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| Kingfisher |
Making what feels like the 'right' choice where to go on any particular day is a rather large consideration when deciding to get out birding. Obviously, you can just sort of meander aimlessly and see where you end up, but having a target figure of a particular number of species, I usually need to maximise my chances. The weather, especially wind direction/strength and whether or not it is likely to rain definitely come under scrutiny. The tide times are another, with the window of ebbing/flowing either side of high tide generally being 'best'. Having taken these things into consideration, and having been to the top of the Law and out to Riverside Nature Park in recent days, I decided to head for Balmossie and Broughty Ferry on Friday the 20th of September.
It was a later than usual departure time of 0900. This meant that I was likely to pick up fewer species on the initial part of my walk compared to my usual preferred timing of around sunrise. Blackbird, Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Robin, Carrion Crow, House Sparrow and Woodpigeon were all expected species as I headed in the direction of Swannie Ponds. Magpie was added on Clepington Road while at the ponds, Mallard, Mute Swan, Moorhen, Tufted Duck and Coot were noted. A surprise was a complete lack of Black Headed Gulls, bar one dead one on one the small rocky islets. I chose to walk down the Kingsway for a change and it seemed to take rather a long time and provided zero new birds for the day's list.
I did find a few Rabbits at the Stannergate before having a look at the 'migrant trap' area. It was rather quiet there though there were still birds around in small numbers - Blue Tit, Chiffchaff, Chaffinch, Song Thrush, Wren and Greenfinch, with a Grey Wagtail passing overhead. Down on the shore with the gulls I found a Redshank along with a few Turnstones and a pair of Oystercatchers. A single Lesser Black Backed Gull was in with the Herring Gulls. A Cormorant was stood out on the rocks and the first Grey Heron of the morning was seen down by the water's edge a bit further on. A Curlew and a Common Gull were feeding along the edge of the beach a bit more to the east.
From the gardens to the north of the railway line came the distinctive sound of a flock of Long Tailed Tits. I picked out a couple of Sandwich Terns stood atop a few of the buoys near the sailing club buildings. A Goosander was seen in the bay at Beach Crescent. Starlings were on the nearby roofs and a few Pied Wagtails were milling around by the castle. A few Black Headed Gulls were down on the mud and a Meadow Pipit called as it passed overhead on its way upriver. Things appeared rather quiet at the castle so I continued on out towards Balmossie. A Dunnock was seen in among the rock armour before a single Bar Tailed Godwit was spotted at the edge of a small pool on the beach. There were a few Linnets picking around on the rock armour and nearby vegetation.
A Stock Dove was slightly more unexpected as it fed among the weedy growth next to the path as I neared the Dighty outflow. There was a flock of Rooks in behind the fence on the north side. I scanned through the numerous birds around the burn. This got me a few Great Black Backed Gulls, a small group of Ringed Plover, a few Dunlin, a decent number of Wigeon and a Grey Seal out on the river. Suddenly there was a very loud bang, reminiscent of an unexpected firework but much louder. It seemed like it came from behind me but there was no obvious source. All the birds took to the air and milled around for a few minutes before nervously settling back down on the shore, though some moved on elsewhere. There was some speculation online, and in the local press that the sound might have been a sonic boom caused by a fighter taking part in a large NATO exercise off the coast (with a Canadian Air Force Hornet looking the likely culprit) though this was never confirmed, at least to my knowledge.
Once things settled down again, I found a relatively unexpected Kingfisher in the channel, which did a spot of fishing from a rock not too far away. There were a few Jackdaws picking around among the seaweed and a few rather shabby looking Red Breasted Mergansers a little further out than the Goosanders and Wigeon. Scanning through the Redshanks I found a single Greenshank as well as the Icelandic flagged/ringed Redshank I had seen there recently. I checked through the remaining gulls and discovered a single not quite adult plumaged Kittiwake. Further out I was able to see a number of Eider and a very distant Gannet before deciding to call it a day and head back westwards. A Collared Dove picking around on the beach was a slight surprise, and a single Grey Squirrel was practically the only wildlife encountered in the local nature reserve except for a lone Goldcrest. The walk home was also fairly quiet with a Common Seal near the Stannergate, a few Goldfinches at Bingham Terrace and a lone House Martin at Clepington Primary School being the main 'highlights'. These took the number of species for the day to 55 of birds and 4 of mammals. It was an interesting enough day with just enough 'not quite common' species being seen to stop it from feeling a bit 'ordinary'.
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| Greenfinch |
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| Redshank |
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Grey Heron
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| Oystercatcher |
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Sandwich Tern
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| Turnstone |
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Common Gull
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| Goosander |
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Pied Wagtail
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| Linnet |
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Stock Dove
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Ringed Plover
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| Kingfisher |
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| Kingfisher |
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Red Breasted Merganser & Wigeon
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Greenshank & Redshank
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Kittiwake & Common Gull
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| Greenshank |
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Redshank (Icelandic ringed)
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| Rook |
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| Wigeon |
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Common Gull, Sandwich Tern and Black Headed Gull
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| Starling |
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Grey Heron & Herring Gull
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| Turnstone |
Birds - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Gannet, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Greenfinch, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kingfisher, Kittiwake, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sandwich Tern, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Common Seal, Grey Seal, Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.
