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| 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.
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| House Martin |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Lesser Black-backed Gull |
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| Tree Pipit |
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| Tree Pipit |
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| Swift |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Swallow |
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| Kestrel |
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| Coal Tit |
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| Tree Pipit |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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| Black-headed Gull |
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| Buzzard |
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| Wall |
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| 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).
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| Turnstone |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Common Sandpiper |
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| Pammene regiana |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Purple Hairstreak & Wasp sp. |
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| Purple Hairstreak |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Robin & Chiffchaff |
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| Purple Hairstreak |
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| 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.
