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| Cormorant |
It was to be a bit 'all or nothing' for my last few days of Autumn birding holidays from work. Things hadn't exactly gone to plan, with very few migrants showing up (even the common ones) on my days off. I'd had some success with the first 2 weeks, catching up with Lainy's Spotted Flycatchers, and then the following week, a Mediterranean Gull which had eluded me on numerous visits to Riverside Nature Park. Things slowed to a crawl after that and those birds that I had added were all seen on days when I would have been off work anyway. I was hoping for a bit of a change of luck and I had 5 days to find something good. My plans for the 19th fell through due to me sleeping in again.
I decided to head up to the top of the Law in search of some vis-mig (or visible migration to give it the 'proper'. name). I headed out the door at 0755. Robin, Feral Pigeon, Jackdaw, House Sparrow, Herring Gull, Dunnock, Carrion Crow, Starling and Woodpigeon made for a steady first few minutes. Things went a little quiet again for a few minutes before I found Blue Tit at Canning Street. Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Magpie, Goldcrest and Wren were all added between Byron Street and the steps up to the top of the Law. A Song Thrush was spooked from under the trees as I made my way up the steps to my usual spot by the trig point marker. It was 0820.
A skein of around 20 Pink Footed Geese rather distantly off to the north and a much closer fly-by from a Cormorant hinted at a potentially good morning. It didn't happen. A Siskin was heard a few minutes later, then 2 more skeins of around 30 and 40 Pink Footed Geese were seen heading east and northeast, over the next 10 minutes. Great Tit and Blackbird were heard from the slopes of the hill before 4 Bullfinches headed northwards. Actual 'obvious' migrants, there were none. A few of the local Carrion Crows playing with pine cones kept me occupied for a wee while. After 40 minutes of waiting for a migrant to pass by,
rather than 'locals' going somewhere, I gave up rather than flog the dead horse some
more.
With plenty of photos to be edited and blog-posts to be typed up it made much more sense to spend my time productively at home. As I headed down off the hill, a Grey Squirrel was spotted and Long Tailed
Tits were heard as I passed by the allotments. A Collared Dove flew over as I wandered down Mains Road, while a Greenfinch called from the bushes overhanging Isla Street. My final bird of the very brief birding outing was a Grey Wagtail over the junction of Mains Road and Isla Street, which took my total for the morning's 'efforts' to 26 species of bird and 1 of mammal. With 4 days more left remaining to bump up my #Dundee150 list, I was clearly needing a change of fortune. Would I get one?....
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| Cormorant |
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| Magpie |
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| Magpie |
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Carrion Crow
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Pink Footed Goose
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| Bullfinch |
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| Bullfinch |
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Carrion Crow
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Carrion Crow
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| Carrion Crow |
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Birds - Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Cormorant, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Pink Footed Goose, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Song Thrush, Starling Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Grey Squirrel.
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With Saturday morning's birding having been a bit of a waste of time I was determined to get out birding on Sunday the 20th. The weather however wasn't very favourable with a 'named storm' overnight meaning high winds and rain. Thankfully, it looked set to mostly have passed by from around late morning. Unlike the previous year's storm around the same time, the rather short duration of the strong winds meant the likelihood of anything too exciting winding up in the Tay was very slim. However, given that I was getting rather desperate to add something to my #Dundee150 list, I decided to head out for a look anyway. I would head down to City Quay for a look before walking out to Broughty Ferry, and possibly Balmossie. That was the plan at least...
The rain looked to have petered out by around 1145, so I headed out shortly after. Jackdaw, Feral Pigeon and Carrion Crow were the first birds onto the list for the day. Magpie, Herring Gull and Woodpigeon were noted as I headed down Brown Constable Street. A Robin was singing at East Marketgait. A few Goldfinches flew over as I wandered along the wooden walkway at City Quay towards the footbridge. I headed down for a look at the river where a Pied Wagtail was seen on the path and a number of Cormorants were resting on Submarine Rock. The local House Sparrows were rather active below the flats and a Curlew flew out over the river from nearer to the roadbridge. A Black Headed Gull flew past as I scanned out over the river. A Wren was heard as I checked the dock behind the broken lock gates. A Grey Heron flew past and an unexpected Meadow Pipit passed overhead.
I wandered back to the footbridge and round to the cycle path along to the Stannergate. Just before it becomes the Docks Way, a Grey Wagtail was seen perched on the factory roof and a Sparrowhawk circled a little to the north. The sun had appeared and I realised that I was slightly overdressed, which wasn't great news given my intention to walk out to Broughty Ferry. I hadn't gone very far along the Docks Way path when a Buzzard took flight from a tree on the opposite side of the railway line and flew off eastwards. A Dunnock was seen perched on the fence ahead of me, but flew across into the docks when it spotted me. My only other addition along the cycle path route was a vocal party of Long Tailed Tits in the trees across the railway line.
