1287 : Getting Butterflies (11/8/24)

Buzzard

With Keith Edwards recently having added White Letter Hairstreak to Dundee's growing list of butterflies and having seen a decent mix of species locally recently within the city - though predominantly around the western half of the city, I worked out a rough idea for a 'butterfly walk' route. I thought it might be possible to see around a dozen (or potentially even slightly more) species of butterfly in one August day starting at Balgay Hill for White Letter Hairstreak and Speckled Wood, then down to Western Cemetery for Holly Blue, then out to Riverside Nature Park for a mix of species then back to Balgay later in the afternoon for Purple Hairstreak. With sunny, warm and relatively calm weather forecast for Sunday, I decided to give it a try. I would still be looking for birds as well, though for a change my main focus would be on butterflies.

I was a little later than intended heading out, though I hoped that 0850 wasn't going to prove to be too late, with White Letter Hairstreak apparently favouring 'early mornings'. Herring Gull, Magpie and Carrion Crow got things underway, with Blue Tit, Goldfinch and a welcome Swift soon added. Blackbird, Feral Pigeon, Starling, Chiffchaff and House Martin were noted as I began the walk up towards the Law. There was a slight chance of finding a buttefly in the sunshine, even though I wasn't yet at my starting point for the 'butterfly route'. As I passed the overgrown back garden of the High Kirk I spotted 2 small butterflies chasing each other round and round. Thankfully, I was able to see them when they settled on a Bramble leaf - a pair of Small Coppers.

Within the allotments next door, were a pair of Small Whites chasing each other. Moving on, for a quick look at the top of the hill (where I've had Painted Lady and Red Admiral in the past) I found Wren, House Sparrow, Willow Warbler and a Tree Pipit which flew out from a nearby tree and round towards the back of the hill. Goldcrest was noted from the top but things were otherwise rather quiet. I added a 'chakking' Blackcap by the stairs down the western side and the local Kestrel gave me a brief view as it hovered over the trees further down the slope on the south side. I found a couple of Large Whites along the edge of the trees there as well as a calling Coal Tit. A Small Tortoiseshell was seen as I made my way down towards Lochee Road.

A few Swallows were seen as I reached Balgay. There were a couple of brief glimpses of small butterflies in flight around the White Letter Hairstreak Elm tree but they refused to settle. A flock of around 20 Canada Geese flew past low over the adjacent houses. As Keith had found White Letter Hairstreak in another Elm up on the hill and I had an idea of where to look, I headed up the hill for a look there. There was a very vocal young Buzzard which posed nicely in the sunshine for some photos before I got back to looking for butterflies. Again, however, I had to make do with fleeing glimpses of small butterflies high up among the leafy branches of a nearby Oak tree. Despite the time of day they may also have been Purple Hairstreaks (Lainy had photographed both species in one photo at the 'original tree'. I headed back down to the 'original tree' for another look but a couple of shifty looking and very overdressed hooded youths on a moped having a long look at me as they passed slowly along the path in the park meant I chose not to linger there.

I added a Red Admiral near the tennis courts next to the eastern wall of Western Cemetery. I headed for the same area of the cemetery where Lainy and I had seen Holly Blue on the 31st of July. There was a Green Veined White flitting around low to the ground which settled long enough for me to confirm the ID, but frustratingly no apparent sign of any Holly Blues. Thankfully, that situation soon changed with one jauntily flapping its way past me and up over the trees and bushes to the north. Over the nest 20 minutes or so, I had 4 or 5 more views of what was likely the same butterfly. It eventually settled within sight of me, but I maddeningly caught the wrong switch on the camera and was unable to get the butterfly in focus before it took off again. A Song Thrush was noted before I decided I had better move on to Riverside Nature Park to see what I could find there.

I added Long Tailed Tit to the birds list as I neared the park. Woodpigeon, Herring Gull, House Martin, Goldfinch, Black Headed Gull, Sparrowhawk, Swallow and Blue Tit were all found near the eastern entrance. It didn't take long to find a lot of Meadow Brown butterflies flitting around low over the vegetation by the paths. Another Green Veined White and a Small White were seen in the same general area around the eastern end. I added Blue Tit and Long Tailed Tit as I headed in the direction of the previous day's very productive Buddleia bush, round by the bay. Unfortunately, it was mostly in shadow due to my later arrival than the previous day, though there was still a Peacock flitting around. I found a Silver Y moth as I looked for places where there might be butterflies -especially those species I'd yet to see that day. I found a Bullfinch before heading back round to scan out over the bay (just in case of something good).

