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Little Auk
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Following on from Friday's amazing birding in the city I was very keen to get out as soon as conditions improved enough on Saturday. Although the worst of Storm Babet had passed by it was still raining and rather windy, though not with the previous two day's strength. I was itching to go but didn't want to get soaked and then spend the rest of the day trying to dry out. Eventually after what felt like hours the rain abated sufficiently to get out the door. I was headed straight for City Quay to see if the Storm Petrel was around and also to see if I could catch anything that had been further upriver on its way back to the sea. I had a feeling that I was likely to struggle a bit to match Friday's exploits but you just never know, and there were still plenty of possibilities from the list of species being seen elsewhere that I might conceivably manage to see.
There were lots of Redwings going over as I stepped outside with flocks moving seemingly in all directions as I headed for the river. The local House Sparrows were 'chirpy' enough though still staying in cover among the bushes and a party of Long Tailed Tits were feeding in trees at the bottom end of my street. A Herring Gull glided over with the wind behind it and a few Feral Pigeons flew past. I added Magpie on Dens Brae as well as Robins and Blue Tits among the trees and a flyover Carrion Crow. At City Quay there were still a few Red Breasted Mergansers and Guillemots in the quay itself. Once again, a Grey Wagtail was flying around.
I wandered round to the river to find it almost completely flat calm, a huge difference from the previous day, and a result of the wind having swung round a little more to the northeast than straight out of the east. This also meant that the blocks of flats offered some protection from the wind which was rather welcome. Scanning out over the river I struggled to see any birds despite conditions being much calmer overall. I eventually picked out a distant Red Throated Diver off to the east before what appeared to be an auk-shaped black and white bird floated downriver. Unfortunately, I couldn't turn it into a Little Auk with either the binoculars or the camera and when I got the scope out for a better look I failed to refind it. One that got away....not quite as it turned out - checking the photos I'd taken properly, over a week later, I was able to see that the bird had actually been a Little Auk after all.
A few minutes later I looked up to see an auk close in flying upriver at a little above eye level. A definite Little Auk this time, without any doubt. I managed to get onto the bird with the camera, with rather mixed results as it swung round a little with the roadbridge behind it before dropping down closer to the water and appearing to fly below the bridge where I lost sight of it. I put word out to everyone again and spent the best part of the next hour seeing not very much. A Shag dropped in close to the dock wall below me and eventually showed well fishing just offshore and a Razorbill bobbed its way past. I was joined by Ian Ford for 15 minutes or so and he offered to drop me somewhere if I wanted. I suggested the Stannergate as I was intending on walking out to the castle once again.
Ian and I spent 10 minutes or so scanning out over the river at the Stannergate. There were a few Red Throated Divers fishing close in to shore further to the east. Turnstone, Oystercatcher and Redshank were down on the shore while Woodpigeon and Jackdaw were around behind us. Black Headed and Common Gull were around. Eider, Cormorant, Grey Heron and Great Black Backed Gull were also spotted. Once Ian headed off again, I set off eastwards. I hadn't gone too far when I spotted a couple of lingering Little Gulls. A Pied Wagtail was heard but not seen. A Meadow Pipit flew past and a Wren was heard as I neared Douglas Terrace. I was just passing the lifeboat station when Lainy messaged me. She had just found a Firecrest at the small Broughty Ferry local nature reserve! I was just under a mile away from where she had the bird but I was a bit too overdressed for running, though I did give it a go in very short bursts - which as expected wasn't a great idea.
I reached Lainy about 15 minutes later to find that the bird had decided to vanish, though it had apparently already returned to the same tree Lainy had found it in a few times. Patience and some luck would be required to get my 150th species for Dundee this year. We stood and chatted while watching the tree carefully for movement. Goldcrests and Blackbirds seemed to be the cause of most movement in the surrounding bushes and trees and Bullfinches were heard and later seen. I had a wander along the railway line trees a little later in the hope of finding the Goldcrests which the Firecrest had been in the company of. I did add Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch and Mistle Thrush but the Firecrest was proving elusive.
Eventually it began to rain, though nowhere near as heavily as the previous days. We had been joined by Jon Cook and Alex Smith as well as Dan Pointon and another birder but the bird was staying out of our way. Alex gave up and headed off to Carnoustie to see the Grey Phalaropes which Lainy and Adam had looked for earlier in the day but without any success. Around 1600, a message came in on the ADBC grapevine from Alex saying that the Phalaropes were showing well at Carnoustie. Lainy suggested going for them instead. As it appeared that the Firecrest had potentially moved on and we'd already spent around 2.5 hours waiting for it to show again, I was more than happy to give up. Off we went in the direction of Carnoustie and were halfway through Monifieth when word came in that the Firecrest was back.
