STONEFACTION BIRDING: 05/30/25

1396 : Three Days At The Top (9-11/5/25)

Barnacle Goose

The cumulative results of a run of early starts and the efforts of the previous day's 'Big Half Day' had meant that I was in my bed much earlier than usual on Thursday evening and the hangover-like feeling from that lingered into the next day as well. As a result I decided to visit the top of the Law for my birding on Friday morning though my expectations were almost non-existent, though at this time of year, you just never know what might pass overhead, or drop into the trees at the hill - though Autumn does tend to be more productive in that respect with a slightly more predictable passage of birds on the move.

I headed out just after 0820 for the 20 minute walk to the hill. House Sparrow, Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Blackbird, Starling and Lesser Black Backed Gull got things underway. Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Magpie, Carrion Crow and Robin quickly followed. Blue Tit and Coal Tit were noted as I wandered rather wearily up Kinghorne Road. Blackcap, Greenfinch, Wren, Willow Warbler and a few Green Veined White butterflies were around the grassy area just east of the track to the allotments. I added Goldcrest as I made my way to the top of the hill.

Things were very quiet and birds were in very short supply. A couple of distant Swifts were seen and a couple of lengthy chats to visitors (one lady from Nethybridge and a gent from Denmark) kept me occupied and helped to pass the time. A displaying female Sparrowhawk did eventually make a single pass along the western side of the hill before vanishing. I added Long Tailed Tit and Great Tit as I made my way down off the hill just before 1100 on my way home. I finished the day's rather half-hearted efforts with a total of just 24 species of birds and 1 of butterflies.

Birds - Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swift, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.

Butterflies - Green Veined White.

Sparrowhawk

Herring Gull

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The following morning saw me just as tired as the previous day but with the added bonus of an equally unhelpful bout of 'lack of enthusiasm' too. However, I didn't want to completely waste the day's decent weather or sit at home all day - despite having a bit of a back-log of blog-posts to type up as well as a similar back-log of photos needing edited. I decided that I really needed to make the effort to get out somewhere. The energy levels were still minimal so I decided to revisit the Law, despite the previous day's dearth of birds there. Instead I would mostly focus on insects - though birds would still be looked for at some point.

Starling, House Sparrow, Feral Pigeon, Herring Gull, Carrion Crow and Swift made for a broadly similar start to the day's birding. Goldfinch, Blue Tit, Blackbird, Chaffinch, Magpie, Lesser Black Backed Gull and Woodpigeon were added as I passed Dens Park. Goldcrest was noted on Byron Street with Greenfinch heard on Leng Street. A Blackcap was in the trees surrounding the allotments and a Green Veined White flitted past before tussling with a Large White. I wandered along the track by the allotments which added Bullfinch, Robin, Coal Tit, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Great Tit. I spent a while searching for and photographing any interesting looking insects I could see.

Song Thrush and Wren were noted as I wandered around in the sunnier spots below the trees on the eastern side. I found a few Speckled Wood butterflies at various spots, which I think might be the first time I've encountered the species at the Law. Orange Tip butterflies were also around in reasonable numbers. I don't think either of these 2 species would have been around 10 years ago, certainly not the Speckled Wood. I eventually headed up to the top of the hill to see what birds I could see. Eventually I was rewarded with a distant Buzzard which was being harassed by a Carrion Crow. A Rook then flew over before a trio of Buzzards were seen out to the west.

Around 1150 I picked up a distant bird flying north over towards Balgay Hill. It didn't appear to be a raptor, or a pigeon, or a gull. It was giving off wader vibes and I was relatively certain that I heard a faint call from the bird as it headed past out to the west. I took a series of photos, though heat distortion wasn't particularly helpful. The photos confirmed that it was indeed a wader and the choice was between Curlew and Whimbrel. I eventually settled on Whimbrel, and later news of the sighting of one in Invergowrie Bay 'at the weekend' did seem to give some additional credence to this identification. I can't completely rule out Curlew but the solid looking black on the wingtips does point towards Whimbrel. I've decided to leave it as a 'probable' Whimbrel. A pair of Sparrowhawks were seen tussling and displaying out to the north around 1210 and another was seen to the northwest just before 1230. A Stock Dove was the final species of bird noted before I called it a day and headed homewards again.

I had a wander round the back of the hill on the way down and found a territorial squabble between 2 seemingly equally stubborn Speckled Woods. I videoed them on my phone for around 2 and a half minutes, then watched them for at least as long again, before they ended up at chest height just a foot in front of me. As they were so preoccupied by each other, I cupped my hands either side of them and slowly moved them together. Surprisingly, I caught one of the butterflies in my hands. The other, probably rather confused by its opponent vanishing, flew off. A few seconds later, I let the other go free and it too flew off in a different direction. The fight was over, rather than continuing on to exhaustion as seemed very likely. Nothing else worthy of note was seen on the rest of the walk home. It had been a slightly more interesting morning's wildlife watching than the previous day had been, even if the overall haul of birds was nothing special. I ended the day's birding with 33 species of birds and 4 of butterflies.

