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| Bullfinch |
Having tried and failed to find any Tree Sparrows out to the northeastern edges of the city a few times already this year, it was becoming clear that a trip to the western extremeties of the city was likely to be required if I wanted to catch up with these birds sometime before the Autumn when flocks of these birds seem to be much easier to see as they move through on passage. The downside of the western option is that there isn't a whole lot of interest along the route on the way there and the variety of species around when you do get there isn't as good as it could, and probably, should be. However, needs must and with relatively decent weather forecast for Saturday, I figured I should probably give it a go.
Despite my intentions to make an early start it was 1000 before I headed out to walk the hour's worth of urban streets with low expectations of what I might actually see on the way. I was heading for the Myrekirk crossing of the Kingsway so my plans were to take as direct a route as possible, to save both time and energy as I hoped to still have enough of both to enable me to try Clatto Reservoir later in the day for a Lesser Black Backed Gull or maybe a Gadwall, both of which are possible around this time of year. Robin, Feral Pigeon, Herring Gull, Carrion Crow, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Blue Tit, Magpie, Starling and Woodpigeon provided the initial flurry of species which then tailed off to less than a trickle of species for the rest of the walk out. Goldcrest, Coal Tit, Dunnock, Grey Wagtail, Long Tailed Tit, Blackbird, Song Thrush and Wren arrived at a rate of roughly one every 5 minutes. Even Cox's Stack failed to deliver a Peregrine.
I crossed the Kingsway to what I hoped would be better possibilities. Things started to pick up a little with Greenfinch, Yellowhammer and Goldfinch all noted along with a few Robins and Blue Tits as I wandered along the old road between the industrial estate and the NCR building. I then checked out the fields to the north behind the industrial estate. There were a few distant Roe Deer surrounded by Rooks but scanning over the area added nothing else of any note. I continued on a little, passing the cottages at Denhead of Gray. There were sounds of activity from the trees and bushes in the gardens and amongst the Chaffinches and other birds I heard what I was sure was a
Tree Sparrow chirping away. The Merlin app confirmed my suspicions, so I tried to catch a glimpse of the bird. I could see where the sound was coming from but with one of the cottages behind the bush, I didn't want to use the binoculars, nor hang around for too long staring into the garden behind the cottage. I figured there was a reasonable chance of running into more of the birds elsewhere, but even if I didn't the bird was on the list as a 'heard-only' record anyway.
Mission accomplished, I considered saving my legs a few more miles of walking and heading for Clatto Reservoir instead of walking out to Benvie and then up to Liff. I weighed up the two options for a minute or so. I decided that as I was already in an area I don't spend much time in, I might as well see if I could find anything else of interest. I could hear a Skylark singing from high above the field to the north of me. I peered upwards trying to find the tiny speck. It didn't take too long though the bird started to rapidly descend back to earth seconds after I spotted it. I slowly wandered on, not seeing very much activity of any sort before wandering along the track from the small cottage at the north end of the new houses at Dykes of Gray.
There were a couple of Mistle Thrushes in the field about halfway along the track. Long Tailed Tits, Great Tits and Blue Tits fed in the trackside trees and bushes where a Treecreeper was also heard, and a little further on I found a flock of Fieldfares in the larger trees. I could also hear a Redwing but I failed to pick it out among the small group of larger birds. Heading on to the first of the houses at Benvie I heard the sound of more Tree Sparrows from the hedge between the house and field. One eventually showed itself long enough for me to be able to grab a few photos and to be able to remove the spcies from the 'heard-only' list it had only just joined. I headed up the road from Benvie adding a pair of Buzzards drifting over the fields a little to the east.
There was no sign of any Tree Sparrows at the corner where I usually see one or two but having already seen and heard some, it didn't really matter. I wandered slowly back along towards Liff noting a Stock Dove in flight and a little later a small group of Black Headed Gulls with a solitary Common Gull in tow. A small garden pond with a few duck ornaments had drawn in a pair of real Mallards giving me another bird for the day's list. I had a rest in the churchyard at Liff where I found a female Bullfinch eating small white berries by the entrance gate. Wandering on east through the village, a male Bullfinch was heard singing very quietly to itself and I stopped to take a few photos. I was joined by a couple of ladies out for a walk who were curious as to what it was I was photographing. I got them onto the bird and we spent the next 10 minutes watching the bird feeding on sycamore 'helicopters' in the sunshine and chatting about Bullfinches, photography and birds in general.
The road out to the east from the village is not the best for walking on, especially at busier times of day so there aren't too many opportunities to do much birding along that particular stretch of road. However, I did manage to see a male Pheasant just in the edge of the stubble field on the other side of the road and what were likely the same Roe Deer I'd seen earlier in the day just before I reached the junction with Gourdie Brae. Despite there being a very narrow path up the side of Camperdown Park, the speed and close proximity of cars coming down the hill means you have to be mindful of being clipped by a wing mirror, having had a close encounter with a van there previously. I made it into the park in one piece.
Things proved to be very quiet though another male Bullfinch was seen in trees near the duckpond. I had two options from Camperdown Park - head for Clatto through Templeton Woods or give Clatto a miss and just head for home. My legs were feeling rather heavy but I decided that I might as well try Clatto as it wasn't too far away. At this time of year there is a decent chance of an early returning Lesser Black Backed Gull. Although they are not difficult to get throughout the summer, it is always good to add something new to the year-list as soon as possible, to leave more time to target other species. I reached the reservoir around 1420 and scanned out across the water. Coot, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Goldeneye, Tufted Duck, Wigeon and Goosander were all new for the day but there was no Lesser Black Backed Gull among the other gulls. A skein of Pink Footed Geese did overfly but after a once-around of the reservoir I headed for a look at Ardler Pond.
A Sparrowhawk circled over the road as I wandered down the road to the pond. Siskins were heard in the trees nearby, while a Reed Bunting was seen around the feeders, along with Goldfinch, Chaffinch and House Sparrows. As I wandered along the edge of the reeds on the south side I heard the 'sharming' of a nearby Water Rail. As is usually the case at the pond there was no chance of actually seeing the bird among the reeds but it was good to know they are still there somewhere. I had my closest views of the day of a Bullfinch, another male in a small tree just the other side of the fence though a Redwing a little further on was much less confiding, flying off before I managed to get a photo.
The wander homewards from there added Pied Wagtail and a Great Spotted Woodpecker near the end of Rosemount Road at Staffa Place. Another Sparrowhawk was also seen but there was nothing else added to the day's list before I finally made it home around 1620 having managed to find a total of 51 species including the target bird (and year-tick - in bold) for the day, and more importantly, for my Dundee145 list. A few days after my unsuccessful visit, Lainy let me know that a Lesser Black Backed Gull had turned up at Clatto which suggests the first returning birds at Swannie Ponds and at other gull 'hot-spots' around the city shouldn't be too far away and will soon be added to my Dundee145 list, taking me a little bit closer to reaching the 100 species mark.
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| Yellowhammer |
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Roe Deer & Rook
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Mistle Thrush
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Blue Tit
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| Fieldfare |
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Tree Sparrow
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Mistle Thrush
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| Buzzard |
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| Dunnock |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Bullfinch |
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Pink Footed Goose
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Great Tit
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House Sparrow
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Blue Tit
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| Woodpigeon |
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Reed Bunting
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| Bullfinch |
Birds - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove,
Tree Sparrow, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Water Rail, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals - Roe Deer.
