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Little Egret
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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.
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| Eider |
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| Jay |
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Wigeon & Little Egret
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Bar Tailed Godwit
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Little Egret
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Dunlin, Redshank & Turnstone
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Little Egret & Oystercatcher
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Rock Pipit
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Carrion Crow
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Redshank & Dunlin
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Rock Pipit
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Mute Swan
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Pied Wagtail
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| Redshank |
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Turnstone & Redshank
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Black Headed Gull (Yellow 2BA7)
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| Wigeon |
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| Goldcrest |
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Blue Tit
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Great Spotted Woodpecker
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Great Tit
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Rock Pipit
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Grey Heron
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Herring Gull
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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.
