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| Goldfinch |
Having chosen not to go looking for Garden Warbler at Clatto on Wednesday, a much better weather forecast (sunshine!) for Thursday meant it was an easy decision to make as to where to go birding on Thursday. I was going to head up very early but as things transpired, it was just before 0725 before I was organised and ready to go. As Lainy is usually busy on a Wednesday there was no news from Clatto as to whether the birds were back or not, though as with the other returning migrants, news had come in the previous day from elsewhere in Scotland that Garden Warblers were being seen. Even if the Clatto birds weren't back, I knew that I could always pop back on one of my other days off, if need be, once they did actually arrive back.
Starling, House Sparrow, Herring Gull, Blue Tit, Feral Pigeon, Dunnock and Blackbird were the first birds onto the morning's list. None particularly exciting but a fairly typical mixture for my locale. Magpie, Jackdaw and Woodpigeon were noted on the way up past the football stadiums. Carrion Crow and Chaffinch were spotted as I crossed Fairmuir Park on my way to cross the footbridge over the Kingsway at Downfield. Goldfinch flew over as I headed down Strathmartine Road. A Goldcrest was heard from a conifer in a garden north of the Kingsway. Just beyond Kirkton Road the first Swallow of the day zipped over. A Lesser Black Backed Gull atop a chimney didn't seem particularly impressed.
I had messaged Lainy earlier to see if she was out birding at Clatto, as I suspected she would be, and she had replied to say she was. I said I would update her when I reached the end of the dirt track up towards the back of the reservoir from the official northern edge of the city. Chiffchaff and Greenfinch were added before I got there and I messaged Lainy to say that I wasn't too far away and that I would see her soon. She replied to say that she had found a few Garden Warblers, though they weren't particularly showy (yet), suggesting that they had only returned very recently. The walk up the dirt track was rather depressing now that all the gorse bushes have been stripped out. Where once I would expect numerous Linnets and Yellowhammers there was almost nothing to see. Even some of the trees on the other side of the track appeared to have been flailed back.
A single Yellowhammer was on the wires near the bottom of the track, and a Whitethroat could be heard from the opposite side of the road. A Pheasant could be seen in a field to the north. A Blackcap sang from the trees behind the houses. A single Rook flew over and a Skylark ascended over the same field a House Martin was meandering around the sky over. A Sand Martin continued on northwards over the same field. A couple of Linnets appeared briefly on the wires near the top of the track and a Goldfinch rested briefly on the building site fence before dropping down to feed on seeds within the site (which looked a lot more 'birdy' than the farm does now, despite not offering much itself). Lainy messaged me to say she had an Osprey overhead, but from where I was I couldn't see it for trees.
I hurried on, stopping to view a Roe Deer which had stopped to check me out also before rather casually wandering off again. A Willow Warbler was heard singing as I wandered down the 'diagonal path' to where I expected to find Lainy. Sure enough, that was where she was and as I arrived a Garden Warbler began to sing. Not only that but it perched out in the open for a few bars of song, allowing me to grab a few record shots. Once again, a relatively easy 'Dundee 150 tick' for me. We had a bit of a wander around adding Siskin, Jay, Grey Wagtail, Sedge Warbler (only heard), Oystercatcher, Great Tit, Buzzard and a Peacock butterfly. A Sparrowhawk was seen circling up into the blue sky to the north before we decided to have a look at the reservoir.
Great Crested Grebe, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Moorhen and Mute Swan were all easy to see there before we decided to try for better views of the Garden Warblers. We found Orange Tip, Small White and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies, a Dark Edged Bee-Fly and a few other interesting looking insects. A Common Gull flew over as we attempted to get better views of the 3 or so Garden Warblers that appeared to be around. We added Bullfinch and Wren to the morning's list as we wandered and chatted. Against my better judgement, I took a chance and followed Lainy through the vegetation a few times and this did eventually produce reasonable views of a Garden Warbler, though it was very much against the light. Lainy had other things she needed to do, so when she headed home, I decided to wander out past the farm - stopping to photograph Swallows and House Martins hawking over the fields and farm buildings. A male Pied Wagtail was feeding in one of the recently ploughed fields and there were a large number of gulls from the reservoir following a tractor which was ploughing the field nearest to the edge of the wood.
A Buzzard glided in from over the trees, eliciting a brief aggressive response from some of the gulls. Things proved to be very quiet again in the wood, with only another Buzzard seen. I had a short chat to a photographer I've spoken to previously (he remembered me) before heading back towards the reservoir and then homewards. I ended the day's birding with a total of 49 species, including one welcome tick for my Dundee150 list (in bold). However, I also found a rather more unwelcome Tick - attached to my leg in below my sock, which was quickly removed, though I'm not convinced the mouth part came out too, but fingers crossed. Needless to say, I won't be heading off the paths again anytime soon. Still, despite that it had been an enjoyable day's birding in the sunshine - even if it still wasn't particularly warm.
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House Martin
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| Rook |
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| Yellowhammer |
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Roe Deer
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Garden Warbler
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| Jay |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Buzzard |
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Fly sp.
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Tree Bumblebee
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Beetle(?) sp.
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Dark Edged Bee-Fly
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| Moorhen |
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Great Crested Grebe
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Willow Warbler
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Willow Warbler
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| Peacock |
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Small Tortoiseshell
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| Magpie |
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| Oystercatcher |
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Garden Warbler
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| Pheasant |
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| Swallow |
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| Linnet |
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| Buzzard |
Birds - Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Dunnock, Garden Warbler, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Crested Grebe, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Sedge Warbler, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swallow, Tufted Duck, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Butterflies - Orange Tip, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Small White.
Mammals - Roe Deer.
