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Sandwich Tern
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Despite Saturday's visit to the top of the Law being relatively underwhelming I was still keen to get out and about early on Sunday morning. Broughty Ferry and Balmossie would be my destination(s) and although expectations were rather minimal it is now the time of year
when there can be surprises and you just never know. By getting out
nice and early I was hoping to get to Balmossie in time for there to be a
decent selection of gulls roosting and bathing, perhaps with a
Mediterranean Gull in the throng somewhere, and also potentially the chance of a passing wader
or two. I was up before the alarm went off and ready to get out by 0630.
The
weather forecast was favourable and I emerged into the early morning
light to the sounds of Swifts screaming overhead. Feral Pigeon, Herring Gull,
Goldfinch, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, House Martin and House
Sparrow all made it onto the list as I headed for Baxter Park. Dunnock,
Blackbird and Wren were all noted within the park with Woodpigeon and
Coal Tit noted just outwith the park boundaries. Further on Robin, Blue
Tit, Magpie and Starling joined the other species on the lengthening
list. A Chaffinch was added near the top of Craigie Avenue and the first
surprise of the day was a Grey Squirrel by the Greendykes Road circle (as we call traffic roundabouts here in Dundee).
An adult and a young Pied Wagtail were noted as I
reached the Stannergate, along with a selection of early morning
Rabbits. Song Thrush, Carrion Crow and Oystercatcher were also spotted before
my first proper view of the river. A Common Sandpiper was flitting around along the shore at
the end of the docks, and a few others were seen towards the sailing
club sheds later. A Black Headed Gull flew over as I checked through the Herring
Gulls on the beach. A pair of Stock Doves flushed from the beach near
the 'halfway steps' and a Greenfinch circled overhead. As I neared
Douglas Terrace, a Cormorant was seen flying upriver and a Common Gull
was down by the water's edge. A Curlew was foraging among the
pebbles and a Grey Heron flew in to land by the outflow pipe at Douglas
Terrace.
There were a few Turnstones at the lifeboat jetty but I
failed to find any Rock Pipits near the castle, for a change. I continued on towards
Balmossie. A Gannet was picked out across the river, looking very
obvious against the dark conifers at Tentsmuir. I scanned from a few
points at Balmossie, before settling down on the concrete outflow pipe
by the Dighty Burn to scan in relative comfort. Goosander, Eider,
Sandwich Tern, Mute Swan, Swallow, Mallard, Rook, Redshank, Bar Tailed
Godwit, Grey Wagtail, Linnet and Sand Martin made for a fairly
productive spell, though the birds were largely rather distant. There
were a couple of Common Seals out on a sandbank in Monifieth Bay. I had a rear end view of a Sparrowhawk with
prey flying towards the Balmossie railway bridge and an
Osprey (with fish) was seen heading inland to the north a few minutes later.
I
eventually decided to head back towards Broughty Castle where I hoped
to see what might be passing between the castle and Tayport opposite. A
Chiffchaff was heard at the local nature reserve but things were
otherwise disappointingly quiet as I routed through. Returning to scan out from the dunes, I
was rather surprised to see a large splash over towards the Larick
Beacon. With high tide still some five hours away, it couldn't possibly
be the Bottlenose Dolphins, could it? I watched and waited and within a
few minutes I spotted a fin breaking the surface. It was the Dolphins. I
managed to get a few folk onto them. My progress towards the castle was
rather slowed by me watching the activity out across the river.
There
was someone down by the water with a camera on a tripod and a few more
people on the grassy area next to the castle. I headed for the rocks
behind the castle to gain a bit of height as the castle wasn't yet open. This did work out relatively
well. In addition to the Dolphins which provided plenty of photo
opportunities, a Goosander flew past close in and a pair of Sandwich
Terns partook in some fishing close in to the beach for a few minutes.
The battery on my camera 'died' and I was surprised to find that the
back-up battery was also rather lifeless. Thankfully, I had a 3rd
battery with me but it meant I would have to be more judicious in my usage of the camera. This
did mean I missed a lot of good photo opportunities.
Having
bumped into a work colleague earlier who had said she'd like to see the
Dolphins again, I messaged her on WhatsApp to let her know there was
lots of activity happening. After a second message, she joined me on the rocks by
the castle until the castle doors were opened at 1230 when we relocated
to the much higher viewpoint offered by the castle. Lainy and Adam
arrived not long after and we watched numerous Dolphins breaching and
hunting in packs in various parts of the river before they had to head off again. A Grey Seal popped up
not too far offshore and a few of the Dolphins did come in quite close
to the southern shore. Once the Dolphins drifted further out, I decided
to head homewards.
There were more Redshanks and Turnstones on
the lifeboat jetty as I passed, but a Cormorant fishing further on was
as exciting as the walk back to the Stannergate got. A pair of Collared
Doves were on a roof near Swannie Ponds. A quick check at the ponds
added Coot and Tufted Duck to the list for the day, taking my total to
50 species of bird, and 5 of mammals. The amount of Dolphin activity
seen, with plenty of 'airborne' dolphins was probably the main highlight
of the day, but the Sandwich Terns and Goosander photographed from
behind the castle were also worthy of note.
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Black Headed Gull
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| Curlew |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Swift |
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| Greenfinch |
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Mute Swan
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| Osprey |
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| Jackdaw |
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| Gannet |
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House Sparrow
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| Swallow |
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Bottlenose Dolphin
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Bottlenose Dolphin
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| Goosander |
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| Cormorant |
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Sandwich Tern
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Sandwich Tern
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Sandwich Tern
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Bottlenose Dolphin
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Bottlenose Dolphin
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Bottlenose Dolphin
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Bottlenose Dolphin
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Redshank & Turnstone
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| Cormorant |
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| Rabbit |
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Collared Dove
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Common Gull
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Birds - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Eider, Gannet,
Goldfinch, Goosander, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail,
Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed
Gull, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher,
Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook,
Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Bottlenose Dolphin, Common Seal, Grey Seal, Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.
