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| Guillemot |
The previous day's unexpected Ring Ouzel had given me a bit of hope that my Dundee 140 list wasn't looking quite so unlikely to succeed in reaching the target figure than it had a week or so before. I knew I would need a few unexpected birds to get there, but I also knew I needed to ensure that I caught up with all the expected birds too. I was still missing birds such as Guillemot, Sanderling and Kittiwake, but given the time of year I knew there should be a reasonable chance of catching up with at least one, if not more, of those species at Balmossie, so I decided that I would take my good scope and tripod there. That would mean either taking my Nikon P900 (not ideal for getting flight shots or anything requiring picking out little details on anything not relatively close) or a 70-300mm lens on a DSLR body (meaning less reach), to reduce the weight I'd be carrying or risk missing out on getting a record shot of something unusual (you just never know when that might happen, but if you don't have a camera, it'll probably be that time).
I headed out at around 0810 for the long walk to Balmossie. There was nothing particularly unusual as I headed towards Baxter Park. I decided given the time of day, as well as the fact it was Sunday that I could potentially save time and not tire myself out too much by doing something I hadn't done in over 2 and a half years - getting on a bus. I checked the Traveline Scotland app to see when the next bus was due. I would have roughly a 10 minute wait for a 73 which would drop me off at Balmossie Street around 0900. I decided that I might as well get that 'first time' out of the way. I would still wear a mask but getting a bus out and walking back seemed like a good idea. I added a flock of Swallows and House Martins as I headed down to Arbroath Road as well as a Collared Dove. From the bus stop I added a handful of Meadow Pipits passing overhead and some nearby noisy House Sparrows.
I reached Balmossie more or less on time and it was refreshing to see the area so quiet, with few dog walkers around. The tide was much further out than I had expected but having the good scope meant that it wasn't that much of a handicap. Once set up I started scanning through the 100s of birds I could see, along the shore, out on the water and in the air above the estuary mouth. Wigeon, Bar Tailed Godwit, Cormorant, Black Headed Gull, Herring Gull, Teal, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Common Gull, Redshank, Turnstone, Goosander, Grey Heron, Eider, Great Black Backed Gull and Lesser Black Backed Gull, Curlew, Mute Swan, Jackdaw and Goldfinch all contributed to a promising looking visit. The Common Tern was a new bird for the Dundee 140 list (number 125).
I had possible Little Gulls to the east but the distance and heat shimmer made it impossible to be sure. I contemplated walking along for a closer view to confirm, or rule them out, but decided not to bother as there was still plenty to see and with a little luck one or more might pass by much closer. I found some Dunlin and Ringed Plover among the seaweed. Not unexpectedly adding new birds slowed down considerably after the first half hour or so of scanning. Wren was heard from the bushes along the railway line and a Sparrowhawk drifted over. A Grey Seal was seen 'bottling' out on the water. A few Rooks flew in and it became apparent that all the Mergansers out on the water weren't just Goosander with a small group of Red Breasted Mergansers also around.
I found a trio of young Kittiwakes (126 for Dundee 140) among the roosting and bathing gulls around 1130. Two women stopped to ask what I was looking for and I told them that it was a selection of birds but that there was still a decent chance of an Osprey if they were lucky. As we were talking something made me look up where I spotted a bird that I couldn't place. It didn't look like anything that sprung to mind immediately. I rattled off a few photos - thankfully more or less in focus. I lost track of the bird when I looked at the camera to see what it was. I still couldn't work out what it was - though the rear underside view with wings not fully extended doesn't tend to be illustrated in birdbooks, or even online. I actually said that I had no idea what it was. A few seconds later I spotted an Osprey out over the water and pointed it out to the women. We watched it circling and hovering before both the bird and the women drifted off again.
