Balmossie again but to no avail. As November drew to a close I decided to head out looking for Waxwings on the 26th despite the grey and showery weather. Remarkably given how few Waxwings had turned up in the country at this point, despite predictions of a bumper year, I managed to find one perched with Starlings in the tops of the tall trees at the Kingsway end of Mid-Craigie, where the school used to be. Once again, it was a bird that didn't hang around for long after I'd seen it, but thankfully I got a couple of record shots. It was also the bird that got me to my target at last. I had managed to see (or hear - Tawny Owl) 140 species in Dundee in 2022. A few days later, almost inevitably, I managed to finally catch a couple of Grey Plover in flight at Balmossie then in mid-December I ran into a Stonechat at Broughty Ferry which took my total to 142.
I had missed out on a few species - Spotted Flycatcher (Lainy had a family of them at Templeton Woods), Slavonian Grebe (looked for but not seen off Balmossie), Pintail (Mark and Keith I think both had them in Invergowrie Bay), a possible White Fronted Goose was in one of my photos of geese on the river but wasn't actually 'seen' by Keith or me at the time, and Golden Plover (heard by Lainy) which gave a possible 147. I don't think either Whimbrel or Spotted Redshank were seen this year. I doubt very much that 150 is doable, and I think aiming for 145 is likely to end in failure but nevertheless that will be my target figure in 2023. I intend to put in even more effort and hopefully my run of decent birding luck will continue with more completely unexpected species turning up. Thanks once again to all those who have helped me to catch up with birds around the city especially Keith, Lainy and Mark. I wonder if a combined total of 150 species in 2023 is doable (whether or not my 145 is)?
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The relatively few trips outside Dundee for birding with Ian, Paul, Susan and Matt in 2022 did throw up some nice birds, but having had my focus so firmly fixed on my Dundee list a lot of the memories of these birds are rather vague, however here's a brief round-up of the highlights. A trip to the Montrose area on the 3rd of January with Ian was a late change of plan as the intention had been to head for Fife but Angus promised slightly better weather. Twite, Corn Bunting and nice views of a Great Northern Diver at the Lurgies were the best of the bunch. A couple of trips to the Angus Glens and surrounding area in May, one with Paul, the other with Matt managed to round up most of the summer visitors that I was unlikely to get in Dundee including Little Ringed Plover, Ring Ouzel, Tree Pipit (though these 2 I did end up getting in Dundee), Redstart, Cuckoo, Spotted Flycatcher and Whinchat plus Red Grouse, Black Grouse and Red Legged Partridge.
A trip along the Angus coast with Susan on the 24th of August got us a trio of Black Terns as well as a number of Little Gulls and a couple of Mediterranean Gulls. Roseate Tern eluded us though I had better luck 3 days later with Ian with a single bird eventually putting in an appearance as well as another Black Tern. Ruff, Green Sandpiper and Great White Egret were also seen at Montrose Basin. A few days later I visited some of the same sites with Paul though a Great Skua on the sea in Lunan Bay was my first of the year. We also managed to see a few Harbour Porpoises due to the sea being very calm. My only other foray into Angus was a short walk with Lainy to nail the ID of the tern we'd spotted as well as the auk we weren't seeing on the surface for long enough to get a good view though it looked 'odd'. They turned out to be a late Arctic Tern and a very unexpected young Puffin (as mentioned above).
Trips to Fife were also few and far between this year. A trip on the 4th of January took my list for the year to 101 species with Smew, Black Necked Grebe and Brambling at Cameron Reservoir along with the Balgove Bay Pintail and Brent Geese the best of the day's plentiful birds. Very close views of an Otter on the 19th of March at Guardbridge kick-started another good day out with Ian. A Garganey was eventually found with Teal at Cameron Reservoir. Slavonian Grebe was noted in the Forth off Lower Largo and we found a White Fronted Goose at Letham Pools later in the day. Ian and I visited Paul's local coastal patch for Lesser Whitethroat on the 2nd of May and added Pochard at Kinghorn Loch before finding Ruff and Little Gull at a 'quiet' Letham Pools before we headed for home.
The chance of some slightly 'out-of-season' seawatching at Fife Ness with Ian on the 22nd of June gave us another close view of an Otter as it hauled out on the rocks to feed on a large Lobster it had caught. Puffins and Manx Shearwaters were the best of the birds. Ian and I drew a blank on a coastal White Rumped Sandpiper early in the morning on the 6th of August though a Golden Plover was some consolation. Seawatching at Fife Ness later got us an Arctic Skua and a few more Manxies. Our final visit together to Fife this year was on the 3rd of September. A very unexpected Long Tailed Skua flew over us at the top end of Kilminning as we searched the trees and bushes for early-ish migrants. We added Arctic Skua and a Bonxie as we did some seawatching at the Ness later. Unfortunately, I didn't make it back to Fife in October this year for the first time since 2011, though Dundee did throw up some good birds to keep me from feeling anything like disappointment.
And that is the story of my 2022 birding. What will 2023 bring? I will probably cut back further on my 'out of area' trips to concentrate even more on what I can find in Dundee, especially during April/May and September/October. I do miss being able to sit and seawatch regularly but vis-migging, especially at Riverside Nature Park can be almost as interesting with birds aplenty moving over on some mornings and with anticipation of what might be next. Thanks again to everyone I've spent time birding with, chatting to about birds, and those who have taken the time to read these blog-posts throughout the year(s). Here's hoping for another interesting and varied birding year....
I've decided to split this post into this post with the story of the year (and a relatively few photos) and have a separate post for the photo highlights of the year (as these can take forever to load up on phones/tablets etc).
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| White Tailed Eagle |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Little Stint |
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| Speckled Wood |
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| Dipper |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Hen Harrier |
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| Pine Marten |
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| Osprey |
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| Long Tailed Skua |
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| Brambling |
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| Mediterranean Gull & Little Gull |
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| Little Egret |
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| Fieldfare |
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| Waxwing |
Lots more photos to come in part 2.....