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| Pied Wagtail |
I had zero energy and motivation to get out birding on Saturday the 16th but wanted to get out somewhere on Sunday the 17th, rather than waste another day at home doing nothing particularly constructive or enjoyable. I decided on another trip to Broughty Ferry. I figured that there was a slight chance of a Great Skua harassing the gulls and terns out over the Tay, even if the numbers of birds seemed to have calmed down from the highs of the previous Sunday. Despite having had the extra reach of the 'big scope' on Wednesday, I felt the 'small scope' was slightly more suited for the Tay - though there was an obvious trade-off between that reach and the ease of transport/use.
I was out the door just after 0710. Herring Gull, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Jackdaw, Starling and a passing Meadow Pipit got things underway for the day. A Grey Wagtail was next and may also have been a migrant on the move. House Martin, Blue Tit, Goldfinch, Dunnock and Carrion Crow were all noted around the Dura Street car park area. Continuing on to Baxter Park got me Wren and Magpie. As I cut down Deerpark Road a few minutes further on, a Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard from the trees to the south but went unseen. A Robin was found on Arbroath Road. I reached the Stannergate around 0745 where I was able to add Oystercatcher, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black-headed Gull and Sandwich Tern without too much difficulty. One or two of the local Rabbits were in their usual areas.
Continuing out along the esplanade to the east, House Sparrows were in the bushes by the car park while Curlew and Turnstone were down on the beach among the pebbles and seaweed. A Cormorant was fishing not far offshore. A Grey Seal was picked out in the middle of the river from near the sailing club sheds. At Douglas Terrace, a quartet of Goosanders were swimming a metre or so off the shoreline and a fifth was on the beach. A Common Gull was the next sighting onto the list. I reached the castle and set up the tripod and scope to scan out across the river. I was able to spot a few Guillemots and Razorbills, along with their accompanying youngsters among the waves. A Greenfinch perched on the castle fence, and a number of Eider could be seen over towards Fife. A couple of Pied Wagtails foraged down on the sand.
I moved up to the banking behind the crazy golf course and scanned from there. Although not quite as high as the Castle grounds, it still changes the perspective and makes picking out birds on the water a bit easier. There were a few Gannets over the water as well as some Swallows moving upriver in small flocks. A Collared Dove called from somewhere behind me. An unusual sight was a flock of 25 Grey Herons gaining height above Tayport, most likely flushed from their roosting spots on the beach. More scanning allowed me to get an adult Red Breasted Merganser with 2 youngsters. Over by Tayport the local Mute Swan family was seen just off the beach.
Around 70 Canada Geese flew diagonally across from Tayport towards Balmossie, with some returning almost immediately and the bulk of the flock continuing on out of sight to the north. A detour into the nature reserve added a few smaller birds - Chaffinch, Goldcrest, Song Thrush and Chiffchaff but not much else except a couple of Speckled Wood butterflies. I headed back to the beachside path to continue out to the benches at Balmossie. Bar Tailed Godwit, Redshank, Ringed Plover and Dunlin were seen as I got closer to the burn outflow. Amongst the gull roost were a few Great Black-backed Gulls. A Red Admiral butterfly flew past me and a few Large Whites were seen before I reached the bench with the best view over the burn mouth and nearby beach.
A few Linnets were flying around and after a lot of searching, I found a Kittiwake amongst the gulls. An Osprey was seen hovering over the river and was joined by a second bird a few minutes later, though one of the two continued on westwards relatively quickly with the other bird taking its time before doing likewise. A few Rooks were dotted around by the burn. Out over the river a few Common Terns were picked out among the gulls and Sandwich Terns but overall the estuary felt much quieter than just 7 days before. I gave up around 1300 and headed slowly back in the direction of the castle. A few Small White butterflies were seen at the Barnhill Rock Garden. I had a hunt for butterflies in the local nature reserve and managed to rustle up a single Purple Hairstreak near the eastern end - likely a female looking for places to lay eggs, a bit earlier in the day than most Purple Hairstreak sightings.
I failed to add much more as I wandered on past the castle. I decided to look for Holly Blues at Beach Lane and managed to find a worn individual that refused to settle for long. In addition, there was a Silver Y moth that would have been very easy to miss among the branches of a fallen part of a bush. Along at the Stannergate, I went in through a hole in the fence to check among the vegetation for butterflies to the east of the sewage tank. The only butterflies seen were a trio of Painted Ladies (or is it Painted Ladys?). I found a flock of Long Tailed Tits in the trees opposite the Alpha Projects building. I decided to continue on up to Swannie Ponds rather than take the more direct route home. Mallard, Moorhen and Coot there took the list for the day to 56 species of birds, 7 of butterflies, 2 of mammals and 1 moth species.
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| Curlew |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Cormorant |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Goosander |
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| Turnstone |
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| Greenfinch |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Canada Goose |
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| Speckled Wood |
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| Ringed Plover |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Great Black-backed Gull |
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| Holly Blue |
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| Silver Y |
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| Painted Lady |
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| Painted Lady |
Birds - Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-headed
Gull, Blue Tit, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow,
Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove,
Common Gull, Common Tern, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Gannet, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander,
Great Black-backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow,
Jackdaw, Kittiwake, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Linnet, Long-tailed Tit,
Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pied
Wagtail, Razorbill, Red-breasted Merganser, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sandwich Tern, Song Thrush, Starling, Swallow, Turnstone, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies - Holly Blue, Large White, Painted Lady, Purple Hairstreak, Red Admiral, Small White, Speckled Wood.
Mammals - Grey Seal, Rabbit.
Moths - Silver Y.
