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| Redwing |
Although the weather forecast for Tuesday the 10th of October was to be rather windy, I decided that I would do a spot of vis-migging from atop the Law as I couldn't make up my mind where to go and still wasn't really feeling 100%. There appeared to be a couple of hours where the wind strength wasn't too bad and I figured I could make the most of that. Things are a lot less hectic at the Law compared to Riverside Nature Park with lower numbers passing close to the hill making it easier to document the passage, though on the flip-side there are more people around which at times is less than helpful due to noise blocking out the sounds of calling birds as they approach the hill.
I headed out at just before 0745 for the short walk to the top of the hill. Feral Pigeon, Robin, Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon and Redwings started things off quickly followed by Dunnock, Starling, Blackbird, House Sparrow and Herring Gull. A Song Thrush was heard among the bushes at the bottom of Main Street. Two long tailed 'black and white' birds were next - a Pied Wagtail and a Magpie on Kinghorne Road. Blue Tit and Wren were noted in the trees by the steps up to the hilltop. I got organised and started my vis-mig list at 0805.
A Goldcrest called from the trees a few minutes in but I had to wait until 0811 for the first 'traffic' - a Linnet heading west. One of the local Sparrowhawks put in an appearance, circling just to the west. A few Chaffinches passed to the north of the mast. I heard a Meadow Pipit just after 0820 and saw 3 of the species a few minutes later. A Skylark and a Redwing passed by together just after the pipits. Siskins were heard but not seen at 0830. A Starling and then a Pied Wagtail flew by. Actual migration movements seemed to be relatively minimal though an unidentified thrush went south at 0835. I had another Sparrowhawk sighting at 0840.
A pair of Mistle Thrushes headed west at 0842 but it was almost 10 minutes later before another Meadow Pipit was heard. The early morning sun was making identifying silhouetted birds a bit tricky and a trio of thrushes going southwest fell into that category. Singles of Meadow Pipit and Chaffinch rounded off the hour and with things being very slow I decided to head homewards. Typically, having given up a Bullfinch and a Great Tit were noted as well as groups of 3 and 4 Meadow Pipits as I headed down from the hill. I ended up with a total of 24 species for the morning's efforts which was certainly more manageable than the previous day at Riverside Nature Park but not nearly as busy as I'd hoped it might be.
The following morning I had a bit of a lie-in and was rather undecided as to where to go, as once again it was forecast to be rather windy, which is only rarely good birding weather (strong easterlies driving seabirds upriver being the exception - though it is never particularly comfortable birding in those conditions). I decided against Riverside Nature Park before settling on heading out to Balmossie to see what I could find there. I wasn't feeling particularly enthusiastic or energetic but got organised and headed out for 0950.
Feral Pigeon, Herring Gull, Magpie, Carrion Crow and Blackbird were all seen on the walk up to Clepington Road. The escaped Saker Falcon was seen heading west over the building site on the north side of the road before I added Jackdaws and Redwing for the day. I diverted in for a look at Mains Terrace. Things were relatively quiet there though I did manage to find Robin, Dunnock, Woodpigeon and House Sparrow before continuing on to check Swannie Ponds. Surprisingly, there were a few Goosander there despite it feeling quite early for their return for the winter. Greenfinch, Goldcrest and Grey Wagtail were round about and out on the water the selection included Herring Gulls, Black Headed Gulls, Common Gull, Mute Swan, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Moorhen and Coot. Blue Tit, Chaffinch and Starling were noted as I headed for Eastern Cemetery.
There were a couple of Grey Squirrels on the grass as I walked down into the lower half of the site and a lone Fieldfare took off from a nearby conifer. There seemed to be flocks of thrushes dotted around, mostly Redwings. A Meadow Pipit overflew. More wandering around added a Coal Tit and I heard a Siskin from somewhere above. There were a few Rabbits running around among the gravestones. With the light being fairly good I decided to try to photograph the thrushes and anything else that was around instead of continuing out to Broughty Ferry. I decided to check an area where I've found Chiffchaff at this time of year previously and sure enough there was one, possibly two, in that very area.
A Sparrowhawk whizzed through low to the ground using the gravestones as cover but didn't appear to have any luck with its hunting. A couple of Lesser Redpolls went over westwards before I found a Red Admiral butterfly flitting around. Rook, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush and a few flyover Skylarks provided some relief from trying to find the very flighty Redwings which seemed to be arriving from the south before dropping into the trees. An Oystercatcher flew low over the cemetery and another rather distant Sparrowhawk was seen well out to the east. A few Goldfinches were noted. A Kestrel was seen through gaps between the trees heading towards the upper half of the cemetery. A Buzzard glided in from the east with a few corvids in tow, mobbing it.
A few minutes later a skein of Pink Footed Geese arrived from the northeast before following the line of the river westwards. I added Long Tailed Tits to the list as I headed for the exit at around 1220. I wanted to check on the amount of vegetation at Spring Grove in Baxter Park. As I reached the park, a fairly late Swallow sped over. Unfortunately, it was almost impossible to see much at Spring Grove with thick greenery blocking most of the view to the spring itself, so no birds were seen there. I headed back up to Swannie Ponds instead which got me a Lesser Black Backed Gull for the day's list. Surprisingly I ended the day's birding with a fairly decent total of 46 species which on another day could easily have been as low as somewhere around 25 species.
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| Magpie |
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| Linnet |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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Mistle Thrush
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Meadow Pipit
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Magpie & Carrion Crow
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Great Tit
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| Goosander |
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| Moorhen |
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| Goosander |
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| Fieldfare |
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Meadow Pipit
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| Redwing |
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| Redwing |
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| Rabbit |
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Carrion Crow
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| Chiffchaff |
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Grey Squirrel
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| Rabbit |
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Lesser Redpoll
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Birds (10/10/23) - Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Great Tit, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Pied Wagtail, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Birds (11/10/23) - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Lesser Redpoll, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, [Saker Falcon], Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swallow, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies (11/10/23) - Red Admiral.
Mammals (11/10/23) - Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.
