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| Skylark |
Given the amount of visible migration (or vis-mig, as it is known to birders these days) seen along the Tay's northern side on Monday the 6th of October, I was very keen to go back to Broughty Ferry as early as possible on Tuesday to see if there was any sort of a repeat performance. The westerly wind was still forecast to be relatively strong, meaning the likelihood of birds being quite low again was fairly good. With a large part of vis-mig usually happening in the first 2-3 hours after sunrise, the earlier start would also hopefully give me a better idea of the number of birds passing. I had also noted a potentially better watch-point (the southwest corner of the 'Windmill car park' - the car park with the Dolphins sculpture) which offered a relatively clear arc of sky, on both sides. This would increase my chances of getting photos, as would switching to my 100-400mm lens instead of my 300mm & 1.4x converter.
I headed out in the dark at just before 0640, slightly later than I had intended, but only by around 10 minutes. Unsurprisingly birds were in fairly short supply for the first half an hour with only Robin, Blackbird, Herring Gull, Wren and Dunnock noted. House Sparrow and Song Thrush were added when I reached the Stannergate while the walk out along the river provided Oystercatcher, Grey Heron, Black-headed Gull, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Woodpigeon and Turnstone. The day's first obvious migrants were a trio of Meadow Pipits just before I reached Douglas Terrace. Feral Pigeon, Cormorant, Common Gull, Shag and Starling were seen between there and the car park where I was planning on viewing the morning's passing migrants from.
It was 0750 when I arrived at my destination where I was planning to spend the next few hours. It didn't take long for birds to start to appear and although I tried keeping a note of species and numbers it proved impossible to keep up. Chaffinches, Linnets, Grey Wagtail, a flock of 8 Whooper Swans, Reed Buntings, Redpolls, Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Swallows and 2 Mute Swans were all noted over the course of the first hour. Long-tailed Tits and Coal Tits were heard from the trees at the crazy golf course. A flock of Bar-tailed Godwits flew downriver. A trio of Collared Doves flew past, though I couldn't be sure if they were migrant birds or locals. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was a bit of a surprise, though Siskins and Crossbills were very much expected. A few smaller groups of Starlings also appeared to be migrating through.
Some large loose flocks of Tree Sparrows passed through and a Curlew was heard from beyond the castle. Skylarks were tending to pass over a bit higher than most of the finches and a Yellowhammer also flew by. I was joined by Lainy at around 1000 and a flock of more than 30 Golden Plover which headed inland over the car park were a bit of a surprise. House Sparrows and Coal Tits also appeared to be on the move (Coal Tits have been turning up on islands off the west coast over the past week or so too, confirming that the species has been moving through). A second flock of 7 Whooper Swans headed inland. Things started to peter out a bit earlier than the day before so Lainy and I decided to check out the local nature reserve. Chiffchaff was the only thing new found there before we added a Small White butterfly at the Barnhill Rock Garden.
We wandered along to Balmossie next where 7 Little Egrets were a personal high total for the eastern end of the city. Ringed Plover, Eider, Goosander, Great Black-backed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Rook, Dunlin, Wigeon and Red-breasted Merganser were all noted in the vicinity of the burn outflow. We were able to pick out a few distant Gannets over towards Tentsmuir. A passing shower of rain thankfully didn't last long. A large skein of Pink-footed Geese headed upriver with a few Barnacle Geese in the flock as we headed back to Lainy's car. A couple of Red-throated Divers were added before we decided to call it a day and head homewards. A Sparrowhawk was seen as we headed through Broughty Ferry and Mallard was spotted as we passed Swannie Ponds. My total for the day was 66 species of birds and 1 of butterflies with at least 21 species being actual migrants. Once the light improved later in the morning, so did the photos and the location is definitely one I will use again in future for vis-migging from.
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| Whooper Swan |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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| Greenfinch |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Grey Wagtail |
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| Redpoll |
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| Coal Tit |
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| Crossbill |
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| Crossbill |
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| Crossbill |
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| Golden Plover |
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| Starling |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Redpoll |
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| Barnacle Goose |
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| Bar-tailed Godwit |
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| Wigeon & Redshank |
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| Little Egret |
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| Little Egret |
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| Linnet |
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| Common Gull |
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| Red-throated Diver |
Birds - Bar-tailed Godwit, Barnacle Goose, Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow,
Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant, Crossbill, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Gannet, Goldcrest, Golden Plover, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black-backed
Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow,
Jackdaw, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow
Pipit, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail,
Pink-footed Goose, Red-breasted Merganser, Redpoll, Red-throated Diver, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Shag, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling,
Swallow, Tree Sparrow, Turnstone, Whooper Swan, Wigeon,
Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Butterflies - Small White.
Mammals - Grey Seal, Rabbit.
