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| Little Egret |
I keep a pair of binoculars in my bag when I'm walking to work, just in case there are any birds that need a proper look, though most that I encounter are readily identifiable without need to use the binoculars. One day last year, a small falcon overflew me early in the morning, which turned out to be a Kestrel. A short distance further on, a lady getting out of her car asked me what I'd seen. It turned out the lady in question, Rohan, was a bit of a birder - though more of the casual kind. In the intervening period we've had a few other brief chats when our paths have crossed and off the back of a recent chat we agreed to meet up for a spot of birding together. We would head out for 4 hours or so on the morning of Saturday the 26th of April. Unfortunately as the day approached the weather forecast got less and less favourable looking.
Undeterred, we arranged to meet up at Swannie Ponds at 0800. I had suggested a few sites along the coast, starting at Auchmithie, and Rohan had suggested the Tay reedbeds for Bearded Tits. Unfortunately, the heaviest of the forecast rain was to be over the reedbeds for a couple of hours from around 0930, which was far from ideal. The walk up to Swannie Ponds had produced a few species to start the day off with House Sparrow, Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Blue Tit, Blackbird, House Martin, Magpie and Goldfinch noted as I made my way along to Dura Street. The walk up to the ponds from there added Oystercatcher, Woodpigeon, Chiffchaff, Carrion Crow and Starling. Things were relatively quiet at the ponds with Mallard, Mute Swan, Coot, Tufted Duck, Moorhen and Grey Heron noted on the water. Chaffinch and Swallow completed the initial part of the list before Rohan arrived bang on 0800.
We had a short discussion about the iffy weather forecast and the possibilities. As a third option, I mentioned the fact that 2 Avocets had been seen at Guardbridge on the previous couple of days, so we decided to go for them - although I wasn't 100% certain about the actual location where the birds were being seen. We chatted on the drive across to Fife noting Jackdaw, Rook, Woodpigeon, Swallow and Starling from the car. At Guardbridge we wandered in to scan from beside the hide. A Song Thrush was heard singing and we quickly noted Shelduck, Mute Swan, Curlew, Carrion Crow, a pair of Gadwall, Pheasant and Grey Heron, as well as a pair of vocal Canada Geese that flew in and landed out on the mud. There was however no sign of any Avocet.
I figured that the location as described might be up beyond the bridge, so we decided to walk down for a look from there. A Willow Warbler was in the trees by the path as we set off, and just beyond the bridge we found a white wading bird - unfortunately it wasn't an Avocet, but it was a lifer for Rohan - a Little Egret. Scanning upriver, we added Lesser Black Backed Gull, Sand Martin, Sedge Warbler, Chiffchaff, Pied Wagtail, Goosander and Greenfinch. We checked the small reedbed for Grasshopper Warbler but again, we drew a blank. We headed back towards the hide which we hoped would now be open. A Collared Dove was seen as we crossed the road. We headed up to the embankment next to the hide to scan from there. This got us a variety of species with Black Headed Gull, Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Eider, Great Tit, House Sparrow, Mallard, Oystercatcher, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sparrowhawk, Wigeon, Wren and Skylark all being noted before we headed down to see if the hide was open.
There was one birder in the hide - coincidentally the same birder who had been in the Fife Ness hide when I'd been there with Ian earlier in the year. Ian had discovered a few days later that it was actually Jared Wilson - who I've spoken to previously (and who I follow on twitter and bluesky) though given how infrequent my visits to Fife are these days, it is no surprise that he doesn't appear to recognise me at all. I asked if he was Jared to which he replied in the affirmative. I mentioned that Ian and I had spoken to him very briefly in the Fife Ness hide earlier in the year but he didn't seem at all convinced that it had been him, so I left the conversation at that. Word had come through from Riverside Nature Park that Keith had found a Green Winged Teal, so we decided to head back to try for that, with Jared not having seen any sign of the Avocets either. Rohan hadn't heard of a Green Winged Teal, so this would also be a new bird for her (as well as being a #2025Dundee150 list addition for me), if it was still around in the bay.
