1418 : AM/PM (13/8/25)

Collared Dove

Having spent a large part of the weekend out and about birding in sunshine, by the time Wednesday came around I was still feeling rather tired and despite wanting to head out to Broughty Ferry again, I couldn't muster the energy that would get me there. I did manage to get out of bed fairly early but Broughty Ferry felt just a bit too far to walk carrying my scope and tripod as well as my binoculars, camera and food. I weighed up my options and decided I might as well try the top of the Law. With Tree Pipits on the move, I figured there could be a chance of something else passing by. I got organised and headed out just after 0700. 

Swifts were a welcome sight when I stepped outside, given that they usually depart around the 8th. Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Starling, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Wren and Blue Tit were all noted as I headed for Dens Road via the Neish Street 'cutty'. Pied Wagtail and Carrion Crow were found on the walk up Main Street. Magpie, Dunnock and 3 Tree Pipits were seen on the final stretch up to the set of steps to the top of the Law. Greenfinch, House Martin, Robin and Chiffchaff gave me a few more species as I reached the top of the hill. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard calling but went unseen.

Chaffinch, Coal Tit and a few Tree Pipits were spotted before a call and response from a couple of Great Spotted Woodpeckers around 0745. A flock of 9 Black-headed Gulls headed northeast before 2 more Tree Pipits overflew westwards. The day's first Swallow did likewise before another Tree Pipit, a Lesser Black-backed Gull, 2 more Swallows, 4 more Tree Pipits, 3 Sand Martins and yet another Tree Pipit were added to the notebook list of movements I keep when 'skywatching' at the Law. A couple of Swifts circled out to the west and a flock of around 16 Goldfinches landed in the top of a conifer on the east side of the hill. The day's first Crossbill was heard around 0815, followed by Siskin and another Tree Pipit.

Bullfinches could be heard from the west side trees but I was unable to see them from where I was standing. A party of 4 Crossbills flew low over the hill, too quick for me to grab a photo. A Pied Wagtail was another 'heard only' species as was a Blackbird. More Swallows were seen before I had a brief view of a Kestrel low around the access road to the southwest. This was either a female or a youngster, so not the 'usual' Law Kestrel. More Swallows, Tree Pipits, Siskins and Black-headed Gulls kept things ticking over as the clock ticked towards 3 hours at the top of the hill. A Great Spotted Woodpecker finally perched up where I could see and photograph it, though it moved on just as I began to take a video. A flock of Long-tailed Tits and another brief view of the Kestrel were had before the day's first Sparrowhawk was seen out to the northeast just before I packed up to head homewards. At least 24 Tree Pipits and 5 Crossbills, as well as Siskin, Swallows and Swifts made for a reasonable amount of interest.

I'd messaged Lainy to see if she fancied a trip to Balmossie and Broughty Ferry in the afternoon, as she was otherwise engaged until around 1330. She agreed, so I decided to head home for a while to recharge my camera battery, and to get out of the sun for a while, however, I did end up getting sidetracked for a while. Large White and Red Admiral butterflies were seen as I walked down the road from the hill-top. A Buzzard glided over as I reached the western side. What was likely the Bullfinches I'd heard earlier were in the trees there and I managed some not particularly great views of a couple of young Bullfinches.

Round by the toilets, I cut up along the small path that joins the main path near the steps up to the top on the east side. A couple of squabbling butterflies appeared in front of me but disappeared over the brambles before I'd managed to get satisfactory views. They looked relatively pale orange in colour and I wondered if they might be Wall butterflies. It took a bit of patience and effort but I was finally rewarded with good views of one of the pair and even managed to take some iphone video as it flew up to intecept the second Wall. As far as I know, this was the first multiple Wall sighting in Dundee. I eventually headed home around 1135, having managed to find a total of 35 species of birds and 4 of butterflies which was probably better than expected.

House Martin

Herring Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Tree Pipit

Tree Pipit

Swift

Carrion Crow

Swallow

Kestrel

Coal Tit

Tree Pipit

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Black-headed Gull

Buzzard

Wall

Wall

Birds - Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Crossbill, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sand Martin, Siskin, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Tree Pipit, Woodpigeon, Wren.

Butterflies - Large White, Red Admiral, Small White, Wall. 

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Lainy messaged me just after 1300 to say she'd pick me up from home after she'd dropped some stuff off at home. I got organised - with my 'big scope' taking the place of my smaller one for a change. It is too heavy to carry with everything else if I'm on foot, but with so many birds in the Tay, the extra reach it offers made it a necessity. Thanks to Lainy, I would be able to take it with me for once. With a bit of luck, I might be able to find something new for my #2025Dundee150 list with it....

