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Tree Sparrow
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Dundee has a variety of bird habitats within the city boundaries and over the past 2 and a bit years I've spent a lot more time exploring them than I had previously. Some have proven to be hidden gems and others have been quite reliable for providing a nice mix of species. Along the way, I've found a few unexpected birds as have others (including Lainy, Keith, Mark and Ian etc) which have ensured that familiarity didn't end up breeding contempt despite visiting the same places repeatedly. I recently decided to check exactly where Dundee's official boundaries were and in doing so I discovered that there was an area out to the west of Camperdown Park that was mostly farmland - something in rather short supply within the parts of the city I had explored before, with one or two exceptions. Given my target of 140 species for the year I knew I had to do a spot of investigating.
With Spring migration underway there were slightly more pressing matters to attend to. Lainy discovered that there were Grasshopper Warblers in the vicinity of Clatto Reservoir a couple of years ago and we were both keen to see if they had returned again for another Summer. I planned to get up early and head for Clatto on Saturday morning again. I was mildly optimistic I'd find one and there was also a chance of a Swallow or a House Martin over the reservoir itself. With a bit of luck the rather elusive (for me) Little Grebe might also decide to put in an appearance.
An 0500 start saw me heading towards the northwestern corner of the city in the pre-dawn light. Thankfully, the weather forecast looked like mist wouldn't be an issue this time around, unlike the previous week's visit. Common Gull was the first minor surprise of the morning with a few on the football pitches at Fairmuir Park. I had decided to forego checking the Ardler Village pond in favour of getting to Clatto as early as possible. Goldcrest, Song Thrush and Collared Dove were the other minor highlights on the walk to the outskirts of the city. Pheasant, Yellowhammer, Skylark, Willow Warbler and Linnet were noted in the first rays of the rising sun along the dirt track up towards the reservoir from Strathmartine Road.
A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard shortly before the first Chiffchaff of the morning was spotted. I had a relatively close encounter with a Roe Deer I spooked just prior to running into Lainy who was also out looking for Grasshopper Warblers. She had drawn a blank up until this time so we searched some of the places where we'd had them in the past. Blackcap, Redwing and Long Tailed Tit were noted before we surprised one of the local Foxes which fled out of sight. Mute Swan, Rook, Stock Dove, Great Crested Grebe and Lesser Black Backed Gull were all added to the list when we checked out the rather quiet reservoir.
A Buzzard over the trees to the north and a Pied Wagtail were next onto the list but it appeared we were out of luck with regards our main target bird. With the species being reported from all over the country over the previous few days this was disappointing. We added Grey Wagtail and Reed Bunting as well as Mallard, Siskin and Rabbit before dog walkers started to appear. Although it wasn't misty, it wasn't particularly warm and once we checked out the area near the water tower we decided to call it a morning at Clatto. Lainy headed for home and I headed for Camperdown Park on my way to check out the unexplored (by me) area beyond.
A Goldcrest hovered in front of my face in Templeton Woods as it picked insects from the underside of a leaf. I managed to find a Bullfinch as I cut across the former golf course at Camperdown Park before heading out onto the very narrow path along the outer edge of the boundary wall towards the junction for the road to Liff. I narrowly avoiding being struck by the wing mirror of a speeding truck as I headed down the hill. I looked up to see my first
Swallow of 2022 hawking for insects above the field edges opposite and along the tree line above the road. Having missed out on any additions at Clatto this was a welcome sight.
I walked along the road westwards towards Liff village. Movement in the edge of the field to the south of the road turned out to be a Brown Hare which stood motionless allowing me to get a couple of photos before it turned tail and headed further into the cover provided by the field. Out beyond Liff village I had a look at Gray Den from the bridge. It wasn't obvious how accessible the Den might be and a return visit may be necessary to see if anything interesting is hiding there. A Peacock butterfly posed nicely on a wall as I neared the very edge of the city limits. Chirping from the bushes by the T-junction gave me my second 'new' bird of the day with a couple of
Tree Sparrows. I usually get these birds on passage over Riverside Nature Park in Autumn though Keith had a singing bird there recently, so it was good to catch up with some actual Dundee 'residents'.
I thought I had a potential Wheatear from the road further down towards Benvie and I ventured outside the city boundary to try to verify the ID but I suspect it was actually a Skylark distorted by the heat shimmer over the field. More walking added a Tree Sparrow with nest material and a Jay near the former Liff Hospital site as I wandered back towards the parts of Dundee I usually frequent. Rather than heading back to Camperdown Park I decided to head past Denhead of Gray instead. Small Tortoiseshell and Orange Tip butterflies were noted before I crossed the Kingsway near the former Swallow Hotel. I wandered along the path that skirts the northern edge of the Technology Park. I toyed with the idea of visiting the Nature Park but having already done a lot of walking I decided against it.
Instead I headed for Ninewells Community Garden where a Great Spotted Woodpecker was seen on the otherwise relatively quiet feeders. I then continued on to Balgay Hill where Coal Tit, Treecreepers and Nuthatch were all to be found. The Treecreepers in particular showed rather nicely at times. I eventually headed for the Law in the hope of catching some raptor action from the top though a single Buzzard being harassed to the north was the only one seen before I called it a day at last around 1530 and headed for home with a rather sore ankle and 2 Dundee 140 (and year) ticks (in bold) among the 50 species of birds recorded (plus 3 of butterfly and 5 of mammal), having walked just over 19 miles. Although I failed to find the main target species for the day, it was an enjoyable day's birding.
*As posting the photos through the body of the blog has led to no increase in views (whether it has had any bearing on the reduction in the numbers which has happened since making changes, I have no idea), but it has led to an increase in the time taken to produce a post. As a result, I have decided to go back to the previous layout with the photos after the text but before the lists, which is less labour-intensive.
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Linnet |
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| Pheasant |
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Roe Deer
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Stock Dove
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| Jay |
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Pied Wagtail
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| Starling |
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| Rabbit |
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| Swallow |
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Brown Hare
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Willow Warbler
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Song Thrush
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| Peacock |
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Tree Sparrow
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Orange Tip
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Great Spotted Woodpecker
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Common Wasp
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| Wren |
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| Treecreeper |
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| Robin |
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| Blackbird |
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| Nuthatch |
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Buzzard & Carrion Crow
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Birds - Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove,
Swallow, Tree Sparrow, Treecreeper, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Butterflies - Orange Tip, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell.
Mammals - Brown Hare, Fox, Grey Squirrel, Rabbit, Roe Deer.
