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| Cormorant |
Having only managed a few hours of trying out my new OM Systems OM-1 camera on my midweek day off I was itching to get out as early as I could on Saturday to give the camera a proper test run. I'd tweaked a few of the settings a little and I was hoping for much better light. However the weather forecast first thing didn't look too promising though it was meant to clear up after an hour or so. One of the things I'd noticed on Wednesday was the difference in weight between my usual Nikon gear and the new OM-1. This did suggest I might be able to walk further or for longer without feeling completely drained by the time I got home. This was a big plus. I was up and ready to go for just before sunrise.
However, when I headed out it was still rather drizzly and the sky was very grey and overcast. Although I was hoping to check out the Dighty Burn and Clearwater Park before continuing on to Balmossie there seemed little point in getting wet for no real advantage so I decided to head back indoors to wait for another wee while to see if the rain stopped and the light improved. A few minutes at my living room window around dawn gave me a few species - Carrion Crow, Goldfinch, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon and an unexpected Meadow Pipit overflying. By 0810 the drizzle had stopped so I headed out again. Blackbird, Starling, Wren, Magpie and Blue Tit got things underway as I headed up towards Clepington Road. The sky was brightening up and there was next to no wind. Almost ideal conditions for testing the camera out.
Dunnock, Great Tit, Woodpigeon and Collared Dove all put in brief appearances during a fleeting visit to Mains Terrace. As I crossed the Forfar Road I heard a couple of Mistle Thrushes behind me and was able to see them both when I'd made it to the safety of the pavement and looked back to the crossroads. At the Swannie Ponds there were 2 Goosander present as well as the usual suspects - Mallard, Moorhen, Coot, Mute Swans, Tufted Duck, Herring Gull, Black Headed Gull and Common Gull. I took a few photos around the ponds and stalked a ringed Black Headed Gull which turned out to be the new regular Norwegian J0214. A Pied Wagtail overflew before I headed down the Kingsway, checking the Rowan trees as I went, just in case of a lone Waxwing. The first Pink Footed Geese of the day overflew as I neared Longtown Road.
When I reached the Dighty it didn't take too long to find what was my first Dipper of the day. One was singing away down on the burn and I was able to get a few photos as it did so. Carrying on along the path, a Grey Heron flew on ahead of me and a Jay was spotted in the trees next to the football pitches but I wasn't able to get a clear shot. Long Tailed Tits were heard from across the far side of the burn, near the footbridge. Reed Bunting and Chaffinch were noted around the reedbed. I managed to spook the Roe Deer pair when I went exploring a little further to the north. A Buzzard was seen in the trees nera the BMX track a little further on, before it flew to one of the trees by the burn. I was able to get a series of photos of it there before it flew across the burn to behind the police station. Unfortunately, these photos were against the light, though they did lead to me tweaking the settings again, to avoid a similar scenario later.
Song Thrush and Greenfinch were spotted as I wandered on along the burn . Another Buzzard was perched on the buildings to the north while a Grey Heron peered down from a building on the south side. A Grey Wagtail overflew just before I heard a Kingfisher flying along the burn towards me. I got the camera onto the bird as it passed but just as I pressed the shutter button, it flew behind some burn-side vegetation resulting in a photo of the vegetation rather than the bird. Another singing Dipper was seen before I crossed the dual carriageway. Things were relatively quiet across the other side. From the end of Barlow Avenue I was able to see a few Curlews in the fields and I witnessed a bit of a spat between a Carrion Crow and a Sparrowhawk. A Jay also took a bit of interest in the hawk when it was perched in a conifer.
The first of a few Skylarks passed high overhead before I continued on again to check out the track along to the back of Clearwater Park and the new cemetery. Rook, Jackdaw and Stock Dove were the main additions though both Redwing and Mistle Thrush were frequenting puddles at the end of the track. At the cemetery I spotted a Kestrel hovering a few times over the field next to the graveyard. There was a flock of a few hundred Pink Footed Geese in the field to the east and I was able to check through most of them without them taking flight as I stood just inside the gate around halfway down the track. Yellowhammer, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Tree Sparrow kept my attention for a few minutes when I made it back to the 'crossroad' of tracks. While watching these birds a much larger group of Pink Footed Geese rose from fields a bit further east and circled over the field which already held some geese. Eventually they began to drop into the field to join those already there.