We made it back to Riverside Nature Park for 1035. The walk round to the bay produced Chaffinch, Dunnock, Magpie, Black Headed Gull, Robin, Linnet, Reed Bunting and Whitethroat. We found Mark round at the now slightly misty bay and he very quickly pointed out the Green Winged Teal, and kindly let us both see it through his scope, as it swam around with more Teal. Once I'd set up my scope, I was able to find a few more birds for the day's park visit - Grey Heron, Dunlin, Sand Martin, Knot and Black Tailed Godwit, and I pointed out what features to look for on the waders as Rohan viewed them through my scope. Rohan headed for home around 1145, with Mark leaving soon after. I decided I might as well see what else I could find, rather than heading for home, despite the slightly less than ideal conditions. Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Blackcap, Carrion Crow, Cormorant, Curlew, Goldfinch, Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Common Gull, Little Egret, Mallard, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Feral Pigeon, Shelduck, Skylark, Swallow and Woodpigeon joined the other species already on the list.
Conditions started to brighten up a little. Around 1220 an Osprey showed up for a fishing attempt in the bay but the local gulls wouldn't give it much peace. It was eventually successful and flew off with a large flatfish. A Pheasant was heard calling loudly and a Bullfinch appeared in the bushes on the banking below where I was scanning from. A distant Mute Swan and a very slightly closer pair of Greylag Goose s well as a pair of Red Breasted Merganser all put in appearances before I decided to do a spot of wandering to see what else was around within the park. Jackdaw, Stock Dove, Starling, Blue Tit, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Wren, Yellowhammer, Rook and Sedge Warbler were soon spotted. Moorhen was seen at the Lochan and Long Tailed Tit, Greenfinch and Great Tit were in the bushes either side of the viewing screen. I explored the lower half of the park before having a look to see if there were still any Wheatear around on the airport grass, initially from the top of the hill, before wandering round to the newly cleared area overlooking the runway threshold. There were still a couple of birds - a male and a female - though they didn't appear to be a pair, feeding on the Rabbit shorn grass around the approach lights.
Another hour spent at the park turned out to be rather fruitless with just a single Buzzard to show for the extra effort expended. My total at the park was a pretty decent 57 species, including the very welcome #2025Dundee150 list addition (in bold). The walk home added Pied Wagtail, Greenfinch, Goldcrest, Coal Tit and Jackdaw taking my list for outwith the park (at least the Dundee section). The combined total for the day's efforts was 71 species (including a #2025Dundee150 tick, in bold), with a couple of the 40 species of birds noted in Fife being new for my 'year-list' that I'm not really paying much attention to. I messaged Rohan when I got home to see how she'd found our first wee birding trip together and she said she'd enjoyed it....which was good news, given the relative disappointment of the morning's weather and the lack of Avocets. Hopefully, next time out, the weather and the birds will be more in our favour....
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| Canada Goose |
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| Gadwall |
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| Green Winged Teal, Teal & Little Egret |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Green Winged Teal |
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| Little Egret |
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| Bar Tailed Godwit |
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| Chaffinch |
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| Teal |
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| Osprey |
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| Black Tailed Godwit & Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Osprey |
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| Blackcap |
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| Red Breasted Merganser |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Black Headed Gull & Common Gull |
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| Wheatear |
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| Wheatear, Stock Dove & Jackdaw |
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| Song Thrush |
Birds (Fife) - Black Headed Gull, Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Curlew, Eider, Gadwall, Goosander, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Little Egret, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Sedge Warbler, Shelduck, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swallow, Wigeon, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Coot, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Feral Pigeon, Starling, Swallow, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon.
Birds (at Riverside Nature Park) - Bar Tailed Godwit, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow,
Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common Gull, Cormorant,
Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldfinch,
Great Tit, Green Winged Teal, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Knot, Lesser
Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie,
Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Reed
Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Sedge Warbler, Shelduck, Skylark, Song
Thrush, Starling,
Stock Dove, Swallow, Teal, Wheatear, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
