STONEFACTION BIRDING: 1403 : High There (7/6/25 & 11/6/25)

1403 : High There (7/6/25 & 11/6/25)

Nuthatch

I've not been able to carry my full backpack of birding gear since my trip out to Balmossie on the 1st of June which has curtailed my birding quite a bit, though I found I could squeeze the most important bits into a small bag (binoculars & camera but not much else). Although I didn't go anywhere on the 4th of June I did still want to get out somehwhere when the weekend came around, so I settled on a trip to the top of the Law for a couple of hours. Ideally, I was hoping for a Cuckoo to fly past (to get photos of one in flight for the previous blog-post) or something even better (Hobby/Honey Buzzard/Bee-Eater etc) but realistically I knew that it was likely to be very quiet with maybe the local Kestrel and maybe a Buzzard or two being the only things of much interest. However, with the Law you just never know quite how things will pan out...

I headed out just before 0810 for the (just under a) mile walk to the Law. House Sparrow, Blue Tit, Woodpigeon, Herring Gull, Swift and Lesser Black Backed Gull were noted immediately followed by Feral Pigeon, Blackbird, Magpie and Dunnock as I headed up towards Tannadice. Jackdaws were on their usual chimneys opposite Dens Park. Goldfinch, Chaffinch and Starling were seen around the Dens Road/Canning Street area. Great Tit was heard as I wandered up Bruce Street, with Greenfinch by the allotments on Law Road. Blackcap and Willow Warbler were both in the trees by the steps up to the top of the hill. A young Magpie was ahead of me on the steps and ventured out into the open before I did, where it was immediately chased and caught by a Carrion Crow. Enter the rather protective parents who quickly saw off the crow before the youngster returned to the relative safety of the steps area again, still in one piece.

The local Kestrel was hunting when I reached the top but it didn't linger long. Things at the top were fairly quiet except for Magpies and Carrion Crows. A Goldcrest was heard singing just before 0845. A Mistle Thrush which flew up from the north side trees then out westwards was a bit of a nice surprise. A couple of minutes later I picked up a skein of 15 Canada Geese heading south, initially a bit out to the northwest. A singing Chiffchaff provided some background 'music' as they passed. I faintly heard what sounded like Crossbills a couple of times but it went quiet before I could confirm that it was indeed what I was hearing. Thankfully, a pair of Crossbills flew low across the top of the hill calling as they too headed west. A Song Thrush was heard singing and a party of typically vocal Long Tailed Tits moved through the trees unseen a few minutes later. Siskin, Coal Tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Bullfinch were all added over the course of the next 45 minutes. Around 1020 the day's first butterfly - a Green Veined White was seen flitting along the vegetation at the western edge of the hilltop.

I saw some movement at my feet and discovered a wasp fighting to subdue a fly it had caught. I grabbed some photos before switching to video, where I caught the wasp snipping off the head of the fly before getting stuck in to the contents of the body. Gruesome, but quite interesting to actually see. A pair of House Martins were feeding out to the northeast and a Wren was heard singing loudly. A pair of Jackdaws flew over at 1100 eastwards from the direction of Balgay Hill. A Sparrowhawk was seen out to the northwest before it dived out of sight. The local Kestrel reappeared, again rather briefly, around 1130 and a Buzzard was picked out distantly just before noon. A few more Siskins were heard before another Sparrowhawk sighting at 1240, this time a displaying bird, was the final bit of action before I headed home. Despite nothing new for my #2025Dundee150 list, the morning's birding had exceeded expectations with a few reasonably decent species noted as well as plenty regulars amongst the 35 species found on the day.

Birds - Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Crossbill, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mistle Thrush, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swift, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.

Butterflies - Green Veined White.

Magpie

Kestrel

Mistle Thrush

Canada Goose

Carrion Crow

Soldier Beetle sp.

Hoverfly sp.

Wasp sp. & Fly sp.

Jackdaw

Buzzard

Blackcap


House Sparrow

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Having not gone anywhere on Sunday and with no change in my ability to carry my full backpack by Wednesday the 11th of June, I once again settled for a return trip to the top of the Law. A much earlier start and a fairly decent weather forecast did make me wonder what might be seen this time around, even though my expectations were still understandably rather low. Once again I was hoping for something rare, or even just fairly uncommon, though I would be happy to get anything new for my #2025Dundee150 list, regardless of its scarcity. I headed out to try for something just before 0700.

House Sparrow, Herring Gull, Woodpigeon, Swift, Feral Pigeon, Goldfinch, Blackbird and Blue Tit made for a reasonably busy first 2 minutes outside. Lesser Black Backed Gull, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Pied Wagtail and Jackdaw added a few more species as I passed the football stadiums. Chaffinch and Dunnock were found at Canning Street and Starling was finally added near the top of Hill Street. A House Martin flew over northwards from the area where I know there are usually breeding birds. At the stairs, Willow Warbler and Robin were both noted. Chiffchaff, Wren, Great Tit, Bullfinch and Blackcap were all heard over the course of the first half an hour or so. A few minutes after picking up the Blackcap, I heard a familiar but unexpected call from the trees on the east side. It was a Nuthatch - my first at the Law. I did eventually manage to get reasonable views of the bird which turned out to be a youngster, likely recently fledged at Balgay Hill and already exploring somewhere new on its own. It took a bit of effort, and a change of camera settings to finally get photos of the bird but trying to get them did help to pass the time a bit.

Long Tailed Tits and at least 3 groups of Siskins were heard over the next hour. A Green Veined White butterfly was seen around 0930 flitting low over the vegetation by the shed and along the west side. I also had a brief view of an unidentified 'orange' butterfly a bit later but it was just a bit too quick to get a good look at it. A Stock Dove flew over low southwards around 0940. Around 10 minutes later the morning's first Buzzard showed up, drifting slowly overhead before continuing on its way out to the northeast. A second Buzzard was seen around 10 minutes later tussling with a Carrion Crow out to the north, and a third was seen to the southeast around 1020. A Goldcrest was heard around half an hour later, just before I spotted the local Kestrel flying off to the west, where it briefly hovered before disappearing out of sight. A Grey Wagtail flew past heading northeast, 5 minutes after the Kestrel sighting.

Another Buzzard vs Carrion Crow entanglement was seen out to the southwest around 1110, and what might have been the same Buzzard was then seen over Balgay Hill a few minutes later. Around 1115, a pair of Buzzards circled over the hill for a minute or two before going their separate ways. Another Siskin was heard at 1135 and a Coal Tit was seen on the west side at 1140. I called it a day after 3 and a half hours at the top of the hill and headed homewards. A pair of Blackcaps were seen feeding in the trees by the steps and I added a Small White butterfly near the allotments. I did take a few photos of some metallic dark green Soldier Beetles on the walk down towards the allotments. A total of 33 species of birds, and 2 of butterflies were noted for my efforts, though I didn't really take too many photos once again. The main highlight was the juvenile Nuthatch and it will be interesting to see if it sticks around among the trees at the Law or moves on elsewhere (as it did appear to go quiet after about 1000).

Birds - Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Nuthatch, Pied Wagtail, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Starling, Stock Dove, Swift, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.

Butterflies - Green Veined White, Small White.