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Rock Pipit
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I changed my day off at work to a Friday from my usual Wednesday to help out with a slight back-log of some more urgent work. This meant that for a change I would have a long weekend to play with. Potentially this would give me 3 days of birding back to back. My provisional plan was to visit Balmossie on Friday when disturbance would be likely to be lower than at the weekend, which I hoped would make for more relaxed birding. Saturday I would try Clatto for Lesser Black Backed Gull (assuming I failed to find one on Friday) and then finally head out to visit Riverside Nature Park on Sunday.
As things worked out I struggled to get motivated when Friday came around and I contemplated not going out at all. However, I eventually forced myself to get organised and headed out at 1100, a few hours after I'd originally planned to be out. Carrion Crow and Feral Pigeon were the only birds noted in my street which wasn't a particularly inspiring start. A few minutes later I started to find a few more - House Sparrow, Robin and Blue Tit. It took a full 5 minutes before I found my first Herring Gull of the day. I stopped off at Swannie Ponds for a quick look there, though with low expectations. Mallard, Goosander, Tufted Duck, Moorhen, Coot, Mute Swan, Black Headed Gull and a few more Herring Gulls were all to be found there, as is usually the case.
I headed for Eastern Cemetery next where Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Magpie, Goldcrest and a flyover Common Gull were all seen as were a few Grey Squirrels. A Starling was 'singing' from a tall tree on the south side of Arbroath Road as I exited the Cemetery. The walk down to the Stannergate failed to add anything new though. Greenfinch and Blackbird were both seen near the railway line as I neared the river. The initial stretch of the shoreline gave me my first Redshank, Curlew and Oystercatchers of the day as well as a few more gulls. As I walked on along the esplanade something caught my eye, up in the air to my left. A Sparrowhawk was being harassed by a Carrion Crow, though the raptor did seem to gain the upper hand quite quickly.
Continuing on eastwards I found a few Eiders out on the river. As I walked along the stretch where the railway line is right next to the path, separated by a stone wall, I was surprised to see a butterfly flitting around by the top of the wall. I managed enough of a view to identify it as a Peacock before it landed out of sight on the other side of the wall. Shortly after that, my second Bumblebee of the year was also seen on the wing, despite it not being a particularly warm day. There were a few Turnstones down on the shoreline at Douglas Terrace. Things turned out to be relatively quiet between there and the Castle although a Rock Pipit was heard and a Cormorant was seen out over the river.
I scanned out from the eastern side of the Castle. That stretch of the river was also fairly quiet but over Tentsmuir Forest I could see a large bird circling up above the trees. I had a fair idea what it was but I really needed the camera to actually focus on the bird to confirm it. Unlike the D500, the OM-1 doesn't provide much detail on distant 'dots' which can be frustrating when trying to clinch an identification. However, this time I was in luck, as there was enough detail to show that the bird was indeed a
White Tailed Eagle - my first of the year. As I was standing within Dundee and the bird was identifiable, it could be counted as part of my Dundee145 list. My 93rd species seen this year from within Dundee.
A sleeping Grey Seal bobbed around out in the river. A pair of Collared Doves were in the trees by the Castle Terrace garden and as I walked along the beach side of the fenced off dunes a male Reed Bunting popped up onto the fence in front of me. The beach was surprisingly quiet, though there were still a few dog walkers around, asthere almost always seems to be. A detour into the local nature reserve added a Siskin to the list but things were very quiet overall. Back at the beach I added a flock of distant Bar Tailed Godwits in flight over the river. A Wren appeared briefly among the Gorse bushes near the fenced off area where the path upgrade work was being carried out. A Great Black Backed Gull and a rather dark backed Herring Gull, (probably of the Argentatus subspecies) were bobbing around offshore.
As always at this time of year there were still a few Wigeon around. A large flock of Ringed Plover and Dunlin landed out by the water's edge. I scanned through the waders and the gulls with my scope in search of something unusual but drew a blank. There were a few Goldeneye off the Dighty mouth and a pair of Grey Wagtails showed nicely among the rock armour. A young couple wandered down the outflow pipe sending all the waders and Starlings off in all directions before continuing out to flush the gull roost as well, which was rather annoying. I then had a very productive chat with a lady who I see regularly on that stretch of beach and was able to explain why it isn't a great idea to flush all the waders on the beach in winter, something which she had been unaware of, as most walkers appear to be.
With the time creeping onwards towards 1430 I decided to head back westwards in the general direction of home. A Pied Wagtail was seen down on the beach. Another detour into the nature reserve was slightly more prolific than earlier with a female Bullfinch, a few Great Tits and a pair of Long Tailed Tits collecting nest material all being noted. Another Sparrowhawk circled round above me and over the flats towards the railway line as I had another look at the beach. The area around the harbour proved to be a little busier than earlier with a small group of Eider, a Rock Pipit which showed nicely a few feet in front of me and a pair of Oystercatchers all giving decent photo opportunities. The male Pied Wagtail with the damaged foot which I've photographed previously also gave me close views at Beach Crescent.
The walk back to the Stannergate was typically rather quiet though I did find a single drake Red Breasted Merganser out on the river. A small group of Linnets were in the gorse bushes just beside the small car park at the Stannergate. I stopped to photograph the Rabbits through the fence by the large metal storage tank before continuing homewards. My 50th species of the day was finally added around dusk as I cut through Baxter Park. Although once again I had failed to find a Lesser Black Backed Gull (or any other slightly more unusual gull species), it was good to be able to add a year-tick (in bold) among the species seen, as well as my first butterfly sighting of 2023. There had also been a decent selection of photo opportunities once again, making the effort to get out birding worthwhile, despite my initial reluctance.
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Carrion Crow & Sparrowhawk
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Bumblebee sp.
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Carrion Crow
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White Tailed Eagle
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| Cormorant |
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Reed Bunting
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Common Gull
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Grey Wagtail
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Great Black Backed Gull & Herring Gull (probable Argentatus ssp.)
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| Dunlin |
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Common Gull
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| Bullfinch |
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Long Tailed Tit
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| Robin |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Eider |
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Rock Pipit
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Pied Wagtail
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Pied Wagtail
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| Cormorant |
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| Linnet |
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| Rabbit |
Birds - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Siskin, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Tufted Duck, Turnstone,
White Tailed Eagle, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies - Peacock.
mammals - Grey Seal, Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.
