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| Turnstone |
On Saturday afternoon when I was sat at home with a sore neck, I received a message from Mark Wilkinson letting me know that a flock of Whooper Swans had just landed on the water a bit out from Balmossie. As it is more or less a 2 hour walk from home to get there, I decided against giving it a go. Mark let me know on Monday that either the same birds, or another flock, were in the same general area of the Tay but as I was at work I couldn't go for them anyway. I decided that instead of visiting Riverside Nature Park on my day off on Wednesday as had been my plan I would instead head for Balmossie in the hope that I might find some Whoopers. Unfortunately the weather forecast wasn't looking too clever when I checked on Tuesday.
Things looked marginally better when I got out of bed the following morning. Although there seemed to be a chance of some rain most of it was either very light or looked like missing Dundee and Broughty Ferry. With the chance of adding something new to the list at stake, I decided to head out anyway. As the heaviest of the forecast rain was supposed to be between 0900 and 1000 (or so), I figured that by heading out at around 1000 I should be able to stay reasonably dry (fingers were crossed). The ground was wet but not completely soaked as I set off for Swannie Ponds. Herring Gull, Starling, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Magpie, Robin, House Sparrow, Blue Tit and Carrion Crow got things underway.
A quick check at the ponds drew a blank on either of the Shoveler pair or any Common Gulls but everything else - Moorhen, Coot, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan, Goosander, Grey Heron (despite the tree appearing to have been cut back even further), Black Headed Gull and Herring Gull - were all 'present and correct'. I found a lone Oystercatcher on the grassy area to the side of what I believe is called the 'Hidden Garden'. I added Dunnock, Goldfinch and Chaffinch as I wandered down Rennell Road to the side gate into Eastern Cemetery. Having not taken any photos at the ponds, my camera was still in the bag as I walked down the road towards the fallen tree. I heard a bird call that I don't hear too often and looked up to see 10 Whooper Swans just about to pass overhead. Rather than try to get the camera out for what would have been a rear view of the flock I just enjoyed the moment. The 'pressure' for the day was off. My 102nd species for 2024 was safely 'in the bag'.
Blackbird, Coal Tit and Great Tit were noted as I continued down through the cemetery as were Rabbit and Grey Squirrel. As I reached the main gate at the bottom I spotted an overflying Curlew, which I'd initially heard calling above the traffic noise. I made my way down towards the Stannergate spotting a distant skein of what were likely Pink Footed Geese just before they vanished behind some low cloud. Thankfully I would run into some definite Pinkfeet later as they passed over Broughty Ferry. A Song Thrush was perched on the perimeter fence at the end of the docks. A Wren scolded noisily from within the bushes on the banking below the fenceline. A Redshank and a Common Gull were by the water's edge. Wandering on a bit I found a Red Breasted Merganser drifing along not too far offshore.
A Siskin overflew heading west, the first of a few single birds noted throughout the day heading the same way on their own. There was a small raft of Eider and a pair of young Herring Gulls loitering amongst them out on the river. I found a couple of Turnstones near the pipe at Douglas Terrace and a Pied Wagtail was feeding among the strandline debris by the lifeboat station. A Rock Pipit was quietly singing away to itself as it foraged in the harbour next to the castle. What was likely the same bird was seen making short song flights by the castle as I headed homewards later in the afternoon. I headed up into the castle to scan from the raised viewpoint it offered. This did add Cormorant and a couple of distant Great Black Backed Gulls but things appeared to be otherwise rather quiet out on the river. The dunes beyond the castle also proved to be bird-free once again but as I headed up off the beach I did spot a couple of Stock Doves flying into the trees at the local nature reserve.
I headed in for a look. The extent of the flooded area at the western end had reduced further, though the paths still appeared to be more or less impassable without wellies on. Greenfinch, the same Stock Dove pair, Long Tailed Tits, a Treecreeper, a flock of Redwings, Blackbirds, Chaffinches, Blue Tits and a few Bullfinches made for a worthwhile detour. The incoming tide had reduced the amount of available beach while I'd been checking out the reserve. I found a group of Bar Tailed Godwits in the small 'bay' near the end of the esplanade, which included a Dutch ringed bird with a yellow flag at the top of one leg and colour rings on the other. A Little Egret flew past and landed in one of the pools on the sand further to the west. More scanning found a few Ringed Plover and Dunlin as well as a single Grey Plover. While editing the photos for this post, I noticed that the bill was longer and thinner than I'd expect for a Grey Plover, but I couldn't make it into either of the American or Pacific Golden Plover species pair. Unfortunately the rather large flock of larger gulls by the Dighty mouth was flushed before I had a chance to check them out, though scanning through a smaller group of Black Headed and Common Gulls failed to turn up anything unusual.
I did eventually find a Lesser Black Backed Gull with the much reduced gull flock at the burn mouth, as well as a few displaying Goldeneye, some Wigeon and a young Red Breasted Merganser. There was also a large flock of Starlings and a few Carrion Crows and Jackdaws down by the shore. The usual Redshanks and Turnstones lingered in the general area but walkers on the beach ensured that most of the rest of the birds headed off to quieter spots to roost over the high tide period. I spent a fair amount of time checking and rechecking the birds I could see but failed to find anything unusual. Around 1445 I headed back towards the castle. My only addition to the day's list was a Shag out on the river. This proved to be my final addition for the day taking my total for the day to 55 (including 1 Dundee150 tick in bold). I had some very close views of Turnstones near the sailing clubs but the walk home was otherwise relatively uneventful. All in all it had been a decent enough day's birding, although the weather had been a wee bit windy at times and rather cold, it did actually stay dry while I was out which was a nice bonus.
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Grey Heron
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Pink Footed Goose
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Red Breasted Merganser
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| Curlew |
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| Oystercatcher |
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Rock Pipit
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Pied Wagtail
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| Redwing |
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Great Tit
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Little Egret
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Bar Tailed Godwit
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Bar Tailed Godwit
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Grey Plover
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Herring Gull & Great Black Backed Gull
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Lesser Black Backed Gull
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| Wigeon |
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| Goldeneye |
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| Goldeneye |
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Red Breasted Merganser
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| Bullfinch |
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Stock Dove
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| Turnstone |
Birds - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Plover, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Little Egret, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Redwing, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Shag, Siskin, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.