I popped in to check the 'migrant trap' behind Alpha Projects noting Blackbird in the brambles and a Song Thrush stood in a puddle. There were a few Chaffinches in the bushes on the slope and a Rook overflew. More checking of the bushes added Chiffchaff, Blue Tit and Greenfinch before I finally headed down to check the river. There were a few Turnstones feeding along the water's edge and a Common Gull was seen in with the Herring Gulls. A Rock Pipit was seen feeding down among the pebbles on the beach a bit further on and a couple of Oystercatchers were in the same general area. I wandered on along to the eagle feathers sculpture before deciding that I didn't feel like continuing on to Broughty Ferry. Instead I headed back along the path to the Stannergate again. I bumped into a lady I'd spoken to previously at Swannie Ponds and somewhere else and had a short bird-centred chat before I had another longer chat to a work colleague who was sitting in her car a bit further along the road. A Sparrowhawk was seen to the north as we chatted and a Kestrel did a spot of hunting over the brambles by Alpha Projects as I headed homewards.
I decided to cut up through Eastern Cemetery for a look at Swannie Ponds, though I wasn't expecting anything out of the ordinary. Rabbits were seen in the cemetery and Starlings were added as I walked back along Rodd Road. At the ponds it was a fairly typical selection which added Mute Swan, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Goosander and Coot before I headed on for a quick look at Mains Terrace. I bumped into one of the locals I had a lengthy chat to previously and had a bit of a chat before making it home around 1615. I had managed to see or hear a total of 39 species of bird and 1 of mammal, though once again, I had failed to find anything new for my #Dundee150 list. Incidentally, on the same date in 2023 I managed to add Great Skua, Little Gull and best of all, Storm Petrel, to my #Dundee145 list, while Keith and Ian Ford added Storm Petrel, Kittiwake and Ring Ouzel to the Riverside Nature Park list (as well as also noting Yellow Browed Warbler, Arctic Skua and Little Gulls there too).
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Grey Wagtail
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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Song Thrush
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Buzzard & Carrion Crow
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Buzzard & Carrion Crow
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| Kestrel |
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Tufted Duck
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Grey Heron
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| Goosander |
Birds - Black Headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Goosander, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Rabbit.
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With two rather underwhelming days in a row already under my belt, I was hoping for better luck on Monday the 21st of October. The weather wasn't looking like playing ball though, with continuing strong winds. Windy conditions are rarely helpful - except when that wind comes from the east (though that doesn't apply everywhere), and windy conditions are possibly almost as bad as wet weather. The small birds tend to stay in cover and trying to see birds out on the water can be tricky with the birds often hidden behind waves, not to mention trying to keep a scope stable. Even birds on the shore will often tuck their heads under their wings to provide some respite from being sandblasted, making ID slightly harder. I had decided to wait for better weather before heading back to Riverside Nature Park, so I settled on heading for Balmossie. I would catch a bus, as the tide would be well out if I walked out, and then walk back home. Expectations were not high, though the conditions would likely mean not too many dog walkers out and about.
It was just after 1005 when I headed outside. Herring Gull, Carrion Crow and Magpie were noted almost immediately but it took a few more minutes before Goldfinch, Robin and Pied Wagtail were added. A Grey Wagtail flew over as I made my way down Albert Street towards Arbroath Road. A Jackdaw was heard as I neared the crossroads. A Blackbird was in the bushes opposite the bus stop while I waited for the bus to arrive. Woodpigeon and Oystercatcher were seen from the bus as we passed Douglas but overall things appeared to be as quiet as I had been expecting them to be.The bus reached Balmossie Road at 1050 and I walked down towards the footbridge over the railway line. Blue Tit, House Sparrow and Starling were in the gardens that lined both sides of the street.
I managed to position myself out of the wind and scanned out over the burn mouth. Wigeon, Cormorant, Common Gull, Curlew, Little Egret, Bar Tailed Godwit and Black Headed Gull were all noted. I moved down to a slightly sheltered spot at the top of the rock armour for a wider angle view. A few Skylarks passed by heading westwards into the wind. Redshank, Eider, Rook and Great Black Backed Gull were seen as I walked back along towards the end of the Esplanade. Rather than stay out in the wind I decided to keep out of the wind a bit by cutting through the Barnhill Rock Garden. Chaffinch and Coal Tit were the only new birds to be seen there. The local nature reserve was equally disappointing with only Long Tailed Tit and Greenfinch heard there. Along at the castle a Buzzard was seen a little to the north. The walk back to the Stannergate proved to be very quiet.
Thankfully things picked up slightly once I got there with a Kestrel hovering near the T-junction of the roads at the docks. A spot of exploring the 'migrant trap' got me Wren, Dunnock, Song Thrush and a Rabbit. Heading up Craigie Avenue I was slightly surprised to see a trio of Swallows over the houses struggling into the wind. I headed up through Eastern Cemetery where a Grey Squirrel, Goldcrest, Feral Pigeon and Great Tit were all new for the day's list. Swannie Ponds provided a few more species before I headed home - Mallard, Mute Swan, Goosander, Coot, Tufted Duck, as well as the usual Black Headed Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull and a Grey Heron. These birds took my total for the day to 44 species of birds and 2 of mammals. Yet again, it was a fairly disappointing day's birding, though I hadn't really expected anything different. With not many birds around, especially close up, I didn't take too many decent photos.
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Bar Tailed Godwit
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Common Gull
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Little Egret
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Coal Tit
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| Buzzard |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Curlew |
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| Redshank |
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Common Gull
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| Kestrel |
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| Rook |
Birds - Bar Tailed Godwit, Black Headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Eider, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Little Egret, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Swallow, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.
