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Pied Wagtail
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A combination of unseasonably hot temperatures and trying to catch up with migrant waders have meant recent trips to Broughty Ferry have been few and far between with the exception of those days when I've had a boat trip booked. The limitations for viewing at Balmossie due to ongoing construction works has also made the long walk to get there less appealing. Annoyingly, (from a personal point of view) the work is scheduled to continue until November and I suspect the positioning of the new wider path (and bridge) will encourage even more people to visit that area, leading to even more disturbance down on the shore. I will not be surprised if the Balmossie shoreline ends up as empty of birds as the beach closer to the castle over the next few years. I hope I'm wrong on that.
I decided to visit Balmossie in search of Mediterranean and Little Gulls, as well as a slim chance at a Cuurlew Sandpiper, on Thursday the 14th of September. Thankfully, the weather forecast was a bit cooler than it has been recently. On the downside, it was forecast to be a bit on the windy side, which is never particularly helpful when attempting to scan through birds using a small scope on a monopod, or pick out distant birds on the water among the waves. I had considered taking my 'proper' scope and tripod but the weight once again deterred me. I headed out at 0810 to Woodpigeon, Robin, Herring Gull, Starling, Feral Pigeon, Magpie and House Sparrow. Along the road I added House Martins, Blackbird and Carrion Crow.
Rather than take the direct route to Broughty Ferry, I wandered up to Swannie Ponds for a look there first. I added Coal Tit passing Morgan Academy. At the ponds it was the usual selection of Black Headed, Herring and Lesser Black Backed Gulls, Mute Swans, Mallard, Coot and Moorhen. As I was about to leave I found a Pied Wagtail and a Grey Wagtail on the mud at the lower pond. I cut down through Eastern Cemetery next which got Goldcrest, Wren, Collared Dove, Meadow Pipit and Chaffinch as well as both Rabbit and Grey Squirrel. A couple of Red Admirals were seen on the Buddleia by the railway bridge when I reached the Stannergate.
The tide was still quite well out so there were birds feeding down on the exposed mud, mostly gulls but also a few Redshank and Curlew too. A lone young Goldfinch was perched in a Buddleia bush on the slope. A Grey Heron flew in and landed, moving a few gulls in the process. There were a couple of Oystercatchers by the water's edge a bit further along to the east and a Dunnock was heard from somewhere across the railway line. A Common Gull flew past and a small flock of Turntsones were picking around among the pebbles and seaweed. A Swallow swept low over the water heading upriver, struggling a little against the wind. At Beach Crescent a few Siskins overflew and the first Rock Pipit of the day was picking around near the steps.
A Guillemot was just offshore and a few minutes later a skein of high flying Pink Footed Geese arrived from the north and continued on south towards Fife and possibly beyond. I headed round to the eastern side of the castle to scan out over the river, fairly well sheltered from the wind. There were a few Pied Wagtails down on the sand as well as 2 Rock Pipits. A very fresh looking Meadow Pipit landed on the castle wall for a few seconds. The usual flock of local Starlings, a lot of which were youngsters flew around the general area, sometimes perching atop the castle. Out over the river there were a surprising number of Gannets as far upriver as the castle, as well as some Sandwich Terns. Beyond those I picked up what may well prove to be my last Osprey of 2023.
I sat and scanned from there for quite some time though most of the birds remained quite distant. There were a few Bar Tailed Godwits down on the beach a bit further to the east and an Arctic Skua was picked up a few times harassing terns in the general direction of Tentsmuir Point. A second was also seen with it a bit later, both chasing the same tern. Eventually I headed along towards Balmossie. There appeared to be plenty of birds on the shore so I headed in the direction of the footbridge over the railway line which does give a reasonable view as long as the tide isn't too far in. First I scanned from the end of the track into the construction site which got me a few Dunlin, Eider and a Great Black Backed Gull as well as a few Goosander.
I could hear Long Tailed Tits calling from the hedge at the end of the esplanade. I stopped again for another look around halfway along the temporary path to the footbridge. I could see a number of Wigeon just beyond the gulls before realising that with them were 3 pale bellied Brent Geese - a Dundee145 tick (number 141). They were likely the same birds seen at Tayport recently but regardless it was a pleasant surprise to add them. I spent over an hour scanning from the bridge to curious glances from some of the 'workies'. There was no sign of anything particularly unusual among the gulls, except a yellow ringed young Great Black Backed Gull - which was too far away to read off with my scope and beyond the capabilities of the OM-1 to get a readable code.
As the tide came further in I headed back along to the end of the access track and down onto the beach where I sat on the 'Beach Closed' concrete block. One of Dundee's seemingly plentiful 'wilfully illiterate' dog walkers wandered past though she did turn back before reaching the birds that were still down on the shore. Scanning from there I added Cormorant and Red Throated Diver over the estuary mouth as well as a few more Eider. A Greenfinch was heard calling as it flew around somewhere behind me. Wandering back along to the castle added a Shag to the day's list, though things had quietened down almost completely compared to the morning's activity with hardly any birds between the castle and Tayport by this time.
I stopped to see Missel Thrush sail in to pick up passengers on the off-chance there might be a space, but a rather ominous black cloud coupled with the conditions out on the water changed my mind and instead I headed for home. As it turned out the boat sailed upriver anyway. A Chiffchaff, a few Jackdaws and a very active Razorbill at the Stannergate were the only additions on the way home taking my total for the day to 59 species, including the bonus Dundee145 and year-tick (in bold). Although by the time I got home my legs ached and I felt a bit weary overall, it had been a very worthwhile trip to Balmossie with some decent sightings.
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| Guillemot |
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Pink Footed Goose
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| Redshank |
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Common Gull
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Rock Pipit
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| Starling |
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| Cormorant |
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Meadow Pipit
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Arctic Skua
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| Gannet |
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Pied Wagtail
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Brent Goose
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Brent Goose
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Bar Tailed Godwit, Curlew, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover & Black Headed Gull
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Sandwich Tern
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Black Headed Gull
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| Turnstone |
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| Goosander |
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Pink Footed Goose
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| Rabbit |
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Pied Wagtail
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| Razorbill |
Birds - Arctic Skua, Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Brent Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Gannet, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Razorbill, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Sanderling, Sandwich Tern, Shag, Siskin, Starling, Swallow, Turnstone, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies - Red Admiral.
Mammals - Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.