Birds - Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Bullfnch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Oystercatcher, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swift, Whimbrel(?),Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.

Butterflies - Green Veined White, Large White, Orange Tip, Speckled Wood.

Bee sp.

Fly sp.

Hoverfly sp.

Speckled Wood

Cranefly sp.

Buzzard

Rook

Sparrowhawk

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Having spent the previous 2 mornings at the Law I decided to head for Riverside Nature Park on Sunday the 11th of May. The weather forecast was for relatively warm temperatures later in the day after a fairly cool start which made deciding what to wear a bit tricky. However, I got organised, erring on the side of caution, accounting for the likelihood that it might not feel quite as warm as forecast given that there had been a bit of a chill to the wind when the sun went behind the clouds throughout much of my time off work on holiday over the preceding week or so. I had also decided to take the scope and tripod with me to the park, adding to the weight I would be carrying.

I set off just before 0945 with House Sparrow, Swift, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon and Goldfinch immediately onto the day's list when I stepped outside. Herring Gull, Dunnock, Blackbird, Magpie and Starling as well as a Small White butterfly were noted as I headed up past Tannadice. Robin, Wren, Blue Tit and Pied Wagtail were added as I headed along Byron Street. I wasn't feeling 100% and the combination of potentially a dodgy belly and the temperature already feeling warmer than expected for what I'd chosen to wear meant I abandoned my plan for the day. Rather than continue on to the park I decided to head for the top of the Law once again, meaning I was only 20 minutes from home, if I started feeling any worse.

A Goldcrest was heard as I made my way up towards the steps up to the hill-top. As I wandered up past the allotments, movement on a tree trunk ahead of me caught my eye. I was surprised to see a Great Spotted Woodpecker on the north side of one of the relatively small trees. I stopped to get the camera out of the bag but before I managed to extricate it, the bird flew up into the top of the next tree where I failed to refind it. A Blackcap was in the trees by the steps up to the hilltop. Not unexpectedly there didn't seem to be too much happening at the top and birds were once again in short supply. A butterfly flew past me but didn't stop, but a flash of orange was enough for me to think it was just a Small Tortoiseshell.

A few minutes later what was very likely the same butterfly flew past again and this time it landed on the short grass just below the trig point marker. I had a quick look through the binoculars to get a proper ID. I was very surprised to see that it was actually a Wall (or Wall Brown as they are also known) - a new butterfly for me in Dundee. There were apparently a couple of sightings in Dundee last year, one at Stannergate and one at Western Cemetery, but it was very much an expected new species for the city following its rapid colonisation around the Fife coast over the past few years. I quickly grabbed a couple of rather ropey record shots in case it flew off again. I needn't have worried as although the butterfly was easily spooked it was clear it was in no hurry to leave the top of the hill.

I was able to get lots of photos over the course of the next few hours, though these became more sporadic as the wind increased in strength towards early afternoon. A Sparrowhawk temporarily distracted me from the Wall for a few seconds before the unexpected sound of geese made me whirl round. I didn't expect the geese to be a small skein of 6 Barnacle Geese heading very low past the western side of the hill, on their way northwards. Initially I failed to get focus on any of the birds but I was eventually able to grab a few quick photos as the birds continued further out to the north. The local Kestrel did a spot of hunting just before 1100 allowing me to get a few more decent shots as it hovered relatively close to the front of the hill. Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Willow Warbler, Oystercatcher, Great Tit and Coal Tit were all heard or seen over the course of the next hour or so.

Jackdaw and Carrion Crow put in appearances while I was taking more photos of the Wall. A Magpie which had been ringed seemed a bit irritated by the ring and had a bit of a pull at it, with its beak, which isn't a behaviour I've seen before. The sound of a Crossbill then caught my attention and I spotted the bird passing to the west but failed to find it with the camera. Nevertheless it was my first of the year and another new one for my #2025Dundee150 list. A Lesser Black Backed Gull was spotted just before noon. A pair of Buzzards were seen circling distantly to the north before I called it a day at the top. A wander round the more sheltered parts of the hill added Orange Tip, Green Veined White, Speckled Wood and Large White butterflies as well as Collared Dove. I headed home around 1400 having managed to find 33 species of birds (including 1 new for my #2025Dundee150 list - in bold) and 6 species of butterflies, including a new one for me within the city. Given that I hadn't intended a third morning at the Law, things had actually worked out rather well.

Birds - Barnacle Goose, Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Bullfnch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Crossbill, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Magpie, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swift, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.

Butterflies - Green Veined White, Large White, Orange Tip, Small White, Speckled Wood, Wall.