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| Peregrine |
It was a later start for Saturday's birding due to a combination of the weather and waiting in for someone coming to pick up some books I was getting rid of. I'd looked at options for where to go, but rain being forecast for around 1400 or so meant my options were a bit limited. In addition, high tide was around 0730 and wasn't a particularly big tide either, which meant that Balmossie and Riverside Nature Park weren't particularly worth the extra effort required to get there as the waders would be quite distant and with strong westerly winds all day, it wouldn't be a comfortable experience trying to scan through them in search of something unusual and a bit of a race against time as well. I've visited Eastern Cemetery, Swannie Ponds, Baxter Park, Caird Park, Trottick Ponds and even the Dighty Burn a few times recently. One place I hadn't really birded properly lately was Balgay Hill. Not too far away, a reasonable selection of birds, relatively sheltered from the wind and a chance to try to get Peregrine on the way there (or back).
So Balgay Hill it was. I headed out at 1015. Blue Tit, Blackbird, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Feral Pigeon, Magpie and Herring Gull were all noted before I'd made it as far as Arklay Street. Black Headed Gull, Starling, Woodpigeon and Goldfinch were seen between the 2 football stadiums. Robin and House Sparrow were both found in Maryat Street. Rather than head along Byron Street, I needed to route via Strathmore Avenue so I could walk along Balfield Road which would allow me to check 3 sides of Cox's Stack with at least part of the 4th visible once I'd reached Loon's Road. There was nothing else new seen or heard as I walked along Strathmore Avenue.
As I was passing St John's High School I took the binoculars out of my bag so I had them ready for the walk along past the Stack. A quick look alerted me to the fact that there was what appeared to be a falcon tearing into some prey item towards the front of the chimney. It was just a little too far away to be certain of an ID, so I hurried on for a better and closer look. I got the camera out for photos around halfway along the street, opposite Arnold Clark's car showroom. It was definitely a
Peregrine this time. I spent a few minutes watching it then moved on a little for a different angle. I tried the beginning of The Miley for a third angle but the bird was almost invisible from there due to it being a little bit back from the front ledge.
I popped in for a quick look at the Whorterbank Community Garden after finding a few Redwings in the trees nearby. There were a few birds around including Woodpigeon, Coal Tit, Blue Tit and Goldcrest but I decided not to linger too long there. Crossing the football pitches to reach the hill added a few Common Gulls. A bit of a commotion off to my left drew my eyes in that direction, just in time to see a Buzzard fly out and round the side of the hill. I walked up the hill clockwise from the 'triangle' where most of the cars park. I added Siskin on the walk up the slope. There were plenty of Woodpigeons around and I could hear Blue Tits and Great Tits calling from the trees. A Buzzard landed very briefly just the other side of a tree trunk from where I was but took off again almost immediately. I scanned out from the side of the hill towards Cox's Stack but it appeared the Peregrine had finished its meal and headed off elsewhere.
I managed to find a Nuthatch not far from one of last year's nest sites and with a bit of persistence managed to see the bird, though it was rather high in a tree. A Treecreeper and another Nuthatch were seen near where the black and white Blackbird was rooting through the leaf litter. A Grey Squirrel scampered off into one of the Yews behind me. I continued round the hill which got me a Jay for the day's list. At the fallen log I shared part of my lunch with some of the smaller birds (the Woodpigeon wasn't getting any, despite repeated attempts) and a Grey Squirrel with a damaged looking tail also gave me close views. A skein of Pink Footed Geese overflew, struggling into the wind. A single Long Tailed Tit, part of a larger group, showed nicely.
There was a small party of Bullfinches around but I didn't manage to get a clear view of them. Chaffinches seemed to be in short supply though I did see a pair very briefly. Wren and Dunnock were both heard in the same area and a few Jays perched in one of the smaller trees by the path were photographable though there were a number of branches partially obscuring one of the birds. I headed for the other half of the hill, but despite much searching I failed to add anything new there. I then headed for home, via The Law and on the way up the Law Steps on the west side I heard the local gulls sounding agitated and looked up to see a Sparrowhawk circling overhead. Another skein of Pink Footed Geese headed west. I reached home just before 1400 having noted a total of 31 species of which 1 (in bold) was new for my 2023 Dundee145 list. In addition, the Nuthatch sighting removes that species from the very short 'heard only' list, leaving only the Water Rail for now.
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| Robin |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Blackbird |
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| Treecreeper |
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Grey Squirrel
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Coal Tit
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Long Tailed Tit
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Great Tit
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Blue Tit
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Coal Tit
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| Robin |
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Grey Squirrel
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| Jay |
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| Jay |
Birds - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Nuthatch,
Peregrine, Pink Footed Goose, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Treecreeper, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Grey Squirrel.
