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Knot & Bar Tailed Godwit
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I did attempt to go birding on the 5th, and I even managed to see some birds. It was rather grey when I left the house, so much so that I left my camera at home. It then got progressively mistier, so after a little over an hour, I gave up and headed home. I did manage a total of 26 species though at Swannie Ponds and Eastern Cemetery as I tried and failed to add Sparrowhawk to my Dundee145 list. The birds I did manage to get were Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Goldcrest, Goosander, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Pied Wagtail, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Starling, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Woodpigeon and Wren. Also 2 mammals - Grey Squirrel and Rabbit. As there wasn't really much of a tale to to tell, I've mentioned it in the passing, but now on to the main event....
Thankfully, the weather was meant to be a bit better on Friday. Except for one thing. It was to be very windy. Windy conditions are generally not all that helpful, as smaller birds tend to seek shelter, not much flies about, and trying to keep binoculars or a camera steady can be a bit of a struggle. Needs must, however, so I decided I would try Balmossie again. My initial plan was to walk out via the Dighty and Clearwater Park, but as the wind was from the southwest, I figured once I stepped outside that it made more sense to take the more sheltered half of the journey on the way back. The earlier I made it to Balmossie, I hoped that there would be less dog walkers around and so disturbance to the waders etc would be fairly minimal. Fingers were crossed, though expectation levels were rather low.
I headed out at 0825, still a little before sunrise. Jackdaw, Herring Gull and Feral Pigeon were quickly noted with Goldfinch, Magpie and House Sparrow seen as I headed up Court Street. A surprise was a Redwing on the grass in front of one of the tenements which didn't fly off when I crossed the road for a closer look. Blue Tit, Carrion Crow and Woodpigeon were seen around the junction with Clepington Road. I added Blackbird on the way along to Swannie Ponds, having chosen not to route via Mains Terrace. There were plenty of birds at the ponds, though it was a fairly standard mix - Black Headed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Goosander, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan and Coot. A Pied Wagtail flew past as I continued on in the direction of Eastern Cemetery.
Starling and Linnet were the only additions to the list on the walk through the cemetery. It looked like I wasn't going to see any of the usual mammal inhabitants. However, no sooner had that thought crossed my mind when I turned my head and spotted a single Rabbit on the grass with a Grey Squirrel stood on the gravestone directly behind it. A skein of Pink Footed Geese flew downriver as I made my way down towards the Tay. The low sun made viewing slightly difficult and the strong wind coming in off the river made holding binoculars steady tricky. I did manage to check the flock of gulls at the Stannergate but there was nothing unusual among them.
A Robin and a Dunnock were heard as I set off along the esplanade, while a Redshank foraged down on the shoreline. A Turnstone I'd missed flew in and landed not far from a small flock of roosting Oystercatchers. Common Gull and Rock Pipit were noted near the sailing club huts. The next section of the walk was at right angles to the gusting wind and was hard going. I was grateful when I finally reached the shelter of the far side of the castle where I had a bit of a breather out of the wind. I found a single drake Eider out on the river and watched a flock of distant Bar Tailed Godwits take flight further along the beach. There were only a few dog walkers on the sand, though the top layer of sand was a blur as it was being blown eastwards just inches above the surface. It couldn't have been a comfortable experience for the smaller dogs (though that sort of thing never seems to register with many of the owners).
I walked along the edge of the dunes hoping for a Meadow Pipit and/or a Stonechat, both of which were target species for the day. A single
Meadow Pipit was seen in flight when the dog walker ahead of me put it up from the other side of the fence. There was no sign of any Stonechat though. I decided against heading into the local nature reserve though a Greenfinch was seen in the treetops. I headed up off the beach and continued on along the grass, a bit more sheltered from the wind, though at this point it was more or less coming from directly behind me. The strength seemed to have dropped off a little too, which was very welcome. A Cormorant was seen flying low over the waves out on the river.
Well ahead of me down on the beach I could see quite a large mixed flock of waders. At least some of them were Bar Tailed Godwits but I was still a bit too far away to be certain what the rest were. I could see some Wigeon just offshore in the same general area. A Chaffinch called from the trees by the road at the Rock Garden. The flock took flight and milled around. I was still a good distance away and couldn't see any obvious reason for their panic. I hoped that they would all settle back down but it appeared that at least half of the previous group had departed to somewhere else when what was left of the flock landed back on the beach.
A few minutes later I was finally close enough to see what the other birds were. There were more
Knot than I've seen in quite a while in that area. Although it was a target species for the day's birding I only expected very low single figures, maybe even just 1 or 2, if indeed there were any. There were also a few Dunlin with the same mixed group. A little further up the shore were some Ringed Plover. I couldn't see any sign of Grey Plover or Sanderling. I sat down at the top of the rock armour where I could watch the flock without disturbing them. This worked out well and I was able to get some photos too. More scanning of the beach beyond got me the first Curlew of the day.
After sitting around for 15 minutes or so, I glanced up at a bird in flight, relatively high above the beach, tracking west into the wind. There was no mistaking the species, but it was not one I'd been expecting to see, especially down by the beach. It was a
Lapwing. It flew on a bit before circling back and dropping down among the seaweed covered rocks and pebbles a bit behind the Godwit flock. A nice unexpected bonus year-tick. More scanning also got me the one and only Grey Plover that I managed to find which was probably the very same bird I'd seen recently. I'd decided to wander along to check the gull roost next. There were a few Rooks on the grass by the path.
