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| Chiffchaff |
As Jack Snipe has proven to be very elusive this winter in Dundee - though Lainy did actually manage to find one - I decided on an early start on Saturday the 8th of March with a visit to Trottick Ponds first of all to try again to find one for myself. From there I would wander along the back of Fintry to Middleton Woods before heading down to the Dighty Burn and from there continue out to Clearwater Park, with the possibility of adding another few miles to the day's wanders with a visit to Broughty Ferry Castle before heading homewards again. Along with Jack Snipe I hoped that I might run into a Stonechat at the back of Fintry and possibly manage to photograph Woodcock at Middleton Woods too.
It was an early start, just not as early as I'd envisaged. Starling, Feral Pigeon, Great Tit and Herring Gull provided the backdrop when I stepped outside around 0725-ish. Although it wasn't exactly misty, there did appear to be a bit of haziness looking south towards the Tay. Carrion Crow, Dunnock, Blackbird, Robin, Goldfinch, Blue Tit, House Sparrow, Magpie and Woodpigeon made for a relatively busy wander up to Clepington Road. Jackdaw was added there and the football pitches off Graham Street held a mix of Common Gull, Curlew and Oystercatcher. At Caird Park, a Song Thrush sang loudly from a pathside tree and a Roe Deer was seen standing in the middle of one of the golf course fairways, watching me pass by.
Goldcrest, Wren, a flock of rather wary Redwings, a marauding Sparrowhawk, a Black Headed Gull overflying and a Buzzard moving among the treetops as well as a Grey Squirrel kept Cairdie interesting. As I crossed to Trottick Ponds, a Jay flew into the trees by the burn. There was a bit more activity at the ponds than on my previous visit with Mallard, Mute Swan, Tufted Duck and Moorhen all seen on the water. The trees held Bullfinch and Chaffinch but once again the reedbed failed to deliver on Jack Snipe or even Common Snipe, though the local Roe Deer family were stood out in the open, which allowed me to get a few photos as they kept their eyes on me. A Reed Bunting was singing from one of the trees overlooking the swampy area.
The walk to the Forfar Road added Skylark, Greenfinch and Yellowhammer as well as a vocal Rook overflying. Lainy had messaged me to let me know there was no sign of the previous day's Canada Geese at Clatto and that visibility was very poor there with the reservoir largely shrouded in mist. I replied that it was possible to see all the way to Clepington Road from where I was, but the Law was hidden in the haze. I crossed over the dual carriageway and continued slowly eastwards. Pheasant, Meadow Pipit and Linnet as well as a few more Yellowhammers were noted on the slow wander along Jack Martin Way. I found a small group of Stock Doves on the wires opposite Middleton Wood and a Reed Bunting flew off towards where I'd just come from.
As I wandered up the road to head into Middleton Wood I was suddenly aware that I could hear a familar snatch of birdsong. I stopped and listened and sure enough, my first Chiffchaff of 2025 could be heard singing from somewhere relatively distant within the site. A skein of Pink Footed Geese skirted through the base of the relatively low cloud overhead. A Coal Tit was seen in the trees as I wandered down along the paths at the wood. Movement in the bushes below the pylon turned out to be a silent Chiffchaff and with a bit of patience I was able to get a few photos. There was no sign of Woodcock unfortunately. Dana messaged me to see if I would be able to give her a hand to try to catch the Eider drake that was trapped at the roadbridge ponds. I replied that I would if she managed to get a net, though it would probably be mid-afternoon before I was home and available to help her, and hopefully the duck, out.
I reached the Dighty around 1025 or so and set off along the path from Drumgeith Road. Things were rather quiet. I found a Grey Heron half hidden in behind the fence by the bird feeders. Another Chiffchaff was briefly heard singing by the halfway footbridge and a Pied Wagtail was heard in flight further on. A Buzzard was perched in a small tree between the recycling centre and the former Michelen factory site. A Lesser Black Backed Gull was stood atop the mobile phone mast by the Richard Lawson haulage yard. A lone Dipper was singing near a previous nest site and another pair appeared to be loitering by another likely nest site further on. I crossed the road and checked out the area behind West Pitkerro Industrial Estate before wandering round to Barlow Avenue.
Long Tailed Tits were in the trees and a pair of Mallard were on the water there but I decided not to continue on to Clearwater Park after all. Instead I chose to double back along the Dighty and up to Swannie Ponds. I spent a bit of time photographing the Dipper pair I'd seen earlier as well as the lone bird further upstream. Things were otherwise even quieter than they had been on my way 'out'. I popped up to Swannie Ponds around 1315 which provided 2 new additions for the day in the shape of Goosander and Coot. Dana messaged me to let me know that she had managed to procure a net from her cousin. I suggested that rather than continuing home I could meet her at the Eider instead. She offered to pick me up and it wasn't too long before we were down by the pond with a strategy that seemed to offer at least a chance of success.
It almost worked on the very first attempt, with the bird only just eluding the swing of the net. The bird was unsurprisingly wary after that, though we did get a second chance which also proved fruitless before we gave up, though not before we were joined for a few minutes by Ian Morrison who had been passing by when he spotted us. We discussed possible ways to improve our chances of rescuing the bird but the pond layout was going to hinder things no matter what we came up with. After more discussion, Dana dropped me off close to home, saving my legs a bit of otherwise uphill effort. I had managed to find a total of 51 species of bird, including 1 new one for my #2025Dundee150 list (in bold) and 2 species of mammals. Despite apparently reasonable conditions it proved to be much quieter for raptors than I had expected it might be with relatively few seen.
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| Roe Deer |
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| House Sparrow |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Linnet |
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| Buzzard & Carrion Crow |
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| Pheasant |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Skylark |
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| Rook |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Buzzard |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Buzzard |
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| Lesser Black Backed Gull |
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| Dipper |
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| Dipper |
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| Dunnock |
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| Blackbird |
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| Mallard |
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| Curlew |
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| Dipper |
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| Long Tailed Tit |
Birds - Black Headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Curlew, Dipper, Dunnock, Eider, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals - Grey Squirrel, Roe Deer.
