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| Starling |
Monday the 7th was the April bank holiday and another day off work for me. With a decent weather forecast I wanted to get out birding to try to shake off the relative frustrations of the weekend (despite adding Red Kite on Saturday). I had actually visited most of the possibilities at the weekend and none of them particularly stood out as being somewhere I really wanted to visit again so soon - given the frustrations of the weekend. Another factor in trying to decide where to go was that it was also the first day of the local school holidays. Despite this potential problem I decided to head out to Broughty Castle and then possibly to Balmossie. Although the castle does get a lot of visitors on sunny days it is possible to sit on the grass a little away from most people while not pointing a scope/camera/binoculars in the direction of people - although at Broughty Ferry the potential presence of the Dolphins in the Tay means this isn't usually an issue.
I headed out just after 0830 for the walk out to Broughty Castle. I planned to walk along the Docks Way cycle path in the hope of finding Blackcap or Willow Warbler, with these birds being seen elsewhere in recent days. House Sparrow, Starling, Great Tit, Herring Gull and Dunnock were the immediate finds when I stepped out into the sunshine. Feral Pigeon, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Goldfinch and Magpie were all added on the walk along Dundonald Street. I had a quick look in the direction of the primary school building on the off-chance any of the House Martins that nest there had returned early. They hadn't. Rather than continue along to Baxter Park as I often do, I cut down towards Arbroath Road noting Woodpigeon, Chaffinch and an overflying Meadow Pipit on the way. A Chiffchaff was heard singing at South Baffin Street. A pair of Mallards which overflew Broughty Ferry Road were a surprise. A Wren was heard near the western end of the Docks Way cycle path.
There was no sign of either of the hoped for warbler pair once again. A Buzzard was seen, as was a Rook with Robin and Oystercatcher noted as I neared the Stannergate end. A pair of Pied Wagtails were on the grass where Broughty Ferry Road and Stannergate Road meet. I detoured into the 'migrant trap' area but it proved to be relatively quiet though Song Thrush, Jackdaw, Greenfinch and a few Rabbits were seen there. I then wandered out along the esplanade but there were very few birds to be seen. I did eventually manage to pick out a few Eiders out on the river and a handful of Turnstones down on the shore. A distant Cormorant was spotted briefly on the water before it took flight westwards. Both Linnet and an out-of-place Siskin were found near the small car park. A Sparrowhawk circled over the houses a bit to the north.
I crossed the footbridge over the railway to take a look at the Holly Blue site but with most of it still in shade and the sun not yet quite warm enough, I wasn't surprised to not see any butterflies. I did add Blackbird there however. A small group of Redshanks were on the pipe at Douglas Terrace and a Grey Heron was fishing at the foot of the lifeboat station ramp. I wandered round to the castle where a pair of Rock Pipits were seen on the grass. Much to my disappointment it turned out that the castle was closed and apparently doesn't open at all on a Monday. I wandered round to the eastern side of the castle to scan from there, which was less than ideal. I attempted to make the most of it however and did manage to see a pair of distant Razorbills and a Red Throated Diver. A combination of too many kids, including a nursery class, barking dogs and the final straw - a jet-ski, caused me to give up though with the sun now carrying a bit of warmth, I decided to try the local nature reserve for Speckled Wood butterflies. A Black Headed Gull was seen on the walk along.
Unfortunately for me, only Long tailed Tits were added at the nature reserve and although it was only around 1230, I decided I'd had enough and headed back in the direction of home. With the sun shining I decided to check the Holly Blue site once again. I stopped to watch and photograph a very determined Ant hauling a Woodlouse corpse up a vertical wall and into a small hole. I found one of these diminutive and distinctive blue butterflies on the wing though the sighting was rather brief. A Small Tortoiseshell and a Comma were much more obliging though another couple of Holly Blues were eventually more co-operative, posing nicely and even relatively close by at one point. I had a very probable Peacock butterfly too - one was photographed there not long after I'd visited, but it was too quick and too close to be 100% sure. A Dark Edged Bee-Fly proved tricky to photograph until it landed on the ground. The walk back along to the Stannergate was rather quiet though a Stock Dove was spotted and a skein of Pink Footed Geese were seen rather distantly.
At the Stannergate I decided to try the Docks Way again, in search of Orange Tip to give me a trio of 'new' butterflies for the day and the year, following on from the Holly Blues and Comma seen earlier. I stopped to grab something from my bag and happened to look over the railway line. Something about the area opposite made me think it looked quite promising for Orange Tip and no sooner had I thought it, when a male flitted fast and low along the banking on that side. It landed a bit further on, mostly obscured by the surrounding vegetation, but I was able to get a rather dodgy 'record shot' photo. A Small White butterfly was seen a bit further on and my final addition for the day was a Lesser Black Backed Gull perched on a roof within the docks. My total for the day was just 41 species of birds and 1 of mammals, though 5 (possibly 6) species of butterflies did slightly make up for that, with 3 of them being new for the year. Overall however, it was a very frustrating day, rounding off what had been a bit of a frustrating long weekend.
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| Buzzard |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Cormorant |
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| Turnstone |
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| Eider |
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| Linnet |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Redshank |
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| Eider |
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| Turnstone |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| House Sparrow |
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Eider |
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| Ant sp. (with Woodlouse) |
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| Comma |
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| Small Tortoiseshell |
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| Comma |
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| Comma |
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| Holly Blue |
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| Holly Blue |
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| Dark Edged Bee-Fly |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Orange Tip |
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| Small White |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
Birds - Black Headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Cormorant, Dunnock, Eider, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Razorbill, Red Throated Diver, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Turnstone, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies - Comma, Holly Blue, Orange Tip, Small Tortoiseshell, Small White.
Mammals - Rabbit.
