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Rock Pipit
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We're past the halfway mark now, and into the second half. July is here and the countdown is on. I've got 6 months left to add another 16 species to my #Dundee150 list to reach my target figure. Of course, I did manage to reach 155 last year, but that felt very much like a 'freak' result with a lot of unusual and unexpected happenings contributing to that eventual total, so 150 feels like a target figure that could be reached but that won't be easy to do so in a more 'normal' year. June is always a 'slow' month birding-wise unless you live somewhere that gets those 'mega-rarities' that enliven June's relative doldrums. Dundee is not usually one of those places though. I've been finding it hard lately to get motivated to get out. As things start to pick up in July, hopefully that feeling will diminish. Wednesday's choice was between Riverside Nature Park and Broughty Ferry. The weather forecast wasn't positive but I settled on Broughty Ferry as my destination, with Gannet (and Bottlenose Dolphins) as my main target(s).
With high tide around 1330 I headed out into what was more March-like weather just before 1010. Feral Pigeon, Magpie, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Woodpigeon, Hering Gull and Goldfinch were first onto the list for the day. Chaffinch and the first of 2 Grey Wagtail sightings were next along with a few House Sparrows at McGill Street. Things were otherwise rather quiet until I reached the Docks Way cycle path where the 2nd Grey Wagtail sighting was made along with a Peregrine on the prowl, Carrion Crow and Blue Tit. Unfortunately the cold and windy weather seemed to keep the birds to a minimum as I headed east towards the Stannergate with only Great Tit, Wren and Blackbird (plus a single Rabbit) noted along the remainder of the cyclepath.
At the Stannergate, there were a trio of Goosander just off the end of the docks, and a single female Eider not too far away. There was nothing of any note among the Herring Gull roost but a solitary Black Headed Gull was noted a little further on. A pair of Linnets overflew and a Grey Seal popped up as I wandered in the direction of Douglas Terrace. An Oystercatcher in flight overtook me as I wandered along Douglas Terrace. It was still looking like it might rain at any moment, the wind was still rather cold and the river appeared to be very quiet. Things were not looking overly promising. As I had a quick scan out over the river I picked up a couple of distant Swifts. As the day progressed, I did see more Swifts either out over the river or heading south in that direction, suggesting a bit of a deliberate movement, possibly weather related.
There were a couple of Redshanks roosting at the lifeboat jetty and a few Starlings down on the small pebble beach next to the lifeboat station. A male Pied Wagtail flew in and landed nearby on Beach Crescent. I headed up into the castle grounds to scan out over the river around 1130. With 2 hours until high tide I hoped I might see the Dolphins again. There were a couple of Rock Pipits carrying food for their youngsters perched on the fence and these birds made periodic returns over the course of my time at the castle. The rather exposed location catches the wind as it comes down the river and the temperature felt much lower than it was supposed to be, which was probably a good bit less than it should be in July. I spotted a distant Cormorant and a large-ish flock of Eiders out on the river.
Rather than the usual Ospreys across the Fife side, the only raptor I saw was a single Buzzard circling above the forest. A Grey Heron gave a close flypast before heading upriver towards the bridges. I had some distant views of a small group of at least 6 Bottlenose Dolphins off Tentsmuir Point but they didn't appear to come any closer, which was slightly disappointing. The cold was starting to get to me so I decided to head down to the eastern side of the castle, where I would be out of the wind. I was on the verge of packing up and going home when I spotted a large bird out to the east, flying across the river. A Gannet, my first of the year. I watched as it headed upriver to more or less directly opposite, before it turned around and headed back out of the estuary. With both of my targets for the day safely on the list, I headed homewards for some warmth.
The walk home wasn't overly productive though Greenfinch, House Martin, Jackdaw and Rook were noted before I reached the Stannergate. I found a Grey Squirrel in Eastern Cemetery, and a visit to Swannie Ponds got me the expected Mute Swans, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Moorhen and Coot. These took my total number of species for the day to a a rather disappointing 39 species - though as 1 of these (in bold) was new for my #Dundee150 list, it had been a successful outing. The Gannet was number 135 for the year, meaning I only need another 15 species over the course of the next 6 months to reach my target. There are only 10 species on my 'best chance' list, and I expect to miss out on a few of those, so I will be relying on a few less expected birds to turn up. Hopefully they will.
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| Eider |
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Hering Gull
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Black Headed Gull
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Starling |
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| Starling |
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Pied Wagtail
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Rock Pipit
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Rock Pipit
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| Buzzard |
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Black Headed Gull
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Bottlenose Dolphins
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| Swift |
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Rock Pipit
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| Gannet |
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| Gannet |
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| Gannet |
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Pied Wagtail
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| Redshank |
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| Rook |
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House Martin
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Birds - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coot, Cormorant, Dunnock, Eider, Gannet, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Starling, Swift, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Bottlenose Dolphins, Grey Seal, Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.
