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| Linnet |
Having visited Riverside Nature Park on Sunday afternoon I decided to head for Balmossie on my day off in midweek. My original plan for an early start and visit to Middleton Wood fell by the wayside and I was a good bit later getting out of my bed than I had originally intended. As a result I made up my mind to take a more direct route to Broughty Ferry. My expectation levels were low but you never can be too sure in May that you won't run into a rarity somewhere unexpected. The local nature reserve at Broughty Ferry should be ideally suited for just such an occurrence, but so far I've drawn a blank on anything out of the ordinary there (though last year's Rose Coloured Starling was just a little further east). Perhaps this would be the day...
I headed out at 0915. House Sparrow, Herring Gull, Magpie, Feral Pigeon and Starling were the only birds around as I wandered towards Baxter Park. There were, at last, a few House Martins over the Dura Street car park and Dundonald Street. Chaffinch, Robin and Dunnock were noted nearby. A few Swifts swept overhead as I neared the park. Goldfinch was spotted as I walked in through the side gate. Blue Tit, Blackbird and Woodpigeon gave me a few more species passing the pavilion. A Buzzard circled up in the sunshine as I wandered along Nesbitt Street and a second bird joined it as I neared the cemetery. A Goldcrest was heard singing at the Old Craigie Road/Arbroath Road junction.
Craigie Avenue produced a Greenfinch and a few Long Tailed Tits as I made my way down towards the river at the Stannergate. There was a Black Headed Gull in with the roosting Herring Gulls and the Rabbits were in their usual spots. One of the larger gulls had me wondering about the possibility of a Caspian Gull but I eventually decided it was probably just a Herring Gull. A Rook flew in from the north and a Cormorant was spotted out on the river. A few Oystercatchers were still around on the Grassy Beach (a local name for the pebbled beach between Broughty Ferry and the Stannergate). A Lesser Black Backed Gull and the first Linnet of the day were seen as I continued on eastwards. A Blackcap was heard singing on the north side of the railway line and there were a pair of Eider on the water off Douglas Terrace.
Not unsurprisingly things were relatively quiet from there on. I did manage to add Rock Pipit just beyond the castle and a Pied Wagtail on the beach along by the Glass Pavilion restaurant. A few Swallows zipped by before I reached Balmossie around 1125. There were roughly 50 Mute Swans off the burn mouth. It is interesting to see these birds back there as they used to be a fixture in the Summer but I suspect constant disturbance from dogs off the leash probably played a big part in driving them away. With the work going and access to the beach being limited the birds have peace to feed and rest again. Unfortunately, it won't last all that much longer, as the work will be completed later this summer.
There were lots of Eiders well out on the river and a number of Goosander a bit further to the west in Monifieth Bay and a flock of Herring Gulls and Oystercatchers by the burn. A few Carrion Crows and Starlings were also foraging down in among the seaweed. A Grey Seal was seen briefly a 100 metres or so out in the Tay. A few Jackdaws were on the grass as I walked back to check out the local nature reserve. Cutting up the path from the eastern end I spotted a few Longhorn Moths on the vegetation by the path edge and then realised there were many more around. I ended up spending the next few hours mostly photographing these wee fuzzy moths, and talking to walkers and a curious local whose house overlooked where I was standing, about the moths and some of the other local wildlife. Unfortunately, I suspect the Tick that I found attached to the back of my leg the following day was probably picked up while photographing these moths.
I then spent more time in the main part of the reserve hunting for other insects to photograph. I managed to find and photograph some tiny, recently hatched Grasshoppers and a few more mining bees as well as a few fly species and a mix of other species I've yet to find the time to try to identify properly (let me know if you can ID any of those pictured in this post). Great Tit, Chiffchaff and Song Thrush were all found there too as was a singing Willow Warbler. I finally headed homewards around 1520, adding a Great Spotted Woodpecker at the western end of the reserve by the railway line. The walk back along the river was mostly rather quiet though a Stock Dove did land down on the beach a little ahead of me not far from the 'eagle feathers'. At the Stannergate I was slightly surprised to see a Brown Rat working its way through the rock armour. I finally made it home just after 1700. Although the total number of species recorded was relatively low at just 40, it had still been quite an interesting day's birding, even if insects provided most of the more interesting photo opportunities.
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Herring Gull
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| Eider |
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Rock Pipit
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Herring Gull & Mute Swan
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Pied Wagtail
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Longhorn Moth
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Longhorn Moth
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Beetle sp.
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| Greenbottle |
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Fly sp.
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St Mark's Fly (female)
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7-Spot Ladybird
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Longhorn Moth
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Bee sp.
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Sawfly sp. & Snail sp.
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Wasp sp.
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Earwig sp.
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Bee sp.
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Bee sp.
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Beetle sp.
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Fly sp.
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Tree Bumblebee
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Hoverfly sp.
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Grasshopper sp.
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| Greenbottle |
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Micro Moth sp.
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| Cormorant |
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Carrion Crow
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| Oystercatcher |
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Stock Dove
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| Rabbit |
Birds - Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Cormorant, Dunnock, Eider, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Brown Rat, Grey Seal, Rabbit.
