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| Turnstone |
For my first day off in October, I decided to head for Balmossie and Broughty Ferry. There was a chance of picking up some vis-mig following the river, or downed migrants at my 'new' spot to check, as well as a slim chance of finding something out over, or on, the river. Skuas seem to have been non-existent in the Tay this year which is a bit frustrating, but that's the reality of birding - you can't take anything for granted, as things will change from day to day, let alone from year to year. Nonetheless, putting in the effort will 99 times out of 100 turn up more than not doing so.
It was a later than planned start however, which did mean that the likelihood of seeing many migrants overhead was diminished somewhat by my not being able to get out of bed. I headed out just before 0925 to Feral Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Herring Gull, Goldfinch and a couple of passing Swallows which were a nice surprise. Blue Tit, Woodpigeon, Robin, House Sparrow, and Starling made for a fairly standard mix of birds as I headed towards Baxter Park. At the park I added Chaffinch, an unexpected Jay, Dunnock. Magpie, Pied Wagtail and Blackbird. A Jackdaw was noted near the eastern end of Nesbitt Street. A Coal Tit was heard in the trees by the shops at the foot of Craigie Avenue.
Things were rather quiet at my migrant spot with only Chiffchaff, Song Thrush and a few Rabbits to be found, though overhead there were a few Siskin, Skylark and Meadow Pipit heading west. On the shore at the Stannergate were a few Black Headed Gulls, Oystercatchers, a single Lesser Black Backed Gull and a few Turnstones, as well as the expected Herring Gulls. A Cormorant and a Curlew were a little further along just beyond the car park. The first Grey Heron of the morning eyed me warily as I passed, despite the distance between us. A Grey Wagtail was heard but not seen and a Common Gull was down by the water's edge. A Shag fishing out on the river was slightly unexpected. A Great Black Backed Gull was spotted in flight low over the water, as I neared the lifeboat station where a few Redshank were noted.
The first Pink Footed Goose skein of the day passed overhead the castle as I scanned out over a seemingly empty river. A couple of much closer Rock Pipits did give me something to look at before I set off towards Balmossie. A Peacock butterfly flitted past as I wandered along the back of the dunes. A small flock of Greenfinches circled overhead and a Large White butterfly was seen near the tennis courts. There was a flock of Long Tailed Tits in the trees by the railway line behind the courts too. Nearing Balmossie, the local Linnets put in an appearance and a lone Stock Dove wandered around near to some Rooks in one of the semi-fenced off 'wildflower meadows'. At the mouth of the Dighty I was able to get Wigeon, Mute Swan, Goosander, Eider, Red Breasted Merganser and a few Teal for the day's list.
A bird in flight low over the water with obvious white patches on the wings wasn't the expected Goosander or Red Breasted Merganser, but a very welcome Slavonian Grebe, its large feet sticking out behind. Unfortunately when I tried to change from binoculars to camera I couldn't find the bird through the viewfinder. On the plus side, it was a Dundee150 tick, in an Autumn where they seem to have been few and far between, much moreso than usual. As I wandered back along the river I managed to find a Ringed Plover which although welcome wasn't as much of a surprise as the Mistle Thrush which dropped into a tree at the corner of the crazy golf course. A Buzzard near Eastern Cemetery was the final addition before I made it home just after 1710. I ended the day with a total of 52 species, including 1 new year-tick/Dundee150 tick (in bold).
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Curlew |
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Pied Wagtail
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Pied Wagtail
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| Redshank |
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Pink Footed Goose
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Rock Pipit
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Pied Wagtail
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Stock Dove
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| Wigeon |
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Rock Pipit
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| Redshank |
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| Linnet |
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| Turnstone |
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| Eider |
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| Goldfinch |
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Rock Pipit
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| Cormorant |
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| Cormorant |
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| Turnstone |
Birds - Black Headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Buzzard,
Carrion
Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew,
Dunnock, Eider, Goldfinch,
Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey
Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser
Black Backed
Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed
Tit, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher,
Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Ringed Plover,
Robin,
Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Shag, Siskin, Skylark, Slavonian Grebe, Song
Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Teal, Turnstone, Wigeon,
Woodpigeon.
Butterflies - Large White, Peacock.
Mammals - Rabbit.
