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| Stonechat |
Since the weekend it has felt very, very cold in Dundee. Sunday's attempts to go birding were curtailed by sheet ice on the pavements as a result of sub-zero temperatures following rain. I made it as far as just around the corner and turned back for home. Thankfully, by Wednesday a lot of the paths around the city were much clearer, though there was still quite a lot of ice around to keep things 'interesting' when trying to walk anywhere. I was hoping that the even colder conditions to the north would perhaps send some birds in this direction. I figured that heading along the river to Balmossie was my best bet for Wednesday's birding efforts as with a bit of luck the winter sun would have managed to melt any ice along the way from the Stannergate.
I lingered in my cosy bed a bit longer than intended, though I was still able to get out for 0850, just 10 minutes after sunrise. I had made the decision to wear my Country Innovation ventile trousers. They are a bit on the heavy side and can be just a bit too warm if the sunshine has any warmth to it, or if I'm walking quite far. With the 'feels like' temperature forecast to be around -5°C forecast for a large chunk of the day, I decided I might as well take the chance, and thankfully, it proved to be a good choice. I headed for Baxter Park first, noting Herring Gull, Starling, Feral Pigeon, Blue Tit, Blackbird, Carrrion Crow and Redwing on the way. Robin, Chaffinch and Wren were added as I passed through the slightly icy park. Woodpigeon, House Sparrow, Great Tit, Coal Tit and Black Headed Gull were all spotted as I wandered along Bingham Terrace.
I wasn't going to bother with Eastern Cemetery but something made me change my mind. Things seemed relatively quiet up by the entrance with Magpie and Goldfinch found there. Heading further into the site however, I soon discovered that the place was chock full of thrushes - mostly Fieldfares, but some Redwings and Mistle Thrushes too (plus the odd Blackbird). There were hundreds - probably over a thousand in total. Given how tricky Fieldfares have been for me to catch up with in the city over the past few years it was amazing to see so many together. The local Carrion Crows spooked a Buzzard which in turn put up some of the thrushes. I added a single Greenfinch just before a drake Goosander flew over northwards and a Grey Squirrel was spotted scampering around.
I headed down to the river for the walk out to Broughty Ferry. A Rabbit was by the side of the path near where there are almost always Rabbits to be seen. The low sun made viewing difficult as it reflected off the relatively flat waters of the Tay. Common Gull, Oystercatcher, Cormorant and a Little Grebe were noted before a couple of women walking a dog stopped for a chat about birds and photography. Curlew and Grey Heron were seen down on the beach and Long Tailed Tits were heard calling from the north side of the main road. As I headed off again, a Buzzard appeared from the trees to the north with a couple of Carrion Crows and a Magpie in pursuit and I pointed the bird out to the women, before letting them see one of the photos on the back of the camera.
I continued on adding a distant skein of Pink Footed Geese and the first of a number of Red Breasted Mergansers out on the river. By the Douglas Terrace outflow pipe the first Ringed Plover and Dunlin were seen down on the mud. An eclipse Eider flew upriver a bit before splashing down somewhere around the middle. There had been a few small groups of Fieldfare heading west as I'd walked out, which appeared to be cold weather movements arriving in off the sea, which was interesting to see. As I continued on along Fisher Street, I watched a Rook fly over and as I did so I spotted a bit of a 'dogfight' much higher in the sky. This turned out to be my first Sparrowhawk of the day, tussling with a corvid.
A Grey Seal was seen out on the river before I reached the lifeboat jetty. The river at the Broughty Ferry harbour area proved to be very productive, with an Eider drake, Little Grebe, Guillemot and Red Throated Diver off Beach Crescent, and another Little Grebe, a Grey Heron and a Cormorant in the Castle section of the harbour. A Redshank picked around on the mud there too. Another drake Eider, a Cormorant and an Oystercatcher were on the small rocky islet. A Rock Pipit flew past. I'd heard what sounded like a Meadow Pipit a little earlier but as the bird was flying away from me, I couldn't be certain. Thankfully, there were a couple of these birds in the dunes beyond the castle.
Ahead of me I could see there were quite a lot of Bar Tailed Godwits along the edge of the beach. I spotted a few very distant Wigeon too. I was going to continue along the beach but a small bird flew up from the long grass by the side of the ramp up off the beach opposite the blocks of flats. I got enough of a view to realise it was a Stonechat, though thankfully it perched on the metal barriers around the work area for a few seconds to allow me to confirm the ID and to get a useable photo - though frustratingly, not quite as in focus as it should have been. I clearly need to tweak the settings I'm using on the camera a bit more yet. The Stonechat was species number 142 for my Dundee140 list and was more or less where I hoped I might run into one, having missed out on the 2 which Keith had at Riverside Nature Park, which were likely migrants passing through.