I scanned the gulls and the estuary behind them before I reached them, so I wouldn't be staring directly into the sun. I found a pair of Red Breasted Merganser and a pair of Goldeneye off the mouth of the burn. Among the gulls were another one of the species I was hoping to get - a trio of adult
Great Black Backed Gulls. I hung around for a while. The butterfly transect lady who I've met a few times down there while she walks her dogs stopped for a short chat and I told her what I'd managed to see. Having managed to see a decent selection of species down by the water I decided to head inland to Clearwater Park. The walk there was uneventful until I reached the dual carriageway. From there I could see a corvid diving steeply downwards then swooping back up. It also appeared to do the half-roll thing that Ravens do. The photos were inconclusive though, so I decided to try to get closer views.
A Stock Dove was down by the bend in the burn, just downstream from the roadbridge in a simlar spot to where I've seen one previously. I could hear a Dipper singing from beside the small footbridge just upstream from the road. As I could see there were a number of corvids in the field on the north side of the burn I headed down the slope for a closer look. The Dipper was spotted by the bridge though it flew under the bridge and out of sight when it realised I was there. The corvids in the field appeared to be mostly Carrion Crows and Jackdaws with a few Rooks among them too. There was no sign of anything suggesting Raven. The next field up had a trio of Grey Herons roosting as well as a flock of Woodpigeons and a few more corvids.
I then wandered up past the stables. A Buzzard flew out from one of the trees by the track and over the field where it was chased off by some of the nearby crows. There were a few Curlews in the field near the crossroads of tracks. A Kestrel, very likely the same one I'd seen on Sunday, was hunting above the track to the north and I was able to get some photos before it flew off in the direction of the cemetery. I was hoping for a Tree Sparrow so I decided I might as well take the eastern arm of the crossroads along the back of the houses as I'd never checked that area before. A Yellowhammer and a Blue Tit were in the first bush along there with a Blackbird but the rest of the track appeared rather quiet. At the end of the track was a group of mature trees and as I wandered along the rather muddy track, a bird shot out from a tree and was immediately pursued by a crow. I saw just enough to see it was a
Sparrowhawk, my first of the year (at last!). I managed a slightly longer view of it as it flew past a bit further north in the opposite direction.
I headed back along the track to the crossroads where I had good views of a pair of Buzzards, one either side of the track and I photographed a possible Raven (the photos look fairly good but not quite 100%. The diving corvid I'd seen earlier proved to be a Carrion Crow and having not heard the possible Raven calling I decided against counting it as a definite). I then wandered up the north arm to the cemetery. This didn't produce anything other than distant views of a large skein of Pink footed Geese. As I wandered back down I spotted a trio of Roe Deer in the field to the west. From the track at the bottom of that field I had better views of them as well as a male Pheasant. A Mistle Thrush flew out of a tree above me and into the next tree. There were a few more down in the field to the south.
Another Buzzard as I walked back along Drunsturdy Road plus 2 more Sparrowhawks (one looking quite chunky) from Baldovie Road kept things interesting as I headed for the Dighty Burn. As I crossed the small footbridge at the end of the path I could see someone coming along the path by the burn. It was Lainy. She'd just seen the Kingfisher and told me what else was around. As we chatted I spotted movement beyond the fence as a Sparrowhawk flew in low just a foot or so above the ground before perching in a small tree more or less in line with where we were stood. I couldn't get the camera to focus through the two fences and the bird flew to another similar sized tree just a little further away. I still struggled to get a clear view to get focus but the bird flew into a bush where a Blackbird alarm call was heard.
Lainy decided she was going to continue on to Balmossie so she was going to go and catch a bus to get her most of the way there. I had views of a few Dippers and a Goosander further on. A Grey Wagtail was in the flooded area below the trees opposite the recycling plant. A little further on a Jay was heard calling from the fenced off area on the opposite side. A Dipper showed nicely just before I packed away my camera. I added a Great Tit near the Odeon cinema and routing back home via the Swannie Ponds added Moorhen to the day's list. There was a Feral Pigeon looking like it might be ill, stood on the path. An amorous male displayed to it, and it looked relatively lively as it walked away before closing its eyes and standing still again. A pair of Fieldfare flew over as I walked back along Clepington Road. I ended the day having noted a total of 61 species of which 5 (in bold) were new for my Dundee145 list, taking me to within touching distance of my halfway target figure of 78. Had I decided to accept the Raven identification (and a few folk on Twitter did think it probably was one) I would have reached that target. There's still time yet...
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Bar Tailed Godwit
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| Oystercatcher |
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Dunlin, Knot & Bar Tailed Godwit
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| Lapwing |
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Grey Plover, Dunlin & Ringed Plover (& Black Headed Gull & Bar Tailed Godwit)
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Great Black Backed Gull & Herring Gull
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| Rook |
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Stock Dove
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Grey Heron
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| Buzzard |
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| Kestrel |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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Mistle Thrush
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Goosander |
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Grey Wagtail
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| Dipper |
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| Moorhen |
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| Mallard |
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Feral Pigeon (ill?)
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| Goosander |
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Common Gull
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Tufted Duck
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Birds - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dipper, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Fieldfare, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander,
Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Plover, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel,
Knot,
Lapwing, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard,
Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Redwing, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Siskin,
Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals - Grey Squirrel, Rabbit, Roe Deer.
