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Grey Wagtail
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Having drawn a blank with the Grey Plover at Riverside Nature Park on Saturday I decided that there was probably a decent likelihood of a few of the birds being around at Balmossie, as they were being reported at various locations around the country. Although there is still a little more than 3 months left to get the species onto my Dundee140 list, I figure the quicker I can catch up with one, the more flexibility I have in where I choose to go to try to get other birds for the list. Having not ventured along the Dighty Burn much over the past few months I decided I would take the longer route via there and the area beside the new cemetery to the north of Clearwater Park, just in case there might be an unexpected migrant or two to be found around the northeastern limits of the city.
Somehow it was already 0900 on Sunday morning before I ventured out though with high tide later in the afternoon it wasn't that big of a deal, although it was likely that the slow walk to Balmossie would take around 3 hours or so, most of it would be spent actively birding, rather than the 90-120 minutes that the more direct route along the Tay usually takes. It was rather standard fayre on the walk to Swannie Ponds, though a detour to the wasteground at Mains Terrace gave me a few overflying Meadow Pipits, a skein of Pink Footed Geese and a Buzzard being harassed by the local Jackdaws. Mallard, Mute Swan, Coot and a pair of adult Moorhens were all noted at the ponds, though surprisingly there were no Black Headed Gulls at all, and only a few Herring Gulls on roofs and lamp posts nearby.
Goldcrest and Chiffchaff were both found on the walk to the Dighty Burn between Whitfield and Douglas. Not surprisingly I easily found a singing Dipper down on the burn. At the footbridge, I got talking to an older gent, Bill, who was out walking. While we chatted a Grey Wagtail landed on the bridge railings, a Great Tit and a Rook flew over, a pair of Chaffinches were seen in the trees to the north, a pair of Pied Wagtails flew past, and a Pheasant and a Jay were both heard nearby. A Song Thrush showed nicely on a bush close to where we were and a Wren could be heard alarm calling down by the burn. One or two more Meadow Pipits passed overhead. Bill decided to join me on the rest of my walk along the burn to the dual carriageway and it proved relatively productive with a Kingfisher, another few Dippers and Grey Wagtails, a flock of Long Tailed Tits, a pair of Buzzards and a Grey Heron perched atop a roof.
At the dual carriageway we went our separate ways, Bill heading south, me to the north. I added a Peacock butterfly and both a Sparrowhawk and a Kestrel from the path along by the dual carriageway. The short stretch of Drumsturdy Road was rather quiet but both Buzzard and Kestrel were spotted to the north as I wandered along the quiet stretch of track to the end of the houses at Clearwater Park. Stock Doves were perched on the wires and both Linnet and Skylark flew over. A Jay was photographed in flight carrying an acorn in its bill. The walk up to the new cemetery gave me 2 more butterfly species - Red Admiral and Small White and I photographed an orange moth in flight, which was ID'd later via the help of folk on Twitter as a Vapourer - a new one for me. The best part of the next hour was spent navigating my way to Balmossie. Another Sparrowhawk was seen north of the main road being harssed by a Carrion Crow. I found that the track between the houses and the burn was a little more overgrown with brambles and nettles than was ideal but I made it out the other end relatively unscathed.
Heading down North Balmossie Street I kept an eye out for flocks of Starlings, just in case, but things were very quiet. I was a little behind schedule by the time I finally reached the mouth of the Dighty which meant the tide was already a bit further in than expected. Redshank, Turnstone, Oystercatcher, Dunlin and Ringed Plover were all around, but there were no Bar Tailed Godwits, Sanderling or the hoped for Grey Plover. Mute Swan, Goosander, Red Breasted Merganser, Eider and Wigeon were out on the water. Lesser and Great Black Backed Gulls were both represented among the gull roost and bathing birds which were mostly Herring Gulls, Black Headed Gulls and Common Gulls. There were hundreds of Starlings feeding down on the seaweed, but none were Rose Coloureds.
Goldfinch, Rock Pipit, Linnet, Grey Wagtail and Pied Wagtail all passed by before a dog walker obliviously wandered down off the pipe to the beach flushing almost everything as he wandered off along the beach. Not content with clearing the beach near the pipe, he continued on, flushing the Turnstone flock again as well as a large flock of Ringed Plover and Dunlin a little further on. With most of the birds, and any likelihood of finding a Grey Plover, effectively gone for the afternoon, I decided to head homewards. Scanning out over the river at various points I added Cormorant and a few distant Gannets. The wind speed had by this time increased and I would be walking home into it, which is never particularly enjoyable.
A Grey Seal was seen out in the river, and a single Pink Footed Goose headed upriver as I chatted to an old work colleague near the castle. A pair of Swallows zipped by near the lifeboat station but birds proved to be in very short supply all the way back to the Stannergate. A pair of Grey Herons were seen in flight there and there were a few Rabbits around in their usual spots. I stopped on the bridge over the railway line to put away my binoculars (the camera had been in the bag since the eastern end of the esplanade) and happened to look up. A raptor was heading directly towards me along the line of the railway tracks. I realised quickly that the bird was the escaped Saker Falcon once again. I was able to see the remains of the leather jesses on the legs as it swept over me about 15 feet or so above before it swung off to the north and over the houses on Craigie Drive where it seemed to attract the attentions of the local corvids.
I made it home around 1600 having walked about 13 miles or so. I had managed to see or hear a total of 59 species of bird (60 if you count the 'untickable' Saker) as well as 3 of butterfly, 2 of mammals and a new moth species. Despite the lack of Grey Plover and the wind in my face on the walk home, it was an enjoyable enough day out with plenty of variety (and the Saker Falcon is alway impressive, even if it isn't a real wild bird - though it is certainly living as if it was, these days). I'll catch up with a Grey Plover eventually....
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| Dipper |
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Song Thrush
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Pink Footed Goose
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Long Tailed Tit
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Grey Heron
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Kestrel |
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Stock Dove
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| Jay |
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Vapourer Moth
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| Rook |
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| Robin |
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Sparrowhawk & Carrion Crow
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Ringed Plover & Dunlin
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| Dunlin |
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Wigeon & Common Gull
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Red Breasted Merganser
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| Turnstone |
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| Linnet |
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Turnstone, Dunlin & Ringed Plover
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Ringed Plover
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Birds - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dipper, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Gannet, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, [Saker Falcon], Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Turnstone, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies - Peacock, Red Admiral, Small White.
Mammals - Grey Seal, Rabbit.
Moths - Vapourer.
