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Spotted Flycatcher
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I was at work on Tuesday when Lainy messaged me to let me know she'd found Spotted Flycatchers at Clatto. Spotties are not an easy bird to catch up with in Dundee. Although it was possible to head there from work, the weather forecast wasn't looking very favourable for both the walk there and the chances of finding the birds easily if I did go. I came up with an alternative plan. I had to be at home from 0800 on Wednesday morning for a tradesman that was due sometime between 0800 and 1230. I worked out that if I left the house at 0500 I could spend an hour looking in decent weather, before heading back home again - hopefully having seen the birds. Needless to say, getting up at 0400 just didn't happen. I would have to try again after the tradesman had been and gone, despite poorer weather being forecast for the afternoon. As it transpired he was running late and it was mid-afternoon before I could head out.
The weather wasn't looking great but I got organised and then had an unforeseen problem arise that meant the afternoon was a write-off, so there would be no Spotties for me. The one plus was that the bad weather meant that there was a good chance the Spotties were going to stay put, rather than attempting to fly into heavy overnight rain and the continuing strong winds. Although it was a bit of a gamble, I decided to wait until Friday when I had the first of my 'Autumn migration holidays' from work scheduled. Lainy let me know on Thursday that there were still Spotties around. With sunshine on Friday morning there was still a chance the birds could move on before I made it to Clatto but if I was to miss out, then I would miss out. That's just birding and nothing is ever guaranteed with regards wildlife.
I had realised that the area where Lainy had seen the Spotted Flycatchers earlier in the week probably wouldn't have had any sunshine had I visited just after sunrise on Wednesday so decided on a more sensible start time. I headed out at 0800 for the walk out to Clatto. Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw and Magpie made for a 'bigger' than usual start to the day's list, with a lack of the 'smaller' birds. I heard an Oystercatcher as I neared Fairmuir Park. There was a mix of Black Headed and Common Gulls on the football pitches. From there on out to Clatto the 'small' birds dominated the growing list - Goldfinch, House Martin, Swift, Robin, Wren, Pied Wagtail, Chaffinch, House Sparrow, Blue Tit and Greenfinch.
I reached the end of the dirt track on the very northern edge of the city at 0845. It was sunny but still rather windy. This did mean that a search of the more sheltered spots out of the wind would be the sensible option, as otherwise given the amount of suitable habitat for Spotted Flycatcher I would have to almost check every tree and bush for the bird(s). Blackbird, Yellowhammer, Mistle Thrush, Willow Warbler and Dunnock provided the interest along the length of the track, where previously there would have been a flock of Linnets and more than just a single Yellowhammer as well. The fields were also rather empty of birds. I headed for one of the spots Lainy had seen the birds the previous day, but other than a Magpie and a Carrion Crow there was nothing to be seen. Song Thrush and Great Tit were noted on the walk through the trees to get there.
More searching got me Bullfinch and Goldcrest before I bunped into Lainy who was re-checking the other site where she'd had the birds the previous day. There was plenty of activity happening in the sheltered sunny spot but no obvious Spotted Flycatchers. We did add Chiffchaff and Coal Tit while we scanned though. Lainy suggested we check in amongst the trees, where there was a small-ish slightly more open area amongst the large conifers. Bingo! At least 2, probably 3 or more Spotted Flycatchers were actively catching flies there. We spent a while watching and photographing the birds before deciding to see if we could find the birds anywhere else in the vicinity. Given the usual scarcity of the species, this seemed unlikely but if you don't check...you don't find.
We found Blackcap and a Grey Squirrel before we had a quick look at the reservoir. The 2 Great Crested Grebe pairs and their 3 youngsters each were very noticeable. A few Small White butterflies flitted around in the vegetation along the northern edge. Mallard, Coot and the Mute Swan family plus the usual gulls were also on the water or the wooden platform but overall variety was rather lacking. There was a family group of Long Tailed Tits feeding among the trees. We wandered out along the track towards the farm buildings where we found the breeding Swallows very busy and a flock of Linnets swirling around opposite. Keith had messaged me to say that the Mediterranean Gull was once again in Invergowrie Bay and I was going to walk down for a look, but a second message arrived not too long after to say it had flown off again, so I decided I would be as well just birding around Clatto and visiting Riverside Nature Park on Saturday.
