STONEFACTION BIRDING: December 2023

1196 : Well, THAT Was Unexpected!!! (2023 Review)

Water Rail

As 2022 came to an end I decided to set myself a target figure for 2023 to give me a reason to get out birding, and not just out birding, but also actively looking for 'new' birds. Having had a target figure of 140 in 2022, I ended up with a total of 142 (of 147 species known to have been recorded from within the city boundaries). I decided to set a higher target figure of 145 for this year although I thought I would struggle to reach it and to reach a combined total of 150 for the city (via Keith, Lainy, Mark, Ian and me) would also be quite testing. 2022 had thrown up some nice surprises such as Green Sandpiper, Hen Harrier, Rose Coloured Starling, Hawfinch and Ring Ouzel which showed that despite the city's limitations with regards both regular observers and limited habitat it could still keep us on our toes. What would 2023 bring? Would I reach my target figure (and would the city as a whole reach that 150 species)? Time, as always, would tell....

The first bird of the year was rather unsurprisingly a Herring Gull. The weather on the 1st was drizzly and dreich though that didn't stop me heading out to see what I could find. I was heading for Broughty Ferry, via the Dighty Burn and Clearwater Park but the conditions got greyer and the visibility got worse as the morning progressed and I eventually headed back home from Clearwater Park having managed to find 48 species, though nothing too unexpected among those. What I only found out later was that 15 minutes after I'd left Swannie Ponds, Keith Edwards and Graham Smith had found a Mediterranean Gull there. It is possible that it was there when I was there and I wasn't paying enough attention to notice it, but it may also have just flown in after I'd left.

A trip to Broughty Ferry on the 2nd added another 16 species including Grey Plover and Sanderling which had proven quite tricky to find the previous year. A small window of opportunity opened up on the 3rd allowing me to add Kingfisher, Snipe and Treecreeper between bouts of wetter weather. Unfortunately there was no sign of either Jack Snipe or Water Rail at Trottick. A visit to Riverside Nature Park on the 4th added another 4 species including Greylag Goose and Skylark then Nuthatch was added on the walk home at Balgay Hill. I was hoping to reach half way to my figure of 145 before going back to work on Monday the 9th.

Very misty conditions on the 5th meant abandonement of an attempt to add something new, but thankfully things were a bit better on the 6th, though it was a bit on the windy side. I found another 5 new species taking me closer to the halfway mark with a Lapwing and Meadow Pipit the main highlights at Balmossie. I thought I'd added a Peregrine perched on Cox's Stack from the top of the Law on Saturday the 7th but photos showed it to be the escaped Saker Falcon (which doesn't count, but is always a nice bird to see regardless). I managed to get a couple of Reed Buntings, which was the bird that took me past the halfway mark and a couple of heard-only Water Rails at Ardler Pond on the 8th.

Peregrine Falcon was added perched on the Stack on the 14th as I headed for Balgay Hill. Another trip out to Balmossie allowed me fleeting views of a Stonechat on the 15th. The walk to work on the 16th unexpectedly got me another 2 new birds - a Tawny Owl and an overwintering Blackcap. Keith let me know he'd had a few Pintail in Invergowrie Bay so I headed there on my day off on Wednesday the 18th. I was successful with the Pintail, thanks to Keith and his scope, as well as finding my own Woodcock and a bonus Lesser Redpoll within the park. Jack Snipe and views of a Water Rail were welcome additions on the 21st taking my total for January to 87 species. Not too bad for only birding in Dundee. Only another 58 needed to reach my target, and 11 months to do it in....

I had the offer of a trip over to Fife but decided to try (and fail) to get Tree Sparrow instead of a couple of potential lifers on 28th of January. I managed better views of a Stonechat at Balmossie on the 1st of February as well as another new bird - a Shag. The first real surprise of 2023 appeared in the unlikely location of Swannie Ponds on the 4th. I always check through the Tufted Ducks, just in case one of the less common Aythya diving ducks shows up, but they never do. Until that day - a female Ring Necked Duck (apparently the bird from Birnie and Gaddon Lochs in Fife) was there with the Tufties and although it was quite wary I did succeed in getting plenty of photos of the bird. I got word out and a number of others managed to see it. Unfortunately for those unable to get there on the Saturday the bird had returned to Fife by Sunday morning's sunrise.

