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| Little Egret |
Having 3 days of annual leave to use up by the end of March, I had put in for Friday the 23rd as the first of these while at work on Friday morning. With the weather forecast for that Friday looking rather poor (to say the least) and the Glaucous Gull seemingly still lingering in the Tay, I asked to change it to the Tuesday when I got to work on Monday. Thankfully, this was OK, and with the weather set to deteriorate from Tuesday evening, it was likely to be my last chance at the Glaucous Gull, unless it lingers much longer like the Arbroath Iceland Gull of a few years ago did. On my walk home from work late afternoon on Monday, I lucked into a Tawny Owl by the allotments along Kinghorne Road in the post sunset gloom, giving me yet another year-tick, taking me to 94 species. Fingers were crossed that the Glaucous Gull would soon be number 95.
I headed out at 0755 on Tuesday morning. The weather forecast was looking a bit more variable than it had been looking 24 hours before which wasn't likely to be very helpful. Herring Gull, Robin, and Carrion Crow got things underway, with Blackbird, Magpie and Wren added as I headed towards Arbroath Road. Blue Tit was seen on Dalkeith Road, with Long-tailed Tit, Song Thrush, Woodpigeon, Oystercatcher and House Sparrow being found along the railway line as I headed out along the Docks Way. There were a few Rabbits around at the Stannergate. Down on the beach Redshank, Black-headed Gull and Grey Heron were quickly noted. Despite the weather forecast being mostly for a relatively sunny day, it was very gloomy with very low clouds and the visibility made the Fife side of the river just grey shapes. As I wandered out along the river, Curlew, Common Gull and Red-breasted Merganser were spotted.
I heard geese but the low visibility did make it tricky to see them. As it turned out, they were flying quite low downriver past me. They were Pink-footed Geese. Though as it turned out not all of them were. There was a lone Barnacle Goose in the skein that had it been sunny would have stood out and been easily seen. With the poor visibility all the geese were little more than silhouettes. Looking through the photos at home, I spotted the bird. Although technically I 'saw' it, I can't and won't count it, so it is 'one that got away'. Feral Pigeons were seen at Douglas Terrace. Three birds in flight out over the river were Shelducks. Cormorant, a Goldeneye in flight, the day's first Turnstones and a Pied Wagtail made it onto the list as I continued on towards the area by the castle. The wind direction meant that scoping from the eastern side of the castle was going to be tricky.
I had found a way to carry my 'big' scope as well as camera and tripod without adding too much extra weight and as my main focus was the beach area across at Tayport I headed to the end of the 'Phibbies' pier where I could use the shed as a bit of shelter from the wind. The light slowly improved and there was even some blue sky and sunshine eventually, though it didn't last too long. The visibility was always less than perfect which didn't make things easy. The day's first Rock Pipits put in an appearance as I scanned from beside the shed. A Peregrine showed up briefly around 1030 but continued on westwards upriver. Eider, Siskin, a heard-only Skylark and a passing Great Black-backed Gull provided some interest between scans of the birds on the beach on the Fife side. I had a few possible sightings of the Glaucous Gull but I couldn't be certain, despite the extra reach of the 'big' scope. I took some very inconclusive photos too, but it was clear that I just wasn't going to see the Glaucous Gull. A 'Sinensis' race Cormorant was seen though.
I decided to wander along to Balmossie to check the birds there just before 1130. As I passed the dolphins sculpture beyond the castle, I happened to look up and saw a bird flying directly away from me. It was an unexpected bonus Fulmar, a new bird for my #2026Dundee150 list. I picked out a few Wigeon and a Shag as I headed out along the beachside path. I decided I might as well check out the local nature reserve. This proved to be reasonably productive with Great Tit, Collared Dove, Chaffinch and Bullfinch being found in there. Back towards the shoreline the flock of Linnets were flying around and dropping down to feed in the shorter grassy areas. A Little Egret was seen from a distance down on the shore. At Balmossie, a small flock of Bar-tailed Godwits flew past and I added Jackdaw and Starling to the day's list. Despite much scanning I failed to add anything unexpected, though there was an obvious (Scandinavian) Argentatus race Herring Gull with a darker mantle amongst the other gulls.
I headed back towards the castle. On the way back I got into an enjoyable conversation with another birder (Mary) and we wandered along towards the castle chatting about birds. My only addition between Broughty Castle and Swannie Ponds were a Knot with other waders which had been displaced from the lifeboat jetty by someone walking out to the lifeboat and a few Goldfinches at the bottom of Craigie Avenue. I cut up through a very quiet Eastern Cemetery and on to Swannie Ponds where Mallard, Coot, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Tufted Duck, Goosander and Greenfinch were all found. I had another enjoyable short chat with another birder there (Cat/Kat - not sure of correct spelling) before finally heading home. These birds at Swannie Ponds took my total for the day to 52 species including one (in bold) that was new for my #2026Dundee150 list. The weather was a bit of a mixed bag (as forecast), not all great for birding and it was a bit frustrating to have missed the Barnacle Goose, but overall it was a decent day's birding.
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| Curlew |
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| Pink-footed Goose (and Barnacle Goose) |
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| Shelduck |
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| Turnstone |
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| Cormorant (Sinensis race) |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Peregrine |
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| Eider |
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| Cormorant |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Fulmar |
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| Linnet |
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| Jackdaw |
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| Herring Gull (Argentatus race) |
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| Wigeon |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Eider |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Great Black-backed Gull |
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| Redshank, Knot & Oystercatcher |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Moorhen |
Birds - [Barnacle Goose], Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Eider, Fulmar, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black-backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Knot, Linnet, Little Egret, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Pink-footed Goose, Red-breasted Merganser, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Shag, Shelduck, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Rabbit.