Lesser Black Backed Gull, Common Gull, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Redshank, Lapwing, Sandwich Tern and Grey Heron were noted before I returned to looking for butterflies once again. I eventually succeeded in finding Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral and Large White, though frustratingly Commas were proving elusive. House Martin and Sand Martin passed overhead. The Mute Swan pair were seen down in the bay and Jackdaw, Robin, Wren, Song Thrush, Starling and Feral Pigeon made their way onto the day's list as I wandered along to the hide, hoping to find butterflies along the edges (Common Blue and Speckled Wood in particular) but I drew a blank. Through the overgrown vegetation at the hide I did manage to find a sleeping Mallard and a Magpie dropped into the trees behind me. 

Reed Bunting, Stock Dove and Moorhen were seen at the Lochan, as were a few Common Darter dragonflies. The calm and warm conditions made it ideal for this year's flying Ants to disperse and the sky was full of thousands of gulls as a result. Initially these were mostly out over Invergowrie but soon drifted over the park, the airport and also to the north towards Ninewells. The bird scarers at the airport tried and largely failed to disperse the mass of birds though thankfully I didn't see any 'near-misses' with any of the air traffic into and out of the airport during my visit . I was on the verge of giving up on adding to my butterfly list for the park visit and heading up to Ninewells Arboretum (as an alternative location for Speckled Wood that wasn't too far off the planned route) when a pair of Commas spiralled up from among the Brambles near the junction of paths up from the car park. I failed to get any photos due to their rather quick and erratic flight as they disappeared high over the composting area but I was glad to have finally found them. 

I added Blackbird, Greenfinch, Carrion Crow, and Chaffinch on my way towards the exit. Intriguingly I had what appeared to be Holly Blues in flight at 2 spots either side of Buzzard Wood, one along the south edge and one along the edge small wood to the north which flew towards Buzzard Wood. There is a chance they might have been wandering Purple Hairstreaks but their behaviour was more like the Holly Blues earlier. I'm not yet familiar enough with either species in flight, so they are tenuously on the list as Holly Blues, but it will need a confirmed sighting before they are officially added to the butterfly list for the park. I headed back towards Balgay Cemetery in search of Speckled Wood and maybe Purple Hairstreak. Sand Martin, Greenfinch, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Black Headed Gull and Common Gull were all noted on the way.

At the Cemetery, I added Jay, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Chaffinch as I searched for butterflies. I found a couple of butterflies in some fairly typical dappled Speckled Wood habitat but they turned out to be Red Admirals which was slightly frustrating. I stopped to chat to a couple when I was recognised by the husband as having spoke to him at Broughty Castle not too long ago. It then transpired during the course of the chat that his wife was the sister of one of my colleagues at work. Small world! I dipped on Speckled Wood at my 'usual' site for the species on the hill but decided I might as well try for Purple Hairstreak and maybe White Letter Hairstreaks where I'd been looking in the morning. By this time the sun was in the wrong place for the trees I'd checked earlier, so I wasn't optimistic.

I then realised that the smaller tree I was stood next to looked a bit Elm-like (I've still not quite got the look of these trees firmly fixed in my memory). With the sun hitting the top ot it, I scanned across the leaves before I realised that I'd just seen something which looked a bit purple. It turned out to be a female Purple Hairstreak sunning herself and I was able to get some photos. The walk home from there was rather weary but a happy one nonetheless. I had managed to prove the basic route worked and with perhaps an earlier start, actually checking the right tree in the morning and a wee bit more luck I probably could have had more than dozen species of butterfly. I finished the day with 11, though Small Copper wasn't seen on the 'official' route. Bird-wise I managed 49 species (36 at the park, and 36 outwith the park). An enjoyable and slightly different way to spend the day for me, and definitely one to try next year around the same time, in similar conditions.

Small Copper

Large White(?)

Chiffchaff

Small White(?)

Buzzard

Buzzard

Buzzard

Canada Goose

Canada Goose

Large White

Red Admiral

Green Veined White(?)

Greenfinch

Peacock

Silver Y

Silver Y

Meadow Brown

Gulls vs flying Ants

Hoverfly sp.

Song Thrush

Purple Hairstreak

Purple Hairstreak

Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Nuthatch, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sand Martin, Song Thrush, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Tree Pipit, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.

Butterflies (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Green Veined White, Holly Blue, Large White, Purple Hairstreak, Red Admiral, Small Copper, Small Tortoiseshell, Small White.

Birds (at Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common Gull, Curlew, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Martin, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Woodpigeon, Wren.

