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| Grey Wagtail |
With time moving swiftly on, my chances of catching up with Jack Snipe this 'winter' appeared to be rapidly diminishing. With tide times being quite unfavourable on Sunday the 23rd of March, I decided to try Trottick Ponds for Jack Snipe and then to head up to Clatto in search of Sand Martin and Crossbill instead of heading for either Riverside Nature Park or Balmossie/Broughty Ferry. Although I've had Jack Snipe relatively late in the Spring before, the wetter areas where the birds were easiest to find (at Riverside Nature Park) no longer exist. Thermal imagers are a major help for finding these birds, as well as being handy for Common Snipe, Woodcock and Water Rail too, but they are an expensive piece of kit, though more and more birders seem to be purchasing them. Having one does make it possible to find the birds without disturbing them (though it does obviously come down to the individual bird as to whether someone just being somewhere nearby is enough for it to flush), which is a major plus.
As I was getting ready to leave for Trottick, Lainy put word out on the local grapevine to say she'd had half a dozen Sand Martins at Clatto. This meant that my chances of actual success for the day's birding had increased - though obviously there was no guarantee the birds would actually stick around until I got there. I headed out at 1010. Woodpigeon, Herring Gull, Blackbird, Starling, Feral Pigeon, Magpie, House Sparrow, Carrion Crow, Dunnock and Jackdaw provided a steady stream of birds to start the day's birding off as I headed up to Clepington Road. A Lesser Black Backed Gull flew over Graham Street before Robin and Blue Tit were found opposite the football pitches. Crossing the Kingsway into Caird Park got me Goldcrest, Wren, Great Tit and a Sparrowhawk. A Buzzard was seen near the Claverhouse Road end of the golf course too.
Trottick Ponds added Chiffchaff, Mute Swan, Moorhen, Mallard, Coal Tit, Bullfinch, Black Headed Gull, Long Tailed Tit and Chaffinch as I made my way round to check the reedbed for my first target species of the day. I was quite surprised given my previous blank searches, especially this side of Christmas, to actually pick up a bird-shaped heat source and even better, relatively close. It wasn't moving but it did look promising. I made my way down to the bottom of the slope. Unfortunately this meant that whatever it was, was now almost completely hidden. I was just able to see a tiny spot of 'heat' visible on the thermal imager screen. As I readjusted my position to try to get a clearer view, a Jack Snipe burst from cover, just a few feet in front of me and flew off towards the other end of the open area. I failed to get any photos, and another search round at the other end drew a blank too but the bird was on my list for 2025.
I headed up Harestane Road. A Fife Bird News message came through that Mark had seen 2 Cranes flying northeast over Morton Lochs. Had I gone to Broughty Ferry, I might have been in the right place to have seen them. Unfortunately I was almost as far away as it was possible to be (without leaving the city), meaning that it was highly unlikely I would see them barring some rather mad quirk of fate. As I neared Starthmartine Road, a pair of Oystercatchers overflew noisily calling. Heading down the main road to take the 'back way' into Clatto, a Pied Wagtail passed overhead. A Greenfinch was heard near Sidlaw Drive. As I reached the dirt track up past the 'new houses' a Meadow Pipit headed past northwards. The first Yellowhammers of the day were seen a bit further up the track but things overall were rather quiet.
A Skylark was heard ascending over the fields to the north and a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew into the trees where they have bred previously. A Pheasant called loudly from somewhere nearby but out of sight. At the reservoir, the Great Crested Grebe pair were near the northeastern corner and it didn't take very long to pick up a couple of Sand Martins zooming around - my first hirundines of 2025. A Siskin flew into the trees beyond the wall and a Grey Heron flew over from one of the islands. More wandering and scanning added Goldfinch, Common Gull, a pair of Grey Wagtails, a few more Yellowhammers, a metal ringed Black Headed Gull (that I managed to photograph all the characters on the ring - EY47810 a UK ringed bird). A skein of Pink Footed Geese flew over northwards relatively low. A few Tufted Ducks were seen towards the western end of the reservoir but overall the water was fairly quiet.
As I wandered back along the northern side, I caught sight of a fast flying bird low over the water. I was surprsied to find it was a Redshank. It almost landed down on the 'beach' but aborted the landing when it saw me and flew off again towards the south side though it didn't appear to find that area to its liking either. A pair of Pied Wagtails were seen a bit further on and another surprise was a group of 4 Reed Buntings together in a tree by the wall. In the next tree a Magpie was nest building until interrupted by a Carrion Crow which was soon chased off. I wandered up to Templeton Woods, stopping to photograph a Red Squirrel on the way a little before a Curlew overflew. There were a few Roe Deer in their usual resting spot between the fields down towards the farm. Stock Dove and Mistle Thrush were seen near the sundial but there was no sign of any Crossbills - which have been very conspicuous by their absence this year.
Having seemingly exhausted all the possibilities at Clatto and Templeton Woods I decided to head home. Rather than my usual route, I decided to try Trottick Ponds again in the hope of getting a photo of the Jack Snipe. A Song Thrush was heard as I wandered down Sidlaw Drive. Not surprisingly, there was no further sign of Jack Snipe at Trottick. A Grey Squirrel in Caird Park was my final addition for the day's relatively productive birding. I had managed 2 new #2025Dundee150 ticks (in bold) among the 51 species of birds, and 3 of mammals. The weather was also rather pleasant and the combination made for a more enjoyable birding experience than most have been so far this year. Long may the good fortune, and actual enjoyment continue.
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Sand Martin |
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| Great Crested Grebe |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Buzzard |
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| Common Gull |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Grey Wagtail |
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| Grey Wagtail |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Lesser Black Backed Gull |
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| Common Gull |
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| Redshank |
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Herring Gull & Lesser Black Backed Gull |
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| Red Squirrel |
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| Curlew |
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| Siskin |
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| Roe Deer |
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| Great Crested Grebe |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Chiffchaff |
Birds - Black Headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Curlew, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jack Snipe, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sand Martin, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals - Grey Squirrel, Red Squirrel, Roe Deer.
