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Pied Wagtail
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I was late getting out of my bed on Wednesday. My original plan had been to head along to Riverside Nature Park - which I have been very much neglecting of late, and then to visit my work for a short while for a long-term colleague's retirement presentation before heading home via Balgay Hill. However, I didn't get out of bed until around 1030 which meant I was highly unlikely to make it to work for noon, even without a visit to the Nature Park. As the end of the year is rapidly approaching I still wanted to get some birding done, even if the weather conditions were very much less than ideal. I got organised but as it was 1120 before I was ready I decided to head east instead of west.
Rather than go via Swannie Ponds, Baxter Park or any of my normal routes I ended up taking a more urban route which took me out at the start of the cycle path along between the docks and the railway line. On the way there I managed to see Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Starling, Robin, Blue Tit, Blackbird, Pied Wagtail, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Magpie and Coal Tit. The walk out along the cycle path added just Wren and a few parties of Long Tailed Tits. There were a few Rabbits around in their usual spots before I reached the river at the Stannergate. A lone Grey Heron stood out towards the corner of the docks and there were a number of Red Breasted Mergansers visible out on the river. Along the shore I added Common Gull, Oystercatcher, Turnstone and Redshank as well as a lone Eider and a couple of Black Headed Gulls before I reached Douglas Terrace.
Things appeared to be no better on reaching Broughty Ferry with very little to be seen on the shore or out on the river. A loud splash by the lifeboat jetty seemed to be a failed attempt by a Grey Seal to catch a suddenly rather vocal young Herring Gull which flew off calling loudly and hurriedly as if in a panic. I headed up into the castle to scan from the raised viewpoint. A Diver which appeared to be a Red Throated Diver at first was seen in flight, heading downriver, but looking at the photos later at home cast some doubt though consensus of opinion online was that it was 'just' a Red Throated Diver - though the OM-1 doesn't show anything like the same amount of detail as a DSLR, when the birds are distant. On the photos where the bill is 'visible' it doesn't look particularly RTD shaped, and the feet appear to project out quite far. I continued on along the edge of the dunes which were very quiet except for a single Meadow Pipit. With the tide still quite far out there were a few Bar Tailed Godwits along the water's edge along with a few gulls and a single Dunlin. A Rock Pipit flew past a bit further on just before a Siskin flew over towards the local nature reserve.
A Cormorant landed well out on the river as I scanned the area around the red bouy where some of this summer's boat trips visited. A Curlew poked around by the water as I reached the end of the Esplanade. The new track was open - though the complete removal of vegetation between it and the rock armour did make for a rather depressing sight. Between there and the new bridge over the Dighty I stopped and scanned a few times adding Wigeon, Knot, Ringed Plover and Grey Plover. I found a single Little Egret which quickly disappeared again, though I did refind it and a second Egret a little later a bit further to the west. I checked through the gull roost flocks but a Great Black Backed Gull adult was the best I managed to find. A Goldfinch flew over and a Common Seal was noted out on the river. As I walked back towards the castle again, a pair of Mistle Thrush flew out from the trees at the Barnhill Rock Garden. The previous day after work I had spotted a couple of apparent nacreous clouds which look like 'petrol in a puddle' and I noticed a few beginning to appear in the breaks in the darker clouds as the sun began to sink closer to the horizon. A skein of Pink Footed Geese flew out over the river before swinging westwards upriver. A Sparrowhawk was seen circling to the north of the railway line as I passed the Glass Pavillion. I messaged a few Broughty Ferry locals to let them know about the nacreous clouds as I wandered along the Esplanade between Panmure Street and Brook Street.
Having sent the messages I looked up again towards the colourful clouds above. I spotted a bird circling high in the sky almost overhead. It was acting like a raptor, and that was what it was, but it wasn't a Sparrowhawk or a Buzzard, nor even a Peregrine - which would have been the most likely species, given the time of year and the location. Neither was it a Kestrel or the escaped Saker Falcon and it was way too small for a White Tailed Eagle. I realised quickly that the slim winged, long tailed bird was a Harrier species and a quick count of primary feathers at the wingtips confirmed it as a Hen Harrier - a rather unexpected sight circling above the beach at 'the Ferry' - though it was my second Dundee sighting in 2 years - I've seen just 2 in the much better suited habitat of the Angus Glens in 14 years. An absolute cracker of a bird to take my #Dundee145 list to 155, 10 beyond my target figure. As I was standing in the middle of the footpath watching and photographing the bird as it circled above me, I figured I should move off the path and stepped to the side to lean against the fence. I looked up again and couldn't see the bird. Thankfully I found it a bit further east than I'd expected it to be and got some more photos (though none were particularly great), before messaging a local who had just replied to say that he was out of town, to let him know he'd just missed out on a potential cracker of a 'garden' tick'.
I spent most of the rest of the walk home in a much better mood than I had been earlier, photographing the nacreous clouds in the run up to sunset. Greenfinch was heard at the Stannergate. I wandered up through Eastern Cemetery where I caught glimpses of a Starling murmuration and found the tree they were roosting in, though I kept my distance to avoid flushing them. Despite the almost complete lack of anything like daylight by this point, I decided to head for a look at Swannie Ponds to add a couple of extra species to the day's list. This proved successful with Mute Swan, Mallard, Coot and a single Tufted Duck noted. In addition, a small-ish Brown Rat scurried along the water's edge before disappearing over the side (but without any sign of it having gone into the water - which suggested a hole between the edge of the path and the water level).
I ended the day's birding with a total of 47 species of bird which was slightly disappointing - though again the windy conditions played their part in that relatively low total and my choice of route also would not have helped. If the Hen Harrier ends up being my final addition to this year's unexpectedly productive birding in Dundee, I will have no complaints - though while there is still time to get more, I will be trying. I found a report of a female type Black Redstart at Beach Crescent from December 11th on Birdforum that evening - which may well be the same bird I saw, but too briefly to be absolutely certain, a few hundred metres to the east early in November. That would also be a nice way to round of the year - and it would be a first for Dundee for me. We'll see what happens....but fingers are crossed....and with this year, it appears almost anything could happen.
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Common Gull
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| Eider |
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Red Breasted Merganser
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Common Gull
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Grey Heron
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| Oystercatcher |
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Grey Heron
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Pied Wagtail
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| Turnstone |
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Dunlin, Bar Tailed Godwit & Common Gull
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Little Egret & Redshank
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Bar Tailed Godwit, Knot & Dunlin
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| Redshank |
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Pink Footed Goose
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Hen Harrier
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Hen Harrier
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Hen Harrier
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Hen Harrier
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Hen Harrier
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Hen Harrier
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Birds - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Plover, Hen Harrier, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Knot, Little Egret, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Siskin, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Brown Rat, Common Seal, Grey Seal, Rabbit.
A few bonus Nacreous Cloud photos....
