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Rock Pipit
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With 2 new species for my Dundee145 list added on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning I decided to head for Broughty Ferry and Balmossie early on Sunday. Although chances of adding something new were rather slim, 'the Ferry' seemed the best bet for potentially running into something good (Great Northern Diver, Iceland Gull, Whooper Swan, Golden Plover, Mealy Redpoll etc). The weather forecast was fairly decent, especially when compared with the previous 2 days, so I set the alarm to be out for around sunrise.
Robin, Feral Pigeon, Blackbird, Carrion Crow, Herring Gull, and Pink Footed Goose got things underway when I stepped outside with Redwing, Goldfinch, House Sparrow and Magpie added over the course of the next few minutes. A Grey Wagtail flew over as I neared Morgan Academy. Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Dunnock, Woodpigeon and Wren were noted as I detoured along a path just inside Baxter Park. At Swannie Ponds the usual suspects were in attendance - Coot, Moorhen, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Goosander, Mute Swan, Grey Heron, Black Headed Gull and Herring Gull. A drake Wigeon (last winter's bird returning?) was a nice surprise. A Mistle Thrush was perched in the trees on the island.
I headed down past the trees on Kingsway East to see if there were any Waxwings in attendance but drew a complete blank with no birds at all in any of the trees. A Sparrowhawk was seen being harassed by a couple of Carrion Crows near the Scott Fyffe roundabout and a party of Long Tailed Tits could be seen in trees next to the fire station. My specs were in need of a quick clean but I overdid it and managed to pop the tiny screw on one of the lenses, though thankfully I didn't drop it. However, I had no way of fixing it 'in the field'. As I knew the newsagents at the bottom of Craigie Avenue was likely to be open I decided to pop in there to see if they had anything resembling a fine point screwdriver I could use to tighten the screw back up. Unfortunately they didn't but I did manage to patch up the glasses with a bit of sellotape (so a big thanks to Craigie News Stop for their help) but decided I had best head back home to fix them properly rather than risk any further mishaps.
I headed up to Eastern Cemetery where a Grey Squirrel and a Rabbit were noted near the Arbroath Road entrance. As I wandered up the western side I spotted some birds in a small tree just beyond the wall. Waxwings! I took a few photos then headed round for a better look. The birds were relatively wary and initially flew up into the conifers by the entrance to Mayfield playing fields before returning to the tree I'd seen them in initially. I got a few photos of them feeding in a Rowan tree before they all flew off northwards over the Cemetery. Collared Dove, Coal Tit, Song Thrush and Pied Wagtail were all noted as I continued homewards via Baxter Park. Thankfully, I managed to fix my specs quite quickly back at home.
Having already walked 4.7 miles I weighed up my options. I could head back out again to Broughty Ferry and Balmossie - though there would inevitably be more disturbance by the time I got there as more people would be out and about. Ordinarily, walking to Balmossie and back means a 12 mile round trip. Having already done about 5, I wasn't sure my body would fancy another 12 on top of that. I decided to give it a go, as there were no particularly appealing alternatives that would have meant less distance to walk. I headed out again around 0930. Walking up Court Street a small flock of Redpoll overflew. I detoured in for a look at Mains Terrace which turned out to be rather quiet though a small flock of Waxwings flew over westwards towards the new houses.
There was nothing new at Swannie Ponds so I chose not to linger. An Oystercatcher was seen as I neared Eastern Cemetery again but there was no sign of the Waxwing flock seen earlier. I reached the Stannergate at around 1030. A Greenfinch flew over and a Grey Seal was seen out on the river. A pair of Greylag Geese headed over westwards. I added a Buzzard as I wandered on eastwards as well as a few Turnstones down along the shore. A Red Breasted Merganser flew past heading upriver. A couple of Common Gulls were down by the water's edge. There were a trio of Rock Pipits feeding along the strandline near the sailing club sheds. A Cormorant flew downriver. Nothing new was added between there and the castle though a small flock of Redpolls did overfly - the one bird I photographed looked rather 'Mealy' but I couldn't be 100% certain so I didn't count it as a new bird for my Dundee145 list (though I probably should have).
A bit of a surprise beyond the car park on the other side of the castle was a lone Swallow hawking along by the houses. There were one or two Meadow Pipits in the dunes. A bit further along the beach I could see a few Bar Tailed Godwits. A bird flew up from within the fenced off area of the dunes and across the road before appearing to land in a tree by the corner of the small 'park' with the tennis courts. I only got a very brief look of the bird in flight and it appeared to be a pale grey-ish bird with what appeared to be a brick red tail - a female-type Black Redstart. However, I failed to refind the bird - it wasn't in the tree, nor anywhere obvious nearby, so it became another 'one that got away'. A small flock of Siskins overflew as I checked out the nature reserve which was otherwise rather quiet.
At the far end of the Esplanade I had another look along the shore where Sanderling, Redshank, Dunlin and Curlew were spotted. With the birds being rather distant it took a lot of scanning before I found a Little Egret among the gulls and waders. A Great Black Backed Gull was also rather obvious once I found it. I heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker from the rock garden. I wandered along to the footbridge at Balmossie to scan through all the birds there which added Shag and Eider to the day's list. A few Fieldfares passed overhead while in the tall trees next to the bridge were a few Starlings, House Sparrows and a Goldcrest. A Linnet flew down to the shore. Things were rather quiet out on the river and as I failed to find anything among the gulls I headed back along to the nature reserve for another look.
I managed to add a heard only Bullfinch there before meeting up with a friend who was also walking back along to the Stannergate. I had a slow wander back with her though birds were in rather short supply and nothing new was added. She gave me a lift home from the Stannergate which was very welcome given the extra miles I'd done in the morning. I ended the day's birding with a total of 61 species and 2 possibles that I couldn't really count. Despite the 'false start' it turned out to be a decent enough day's birding even though the river seemed very quiet for the time of year.
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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Mistle Thrush & Woodpigeon
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| Coot |
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Mute Swan
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| Wigeon |
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Greylag Goose
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Mistle Thrush
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(Mealy?) Redpoll
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Buzzard & Carrion Crow
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Red Breasted Merganser
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| Redshank |
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| Oystercatcher |
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Common Gull
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Sparrowhawk
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| Turnstone |
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| Redshank |
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| Turnstone |
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Pink Footed Goose
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Long Tailed Tit
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| Chaffinch |
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| Siskin |
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| Dunlin |
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Little Egret
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Birds - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, (Lesser/Mealy?) Redpoll, Linnet, Little Egret, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breated Merganser, Redshank, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Sanderling, Shag, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swallow, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Waxwing, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Grey Seal, Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.
