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| Yellowhammer |
I recently discovered I have a few more days remaining of annual leave than I thought I had, which I need to use up by the end of March. Having weighed up a few possibilities, I settled on a run of Fridays - 5 in total. This means I will be having 'long weekends' for 5 weeks, hopefully coinciding with Spring migrant movements (of both incoming and outgoing varieties) picking up, and hopefully leading to a few more species for my #2025Dundee150 list. Lainy had let me know that the first Great Crested Grebe had returned to Clatto, so for the first of these Fridays off work, I decided on an early-ish start to head up to Clatto via Trottick Ponds (in the hope of finally finding a Jack Snipe this winter). The Great Crested Grebe would hopefully be easy to get, then I could decide what to do with the rest of the day.
As is often the case, I was a bit later than intended on getting out the door. The sun was only a few minutes into its journey across the sky as I set off for Trottick, via Caird Park golf course. Things were relatively busy in the early morning light with House Sparrow, Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Starling, Great Tit, Woodpigeon and Magpie all being noted within seconds of setting foot outside. Carrion Crow, Dunnock, Blackbird and Goldfinch were found as I wandered up Arklay Street towards Clepington Road. A singing Song Thrush was seen at the football pitches on Graham Street. A small group of unconcerned Roe Deer were seen as I walked down the path that bisects the golf course down towards the Gelly Burn. Chaffinch and Robin were in the trees as well and a bit further on, the first of a few Great Spotted Woodpeckers was seen in flight.
Heading into the Trottick nature reserve, a Wren proclaimed its presence noisily. At the ponds there were only a few birds to be seen - Mallards and Moorhens. A Blue Tit was in the nearby bushes. Heading round to the reedbeds, a Black Headed Gull overflew. Unsurprisingly, there was nothing to be found among the reeds, despite much scanning with the thermal imager. Siskin and Coal Tit were spotted before I headed for Harestane Road. A skein of Pink Footed Geese headed northwards and a Grey Squirrel was in a small tree by the nursing home. Jackdaw and Bullfinch were the only new finds on the uphill walk. I messaged Lainy to see if she wanted to meet up and we arranged to meet at Clatto around 0845.
I took the 'back way' into Clatto. A few Yellowhammers and a Skylark were both new for the day, with one of the Yellowhammers (a male) posing nicely on a fencepost in front of a gorse bush. Even better was an overflying (Lesser) Redpoll, which was a new bird for my #2025Dundee150 list. I was a few minutes late reaching the reservoir but was able to find the Great Crested Grebe easily when I did so - my second new addition for the day in the course of just a few minutes. In addition, Goldeneye, Coot, Mute Swan, Lesser Black Backed Gull and Tufted Duck were also easy to find. I met Lainy round towards the toilet block and we had a bit of a wander to see what else we could find. This produced Goldcrest, Grey Heron, Long Tailed Tit, Common Gull, Greenfinch, Jay and Grey Wagtail as well as a couple of Red Squirrels in the trees by the playpark.
Lainy had arranged to visit Scone Palace with Ian Morrison, who I have met and chatted with about birds etc a few times and after a few messages to and fro between them, I was invited to join them for a spot of rather unexpected 'out of area' birding. It has been years since I was last at Scone Palace - which was a regular Spring destination in the pre-Covid years in search of Hawfinch - a bird I've been very fortunate enough to see within Dundee in 4 out of the past 5 years. Ian picked us up from the car park at Clatto around 1010 and we set off for Scone Palace. Rook, Woodpigeon and Jackdaw were noted en route, as were Carrion Crow, Pink Footed Geese and Feral Pigeons. When we reached Scone Palace, we had a short wander together before we decided to split up to maximise our chances of finding Hawfinches, with each of us checking out a particular part of the Palace ground. I took the main driveway down from the arch, with Ian and Lainy checking a few other bits to the south of there.
Nuthatch was seen almost immediately by the archway and after around 20 minutes I realised that I could hear a Hawfinch calling - the same call I'd heard last November around the eastern end of Ninewells Hospital while on my way to work. I managed to pick out a couple of the birds very high up in probably the tallest tree on the driveway, and phoned Lainy to let her know. Both her and Ian had also managed to find a few of the birds though views were generally sub-optimal for all of us, which is often the case with the species at Scone as they seem to take great delight sitting very high up in the tallest trees, with lots of small brances blocking the views. More searching added more species - Treecreeper, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Dunnock, Wren, Song Thrush, Robin, Greenfinch, Great Tit, Goldcrest, Coal Tit, Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Blue Tit and Blackbird.
