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| Gannet |
Saturday's 'Indian Summer' vibe (despite the jetski disturbance) was forecast to be rather quickly replaced by strong easterly winds and heavy rain showers for Sunday. Given the time of year, I needed to get out birding, with Storm Arwen at a very similar time back in 2023 really delivering a nice mix of species into the Tay with lots of Kittiwakes and Little Gulls found but also Great & Arctic Skuas, Storm Petrels and Little Auks all being found - as well as Ring Ouzel, Yellow-Browed Warbler and Firecrest in the bushes and trees at either end of the city. Despite the similarities in time-frame between the 2 'storms' the relative brevity of the easterlies didn't look quite as likely to deposit some 'good' birds where I could find them. However, I had to try regardless...
There appeared to be a bit of 'window' early in the afternoon when the rain looked like stopping. I decided that would be the best time to head out for the walk to Broughty Ferry. I would hopefully have a few hours before the rain returned, to find hopefully find something good out on the river. I decided not to take my scope with me, and instead just rely on just binoculars and camera. I messaged Lainy to see if she fancied joining me but she was already out, improving habitat for Small Blue butterflies in Monifieth. I headed out just after 1235. I was slightly over-dressed but that was definitely a better option than being under-dressed gien the conditions I might encounter.
Feral Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Robin and Blackbird made for a relatively slow start as I headed towards Arbroath Road. I did consider catching a bus out to Broughty Ferry but with none due particularly soon I decided to keep walking. Sparrowhawk, House Sparrow, Starling and Herring Gull were all noted as I headed along Arbroath Road and down onto Craigie Avenue. Blue Tit, Linnet and Goldfinch were found as I reached the Stannergate area. Heading out along the relatively wild river I did still manage to find Cormorant, Turnstone, Black-headed Gull and a few young but distant Gannets. A German Navy vessel heading into Dundee Docks provided a bit of a distraction as it passed by. Common Gull was seen at the lifeboat station along with Redshank and a young Great Black-backed Gull. I continued on towards the Castle.
Although it was a bit too windy to spend any time up in the Catsle grounds I had a quick look from there before reloacting round to the eastern side which wasn't much more sheltered from the south-easterly winds. Nevertheless, I did still manage to spot Eider, Red-throated Diver, Pied Wagtail and Grey Seal. i decided to continue on out towards Balmossie. There were a number of gulls feeding along the water'sm edge but I failed to find anything out of the ordinary amongst them. There were a couple of Oystercatchers among the gulls but I continued on eastwards. The waves were relatively big (for the Tay) and it was tricky to find anything as a result. A single Wigeon then a small flock flew past as I used what little shelter from the wind that I could find to give me some respite from the conditions.
I ended up using the 'Tay Haze' art installation as a bit of a winbreak to photograph a couple of young Gannets that were coming in relatively close to shore. There were more gulls feeding among the waves close in, but nothing unusual among them. Lainy messaged me to see if I was still at Broughty Ferry and soon joined me. We headed up to the brick shelter to scan from there using her scope. The only addition from there was a trio of Shelducks before we headed homewards as the expected rain arrived. Mallard and Coot were seen as we passed Swannie Ponds, which took my total for the afternoon's efforts to 28 species. Unfortunately there were no new birds for my #2025Dundee150 list to be found amongst those, but it was still worthwhile getting out, just in case.
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| Herring Gull |
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| Cormorant |
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| Turnstone |
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| Common Gull & Black-headed Gull |
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| Turnstone & Redshank |
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| Turnstone |
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| Turnstone |
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| Red-throated Diver |
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| Red-throated Diver |
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| Cormorant |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Gannet |
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| Wigeon |
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| Gannet |
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| Gannet |
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| Gannet |
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| Gannet |
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| Gannet |
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| Gannet |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Herring Gull & Black-headed Gull |
Birds - Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Eider, Gannet, Goldfinch, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Red-throated Diver, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Shag, Shelduck, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Turnstone, Wigeon.
Mammals - Grey Seal.
