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Black Headed Gull
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With just 2 days of what has been an exceptional 2023 left, I was keen to get out birding even though rain was due to hit early in the afternoon. With sunrise still around 0845 that didn't leave a huge amount of time to play with. I had originally intended to head for Riverside Nature Park for the morning but having struggled to see much there in midweek I decided instead to head in the direction of Balmossie once again. I was hoping that I could get some idea of what I might expect to see if I take the same route on Monday the 1st of January.
It was rather overcast and gloomy when I headed out around 15 minutes prior to sunrise. Herring Gull and Feral Pigeon flew over while a Magpie called from a nearby rooftop. Blackbird and Blue Tit were added towards the top end of my street and a Dunnock was heard calling from somewhere close by. I added Carrion Crow near the top of Court Street and a Jackdaw was on a tenement chimney stack on Clepington Road. A Woodpigeon was perched atop a house a bit further on along the road. Swannie Ponds delivered almost all of the expected species - Mute Swan, Mallard, Moorhen, Coot, Tufted Duck, Black Headed Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull and Goosander as well as Greenfinches in the trees behind me. Only Grey Heron which is never guaranteed seemed to be missing. Unfortunately there was nothing rare to be found there either.
I continued on to Eastern Cemetery, noting House Sparrow, Starling and Robin on Rodd Road. Goldfinches were heard as I neared Old Craigie Road. A Sparrowhawk glided over towards the graveyard. There were a few Redwings around and I found both Grey Squirrel and Rabbits in among the gravestones. Chaffinches were heard calling before I managed to add a quickfire double of raptor species - a Kestrel first then a Buzzard. A single Mistle Thrush was perched in a bare tree near the southeast corner of the cemetery and a Collared Dove flew over as I crossed the road just after leaving the site.
Long Tailed Tits were active on Strips of Craigie Road and a pair of Curlew flew over as I reached Craigie Avenue, heading inland from the direction of the river. On reaching the Tay at the Stannergate I quickly found Oystercatcher, Eider, Grey Heron and around 40 or 50 Red Breasted Mergansers out on the river. A Turnstone was heard but not seen - though I would find plenty later on. Redshank and Cormorant were the only additions as I wandered along towards Douglas Terrace where a Rock Pipit was seen landing on the outflow pipe. Nearing the castle I spotted a distant Red Throated Diver in flight, low over the water, heading upriver. A Pied Wagtail scurried around at Beach Crescent, but despite looking again, there was no Black Redstart to be found.
I spent 10 minutes or so scanning from the raised viewpoint provided by the castle but only succeeded in adding a few skeins of Pink Footed Geese, all heading west upriver. I continued on eastwards, stopping to scan through some birds by the water's edge - a mix of gulls, Bar Tailed Godwits and Dunlin. A distant diver out on the river turned out to be another Red Throated Diver. Further on, I spotted a small group of Wigeon in flight. A Great Black Backed Gull was feeding on something by the edge of a small pool. I wandered on to check the mouth of the Dighty for something new but only managed to find a single Ringed Plover that fitted that category. On the walk back to the esplanade I added a few Grey Seals out on a sandbank and a single Little Egret on a pool out towards the water's edge.
I headed into the local nature reserve which provided Bullfinch, Great Tit and Great Spotted Woodpecker and Coal Tit for the day's list as well as decent enough views of Long Tailed Tits and Redwings. I had a nice chat about birds with a dog walker who asked if I'd seen anything good before we headed off in opposite directions. A Shag was spotted offshore near the castle as it flew off to the west. A Carrion Crow was getting stuck in to a dead Greylag Goose on the shore near the lifeboat station and a Rock Pipit was down on the seaweed on the other side of the ramp. The usual mix of species were noted on the walk back to the Stannergate, though it began to rain relatively heavily about an hour earlier than it had been forecast to. I made it home a bit wetter than I wanted to be. I ended the day's birding with a total of 54 species on the list, as well as 3 species of mammals. A similar total on Monday would be slightly disappointing, though I am likely to visit a few more spots which should bump the total up a little.
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Grey Heron
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| Oystercatcher |
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Red Breasted Merganser
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| Redshank |
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| Curlew |
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| Curlew |
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Red Throated Diver
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Pied Wagtail
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Grey Heron
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Pink Footed Goose
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Common Gull, Bar Tailed Godwit & Dunlin
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Red Throated Diver
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Chaffinch & Redwing
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| Wigeon |
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Great Black Backed Gull
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Little Egret
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| Bullfinch |
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Bar Tailed Godwit
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| Shag |
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Carrion Crow (& Greylag Goose)
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Turnstone |
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Black Headed Gull & Common Gull
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Common Gull
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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, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Little Egret, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Redwing, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Shag, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Grey Seal, Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.