We wandered up through the trees to the area around the 'living sundial' in Templeton Woods. A pair of Grey Wagtails by a small puddle were a surprise given the location, so were likely a pair of passing migrants taking the opportunity for a rest and a quick drink. A Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Jay were seen there before Lainy noticed what appeared to be a Spotted Flycatcher. It was indeed a Spottie, and there was a second bird close by. Once again, we couldn't be absolutely certain there were just 2 there but finding them did confirm our suspicions that there were probably others around. Lainy had to be back at the visitor centre to help with preparations for an event at the end of the month for around noon, so we headed back down through the playpark, where Lainy again got 'eyes on' another Spotted Flycatcher in the tall trees at the bottom of the playpark.
We watched for a while, noting 2 birds together, with the suspicion that there were actually at least 3 and possibly more. Once Lainy had shown me what was planned for the event, I left her to get on with the work in hand and decided to have another look at the Templeton Woods site and the playpark trees. Tufted Duck and Moorhen were seen down on the water. With the sun having moved further round, the trees at Templeton Woods were now in shade and those in the sun were the ones exposed to the wind, so I drew a blank there. Whoever decided to move the bench that was ideal for just sitting enjoying the open space back into the rather more gloomy area below the trees obviously hadn't given much thought to why folk might choose to linger in that area.
I did succeed in adding a Buzzard for the day's list. Meadow Brown, Peacock, Large White and Speckled Wood butterflies were noted on the way to and from Templeton Woods and despite taking a wrong turn, I found my way back to the water tower where a Red Admiral was seen. Back at the lower end of the playpark, I managed to see 3 Spotted Flycatchers together in 1 tree before being joined by Graham Smith for 10 minutes or so. With the benefit of an extra pair of eyes we managed to count a definite 4 individuals as well as a possible fifth. With very few reports of Spotted Flycatchers moving through Angus or Fife (or even further afield) excpet for the odd single bird, it made the Clatto 'micro-fall' of at least 8, likely 10+ birds seem all the more remarkable.
Lainy found a couple more Speckled Wood butterflies while carrying out a litter pick around the edges of the playpark. She rejoined me a little later and spotted a Red Squirrel traversing the tree-tops, though I missed out on a photo. Treecreeper was also noted in the same trees. We eventually wandered back down for another check of the reservoir and found there to be lots of feeding hirundines - mostly Sand Martins and Swallows and amused ourselves trying to photograph them in flight as they zipped past us and low over the water at high speed. The light wasn't particularly great by this time however, but the challenge in getting a good shot made it worthwhile. Grey Heron and Sparrowhawk were both seen in flight and a Silver Y moth was in the vegetation along the north edge of the reservoir.
We checked a few more spots round about and chatted about the changes that have happened both naturally and through the questionable decision processes of the city council. One of the spots we'd had the Spotted Flycatchers was only really accessible due to the outcome of one of these decisions, but overall the planting of thousands of saplings has been detrimental to the biodiversity in the area. Still, it ticked a 'green' box on a list somewhere and no doubt earned a councillor or 2 a brownie point or a pat on the head, so... It's done now and we just have to get used to it, unfortunately. We added Starling to the day's list before Lainy kindly gave me a lift homewards. I ended the day's birding with a total of 51 species of bird (1, in bold, being new for my #Dundee150 list), as well as 6 of butterfly, 2 of mammals and 1 moth. The Spotted Flycatchers were my 139th species of bird in Dundee this year, and coincidentally the same species was also my 139th last year and was seen on the same day - though at Riverside Nature Park.
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| Dunnock |
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| Yellowhammer |
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Spotted Flycatcher
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Spotted Flycatcher
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Black Headed Gull
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Tufted Duck
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Great Crested Grebe
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Great Crested Grebe
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Great Crested Grebe
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Great Crested Grebe
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| Treecreeper |
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Willow Warbler
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Spotted Flycatcher
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Spotted Flycatcher
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| Peacock |
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Speckled Wood
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Spotted Flycatcher
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Spotted Flycatcher
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Spotted Flycatcher
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Spotted Flycatcher
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| Swallow |
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Sand Martin
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Swallow & Sand Martin
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Great Crested Grebe & Mallard
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Great Crested Grebe
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Birds - Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sand Martin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Spotted Flycatcher, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Butterflies - Large White, Meadow Brown, Peacock, Red Admiral, Small White, Speckled Wood.
Mammals - Grey Squirrel, Red Squirrel.
Moths - Silver Y.
