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| Dunlin |
Late on Saturday afternoon, in the period of relative calm following Storm Bert's visit to the Tay, I had joked with Lainy that she could have a lie-in on Sunday and that I would do the 'early shift' at Broughty Ferry. The weather was supposed to be almost the complete opposite of 24 hours before with blue skies, sunshine and a lot less wind. These conditions would be a lot more enjoyable for birding, though the low winter sun reflecting off the river can be a bit of a pain, but it definitely still beats driving rain and icy gales by a considerable margin. High tide was around 0930 so I would make an early start and walk along the river as the tide rose. There was a slight chance that there might be something lingering in the river from the previous day's storm. If there was, then the conditions would surely be far better for photos....
I still managed to not get out of my bed as early as I had intended. I was out the door just before 0815 for the walk out to Broughty Castle, and from there probably on to Balmossie. I was expecting a lot more people (and dogs) around than there had been on Saturday, but the early start would partially counter that, though any quiet spell was likely to not last very long. Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Robin, Feral Pigeon and Starling were noted as soon as I stepped outside. Magpie, Goldfinch and Woodpigeon soon followed and a Pied Wagtail was heard over Dura Street car park. At Baxter Park, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Long Tailed Tit, an unexpected flyover Curlew, Black Headed Gull and Dunnock were all found. Goldcrest and Chaffinch were heard as I wandered on along Bingham Terrace. Jackdaw was added on Deerpark Road with a couple of Mistle Thrushes at Clarence Road, Oystercatcher at Arbroath Road then Redwing and Sparrowhawk from the top end of Craigie Avenue all within a few minutes of walking.
A Meadow Pipit flew over as I reached the bottom end of Strips of Craigie Road. The walk out along the river produced Common Gull, Cormorant, Red Breasted Merganser and Rook before I stumbled upon a flock of roosting Ringed Plovers down on the shore near the sailing club sheds. A Rock Pipit flew past and a few Turnstones were seen down among the pebbles on the shore near the railway footbridge. Redshank and another Rock Pipit were seen near the Douglas Terrace outflow pipe. As the castle doesn't open until lunchtime on a Sunday, I spent a bit of time by the 'Phibbies' hut instead of round by the castle, in the hope of adding something good. I had to make do with Shag and Eider before continuing on again towards Balmossie.
I heard someone shout my name, and looked round to see Dana, a lady I've spoken to few times about birds when I've been out and about, gesturing for me to go over to where she was. She'd just seen something that wasn't a bird but which was a bit of a surprise. It turned out to be a Stoat, and as we were talking it popped out into the open again for around 30 seconds or so, which allowed me to get some photos. A nice bonus sighting, and my first of the species at Broughty Ferry, and probably my best views within Dundee. Continuing out to Balmossie, I added Great Black Backed Gull, Bar Tailed Godwit, Knot and Dunlin. A detour via the nature reserve got Great Tit and Wren while back on the 'new' path, I happened to look up as a Raven flew over me, and out over the river towards Tayport. Another nice bonus even if I did manage to screw up the photos.
A few Sanderling joined the other waders feeding along the water's edge, though the small mixed flock was flushed a few times by oblivious dog walkers. A Linnet and Greenfinch both flew over. I scanned through the birds by the burn mouth but failed to find anything unusual among the gulls. I did add Wigeon and Goldeneye before I headed back in the direction of the castle. The water's edge was alive with waders and some Wigeon, and as the tide receded, their need to fly off every few minutes due to another dog walker receded also, with a comfortable distance between both parties growing slowly wider. I received a message from Barrie Hunter, who had photographed a Little Auk on the shore (seen initially on the water) at Beach Crescent. I had messaged him earlier in the week, to let him know there was a chance of getting one at the weekend, but as he was working out of town, it would be Sunday before he'd have a chance to look. I said I'd have a look to see if it was still there as I was heading in that direction anyway.
A Buzzard was seen to the north as I neared the castle again. At Beach Crescent, I walked along the steps but failed to see anything. I tried walking along the water's edge and again failed to see anything. I then noticed something white on the steps, tucked up against the risers by the metal grilles. As I got closer, I realised it was the Little Auk. The bird didn't appear to be ill, but with the tide still receding and there being lots of people (and dogs too - some off-lead) around, it's chosen resting spot wasn't the best. I messaged Lainy to get a second opinion on what would be the best idea - leave it where it was, relocate it to the quieter, safer and more sheltered harbour area, or call the SSPCA to come and collect it. As Lainy and her husband Adam were already on their way towards Arbroath, they diverted down to join me instead. Once they arrived we discussed the pros and cons of the options and decided that it would be better to take the bird round to the safer and more sheltered harbour and let it decide what it wanted to do from there.
I picked the bird up gently and despite a couple of relatively energetic bouts of squirming, the bird was overall quite calm in my hands. As there didn't appear to be any great need to call out the SSPCA for the bird, we walked down to the end of the rather slippery cobbled slipway at the harbour, setting the bird down on the edge, by the water and stepped back to leave the bird to its own devices. The bird took to the water and paddled out into the centre of the harbour. After a few minutes it settled in the seaweed by a group of roosting Redshanks and Oystercatchers (and briefly, also a Black Headed Gull) where it appeared rather settled. The 3 of us had a bit of a wander round the harbour, checking regularly to see if the Auk was still by the waders. After 10 minutes or so, we looked again but couldn't see the bird. There hadn't been any commotion (despite a few Herring Gulls in the general area), so it appeared just as with the previous afternoon's pair at Douglas Terrace it had slipped away unseen when we weren't looking.
We had a brief sighting of a Little Grebe, before Lainy and Adam headed off again. I continued my walk home, adding Collared Dove, Grey Seal, Rabbit and Grey Heron on the way. I took in City Quay on the walk back but although there were birds there (Cormorant, Eider, Grey Heron and Red Breasted Merganser) there was to be nothing new for the day's list. The total for the day was 52 species of birds, plus 3 of mammals. My closest ever views of Little Auk (for obvious reasons) and the bonus Stoat sighting made for a nice way to round out what was an eventful weekend. Thanks again to Dana for the heads-up on the Stoat and to Barrie for the Little Auk, and also Lainy and Adam for their input to the discussion on what to do about the Little Auk.
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Rock Pipit
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| Redshank |
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Rock Pipit
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| Turnstone |
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| Turnstone |
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| Turnstone |
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Mistle Thrush
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Little Grebe
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| Stoat |
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| Stoat |
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| Stoat |
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| Raven |
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| Raven |
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Ringed Plover
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| Sanderling |
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Bar Tailed Godwit
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Little Auk
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Little Auk
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Little Auk
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Carrion Crow
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| Oystercatcher |
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Little Grebe
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| Eider |
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| Cormorant |
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Grey Heron
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Birds - Bar Tailed Godwit, Black Headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Buzzard,
Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider,
Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House
Sparrow, Jackdaw, Knot, Linnet, Little Auk, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Tit,
Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Raven, Red
Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Redwing, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral
Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sanderling, Shag, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Turnstone, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Grey Seal, Rabbit, Stoat.