The mystery bird then went out of my mind. When I got home later I had a long list of things to do, so to save some time I posted the photos on Twitter. I'd already more or less ruled out Barred Warbler - the shape was wrong, and Grasshopper Warbler was also the wrong shape though both potentially had marked undertail coverts. I'd briefly considered one other species but couldn't find a similar angle to either rule it in, or rule it out. I'd heard a short 'churr' sound as the bird flew over but wasn't certain it had even been the bird. Mark Lewis via Twitter suggested checking out Rose Coloured Starling's call. I did, and the more I searched for photos the more obvious it became that the bird was indeed a juvenile
Rose Coloured Starling. With Fife, Lothian and Aberdeenshire all getting good birds by the bucketload I had been feeling a little let down that Dundee was missing out, as it mostly seemed to do, no matter the conditions. However, the Ring Ouzel had provided some slight hope and the Rosy Starling had delivered on the eastern promise. The Dundee 140 list had crept up again (127, in chronological order).
The tide was slowly encroaching onto the exposed sandbanks and shore and I spent a lot of time scanning through the gulls and waders looking for something new. A few Linnets were noted. Around 1330 I picked up a distant Skua harassing the distant terns and gulls. It wasn't big enough for Bonxie, or slim enough for Long Tailed. It fitted best with Arctic Skua and I eventually managed slightly better views that were enough to count it as such (number 128). Some distant Gannets were seen well out over the Estuary as I watched the marauding pirate. The tide was most definitely on its way in and a small group of waders low over the water caught my attention. Their paleness had me thinking 'Sanderling' and photos showed that was indeed what they were. Number 129 for the Dundee 140 list, which was increasingly looking like it might actually be achievable after all.
Yet another addition was a trio of Red Throated Divers out in mid-river (number 130). By this time, despite the additions, my legs were beginning to get sore with all the standing around and my enthusiasm was starting to wane. I figured I might as well start a slow wander in the direction of home. This did mean I ended up finding the Sanderling on the beach, with Dunlin and Ringed Plover, Redshank and Turnstone as well as a single Knot. There was also a very mobile Wheatear among the rock armour near the car park at the end of the Esplanade. A pair of Mallards overflew near the castle and at the lifeboat station there were plenty of Sandwich Terns perched along the railings. There were also a few Common Terns and the short legs of an Arctic Tern also caught my attention, giving me yet another Dundee 140 bird (number 131), as well as a few gulls.
I had been surprised not to have seen a single auk despite all the scanning out over the water I'd done throughout the day. As I walked back along the esplanade towards the Stannergate I could see distant dots out on the water across towards the far side of the river. Binocular views showed a handful of gulls and a few definite auks. I decided I would check using the scope from a little further on, near the Sea Eagle feathers sculpture. However, as I passed the last of the sailing club buildings I noticed there was an auk on the river just down below the wall, bobbing around on the water. It turned out to be a Guillemot with an injury of some sort to the top of its head. As the bird chose not to dive, I was able to get plenty of photos as it bobbed along in the same direction as me. Checking the other birds confirmed that they too were Guillemots (number 132). I finally made it home around 1745 with the day's efforts having far exceeded expectations, adding 8 new species to the Dundee 140 list (of which 1 - in bold - was new for year, and a major highlight for the year) among the 60 species recorded. All in all, a very good day out.
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Rook |
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| Magpie |
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| Oystercatcher |
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Rose Coloured Starling
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Pied Wagtail
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Bar Tailed Godwit & Herring Gull
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Herring Gull & Kittiwake
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| Osprey |
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Grey Heron
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Mute Swan
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Redshank, Turnstone, Dunlin, Ringed Plover & Knot
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Ringed Plover
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| Sanderling |
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| Eider |
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Red Throated Diver
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Herring Gull & Sandwich Tern
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| Goosander |
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| Guillemot |
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| Turnstone |
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Cormorant (with Eel)
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House Sparrow
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| Rabbit |
Birds - Arctic Skua, Arctic Tern, Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Tern, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Gannet, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kittiwake, Knot, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook,
Rose Coloured Starling, Sanderling, Sandwich Tern, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Teal, Turnstone, Wheatear, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Grey Seal, Rabbit.