A Raven flying in the direction of the docks from the east was a nice surprise on the 8th. A trip out to the west of the city was successful in getting Tree Sparrow for the year on the 11th. The 12th saw me add a preening Shelduck at Riverside Nature Park. A distant White Tailed Eagle from Broughty Ferry and my first butterfly sighting (a Peacock) came on the 24th. A trip to Clatto Reservoir on the 25th added both Lesser Black Backed Gull and Great Crested Grebe, meaning I ended February on a total of 95 species, just 5 short of the landmark figure of 100. March proved to be a bit less productive unsurprisingly, though Gadwall on the 9th (thanks to a heads-up from Lainy and a lift there after work in a colleague's car), the first Chiffchaff of the year and a bonus Red Kite at Riverside Nature Park on the 18th, then a Little Grebe on a pond at the back of Fintry/Whitfield on the 25th did take me to 99 for the year in Dundee.

In addition I photographed a Carrion Crow catching (and despatching) a Turnstone at Broughty Ferry and photographed a Nuthatch patching up the entrance hole to a nest site at Balgay. April proved to be relatively productive with Swallow, Razorbill, Kittiwake and Red Throated Diver all added at Broughty Ferry on the 12th thanks to a message from Mark Wilkinson alerting me to the number of Razorbills and Little Gulls in the Tay late the previous day, though I missed out on the Little Gulls (a few possibles were just too far away to be 100% certain). The first Willow Warbler was heard singing just round the corner from home the following day as I set off for work. Osprey and Sand Martin were added at Riverside Nature Park on the 15th, a Crossbill near Clatto on the 17th then Whitethroat and House Martin on the 29th followed by 2 new waders on the 30th at Riverside Nature Park - Greenshank and Common Sandpiper. April ended with a total of 111 on the list.

May got off to a good start with early returning Garden Warbler and Swifts at Clatto on an early morning visit on the 1st. Exploring the northeastern sections of the city on the 2nd added both Grasshopper Warbler and Sedge Warbler. Misty weather on the 7th proved to be surprisingly good. I headed for Balmossie in the hope of finding a Whimbrel. I was successful but also had a close flypast by a small group of Common Scoters near the castle and a few Sandwich Terns which were heard from within the mist then finally seen when it cleared ever so slightly. A visit to Riverside Nature Park on the 28th of May saw me stumble upon another good bird for the city, with a male Red Backed Shrike showing nicely at the western end of the park. Everyone seemed to be out of town that day - though Keith and Graham Smith came back from Arbroath for it - and despite it having disappeared for a while, they managed to see it relatively quickly. It then vanished properly for a few hours but as I spoke to Angus Duncan later in the afternoon the bird reappeared. Lainy and Adam arrived back from Aberdeen and they along with a few others managed to see it. May's final figure was 119.

As good as the Shrike was, things got better later that same week when Ian Ford messaged me at work just before lunchtime to say he'd found a rare-sounding warbler just outside the park (and thankfully for me, still just within Dundee's boundaries despite being on the Invergowrie side of the road). I hurried down but the bird had gone quiet. Ian had recorded the song and I managed to find a way to put it online. Consensus was that it was a Blyth's Reed Warbler rather than a Marsh Warbler. I had said to Ian that the song sounded less frenetic than the Marsh Warbler I'd seen previously (a bird found by Mark Wilkinson at Fife Ness 'patch'). I headed down after an early finish from work to try again. The bird was singing when I arrived and I even managed a brief but clear view of the bird in the open. It sang regularly over the course of the next 4 hours and Lainy managed to grab a blurry photo which along with the recordings should hopefully help get the bird 'accepted'. I tried again early the following morning, with a camera this time but the bird had seemingly moved on overnight.

Mark messaged me again on the 7th to tell me he had a pair of Shoveler on the Lochan at the park and a Canada Goose in the bay. As I still needed both birds I hurried down, jumping in a taxi for part of the journey. I managed to see both species quite quickly. I discovered a map online that indicated the Dundee city boundaries extended a bit further out to the north than I had thought, so I went exploring on the 17th which got me Grey Partridge to the north of Fintry. One of the more bizarre records of the year was a Wood Sandpiper which I heard calling loudly overhead when I got up during the night on the 24th. Thankfully, although I didn't recognise the call, it was easy enough to remember and I was able to confirm my suspicions in the morning which took the figure for the year to 124 at the end of the first half. Only another 21 species needed to reach my target figure and 6 months to do so.

