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| Jay |
I managed to add Treecreeper to my #2025 Dundee150 list on my way to work on Tuesday the 7th. On Wednesday the 8th of January, I wasn't able to get out birding in the morning but by around 1315, circumstances had changed and I considered my options before deciding to stay at home to try to catch up with my photo editing and blog-post backlog. However, not long after having decided to do that Lainy phoned me to let me know she had (re-)found a couple of Scaup at Clatto Reservoir. With Scaup being quite a tricky species to catch up with in Dundee (though last year was a bit of an outlier in that respect with a few sightings of the species, at Broughty Ferry, Riverside Nature Park, and what was likely the same pair of birds, at Clatto in late December), I quickly got organised and headed out at around 1405.
I knew it would take me the best part of an hour to get to Clatto. There wasn't much activity initially when I stepped outside with just a couple of Herring Gulls around. Around 5 minutes later Feral Pigeon, Starling, Carrion Crow, House Sparrow and Robin livened up the list a little. I decided to catch a number 22 bus at Strathmartine Road to speed up my journey. With most passengers disembarking before the Kingsway as well as the time of day, it was likely the bus would be fairly quiet, and my hunch proved to be correct. I added Woodpigeon and Magpie from the bus. As I hurried up Sidlaw Drive I noted Blue Tit, Great Tit, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Pied Wagtail, Long Tailed Tit and Coal Tit. I messaged Lainy to find out where the Scaup were and was happy to hear they were moving eastwards towards the corner of the reservoir I would arrive at.
When I got there a few minutes later, I could see Lainy about two-thirds along the northern edge of the reservoir with her camaera pointing at 2 ducks asleep in the middle of the reservoir. They were the hoped for Scaup duo, though they certainly weren't going to make it easy to get useable photos. I took a few record shots anyway. Goldeneye, Black Headed Gull, Goosander and Common Gull were also seen. A Raven was heard from the trees on the north side but soon went quiet and a Pheasant was in the fields to the west. We added Goldcrest, Wren, Redwing, Blackbird, Tufted Duck, Moorhen, Mute Swan, and Mallard before noticing that the Scaup had apparently vanished. Jon Cook was round by the toilets when we arrived and we soon relocated the Scaup pair, much closer in among the Tufted Ducks. Lainy dropped me off at Ardler Pond but other than birds at the feeders there was nothing much to be seen. As I was about to head off home, Lainy messaged me to say that when she got home, she found an unexpected Brambling in her garden. Not a bad way to round off an afternoon. I finished my own short birding outing with 30 species including a couple of #2025Dundee150 species (in bold) taking me to 84.
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| Scaup |
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| Goldfinch |
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Carrion Crow
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| Scaup |
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| Scaup |
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| Scaup |
Birds - Black Headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Raven, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Scaup, Starling, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Wren.
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When Saturday the 11th of January arrived I decided to try again for Snipe, Jack Snipe and Water Rail at Trottick Ponds. Expectations were low however. Whether I was successful there or not, I was undecided where to go after that. Clatto and Templeton Woods looked like the most promising option with a chance of Crossbill - though they have been very scarce this Winter. Nevertheless, with few options to add something new for the year, and my #2025Dundee150 list, it was highly likely that I would once again find myself returning to Clatto Reservoir and the surrounding areas. A slightly later than intended start saw me leaving the house just before 0955.
Feral Pigeon, Herring Gull, Chaffinch, Carrion Crow, Grey Wagtail, Starling and Magpie made for a rather mixed bag of a start to the day's list, with a few relatively unexpected birds amongst the more mundane mix. House Sparrow, Great Tit, Robin and Blue Tit were found as I headed down Graham Street towards Caird Park. Wren, Blackbird, Redwing, Siskin and Goldcrest were all noted as I wandered down across the golf course. Moorhen were seen at the ponds though there was no sign of the usual wintering Kingfisher, nor any Dipper on the Gelly Burn. A Buzzard was spotted flying off across the 9-hole golf course as I wandered down towards Claverhouse Road.
It didn't take too long to reach Trottick Ponds where Woodpigeon, Black Headed Gull and Jackdaw quickly made their way onto the day's list. Over the burn, I spooked an unseen Snipe despite scanning ahead with the thermal imager. This was a bit of a plus as it cancelled out my 'outwith Dundee' sighting of the previous week. I could also hear a Water Rail calling and with a bit of patience and the help of the thermal imager I was eventually able to see the bird. Dunnock and Greenfinch were also around. The walk up Harestane Road added Goldfinch and Collared Dove. There were a number of Common Gulls on a grassy area behind St Andrew's Primary School. I headed down towards Clatto Reservoir around half an hour later, stopping briefly to photograph a small skein of Greylag Geese. Down at the frozen reservoir, I found Grey Heron, Mute Swan and Mallard plus the usual mix of gull species. There were a few Moorhen perched high in one of the 'island' trees.
A Fieldfare and a some Coal Tits were in the trees by the car park, along with Robin and Blue Tits. A few Linnets and a passing Yellowhammer plus a Stock Dove pair in with a flock of Woodpigeon were near the farm. Heading up into Templeton Woods, things proved to be relatively quiet until I stumbled upon a group of very vocal Jays, though I never did find what was making them quite so noisy, despite venturing into the small stand of conifers they seemed fixated on. A skein of Pink Footed Geese passed overhead as I headed back to the reservoir area again. I found a few Bullfinches and a flock of Long Tailed Tits at Ardler Pond as well as a few closer to home. I found the Saker Falcon perched on Cox's Stack on my rather meandering walk home. My final addition for the day was a Pied Wagtail near Dens Park, which took my total for the day to 42 species including 2 new birds (in bold) for my #2025Dundee150 list. While it wasn't a classic day out by any means, it was relatively successful given that I had hoped to add something new for the year.
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Water Rail
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Greylag Goose
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Black Headed Gull, Herring Gull & Common Gull
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| Moorhen |
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Common Gull & Black Headed Gull
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Blue Tit
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| Greenfinch |
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| Fieldfare |
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| Robin |
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Grey Heron
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| Buzzard |
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Stock Dove & Woodpigeon
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| Yellowhammer |
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Jay
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Pink Footed Goose
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| Bullfinch |
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Saker Falcon (escape)
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Birds - Black Headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common
Gull, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit,
Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, [Saker Falcon], Siskin, Snipe, Starling, Stock Dove, Water Rail, Woodpigeon,
Wren, Yellowhammer.
