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Pied Wagtail (31/1/24)
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Having managed to reach 98 species for January on my Dundee150 list during Sunday's visit to Riverside Nature Park and having checked the weather forecast for Wednesday the 31st I realised it was looking unlikely that I would have much of a chance to add to that number due to rather wild weather being forecast (again!). The weather for Tuesday however, was much less windy and rather sunny and dry. I decided to see if I could have the day off from work, using up one of my remaining annual leave days. Keith messaged me on Monday to say he'd found a Pintail off Kingoodie, from Riverside Nature Park. I got the OK for the day off and a plan was hatched. I would head to the Nature Park early on, hoping to catch the Pintail as the tide receded then walk up to Templeton Woods to try for the Redpoll there again.
I headed out into the relative darkness just after 0700. Herring Gull, Robin, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Carrion Crow, Redwing, Woodpigeon, Wren, House Sparrow, Magpie, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Coal Tit and some Pink Footed Geese made for a relatively typical haul of species along what was more or less my normal route to work though a bit later, and also with a bit more daylight too, as the walk progressed. I reached the Nature Park just over an hour after leaving the house. Magpie, Herring Gull, Carrion Crow, Feral Pigeon and Robin started things off there, followed by Great Tit, Blue Tit and Wren. Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Redwing, Greenfinch and Bullfinch were then found along with a Grey Squirrel and a Rabbit.
A single Pink Footed Goose flew over in the direction of the bay, where I too was headed. With the tide on its way out, I hoped that I might still manage to refind Keith's Pintail that he had seen the morning before. Oystercatcher, Teal, Bar Tailed Godwit, Mallard, Redshank, Black Headed Gull, Common Gull, Dunlin, Curlew, Greylag Goose and Shelduck were all noted as I scanned out over the bay. A distant duck that looked potentially promising turned out to be another Mallard. I was joined by Keith and he too searched for the Pintail with his bigger scope. Unfortunately it appeared I was out of luck. Starling, Yellowhammer, Siskin, Great Black Backed Gull, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail and Skylark were picked out as we checked through all the birds we could see and then checked again. I did a double take when I found a Guillemot around the edge of the mud - most likely a sick bird, given how far upriver it was with no obvious reason to be there.
Keith found a Turnstone down by the burn outflow. Out of nowhere, I suddenly felt rather nauseous and seriously considered heading homewards even once the feeling had subsided a little. As I was feeling slightly better I headed for the exit at the eastern end with Keith - noting Linnet, Goldcrest and Chaffinch on the way there. I said cheerio to Keith and headed for the hospital, which gave me the option of jumping on a bus home if I felt like I wasn't up for walking for the best part of an hour to Templeton Woods. Long Tailed Tits, Great Tit, Feral Pigeon and Jackdaw were seen on the walk to Ninewells and from there down to the Kingsway. I added Goldfinch and Sparrowhawk as I walked along the Kingsway and on towards Camperdown Park. Siskin and Buzzard were new additions as I wandered up through the park.
Once across the Coupar Angus road and into Templeton Woods I headed for the area I'd checked out with Lainy on Saturday. As I reached the clearing, I managed to see one of the recently arrived Nuthatches. From the bench, I had brief views of a Red Squirrel, a few Jays and a single Crossbill overflew. I had a bit of a chat with one of the Countryside Rangers who along with a volunteer and her dog were constructing an analemmatic sundial. A flock of 7 Crossbills overflew, and a few minutes later a flock of 8 (maybe the same birds plus the earlier 1, or a different set of birds entirely?). A Black Headed Gull, a few Siskins, a Buzzard, another Nuthatch, a Bullfinch and couple of Blue Tits were all seen from the bench, but there was no sign of any Redpoll. A couple of Roe Deer ran up the slope through the trees behind the bench but I failed to get any photos.
A Robin and a Dunnock showed nearby and a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew over before I gave up on the Redpoll and headed for Clatto Reservoir. Mute Swan, Mallard, Goosander, Goldeneye, Coot, Moorhen, Common Gull, Cormorant and a single Tufted Duck were found on the water. There were a few Yellowhammers, Chaffinch and Goldcrest spotted near the car park before I headed in the direction of home - though I was in no great hurry to get there. I had decent views of a Water Rail again and a half-hidden (and possibly ringed) Reed Bunting before deciding to head up to the top of the Law on the off-chance of encountering Redpoll there. Near the picnic tables on the west side, a Kestrel hovered briefly before it flew off over the hill. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to react quickly enough to get the camera out of the bag and grab a photo or two. A Buzzard was seen from the top of the Law before I finally made it home having seen (or heard) a combined total of 60 species (37 at Riverside Nature Park and 45 outwith). Although I didn't manage to see either of my target species for the day, it was refreshing to get out in decent weather for a change. Although I never quite felt 100% after the morning's 'funny turn' I made it through till home-time without any further issues (thankfully).