I had discovered that Taymara were doing boat trips on the Tay and decided to book places on a few to see what, if anything, I could see from a boat out on the river. Although technically I would be outside Dundee while on the boat, anything I was likely to see would be visible from Dundee - albeit potentially rather distant, so I adjusted the rules slightly to allow sightings from the boat to count. I managed 3 new species on the first trip out with Gannet, Common Tern and Guillemot all seen (as well as the Bottlenose Dolphins), though I did miss out on a Puffin seen by Fife's Andy Cage who was also on board. I did manage to see all 3 species from land as the year progressed anyway. Walking to work on the 18th, I heard my first Tree Pipit of the 'Autumn' calling overhead Balgay Park and managed to see several over the course of the next couple of months from within the city.

Usually I don't do much birding in July but with the OM-1 weighing less than my old Nikon camera gear I can manage to walk further than previously even during the warmer months. I headed down to Balmossie on the 26th of July and I was rewarded with another very welcome surprise. I spotted a bird flying downriver quite distantly over towards Fife. Thankfully, I managed to get the camera to actually focus on it, confirming that it was an adult Pomarine Skua (complete with 'spoons'!). As it drew level with me, it was joined by a second, and different bird - an Arctic Skua. Right place at the right time. A bit later while having a breather at the castle, a Wheatear made a 30 second appearance giving me a third species for the day. Earlier in the month, Keith had added Cuckoo to the list for the Nature Park but the bird had gone by the time I visited at lunchtime. On the 29th, Keith incredibly found a 2nd Cuckoo at the eastern end of the park and I managed to catch up with that one. My Dundee list was now up to 132 - just 13 left to go and with 5 months left.

There were a couple of 'ones that got away' at Riverside Nature Park early in August but I managed to catch up with a couple of overdue 'new' species for my Dundee145 list on the 9th at the park with a Marsh Harrier and a Little Egret both found there. Another boat trip on the 16th added a Puffin from the boat as well as both Fulmar and Arctic Tern before I got onboard. I managed to catch up with Ruff at the Nature Park on the 23rd and was with Keith when we found a Spotted Flycatcher in the trees to the north of the composting toilet the same day. These birds took the list to 139, tantalisingly close to the 145 target figure. It was relatively easy to list birds that I stood a good chance of seeing in the remaining months, so by this time it appeared to be inevitable (barring illness or injury) that I would actually reach the figure that had seemed rather unlikely when I'd set it.

A Spotted Redshank that I hadn't noticed was annoyingly found on a photo at home after a visit to Riverside Nature Park, so I was unable to count it. It took a few visits but I did eventually manage to relocate it (or perhaps another of the same species) on the 6th of September. A trip to Balmossie for something to do on the 14th got me another slightly unexpected species with a trio of Brent Geese off the mouth of the Dighty with the regular Wigeon. Curlew Sandpiper proved trickier than usual to catch up with, but thanks to Mark, I was able to see the first of a number of the species after work on the 19th of September. Later in the month Mark messaged me to let me know he'd found half a dozen Bearded Tits in the reeds at Invergowrie Station. Unfortunately for me, by the time I got down to the park it was blowing a gale. It was a similar story the following day when Keith managed to see them before I got to the park. Again, it was a bit too windy, and heavy rain didn't help either. Thankfully, I caught up with them on the third day with an early morning visit in much calmer conditions. I was able to see the birds from the hide at the park - so I could count them. Once they were on the list I wandered round to photograph them from near Invergowrie station before 4 of them departed to pastures new.

A relatively new birder, Steph, who it turned out I actually knew of from work had got in touch and we'd had a few wanders around the park. During one of these we'd headed round to the other side of the bay, only for a Mediterranean Gull to fly past. Being outside of Dundee's boundaries, I was in the wrong place to be able to count it. Thankfully, I managed to find one of my own in the gull roost at Balmossie on the 2nd of October. The Bearded Tits at the end of September had been species number 143. The gull was number 144. Just one more species was now needed to reach my target. There were still a few decent possibilities, though obviously nothing was absolutely guaranteed. A change of plan on the 15th saw me meet up with Steph at sunrise at the Stannergate for a walk out to Balmossie. There were quite a lot of birds migrating through that morning. Among them was at least one calling Brambling - and so I had reached my target figure with 2 and a half months still to go.