Woodpigeon, Herring Gull, Swift, Swallow and House Sparrow were all noted while I waited for Lainy's arrival. After a minute or two, she arrived and we headed off to Balmossie to see what we could find. Black-headed Gull, Carrion Crow, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Eider, Goosander, Great Black-backed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull and Oystercatcher were all spotted as we wandered along from the end of the esplanade to the benches overlooking the Dighty outflow at Balmossie. The closer views gave us more species - Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Sandwich Tern, Turnstone and Mute Swan. We continued to scan through the birds we could see in front of us as the tide pushed the birds in closer.

Out on the river, things were far quieter than they had been a few days previously, which was disappointing given that I was better prepared and also had the benefit of an extra pair of eyes from Lainy. There were a few Small White butterflies flitting around, but otherwise it was very quiet on the butterfly front where we were. Goldfinch, Grey Wagtail, Bar-tailed Godwit, Razorbill, Grey Heron, Jackdaw, Rook, Common Sandpiper and a Stock Dove kept the avian interest up until just before 1600 when we decided to try the local nature reserve for butterflies, especially Purple Hairstreaks in the relatively small Oak trees there. 

Robin, Collared Dove, Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Chiffchaff, Bullfinch, Coal Tit and Great Tit were all seen as we scanned the tops of the trees for the butterflies. Eventually we managed to see at least 3 around one tree and a couple more at another. I even managed to get a few flight shots, 1 of which looked relatively sharp and in focus (for a change). We persevered for the best part of 2 hours as the sun moved round towards the northwest before calling it a day and heading home. The afternoon's efforts had produced 40 species of birds, and 2 of butterflies. This took the combined totals for the day to 58 species of birds and 5 species of butterflies - with the Wall duo being the main highlight (Lainy managed to find a third in the same place at the Law the following day).

Turnstone

Grey Heron

Common Sandpiper

Pammene regiana

Bullfinch

Purple Hairstreak & Wasp sp.

Purple Hairstreak

Bullfinch

Robin & Chiffchaff

Purple Hairstreak

Purple Hairstreak

Birds - Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Eider, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black-backed Gull, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Long-tailed Tit, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Razorbill, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Robin, Rook, Sandwich Tern, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Turnstone, Woodpigeon.

Butterflies - Purple Hairstreak, Small White. 

1417 : Hundreds And Thousands (10/8/25)

Great Black-backed Gull

After what was a far more successful trip to Riverside Nature Park than I could have hoped for, with not just the Golden Plover finally seen but also a bonus Sanderling too, I was determined to get out to Broughty Ferry again. Having been successful with an Arctic Skua sighting the previous Sunday, I wanted to try to add something else. With countless birds in the river, well up past the bridges the previous day, I was optimistic that my weekend luck might just continue and that I might be able to add something else to my #2025Dundee150 list. An early start was planned...

I was a little bit later than intended in getting out, though 0715 is still quite early when sunrise is only a little over an hour before. Being a Sunday, there wouldn't be too many people around on my walk down to Broughty Castle. Herring Gull, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Starling, Feral Pigeon and the first of at least 22 Tree Pipits (as things progressed, some of the total were 'heard only', so may well have been groups of more than 1 - I did see groups of 3 and 6) made for a steady start. Blue Tit, Swift, House Martin and Wren were all noted along Clepington Road as I headed for Swannie Ponds. A Chiffchaff was heard at the ponds, with Coot, Mallard, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Grey Wagtail, Grey Heron, the Mute Swan family and some Black-headed Gulls all noted as well as some of the local House Sparrows and a Carrion Crow or two.

I continued on to Eastern Cemetery where Robin, Goldfinch, Blackbird, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Coal Tit and Goldcrest (as well as a few more Tree Pipits) made for a productive visit. Having just crossed Arbroath Road, a Great Spotted Woodpecker overflew, which was a bit of a surprise. A Mistle Thrush was another. I headed down to the Stannergate where Long-tailed Tits were heard and the day's first Sandwich Terns were picked out over the river, even before I'd reached the end of the docks. As it turned out, there were quite a lot of these terns around, fishing close in to shore as well as further out towards Fife. Their calls provided an almost constant backing track to my walk along to Broughty Ferry.

Dunnock and Pied Wagtail were noted near the small car park while a couple of Cormorants were seen out on the river. The first wader of the day was an Oystercatcher, though Redshank, Turnstone and a slightly unexpected Common Sandpiper were soon added before I'd gone too much further. Common Gull, Curlew and a large White butterfly were found near the sailing club sheds. A Goosander was seen by the pipe at Douglas Terrace and the day's first Swallows swept past upriver near Beach Crescent. I reached the castle area around 0915 and set up the scope. A Fulmar was a bit of a surprise, though the Harbour Porpoise I had brief views of, just offshore, was far more of a surprise - and a first for me in the Tay. A Grey Seal was in the same general area though further out. There were still Tree Pipits passing overhead but a few flocks of Crossbills also headed over westwards.