A couple of Buzzards circled over the wooded palace grounds and a Sparrowhawk did likewise around 30 minutes later. I went to talk to a couple of birders near the arch and was surprised to find Edinburgh birders Roy Williamson and Carolyn Hargest who I've not seen since early 2020 (Yellow Legged Gull twitch in Glasgow), I think. We had a bit of a catch-up and then a bit of a wander managing to see a flock of around 20 or so Hawfinches in flight a few times, as well as a few singles and pairs. A pair of Mistle Thrushes dropped into a nearby tree while we were chatting to a few more birders. Curlews could be heard calling from somewhere a bit to the south, and Siskins flew over. I introduced Lainy to Roy and Carolyn and we were all joined by Doug Milne from Blairgowrie, who tagged along behind us for most of the rest of our visit. A Raven 'prukked' its way overhead and a short while later, Lainy and I heard a hooting Tawny Owl from the trees to the west of the main entrance to the grounds.
A bit more wandering resulted in me accidentally flushing a Woodcock, and a couple of Rabbits. I eventually made it to the end of the driveway from the arch to the 'dump' which was previously my most reliable spot for Hawfinch. There were a couple of the birds there as well as a male Pheasant. I met up with Ian and Lainy again and we counted at least 6 Buzzards soaring overhead as well as a Sparrowhawk. We added Black Headed Gull before we called it a day and headed back to Dundee. Lainy had arranged to meet her husband, Adam, at Ian's from where the four of us were going to head over to Guardbridge to try to see an Avocet which had turned up there the previous day and had been seen earlier as the tide was on its way in. On the drive back to Dundee a couple of groups of Roe Deer were in one of the fields to the north of the dual carriageway.
We met up with Adam as planned and set off Fifewards. Cormorant and Great Black Backed Gulls were seen on Submarine Rock. Woodpigeons, Linnets, Curlew, Rook, Jackdaw and a surprise low flying Little Egret over the base housing in Leuchars were all noted en route to Guardbridge. It has been a while since I had last visited and rather than head round to the hide we walked up a 'new' (for me) track to the top of the banking, where we were able to overlook the estuary. Starling, Robin and Chaffinch were noted on the walk up, with a Buzzard being harassed by Carrion Crows being another bonus as we reached the top. Ian and Lainy scanned through their scopes while Adam and I relied on our binoculars to see what we could find. There was no obvious sign of the Avocet though there were 4 Little Egrets visible.
As well as the Egrets, Shelduck, Wigeon, Mallard, Dunlin, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Little Grebe, Teal, Black Headed Gull, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Goldeneye, Goosander and a young Mute Swan were all picked out. A few Goldfinches circled round above us briefly before hundreds of Pink Footed Geese overflew us from the direction of the fields to the south of the road bridge where traffic was at a standstill due to ongoing roadworks. Magpie, Cormorant, Great Black Backed Gull, Redshank, Woodpigeon, Oystercatcher and a Sparrowhawk were all noted. A Pied Wagtail flew over. I had a shot of Lainy's scope and managed to find a second Greenshank and 4 Pintail as well as a Lapwing and a couple of Lesser Black Backed Gulls. There was still no sign of the Avocet despite the tide having receded a fair bit during our visit. Photos checked later at home showed a single Knot and Black Tailed Godwit which weren't noticed at the time. The final bird of the day before we packed up was a Grey Wagtail.
With the light rapidly fading we called it a day and headed back to Dundee where Adam and Lainy dropped me off at home, having dropped Ian off first. Big thanks as always go to Lainy and Adam for their parts in the day's rather successful birding outing - despite us missing out on Avocet. Big thanks also go to Ian for allowing me to tag along to Scone Palace with Lainy and himself. It was also nice to catch up with Roy and Carolyn. Over the course of the whole day, the total number of bird species we encountered was around 60, made up of 41 in Dundee, 36 in Perthshire and 41 in Fife, with a fair bit of overlap. The change of scenery and the very pleasant company (and associated 'banter') made for a very enjoyable day's birding. The weather mostly behaved too....though it did eventually get rather chilly stood atop the embankment at Guardbridge. Although I am not 'doing a year-list, my 'Scotland 2025' list sits at 110 species, which is reasonable given I've only spent 2 days birding outwith Dundee.
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Goldeneye |
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| Great Crested Grebe & Tufted Duck |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Greenfinch |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Red Squirrel |
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| Lesser Black Backed Gull |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Buzzard |
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| Hawfinch |
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| Hawfinch |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Buzzard |
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| Robin |
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| Raven |
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| Buzzard |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Curlew, Pintail & Oystercatcher |
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| Goosander |
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| Great Black Backed Gull & Herring Gull |
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| Cormorant |
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| Lapwing |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Little Egret |
Birds (Dundee) - Black Headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black Backed Gull, (Lesser) Redpoll, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pink Footed Goose, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals (Dundee) - Grey Squirrel, Red Squirrel, Roe Deer.
Birds (Perthshire) - Black Headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow,
Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Curlew, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit,
Greenfinch, Hawfinch, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Long Tailed
Tit, Magpie, Mistle Thrush, Nuthatch, Pheasant, Pink Footed Goose, Raven, Robin,
Feral Pigeon, Rook, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Tawny Owl,
Treecreeper, Woodcock, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals (Perthshire) - Rabbit, Roe Deer.
Birds (Fife) - Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Knot, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Pintail, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shelduck, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Teal, Wigeon, Woodpigeon.
