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| Kestrel |
This Autumn has been very disappointing not just for migrants as a whole, but most of my vis-migging attempts have been very poor with hardly any birds seen moving over Dundee. Surprisingly, there has been next to no movement of Redwings and Fieldfares over the city, that I've been in the right places to have seen, at least. With that in mind, I decided to head up to the top of the Law on Wednesday the 30th of October to see if there might be a chance of some 'winter thrush' movements, and perhaps even a Brambling or a Hawfinch passing by. Although neither Redwing or Fieldfare was 'needed' for my #Dundee150 list, it was these potential 'extras' that were my main hope. As with most of my birding latterly, expectations were however still very low.
I headed out just before 0735. Robin, Feral Pigeon, Herring Gull and House Sparrow were all early onto the list as expected. The Curlew that flew up Arklay Street however wasn't a common sight so close to home. Dunnock, Starling, Carrion Crow and Magpie were all regulars as were Jackdaw and Woodpigeon. Grey Wagtail does seem to be semi-regular these days, often around the industrial units and the football stadiums, and although Black Headed Gull isn't the most common of gulls in the vicinity of home, it is also regular enough to not be too much of a surprise. Both birds were still welcome additions to the day's list though. Blackbird, Chaffinch, Wren and Collared Dove completed my pre-Law visit list.
At the top of the Law, a flock of about 10 Mistle Thrushes headed over southwards just after I'd got organised which I hoped would bode well for my prospects. A skein of 20 or so Pink Footed Geese passed over southwards and a distant much larger skein of around 100 were seen out to the northwest. A trio of Fieldfares almost managed to sneak past unnoticed but thankfully I happened to turn around just in time to see them. A Crossbill was heard calling but went unseen, and may have been below my line of sight. A Coal Tit was heard and a Chaffinch flew past eastwards just after 0820 while another relatively small skein of Pink Footed Geese headed northwards. With only very light passage noted I decided I would head for Riverside Nature Park to see what I could find there, rather than take the easier option of heading home again.
Heading down off the hill added Goldcrest, Blue Tit and a Sparrowhawk in a shallow stoop further down the western side 'Law Steps' path. Great Tit, Bullfinch and Goldfinch were rather surprisingly, and disappointingly, the only additions seen or heard between the Law and the Nature Park. I reached the western end of the park just before 0935. There had been a bit of mist visible from the Law, and there was some still hanging around out over the river. Pink Footed Geese had been seen departing to the north as I'd wandered through Ninewells Arboretum and there were still more geese in their hundreds heading low over the park to the north, with some appearing to be turning towards the fields at Dykes of Gray, while others continued on over the hospital and out of sight.
Robin, Feral Pigeon, Black Headed Gull, Herring Gull, Rook, some passing Skylarks, Woodpigeon, Wren, Chaffinch, Carrion Crow, Blackbird and Goldfinch were all noted around the western extremeties of the park before I wandered in the direction of the Lochan for a look there. A Stock Dove was seen in flight before a couple of Siskins went over. Things were relatively busy at the Lochan with a couple of Snipe (again), Teal, Mallard, Moorhen and Little Grebe all seen. A Pied Wagtail flew over as I left the Lochan to head round to check the bay. A Grey Heron flew past but before I had a good look at the bay, I decided to check the trees and bushes in 'the bowl' to the north of the picnic tables. This delivered Bullfinch, Greenfinch and Magpie.
Checking the bay, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Cormorant, Common Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Redshank and Little Egret as well as a Song Thrush in the bushes below all made it onto the list. I could hear Long Tailed Tits in the bushes, calling loudly to each other. More scanning as the tide came in produced Goosander, Dunlin, Great Black Backed Gull, a late lingering Lesser Black Backed Gull, Greenshank, and slightly surprisingly a lone Greylag Goose which flew a circuit over the bay before continuing on again. Dunnock was heard and a few Meadow Pipits added to the passing migrants. House Sparrows were heard chirping loudly from somewhere down among the bushes and a few Starlings headed towards the airport. A small group of Bar Tailed Godwits headed in a similar direction around 10 minutes later.
By this time, the tide was quite well in, so I walked round to the hide to get a better view of the waders still remaining on the mud. This did succeed in getting a small group of Knot, and a couple of Snipe were seen along the edge of the reeds over by the station. There were a few Jackdaws down by the pipe and a Blue Tit was seen foraging in the trees around the hide. Once the remaining waders were dispersed by a passing train I weighed up my options. Although I had barely scratched the surface of the park, I decided to have another quick look at the Lochan then to head up through Invergowrie and past the Landmark Hotel to check the geese flocks at Dykes of Gray. I added a Great Tit on the walk to the Lochan but there was nothing else to be found. I left the park having managed to see or hear a total of 49 species despite concentrating on the very western ends of the park.
The walk up through Invergowrie didn't add anything new. A Jay flew over the grassy area to the north of the dual carriageway, once I was back within Dundee's boundaries. I did a spot of exploring by the small reedbed behind the Landmark Hotel but failed to find anything, except a Grey Squirrel. I cut the corner by wandering across a stubble field but instead of returning to the road, I decided to cut along the front of the large wood instead. A flock of Long Tailed Tits and a Common Darter draagonfly were seen before I set off along the edge of the wood. Unfortunately for me, I had failed to remember the route taken by the water in the area, which meant I found myself back by the NCR building rather than where I wanted to be.
Once I had made my way back to where I actually needed to be, I heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker calling and a Buzzard was seen rather distantly being harassed by a few crows. Although there were some Pink Footed Geese in the same field as before, there weren't nearly as many, so I decided to check out the stubble field again. A Buzzard was seen circling to the northwest. A couple of Greenfinches were perched on the wires across the fields and were joined by a Yellowhammer. The flock of Linnets was seen again and a Kestrel drew some mobbing from them as it flew over heading west. With nothing too exciting happening and no rare geese I headed in the direction of home.
Somehow I ended up cutting through the grounds of Ninewells Hospital (book-ended by overflying RAF Typhoons and a pair of low-flying USAF F-35s). Balgay Hill proved to be rather quiet, though Common Gull and the ringed Oystercatcher (6A5) were seen on the football pitches. I ended up back at the top of the Law again but nothing new was seen there. My final addition for the day was a Pied Wagtail as I passed Tannadice Park, which took my 'outwith the park' list to 40 species for a combined total of 63 species. My legs were a bit heavy after the day's walk but despite the failure to add anything new for my #Dundee150 list, it was still an enjoyable, and relatively interesting day's birding, which was just what I was needing.
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Pink Footed Goose
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| Blackbird |
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| Fieldfare |
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| Snipe |
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Grey Heron
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Black Tailed Godwit
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Teal, Redshank & Greenshank
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Greylag Goose
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Bar Tailed Godwit
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| Goosander |
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Redshank, Dunlin & Knot
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| Dunlin |
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| Curlew |
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Common Gull
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Little Egret
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| Jay |
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Pink Footed Goose
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Pink Footed Goose
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Greenfinch & Yellowhammer
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| Skylark |
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| Linnet |
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| Linnet |
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Linnet & Kestrel
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Carrion Crow
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Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Black Headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Crossbill, Curlew, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mistle Thrush, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Skylark, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Dragonflies (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Common Darter.
Mammals (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Grey Squirrel.
Birds (at Riverside Nature Park) - Bar Tailed Godwit, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion
Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Cormorant,
Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow,
Jackdaw, Knot, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen,
Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon,
Rook, Siskin, Skylark, Snipe, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Woodpigeon, Wren.