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| Greenfinch |
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Greylag Goose
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| Guillemot |
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Pink Footed Goose
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| Bullfinch |
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| Buzzard |
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| Crossbill |
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| Crossbill |
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| Robin |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Jay |
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Long Tailed Tit
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Black Headed Gull
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Bullfinch & Goldfinch
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Water Rail
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Water Rail
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| Bullfinch |
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| Bullfinch |
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Reed Bunting
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| Magpie |
Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Crossbill, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Nuthatch, Pink Footed Goose, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Tufted Duck, Water Rail, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Red Squirrel, Roe Deer.
Birds (at Riverside Nature Park) - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion
Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Curlew,
Dunlin, Goldcrest, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose, Guillemot, Herring Gull, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Oystercatcher, Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon,
Shelduck, Siskin, Skylark, Starling, Teal, Turnstone,
Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals (at Riverside Nature Park) - Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.
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Wednesday's weather forecast was more or less another 'storm' though rain wasn't due to come in until around lunchtime. I figured that I might have just about enough time to get out to Balmossie and home again before the weather got too bad. The wind was from the west and gusting to somewhere around 50mph. I wasn't expecting to see much with most of the smaller birds likely to be well hidden in deep cover. The tide being low around the time I would get to Balmossie was also likely to mean that most of the birds that were likely to be around there would be distant - and trying to use a scope balanced atop a monopod in strong winds is always tricky. The odds were stacked against me managing to add anything new for my Dundee150 list, but as last October proved, if you take a gamble when the weather is bad it can sometimes work out in your favour.
I headed out at about 0920. Not unexpectedly there weren't many birds around in the strong winds. Herring Gull, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw and Feral Pigeon were the only birds seen on the walk to Swannie Ponds. It was a fairly typical mix of species found there - Mallard, Mute Swan, Tufted Duck, Coot, Goosander, Black Headed Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull and the lingering Gadwall drake again. The camera stayed in my backpack however. The walk to Eastern Cemetery added Carrion Crow, Blue Tit, Magpie, Blackbird, Starling and House Sparrow. A few Long Tailed Tits and a couple of Rabbits provided the rather limited interest in the cemetery. I reached the Stannergate around 1005.
There were still surprisingly a few Goldfinches around while down on the beach were a Redshank and a pair of Oystercatchers. A rather fed up looking Grey Heron was stood hunched up out of the wind and a Wren's scolding call could be heard from among the rock armour. Out on the water I managed to find a few Red Breasted Mergansers among the waves. Heading east I found a single Eider and a Rock Pipit feeding along the edge of the railway line wall. A skein of Pink Footed Geese headed inland over Douglas Terrace. I added a Cormorant struggling into the wind from the castle but things looked very quiet out on the river. A single Curlew was seen feeding down on the shore around halfway along to Balmossie. I detoured into the nature reserve for some respite from the wind.
Robin and Chaffinch were both added there but it too felt very quiet. The tide as expected was quite far out when I reached Balmossie. I used the base of the footbridge over the railway as a rather effective windbreak and did a bit of scoping. A couple of adult Great Black Backed Gulls, a few Bar Tailed Godwits and a few Dunlin were noted among the Herring Gulls, Black Headed Gulls, Carrion Crows and Starlings down on the shore and at the burn mouth. A Shag and a Red Breasted Merganser were seen fishing in a relatively distant large tidal pool. It began to rain, though thankfully not particularly heavy. I decided to take the inland route home, trying to stay out of the worst of the wind.
By the time I reached Broughty Ferry again, the rain had got a little heavier so I decided to get the bus back to the western end of Arbroath Road to save a soaking. I made it home having managed a total of 38 species, which wasn't terrible considering the awful weather. I didn't take many photos at all due to the weather, so there isn't much to see below this part of the post. Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, I had drawn another blank meaning that I would finish January on 98 species - which was still way more than I had expected. As far as I was aware I had only missed out on 3 species in Dundee during the month - a female Common Scoter found by Mark Wilkinson off Tesco Riverside on the 1st, Keith's Pintail and Lainy's Redpoll. There may have been other species around too but I certainly hadn't heard of them. 98 of 101 (with the 3 likely to be picked up at some point over the next 11 months) is still pretty good going and means I have 11 months to try to add roughly half as many species again as I managed in the 1st month. Obviously, it gets harder as the possibilities are ticked off, but we shall see how things progress....
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Black Headed Gull
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| Curlew |
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Herring Gull
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Great Black Backed Gull
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Birds - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Carrion
Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew,
Dunlin, Eider, Gadwall, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon,
Rock Pipit, Shag, Starling, Tufted Duck,
Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Rabbit.
