 |
| Greenshank |
Despite having been to Broughty Ferry on the 17th, I decided to head back there for my midweek day off on the 20th of August. Given how much activity there had been of late in the Tay, I was hoping to add another skua species to my #2025Dundee150 list, with Great Skua (Bonxie) the most likely of the other species most usually encountered in Scotland. There was also a very slight chance of another tern species - Roseate or Black, though I've never seen either on the Dundee side of Barry Buddon. Waders were another possible source of something new. My expectation levels were low though. I was organised and ready to head out for 0805.
Feral Pigeon, Herring Gull, Starling, Goldfinch, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow and Wren made for a rather slow start to the day. Magpie, Blue Tit, Chaffinch and House Martin were all noted as I crossed Baxter Park. A Tree Pipit overflew as I continued onwards along Bingham Terrace. Dunnock and Swallow were both then seen before I reached Old Craigie Road. A Coal Tit, a Grey Squirrel and a Rabbit were seen in Eastern Cemetery. Near the bottom of Craigie Avenue, a Collared Dove flew over. There were a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls roosting with Herring Gulls within the docks. A Greenfinch flew across the road from the direction of the sewage tank. House Sparrows were in the bushes along by the car park and a couple of Rooks were down on the shoreline with the gulls.
A few distant Sandwich Terns' calls sounded out from the far side of the river. A Robin was 'ticking' away from the north side of the railway line. There were a number of Cormorants and a Grey Heron on the rocks by the river's edge a little further on. A Black-headed Gull and a Great Black-backed Gull were next onto the day's list. A few Oystercatchers picked around amongst the pebbles and seaweed. Nearby were a Curlew and a few Turnstones. A Common Gull was on the shore and watched me warily as I passed by. As I got closer to Douglas Terrace I picked out a bird in flight low over the water towards the Larick Beacon over towards Tayport. It didn't look quite right for a Diver and photos showed it to be a slightly unexpected Great Crested Grebe.
A small party of Goosanders were on the water next to the pipe at Douglas Terrace and a pair of Redshanks were roosting on the pipe itself along with a couple of gulls. A distant Osprey was seen over towards Tentsmuir Forest before being joined by a second one and a small flock of Teal hurried upriver in a tight flock before returning within a minute or two. I scanned from round beside the castle which added Eider to the day's list. A young Arctic Tern was a nice surprise, relatively close in to the beach. With not too much happening overall, I moved on after an hour or so of trying to find something new. I reached Balmossie around 1045. Eider and Mute Swan were both plentiful and new for the day. A bit of a surprise was a Greenshank which I found in with the Redshanks. It was quite vocal at times and flew off in company with a single Redshank after a while but quickly dropped back in. A few Guillemots were seen out on the river.
A couple of Pied Wagtails dropped in onto the beach and a few Large White butterflies flitted past. I managed to make out some distant Bottlenose Dolphin fins over towards Tentsmuir Point as well as a few equally distant Gannets and Common Terns. A bit closer to my side of the river was a Grey Seal. A lone Grey Wagtail flew west. A few Jackdaws dropped in down on the shore before I decided to head back along towards the castle. On the walk back along, I stopped and scanned at a few points which got me a Rock Pipit, a few Ringed Plover and a few Razorbills. I had close views of a Pied Wagtail during a brief stop at the castle, but with nothing much to see there I continued on. There was no sign of any Holly Blue butterflies at Beach Lane but I did find a Painted Lady and a Red Admiral when I made it back onto the esplanade. The only other addition before I made it home was a group of around 30 Long-tailed Tits in the trees by the railway line at the start of the Docks Way cycle path, which took my list for the day to 50 species of birds as well as 3 species of butterflies and 4 of mammals, which was slightly less than just 3 days previously.
 |
| Cormorant & Grey Heron |
 |
| Great Black-backed Gull |
 |
| Black-headed Gull |
 |
| Grey Heron |
 |
| Oystercatcher |
 |
| Great Crested Grebe |
 |
| Goosander |
 |
| Common Gull |
 |
| Teal |
 |
| Sandwich Tern |
 |
| Arctic Tern |
 |
| Arctic Tern |
 |
| Greenshank & Redshank |
 |
| Greenshank |
 |
| Greenshank |
 |
| Greenshank |
 |
| Teal |
 |
| Bottlenose Dolphin |
 |
| Gannet |
 |
| Pied Wagtail |
 |
| Pied Wagtail |
 |
| Guillemot |
 |
| Redshank |
 |
| Turnstone |
 |
| Turnstone |
 |
| Painted Lady |
Birds - Arctic Tern, Black-headed
Gull, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow,
Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove,
Common Gull, Common Tern, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock,
Eider, Gannet, Goldfinch, Goosander,
Great Black-backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Greenfinch, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Grey
Wagtail, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow,
Jackdaw, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Long-tailed Tit,
Magpie, Mute Swan, Osprey,
Oystercatcher, Pied
Wagtail, Razorbill, Redshank, Ringed Plover,
Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sandwich Tern, Starling,
Swallow, Teal, Tree Pipit, Turnstone, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies - Large White, Painted Lady, Red Admiral.
Mammals - Bottlenose Dolphin, Grey Seal, Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.