There was plenty of activity out on and over the river and I managed to add Eider, Great Black-backed Gull and a distant flock of 25 Grey Herons together heading over Tayport. I picked out some Canada Geese on the shore at Tayport before I set off for Balmossie to see what I could find as the tide came in. I detoured in for a look at the local nature reserve where a Sparrowhawk was seen circling above, while a Siskin was heard. A Holly Blue butterfly gave me extended close views in the same area as the Longhorn Moths had been previously, before the habitat destruction by a very entitled nearby resident. Returning to the path by the river, I added an Osprey close in as I wandered along towards Balmossie.  

At Balmossie, Jackdaw and Rook were seen down by the burn outflow, while across towards Tentsmuir Point, hundreds of Gannets could be seen fishing. A couple of Ringed Plover, and some Bar-tailed Godwits added to the list of waders seen. A few Linnets showed briefly and a small flock of Wigeon headed upriver. A Shag flew in the opposite direction. A Stock Dove dropped in for a very quick drink before heading back up and over the houses again. A Kittiwake down among the gull roost was a welcome addition before I picked out the day's first Arctic Skua out towards Tentsmuir Point. Scanning through the roosting gulls, I stumbled upon a very welcome Little Gull, my first within Dundee this year (having seen some at Monikie earlier in the year while twitching the White-winged Black Tern).

The incoming tide brought the Little Gull, and the other birds in much closer as time passed. A few Sand Martins headed past. A couple of Common Sandpipers showed up in the burn outflow and another couple of Fulmars were seen around 1410. I found a ringed Black-headed Gull (White 2N59 - ringed in England) before I set off back towards Broughty Castle again. The walk back added more Arctic Skuas - with at least 3 groups of 2, and a singleton seen. Additionally, I managed to get a few Common Terns on the list for the day. The day's first sighting of a few distant Bottlenose Dolphins came around 1550.

A Buzzard was seen off to the north as I passed the rock garden. One of the jack-up rigs was on the move out of the river and as I watched the Terns fishing around the support vessels I found my second new species for my #2025Dundee150 list - an Arctic Tern. I managed to find a Guillemot out around mid-channel as I scanned through all the birds on the river. There were easily thousands of birds as the tide came in - Kittiwakes in their hundreds, Gannets in their hundreds, Terns (mostly Sandwich, but also Common and Arctic), other gulls (including a few Little), Eiders, Goosanders as well as a few Skuas and Auks. I don't recall having ever seen quite as much variety on the Tay all at one time before. 

Having already been out for around 10 hours, I still hadn't made it back to the castle, having been distracted multiple times when I'd stopped to scan through more birds out on the river. I found a few Razorbills around 1715 and my final addition was a Collared Dove which took the day's list to a very surprising 70 species (including 2 more new #2025Dundee150 birds - in bold). I suspect that heat shimmer and distance likely meant I missed out on at least 1, maybe 2 or 3, more species. I finally tore myself away from the river and headed homewards via Swannie Ponds (where a ringed Black Headed Gull - green J63P from Norway had returned again) making it home for around 1830, having been birding for 11 and a quarter hours. A very long and tiring day out, but well worth the effort. On the walk home, I actually contemplated taking the Tuesday off work to try again, but managed to talk myself out of it.

Cormorant

Sandwich Tern

Common Sandpiper

Sandwich Tern

Common Gull

Curlew

Goosander

Grey Heron

Crossbill

Redshank

Sparrowhawk

Holly Blue

Goldfinch

Osprey

Grey Heron

Wigeon

Swift

Gannet

Stock Dove

Gannet

Bar-tailed Godwit & Black-headed Gull

Kittiwake

Bar-tailed Godwit

Fulmar

Common Sandpiper & Turnstone

Little Gull

Kittiwake

Arctic Skua

Arctic Skua

Arctic Tern

Arctic Skua

Birds -Arctic Skua, Arctic Tern, Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Common Tern, Coot, Cormorant, Crossbill, Curlew, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Gannet, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black-backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kittiwake, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Linnet, Little Gull, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Razorbill, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Shag, Siskin, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Tree Pipit, Turnstone, Woodpigeon, Wren.

Butterflies - Holly Blue, Large White.

Mammals - Bottlenose Dolphin, Grey Seal, Harbour Porpoise, Rabbit.