Butterflies (at Riverside Nature Park) - Comma, Green Veined White, Holly Blue(?), Large White, Meadow Brown, Peacock, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Small White.

Dragonflies (at Riverside Nature Park) - Common Darter.

Moths (at Riverside Nature Park) - Silver Y.

1286 : Ruff Weather? (9/8/24 & 10/8/24)

Marsh Harrier

On Thursday the 8th of August, Mark Wilkinson found what was very much an unexpected new bird for the Riverside Nature Park list - a Sabine's Gull, in Invergowrie Bay. Unfortunately, it was spooked by a passing train and flew off upriver. Lainy went down to Kingoodie to try to refind it but had to make do with a Mediterranean Gull. In addition to the Sabine's Gull, Mark had also had a Ruff - the first of the year, in the bay. As both Ruff and Mediterranean Gull would be new birds for my #Dundee150 list and it would likely be Saturday before I got a proper chance to look for them, I decided to take a chance and take my birding gear with me to work on the Friday. That way if word came in that the Sabine's Gull had returned I could hurry down for a look. If it didn't I could still attempt to see the Ruff and/or Mediterranean Gull after work.

As expected, there was no Friday report of the Sabine's Gull. It was overcast when I left work for the relatively short walk down to the western end of the park. I scanned from the railway bridge for a few minutes - Woodpigeon, Herring Gull, Black Headed Gull, Carrion Crow, Lesser Black Backed Gull (including one that superficially looked a bit 'Baltic Gull'-like), Common Gull, Curlew, Dunlin, Knot, Mallard, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Feral Pigeon and Wren were all noted before the sun decided to put in a very unhelpful appearance. I wandered round for a look from the raised banking where Lapwing and Mute Swan were noted. The glare off the wet mud made things difficult so I headed back to the hide for a look, which was even worse. 

I tried again from the bridge as the tide pushed in further. I found a trio of Ringed Plover - not a common bird in the bay (though we had around a dozen earlier this year) and added Bar Tailed Godwit. The glare made spending more time scanning through silhouettes, likely to be fruitless. It was also quite windy so the main body of the park proved to be very quiet - the time of day likely also being a factor in this. Bullfinch, Magpie, Jackdaw, Grey Wagtail and Moorhen were the only non-bay additions. Green Veined White, Meadow Brown and Red Admiral butterflies were found in some of the more sheltered spots before I headed homewards around 1730. A total of 24 species noted was rather low, but conditions weren't helpful, and not surprisingly I drew a blank on both the target species. An early start on Saturday would hopefully prove to be better, despite the forecast windy conditions.

Mallard, Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull & Herring Gull

Ringed Plover, Redshank & Dunlin

Bullfinch

Lapwing

Birds - Bar Tailed Godwit, Black Headed Gull, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Common Gull, Curlew, Dunlin, Goldfinch, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Knot, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren. 

Butterflies - Green Veined White, Meadow Brown, Red Admiral.

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My plan for a very early start on Saturday didn't quite happen. I was hoping to be at the park, or at the very least out the door, in time for sunrise. A lack of sleep meant a later start, though an 0630 start for an 0730(-ish) arrival at the Nature Park was still reasonably early, and would mean I would largely have the park to myself for an hour or so. The day's list started off with Herring Gull, Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon, House Sparrow, Jackdaw and Feral Pigeon. Things then slowed down considerably to a bit of a trickle, though Magpie, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Goldfinch, Blackbird, Tree Pipit, Coal Tit, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Robin, Goldcrest and Chaffinch all contributed to this rather slow flow.

Things picked up a little with Black Headed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Wren, Nuthatch and Bullfinch all being found at Lochee Park and Balgay Cemetery. Starling, House Martin, Jay and Greenfinch, as well as a few Rabbits were noted on Riverside Avenue as I made my way along the final stretch to the Nature Park. I reached the park at 0733. Chaffinch, Carrion Crow, Magpie and a surprise quartet of Tree Sparrows, as well as Herring Gull and Tree Pipit got the list for this particular park visit underway. A single Tree Pipit flew westwards quickly followed by another vocal pair. The Tree Pipits weren't the only obvious migrants as a few Swallows swept low westwards into the relatively strong wind blowing across the park. 

 

There were a few Rabbits around due to the park still being rather quiet, as a result of the early start to my visit. I added Woodpigeon and Wren as I wandered along the back of Buzzard Wood. I didn't realise that there was a Buzzard down on the path, just around the corner. The bird saw me before I saw it and took flight. I grabbed some photos as it flew off which showed it to be one of this year's youngsters - most likely from Ninewells. I headed up into the top half of the park where Chiffchaff, Blackbird, Stock Dove, Whitethroat and House Martin were all seen before I popped in for a quick look at the lochan. There were a few Moorhens around there, but nothing else of note, so I continued on round to check the bay.