There were more Fieldfares and Redwings moving through, mostly following the railway line, or just a little offshore, so I headed in for a look at the nature reserve. Surprisingly it was rather quiet with very few birds to be seen. I did eventually see Chaffinch and a couple of Redwings around the far end before heading back to scan out over the shore. A Pied Wagtail was by the steps opposite the end of the Barnhill Rock Garden. What might have been a Waxwing flew over but I couldn't get the camera onto the bird quickly enough. More Fieldfares and Redwings were coming in off the estuary as were a few smaller groups of Skylarks. I managed to pick out a small group of Sanderling out towards the water's edge among some other waders.
There was no sign of any Little Egrets though. As I neared the mouth of the burn, a bird flew out from the grass ahead of me by the side of the path, keeping low before dropping down. Immediately, I got a Snipe 'feel' from the bird but the behaviour was much more Jack Snipe like. Although I hadn't seen exactly where the bird had landed I moved slowly in the hope that I would see the bird again. I hadn't gone very far when it shot off low to the north, and over the rainway line before passing along the front of the houses at the end of South Balmossie Street and out of sight northwards. I did manage to get a few rather inconclusive photos, but I'm relatively certain it was most likely a Jack Snipe rather than a Common, most likely fresh in, given how much foot traffic there tends to be along that stretch of path (though the freezing temperatures did appear to be keeping most, but not all, dog walkers away from the more exposed areas).
I checked through the gulls at the burn mouth though a young Great Black Backed was as good as it got there. A few Mallards and surprisingly what was the first, and only, Turnstone of the day were found. A trio of Linnets showed briefly on the rock armour. With most of the birds relatively distant and no scope with me, I decided I might as well head back along the front. There were still flocks of Fieldfares (mostly) passing over, with some groups of around 20 or so birds heading towards the taller trees at the rock garden. I managed to pick out a Grey Plover, right where I've been checking regularly for one without success for most of the year. Of course, having seen a couple of these birds in flight on my previous visit, I dind't 'need' to see one, so it was only natural that I would find one. No doubt, by the time early January comes around and I 'need' one for my 2023 list, there will be no sign of any again...
The walk back to Broughty Ferry was relatively uneventful though I did have a brief view of the Stonechat again, though it flew off a fair distance before I managed to get another photo. Rather than go looking, I continued westwards. There was a family group of Mute Swans just off the beach. I'd have preferred a Great Northern Diver but their presence so close to shore did highlight just how few walkers were around. The Little Grebes to the east of the castle were still around but I failed to see the Red Throated Diver this time. There were still a few Red Breasted Mergansers out on the river but overall things were a lot quieter on the walk back. A Dunnock did show quite well but getting a clear photo proved tricky. I contemplated continuing on to City Quay, but Kingfisher seemed to be the only semi-likely addition I could reasonably expect there.
Instead I decided to check Eastern Cemetery again. The sun was getting quite low in the sky and I'd managed to break the end off the lead connecting the camera to the power bank earlier meaning that I had been carefully nursing the battery life as best I could. I had 19% left when I reached the Cemetery. Before I'd even reached the Arbroath Road I could see that there were flocks of birds in the tree tops. Although there were plenty of birds around in the morning, it appeared that most of the birds I'd seen arriving along the coast throughout the day had pitched up at the cemetery. There were Fieldfares everywhere. I was able to get lots of photos of the birds, though the numbers did mean that these photos were rather cluttered and chaotic looking. It didn't take long before the battery indicator began flashing red. I still managed to get a few more photos including Redwing and Mistle Thrush before heading up for a quick look at Swannie Ponds.
The ponds were mostly frozen with a single unfrozen spot on the lower pond where the Mute Swans were and two rather busy small patches on the upper. White 2XJH wandered across the path in front of me but flew off as I went to take a photo with my phone. The only new addition at the ponds were a few Coots. There was no sign of any Tufted Ducks or Moorhens. I ended the day's birding with a pretty decent total of 57 species, including number 142 for my Dundee 140 list. Considering it had been a fairly direct 'there and back' walk, I think that was a very decent total - though the lack of disturbance due to the cold weather keeping a lot of walkers at home was likely a major help, as was the tide state. I'll be happy if I can get a similar mix of species on my first trip to Balmossie in early January - though that will also likely include the Dighty Burn and Clearwater Park detour. 60+ species will be the target that day, and it won't be long until it comes around once again....
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| Fieldfare |
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| Fieldfare |
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Mistle Thrush
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| Goosander |
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| Robin |
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Buzzard & Carrion Crow
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| Curlew |
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Ringed Plover
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Red Throated Diver
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| Eider |
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Little Grebe
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| Skylark |
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Rock Pipit
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Meadow Pipit
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Jack Snipe
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| Linnet |
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Grey Plover & Bar Tailed Godwit
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| Wigeon |
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Mute Swan
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House Sparrow
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Pink Footed Goose
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Grey Heron
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Fieldfare |
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| Redwing |
Birds - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Fieldfare, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Plover, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jack Snipe, Jackdaw, Linnet, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Redwing, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sanderling, Skylark, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stonechat, Turnstone, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Grey Seal, Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.