A problem at home and a tradesman who didn't show up meant I was able to take advantage of 'Storm Babet' when it hit Dundee on the 20th of October. I headed down to City Quay and managed to see a Storm Petrel close in! I had to head home to pick up a spare battery before walking out to Broughty Castle to see if there was anything else of note around and there was. I added a decent number of Little Gulls feeding close in to shore from the Stannergate out to the castle. A pair of Great Skuas at the castle were also new for the year. The river was a bit calmer the following day as the wind had swung round a bit further to the north. Another visit to the Tay at City Quay added a Little Auk. A little later that day, Lainy found a Firecrest at Broughty Ferry local nature reserve but despite being only about a mile away when she found it, I failed to see the bird. It turned up again just after Lainy, Adam and I had set off to Carnoustie to see a trio of Grey Phalaropes. Despite turning back we were unsuccessful once again. With the light beginning to go, I suggested we try for the Phalaropes rather than waste any more time on the Firecrest. We made it to Carnoustie to find the birds close in to shore and had really good views of them.

I headed down to Riverside Nature Park the following day to see if there were any grounded migrants (Keith and Ian had Yellow Browed Warbler on the Friday, as well as Ring Ouzel, Arctic Skua, Storm Petrel and Kittiwake). There were hundreds of thrushes on the move. A Pipit dropped in by the top of the hill. It sounded like a Tree Pipit - as Olive Backed Pipit seemingly does, so I was ready for the bird to fly off if it spotted me before I spotted it among the grass. It took off and I grabbed some photos but the consensus was that it was just a 'later than usual' Tree Pipit.

Because of a backlog of photos to edit, blog-posts to catch up with and a number of other issues it was a few weeks before I got round to editing the photos from the 22nd. On my original pass I'd found a photo which bore a passing resemblance to a Brambling, though the early morning sun was affecting the colours. It took a bit of working out as to what the bird actually was - and the final result is still slightly contentious (Keith and Ian were less convinced - though the consensus elsewhere was overwhelmingly pro-Twite) but despite spending an entire evening trying to turn the bird into the much more likely Linnet, Twite made it onto my list for the year and also for the park list. Over the years, I've photographed a LOT of Linnets in flight and at no point did the bird in the photos make me think 'Linnet'.

The Twite was my 150th species for the year though as it was a retrospective ID, I had actually counted a Slavonian Grebe found in City Quay by an ADBC member as my 150th species, when I'd managed to see it on the 3rd of November. The following day I went gone looking for Waxwings (Lainy had a flock at Ardler Pond the day before but I had gone for the rarer Slavonian Grebe instead). Before I had even reached the pond, I found my own Waxwings up a side street and in the surrounding area. The following weeks saw Waxwings show up almost everywhere around Dundee. A couple of Long Tailed Ducks turned up at Clatto on the 7th and I decided to try for them straight from work - though available light was likely to limit my chances of success. I finished work early then an expensive and relatively pointless taxi journey saw me get to Clatto around the same time I would have got there on foot. Lainy was there and had actually found a third duck. Thankfully all 3 showed for me and I even managed a couple of digi-binned photos using Lainy's binoculars.

November hadn't yet finished adding birds to my list and a long walk in the hope of adding Barnacle or White Fronted Goose on the 11th saw my first Whooper Swan of the year fly over the hill at Riverside Nature Park. As it turned out there were no geese to be found out along the western edges of the city anyway. There were still a few species I thought I might be able to add before the end of the year but it took until the 20th of December before I added my 155th species for the year - an unexpected ringtail Hen Harrier over Broughty Ferry as I looked at some nacreous clouds to the east of the castle. Over and above that 155, I did have a few 'possibles' that I didn't quite get enough 'on' - a probable Mealy Redpoll in flight, and a Black Redstart female seen in flight at Broughty Ferry. I also had at least 3 Siberian Chiffchaffs at the park in November but as these are still 'just' a subspecies they don't count either. The escaped Saker Falcon has also shown nicely at various times throughout the year too, in various locations around the city.

