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| Lapwing |
On Monday evening, I decided to check last year's list to see what date I managed to add Great Crested Grebe to my #Dundee145 list. It turned out to be late February. As luck would have it, Lainy messaged me late on Tuesday afternoon to let me know that the Grebes had returned to her patch. With the weather forecast for Wednesday not looking too clever I was weighing up whether to walk to Clatto for what should be an easy addition to this year's #Dundee150 list or instead head for Balmossie (with easterly winds potentially bringing birds into the estuary), or even pop down to Riverside Nature Park on the off-chance of something good passing through.
A look at the weather forecast very early on Wednesday morning saw me decide to have a good few hours extra sleep in the hope that the worst of the weather might've passed through by the time I got out of bed. Thankfully, when I did get up, it appeared to have done so although the sky didn't look too convincing that there wouldn't be more precipitation at some point. Despite this I decided I would head for Balmossie, rather than taking the easy option of Clatto and the Great Crested Grebes. My expectations were low and I was expecting to probably get rained on at some point. I headed out at around 1205 with the intention of taking a direct route down to the Tay and out to Balmossie, rather than heading via Swannie Ponds, Baxter park or City Quay, as I would normally do.
Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Magpie, House Sparrow, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch and a Pied Wagtail were found between home and Dura Street. Woodpigeon, Starling, Goldfinch, Blackbird and Blue Tit were added between there and Broughty Ferry Road. I decided to carry on along the Docks Way cycle path which got me Wren, Song Thrush, Buzzard and Robin as well as the first, but not the last, sighting of Oystercatcher for the day. There was a Greenfinch in the trees at the Stannergate and a quick check of the roosting gulls within the wind turbine storage area at the end of the docks turned up a Lesser Black Backed Gull. Rabbits were in their usual spots opposite.
There weren't many birds down on the shore, or out on the river, though I did eventually pick out a few distant Red Breasted Mergansers on the choppy water and a single Black Headed Gull down on the shoreline. There were a few Oystercatchers a little further on with a small group seen just before the gym equipment and steps along towards the Eagle Feathers. As I wandered on a bit, I heard a call I don't hear in Dundee too often - the sound of a Lapwing's alarm call. I turned to see a single bird lift from the pebbles before dropping back down a little further on. I managed to grab a few photos which seemed to show a young bird from last year. A very unexpected, and so very nearly an overlooked, addition to my #Dundee150 list (number 103). I took a few more photos before continuing on towards Broughty Ferry.
The weather still looked rather 'grotty' and there were very few walkers around which made a welcome change, though it would've been a bit better had it been a little warmer. Common Gull was noted before I reached the pipe at Douglas Terrace where a few Eiders were asleep and a Cormorant was drying off. There were also a few Oystercatchers while down on the shore were a Redshank, Turnstone and Curlew. Along by the castle, I added a couple of flighty Rock Pipits but despite a spot of scanning from the castle, things appeared to be disappointingly quiet. I continued on along the back of the dunes before diverting into the local nature reserve where the flood had almost completely receded back to more 'normal' levels though the path was still a bit muddier than usual.
Stock Dove, Dunnock and Bullfinch were the only new birds seen in the reserve before I wandered back over to check the beach and river opposite. A single Goldeneye duck was just offshore. Further to the east, I could see a handful of Wigeon feeding in the shallows, plus a Great Black Backed Gull and a Lesser Black Backed Gull stood out on the beach. Continuing on eastwards, Bar Tailed Godwits, a lone Grey Plover, a few Dunlin and some Sanderling were all seen - though I failed to re-find the yellow flagged godwit, I'd photographed previously. I scanned through the birds along by the Dighty outflow but Jackdaw was the only thing new. On the walk back from there a Little Egret was spotted and I managed a few photos as it picked around among seaweed covered rocks and in some of the pools on the beach.
The walk back along the river added a Shag near the castle. With the thought that I was likely to be crossing the main road at the Stannergate during 'rush hour' I decided to head 'inland' from the end of Douglas Terrace. I reached the Arbroath Road having found a Siskin in the big gardens on the way but little else of note. Once across the Kingsway, I swithered between continuing on up past DC Thomsons to Swannie Ponds or routing via Eastern Cemetery to the same location. I chose the former and made it to the ponds around 1645 where I found Craig ('The Swan Family and Friends' YouTuber) feeding the ducks. I spent the next 45 minutes or so chatting to him while noting Tufted Duck, Mallard, Goosander, Mute Swan, Coot and Moorhen.
A large pre-roost flock of 100+ Greenfinches formed in the trees nearby, taking flight sporadically while we were chatting. As the light began to fade around 1740, I noticed a Sparrowhawk a little to the west and the Grey Heron flew in and landed on the rocks in the top pond. Having had very little to eat all day, due to my late start, I called it a day and headed homewards having managed to accumulate a total of 51 species including an unexpected #Dundee150 tick (in bold), which vindicated my decision not to go for the easy option at Clatto...and it hadn't rained either. Although Lapwings will show up at the Nature Park over the (later) summer months it is a good bird to get on the list nice and early.
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Lapwing |
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| Lapwing |
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| Lapwing |
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| Redshank |
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| Turnstone |
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Eider & Cormorant
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Black Headed Gull
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Common Gull
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Curlew & Redshank
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| Oystercatcher |
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House Sparrow
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Pied Wagtail
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Red Breasted Merganser
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Black Headed Gull, Common Gull, Wigeon, Dunlin & Sanderling
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Little Egret
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Great Black Backed Gull (& Lesser Black Backed Gull)
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Little Egret
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Little Egret
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| Cormorant |
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| Greenfinch |
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| Greenfinch |
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Tufted Duck
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Grey Heron
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Birds - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Plover, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Little Egret, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Sanderling, Shag, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Rabbit.