As it wasn't too far to walk back up the track to check through the greater numbers I decided I might as well give it a go. This did result in me adding a Barnacle Goose (much closer than my Broughty Ferry sighting of a bird stood at the edge of the Tayport saltmarsh, over in Fife from a few weeks ago). Everything else appeared to be Pinkfeet though the lay of the land in the field meant I couldn't actually see all of the birds. As they were a bit wary, I didn't linger any longer than I needed to, before leaving them to get back to their feeding. A Linnet flew past as I watched some of the birds bathing in the nearby puddles. Grey Wagtail, Stock Dove and Grey Heron were seen at the Dighty as I headed for the A92. Once across I checked the bushes in Balgillo Road in case there were any Waxwings around but unsurprisingly failed to find any. A Grey Squirrel was spotted next to Wyvis Road.
I reached the mouth of the Dighty around 1325 and immediately started checking through the waders for a Grey Plover. There were Redshanks, Bar Tailed Godwits, Turnstone, Dunlin and a few Ringed Plover as well as Oystercatchers and Curlews but once again there was no sign of any of these elusive plovers. I did manage to chance upon a lone Little Egret instead. There were a number of Wigeon around, as well as some Eider and a few Red Breasted Mergansers a bit further out. Unfortunately one of the ubiquitous dog walkers flushed everything with her dog chasing each and every last bird that hadn't yet taken flight until I loudly 'thanked' her at which point she apologised and called her dog back to her. An apology is more than I usually get. A few Pied Wagtails and Rock Pipits were seen among the rock armour and down on the beach as I contemplated whether or not to hang around for much longer.
As I headed back towards Broughty Ferry I had a bit of a run-in with 2 female dog walkers who were stood chatting on the path when one of their large dogs (a French Mastiff, I think) moved rather menacingly towards me as I tried to go round them. When I drew their attention to the dog's behaviour I got a "he's friendly..." from the apparent owner. "Well, he's not acting particularly friendly", I replied. It was clear that the owner wasn't interested in her dog's behaviour towards passers-by. I explained that not everyone likes dogs and that having been on the receiving end of numerous 'friendly' dogs - supposedly due to my cap or camera (do the dogs tell the owners?), I wasn't taking any chances with a large dog not on a lead. After a minute or two of getting nowhere with the conversation, I headed off along the path. I hadn't gone very far before the older of the 2 shouted after me "I'm just in the process of training him"......she paused briefly... " to rip your throat out". I hadn't raised my voice or said anything to warrant the comment but it came anyway. The 'lady' in question wasn't the obvious type you'd particularly expect that sort of comment from, but I'm sure had I said anything remotely similar to her I'd have got a lift in a police car, although maybe not homewards.
Carrying on along the front, I added Red Throated Diver and Cormorant out on the river before detouring into the local nature reserve which was rather quiet. I then checked the dunes for Stonechats but had to be satisfied with Rock Pipits and Pied Wagtails as well as a flyby from another Linnet. A Grey Seal was spotted out in the river as I headed past the castle, as was a second Red Throated Diver. The walk back along the river proved to be rather quiet with not many birds to be seen though I did manage to spot a single Guillemot fishing just at the very end of the port from the Stannergate. A Lesser Redpoll overflew as I wandered up Craigie Avenue taking the total number of species for the day to a very decent 67 species of bird and 4 of mammals. Nothing else was added before I reached home.
The evening was largely taken up looking through the almost 1900(!) photos I'd taken. Once again I was fairly pleased with the results, though once again user error was the reason for some of the 'failures' - mostly those taken early in the morning when the light wasn't quite as good. As I get more used to the camera I expect the success rate to increase. All in all, it was a very productive day's birding, even without finding species number 140 for my Dundee140 list.
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| Dipper |
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| Buzzard |
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Great Tit
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| Goldfinch |
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| Buzzard |
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Sparrowhawk & Carrion Crow
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Pink Footed Goose
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| Yellowhammer |
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Mistle Thrush
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Barnacle Goose & Pink Footed Goose
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Tree Sparrow
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| Curlew |
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Grey Heron
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Stock Dove
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| Goosander |
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Black Headed Gull
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| Redshank |
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Wigeon & Goosander
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Pied Wagtail
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Rock Pipit
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Blue Tit
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Pied Wagtail
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| Goldfinch |
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| Guillemot |
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| Rabbit |
Birds - Barnacle Goose, Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dipper, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Lesser Redpoll, Linnet, Little Egret, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Tree Sparrow, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals - Grey Seal, Grey Squirrel, Rabbit, Roe Deer.