Although 2023 has been an exceptional year for me within Dundee I still managed to miss out on some really good birds seen/found by others - an Iceland Gull in Invergowrie Bay found by Keith, a Barn Owl at the airport, Snow Bunting and Golden Plover at the park seen by Keith, a Hoopoe in a Broughty Ferry garden, Ring Ouzel and Yellow Browed Warbler at Riverside during Storm Babet, Lainy's elusive Firecrest, a/(my?) Black Redstart at Broughty Ferry, and Keith's trio of Snow Goose, Barnacle Goose and Great Northern Diver all from the Nature Park. There were also a potential Barred Warbler seen briefly by Keith and a possible Yellow Legged Gull found by Mark in the bay - though neither were seen well enough to definitely clinch the IDs. Mark also had a Merlin seen from Lucky Scalp near Tayport flying towards Broughty Ferry. By my reckoning, the total for Dundee as a whole was 167 (with 3(or 4) more unconfirmeds). So much for thinking 150 would be tricky!

With Dundee providing my main focus in 2023, I've turned down most of the opportunities to do any birding outside the city boundaries. I had one trip over to Fife with Ian Laird in mid-August with a possible Cory's Shearwater and a very chilled out Merlin perched on the rocks at the other end of the Fife Ness hide the main highlights of that day out, as well as Golden Plover, Manx Shearwater and a few Wall butterflies. I had 2 trips to Angus this year - one with Ian to Easthaven for a few hours on the 20th of May which got us a Black Guillemot offshore and a pair of Yellow Wagtails on the beach (as well as a Whimbrel) and the quick trip to Carnoustie with Lainy and Adam to see the Grey Phalaropes in October.

Away from the birds this year, I did find Speckled Wood butterflies in a few 'new' spots within the city, following on from their discovery last year and also saw my first Holly Blue butterflies in the city near Broughty Ferry (after a few failed attempts). Wall butterflies will surely be next to cross the river from Fife. I saw my first Azure damselflies at Riverside Nature Park and added Blue Tailed Damselflies to the park list the same day. With regards mammal species I found a couple of dead Water Shrews and some evidence of Beaver activity (which has since been reported in the 'Tully'), as well as having close views of the Bottlenosed Dolphins from aboard Taymara's Missel Thrush. I had unbelievably close encounters with a Roe Deer and a Fox early in the year, both being around 6 feet away. I also found my first ever Hummingbird Hawkmoth at Broughty Castle in early August and was able to show a few folk it before it flew off over the side of the castle.

As always, massive thanks to those who helped me to reach, and surpass, my target figure for the year - Keith Edwards in particular - who has added another 9 species to the park list this year and who let me know about not just these but also birds I needed for my list (or for my own park list), Mark Wilkinson who has let me know about various birds throughout the year and helped me add Bearded Tits and Curlew Sandpiper to this year's list, as well as helping with firming up the Twite ID, Lainy (and husband Adam) who has kept me in the loop for birds in the northwestern corner of the city in particular, and Ian Ford who found my only lifer of this year - the Blyth's Reed Warbler and let me know immediately, which meant I was able to see the bird. In addition, there have been others who I've done some birding with or chatted about birds, birding or just nature in general across the city. All of those people have made 2023 a memorable year for me. Thanks once again to you all.

With 2023's birding now complete I have decided that my target figure for 2024 will be 150. My suspicion is that 2023 has been a bit of an outlier with regards the number of species that have shown up in Dundee (and this seems to match other's experience elsewhere), and that somewhere around 145-155 is much more likely a figure in a 'normal' year. I've been generally quite lucky with regards the timing/locations of some of this year's species showing up, and that luck is not guaranteed to continue indefinitely. I think that although I might struggle to get to the 150 mark this year, it won't be for the lack of trying. Thanks as always to all of those who read this blog on a regular basis, and also those who may dip into it from time to time. Although I don't make any money from these posts (as I don't allow ads), it is good to know that someone somewhere is taking time to read it. Let's see what 2024 brings....(Good luck all - and if you do happen to see something good within Dundee, please do let me know....). Happy New Year(list)!