Adam and Lainy decided my 150th species for Dundee this year was more important than seeing the Phalaropes so we headed back. Unsurprisingly, it had vanished again. We were joined by Danny Rumble but as the sun was getting lower in the sky I suggested that we would probably be better giving up and trying for the Phalaropes while some daylight was still available, if Adam didn't mind trying again. With just over 2 months of the year left, there is plenty of time for me to catch up with another species to reach 150 (or more). A skein of Pink Footed Geese went over as we headed back to the car. As we left the Esplanade a distant Mute Swan was seen out on the water. We spotted Woodpigeon and Rook on the way to Carnoustie.
The sea was rather wild when we reached the beach car park and we found Alex and Ian Ford scoping the 3 Grey Phalaropes which were close in to shore. Ian, Lainy and I decided to get a bit closer, knowing that Phalaropes are generally very tolerant of people and will happily feed within 10 feet or so if you just keep still. This appeared to be the case with the trio and we were treated to close views as we watched from the beach. Sometimes a large wave would sweep them further along the beach. There were plenty other birds around - Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Cormorant, Little Gull, Black Headed Gull, Kittiwake, Purple Sandpiper, Knot, Redshank, Ringed Plover and Turnstones and the waves themselves were impressive enough to distract from the birds at times.
At one point, Lainy was photographing 2 of the Phalaropes further along the beach while I was taking photos of the gulls among the large breakers offshore, lit by the low sun, when a dog ran down the beach and into the water to chase them. Off they flew, though they ended up landing closer to Ian and me and we were joined by Lainy again who naturally wasn't best pleased with the dog's intervention. As Lainy hadn't really photographed Knot close up or Purple Sandpiper we had a go at getting those. A couple of Purple Sandpipers were rather close in but the light wasn't great where they were and I'm not sure if the photos were worth the effort - though I didn't bother taking any.
As the sun sank below the horizon we wandered back to the car and Adam - who had seen a very distant Little Auk with the scope while we had been watching the Phalaropes, and headed back to Dundee, happy overall with the day's birding. I'd managed to get a Little Auk and Lainy had found a Firecrest (which coincidentally was Adam's 200th species). I finished the day with a combined total of 52 species - 45 in Dundee and 20 at Carnoustie (across the border). Of these 3 were new for the year (in bold), and 1 was new for my Dundee145 list (taking me to 149). I wasn't too fussed at missing out on the Firecrest. Obviously it would have been very nice to see but it does mean I get the chance to find my own 150th species to mark the milestone. I'm pleased for Lainy finding a very good bird for Dundee and getting some rather nice photos too.
Once again, massive thanks go to Adam and Lainy for the quick alert to the Firecrest, as well as allowing me to tag along for the Phalaropes (and the quick return to try again for the Firecrest when it reappeared) as well as the lift home for the second day in a row. As always, it is very, very much appreciated. Also big thanks to Ian for saving my legs (and time) between City Quay and Stannergate earlier in the afternoon too. The 'regular' Dundee birders are a great crowd and I definitely couldn't have reached the figure of 149 species from within the city in 2023 without their help. By my reckoning there have been 158 species recorded 'in' Dundee this year. Condidering I thought I might struggle to get 142 again, 2023 appears to have been a very good year - and we're not done yet. What else are we going to get between now and December 31st?
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Little Auk
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Little Auk
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| Shag |
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| Razorbill |
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| Shag |
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| Shag |
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Red Breasted Merganser
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| Redshank |
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| Cormorant |
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House Sparrow
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Red Throated Diver
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Grey Phalarope
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| Grey Phalarope |
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| Grey Phalarope |
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| Grey Phalarope |
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| Grey Phalarope |
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| Grey Phalarope |
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| Grey Phalarope |
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| Grey Phalarope |
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Little Gull
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| Grey Phalarope |
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| Grey Phalarope |
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| Grey Phalarope |
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| Grey Phalarope |
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| Grey Phalarope |
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| Grey Phalarope |
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| Grey Phalarope |
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| Grey Phalarope |
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| Grey Phalarope |
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| Grey Phalarope |
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| Grey Phalarope |
Birds (in Dundee) - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Eider, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Little Auk, Little Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Razorbill, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Shag, Starling, Turnstone,Woodpigeon, Wren.
Birds (outwith Dundee) - Black Headed Gull, Carrion Crow, Common Gull, Curlew, Dunlin, Grey Heron, Grey Phalarope, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Kittiwake, Knot, Little Gull, Oystercatcher, Purple Sandpiper, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Rook, Turnstone, Woodpigeon.