 

Black Headed Gull, Common Gull, Mute Swan, Grey Heron, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Mallard, Lapwing, Little Egret, Sandwich Tern, Redshank, Black Tailed Godwit and Oystercatcher were all noted down in the bay over the couse of the next hour. Both Keith and Mark turned up which greatly helped to add more species to the list. The drake Scaup was seen over towards the western side of the bay. While Keith and Mark scoped the bay, I scanned out over the river and spotted a dark bird flying low upriver that seemed a bit odd looking, and I couldn't quite decide what it could be, as it felt a bit out of context. Thankfully Mark managed to get his scope onto the bird, as did Keith, and Marsh Harrier was arrived at as the ID. 

More scanning got us Dunlin, Bar Tailed Godwit, Knot and Cormorant before Mark spotted my target for the day flying in and landing down on the mud. A Ruff, my first of the year and number 137 for my 2024 #Dundee150 list. Teal and Curlew were seen down in the bay before Mark and Keith headed off elsewhere. As I was in no hurry to try anywhere else I had a wander round the upper half again. It was nice to get out of the strong westerly wind that had been blasting us relentlssly as we were scanning out over the bay (making it even trickier than usual for me to keep my monopod mounted small scope steady). I found a Common Darter dragonfly and the lone Lapwing at the Lochan and even managed some unexpected butterflies - Meadow Brown and Peacock. More wandering added a few more at a single sheltered Buddleia bush by the bay - Green Veined White, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell and a Comma.

 

A couple of Sand Martins shot past, heading for Invergowrie and points west. Greenfinch, Jackdaw, Feral Pigeon, Yellowhammer and a Common Carpet moth among the pathside vegetation kept the visit list building over the next wee while. I headed up to have a quick 360 degree scan from the hill top at one point and was pleasantly surprised to see a Marsh Harrier over the rough ground to the west of the airport runway. It headed out over the river on the same route as the earlier bird, and may have been the same bird. A couple of Carrion Crows took exception to it and chased it for a bit but gave up after a minute or so. There were also at least half a dozen Marsh Harrier sightings from Fife the same day, suggesting that there was a bit of a (relatively speaking) mass movement/dispersal of the species going on, so the 2 sightings at the park may have actually been 2 different individuals, although there is no way of knowing either way.

I added one more species in the lower half before heading in the direction of home, with a Coal Tit in the trees near the access road found as I was leaving. Both Large and Small White butterflies were also spotted nearby. On the way home, a Meadow Brown butterfly was found near the steps up to Riverside Drive at the railway line. Bird-wise, a few Swallows, a lone Swift and a Buzzard were noted on the walk back home. My combined list for the day was 55 species of bird (29 outwith the park, and 46 at the park), including one new addition to the #Dundee150 list (in bold), as well as 8 species of butterfly, 1 of dragonfly, 1 of mammal and 1 of moth. All in all, a pretty decent day with a year-tick and 2 Marsh Harrier sightings from the park, as well as a few nice park scarcities (Tree Pipit, Tree Sparrow, Scaup etc).

Goldfinch

Tree Pipit

Buzzard

Buzzard

Meadow Brown

Black Headed Gull & Common Gull

Little Egret & Black Headed Gull

Ruff & Lesser Black Backed Gull(?)

Lapwing

Marsh Harrier

Marsh Harrier

Carrion Crow & Marsh Harrier

Small Tortoiseshell

Red Admiral

Common Carpet

Comma & Peacock

Comma

Comma & Small Tortoiseshell

Hoverfly sp.

Green Veined White

Lapwing

Moorhen

Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black Backed Gull,  Magpie, Nuthatch, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Tree Pipit, Woodpigeon, Wren.

Butterflies (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Meadow Brown.

Mammals (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Rabbit.

Birds (at Riverside Nature Park) - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Martin, Knot, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Little Egret, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Ruff, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Scaup, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Teal, Tree Pipit, Tree Sparrow, Whitethroat, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.

Butterflies (at Riverside Nature Park) - Comma, Green Veined White, Large White, Meadow Brown, Peacock, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Small White.

Dragonflies (at Riverside Nature Park) - Common Darter. 

Mammals (at Riverside Nature Park) - Rabbit.

Moths (at Riverside Nature Park) - Common Carpet.