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Red Breasted Merganser
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The more success I have in adding new birds to my Dundee145 list so early in the year, the fewer possibilities that might be available at this time of year become. I've almost exhausted the 'relatively easy' birds already and have started trying for more of the 'reasonable possibilities' as well as trying to round up those few missing birds from the first group. Having successfully added Peregrine on Saturday at the second attempt, I was struggling a little to decide where to go on Sunday. I decided to try Balmossie in the hope that the gull roost there might have attracted a gull from somewhere further north. An Iceland Gull, or a Glaucous Gull would be fine, though a Ross's or an Ivory Gull would be phenomenal. Both of the latter pair have been seen in the Tay in the past. Could I be THAT lucky?
It was an even later start than the previous day though having already missed high tide I wasn't too bothered. Herring Gull, Carrion Crow, Robin, Jackdaw, Feral Pigeon, Blue Tit and Woodpigeon got the day's list underway with House Sparrow being added on the walk up to Clepington Road. Goldfinch, Starling, Blackbird and a fly-by Mistle Thrush were all noted on the wander along towards the Swannie Ponds. There was a drake Wigeon on the lower pond swimming amongst the Black Headed and Common Gulls. Mallard, Coot, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan and Herring Gulls were on the upper pond. Something panicked the smaller gulls and the Feral Pigeon flock and I managed to see the culprit as it passed overhead - a Sparrowhawk.
I headed next for Eastern Cemetery. Wren, Great Tit, Goldcrest and Coal Tit were all new for the day's list there and I also managed to find the day's first mammal species - a Rabbit. The walk down to the Stannergate proved rather quiet though a Dunnock showed nicely perched atop a hedge in Gannochie Terrace. When I reached the Stannergate things didn't look too promising, with lots of cars parked, suggesting that the waterfront would be busy all the way to Broughty Ferry and there were folk down on the beach, making the likelihood of there being many birds around appear rather slim. There were a few Oystercatchers, Turnstones and a Grey Heron visible just by the end of the docks and some gulls drifting offshore near where they would normally be stood around on the beach.
A Greenfinch flew over but the walk along to Douglas Terrace was as quiet as I'd expected it to be. I did manage to see a couple of Redshanks near the outflow pipe as well as a drake Eider out in the middle of the river but those really were the exceptions. A Curlew, and another Redshank as well as a Rock Pipit were in the small harbour by the castle. Around the other side of the Castle a case of mistaken identity on my part oddly led to me being recognised by one of my Twitter followers and sometime reader of this blog (hi John), who I'd never met before. We had a short chat before continuing on our way in opposite directions. A Buzzard was seen being harssed by a couple of Carrion Crows, while out on the river a Grey Seal surfaced a few times not too far offshore.
The beach was absolutely mobbed with people, mostly, it seemed, with multiple dogs running around in all directions. I skirted along the edge of the dunes but other than a single Pied Wagtail there was nothing to be found there. Much further on I was able to find a few Dunlin and a small flock of very active Sanderling around a small sandy tidal inlet. A few gulls and a single Bar Tailed Godwit were also in attendance. I walked along the fenceline towards the concrete steps opposite the toilets at the end of the esplanade. A small bird flashed past me just above the rock armour before dropping back down out of sight. The obvious orange colouring indicated that I had one of my hoped for target species for the day - my first
Stonechat of the year.
There were a few hundred waders, mostly Dunlin and Ringed Plover down on the exposed mud but thankfully the few dog walkers around were staying towards the top end of the beach, or were further west where the birds mostly weren't. For a change the disturbance levels were relatively minor. That is until I spotted a couple walking along the water's edge scattering the Dunlin and Ringed Plover that were feeding there. The male half of the duo was wearing binoculars round his neck and as they closed in on the main group of waders, around half of them took flight and flew off out over the water. At this point, he stopped to look at those that had stayed put but were showing signs of also vacating their previously peaceful roosting spot.
I was about 75% certain I'd met this particular 'birder' previously when I'd caused him to change his plans to continue along the water's edge into the midst of a few hundred Bar Tailed Godwits and other waders a year ago. I'd pointed out why that wasn't a good idea and why it would be detrimental to the birds but only when I stood my ground did he eventually wander up the beach a bit further before going on to flush the gull roost and waders feeding around the burn mouth by walking out to the end of the sewage outflow pipe. Because they were leaving the beach they thankfully didn't continue into the bulk of what was left. As they came up from the beach I politely asked if they'd seen anything (rather than what I'd considered saying!) before trying to explain why it wasn't a good idea to flush the birds on such a cold day. His actions confirmed that he was the very same individual as previously as he dismissively walked away. I suspect he remembered me too.
So for consistency's sake, I'm highlighting that it isn't just dog owners/walkers (who in most cases don't know any better) that choose to flush the birds on that stretch of beach, but also that someone who DOES actually know better, but clearly just doesn't give a damn about the birds' welfare and whose actions make it harder to persuade those dog owners/walkers who use the beach to give the birds space to feed and roost. I wandered along to check the gulls but not unsurprisingly there was nothing unusual amongst them. Nor were there any Goldeneye, Red Breasted Mergansers or Great Black Backed Gulls around. I had a brief chat to another birder who I hadn't seen for a good few years (and whose surname I've forgotten) before heading back along the fenceline.
What appeared to be the Stonechat was once again seen in flight around the area where the football pitch is. A Cormorant was seen in flight out over the river. The sun was getting lower in the sky and the light was already beginning to fade, due to an increase in the cloud cover. A Yellowhammer flew up from the dunes as a walker cut up one of the small tracks off the beach. A pair of Red Breasted Mergansers were close in by the lifeboat station but other than another Cormorant and a few Oystercatchers there was little to be seen on the walk back to the Stannergate. A flock of Curlews flew out over the river just before I stopped to take a few photos of the Rabbits in their usual place. A Grey Wagtail flew over in Stobswell taking my total for the day to 46 species. Not a classic day, but 1 Dundee145 year-tick (in bold) made it worth the effort involved.
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| Sparrowhawk |
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Carrion Crow
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| Redshank |
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Herring Gull
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Buzzard & Carrion Crow
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Pied Wagtail
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House Sparrow
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| Eider |
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Common Gull, Black Headed Gull, Sanderling & Dunlin
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Dunlin, Bar Tailed Godwit & Common Gull
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Rock Pipit
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Herring Gull & Black Headed Gull
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Common Gull
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Cormorant |
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Black Headed Gull
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| Cormorant |
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| Curlew |
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| Rabbit |
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 Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Sanderling, Sparrowhawk, Starling,
Stonechat, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals - Grey Seal, Rabbit.
