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| Greenfinch |
Last year on the 8th of May, Lainy and I attempted to see as many species as we could from within Dundee in 12 hours (0600-1800). Both of us had to see/hear the species for it to actually count. Theoretically, we could potentially encounter somewhere in the region of 75-100 species. We managed 77 species, with 1 (Sandwich Tern) that only one of us managed to see. For a first attempt it was a relatively decent effort, and end result. Having learnt from that experience we were hoping that at least 80 species would be doable on our 2026 Big Dundee Half Day. Unfortunately for us, the weather forecast wasn't looking too great and the majority of wader species appeared to have left early for their breeding grounds. After a bright start, when we would hopefully build a fairly lengthy list, the weather was to get colder and windier (though mostly staying dry). My alarm was set for a very early start (and multiple alarms every few minutes after, just in case).
I made it out of bed, more or less as planned, and got organised. I was out the door bang on 0500. Originally I had arranged to meet Lainy at Clatto, but a 55 minute walk to get there ran the risk of running late, so we returned to Ardler Pond as the start point, though with next to no time being spent there this year, before heading up to Clatto. Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Dunnock, Carrion Crow and Blackbird got the uncountable part of the list underway. Starling, Feral Pigeon, Wren, Goldfinch, Woodpigeon, Chaffinch, Great Tit and Jackdaw followed as I headed for the Kingsway near Tesco. Chiffchaff and Pied Wagtail were noted near Tesco.
Greenfinch, Common Gull, Oystercatcher and Robin were found on the opposite side of the dual carriageway. Magpie, Swallow, House Martin, Reed Bunting and Moorhen were noted at Ardler Pond, before Lainy picked me up. Wev decided just to head for Clatto as there was nothing we weren't likely to meet somewhere during the day. Mute Swan, Siskin and Goldcrest were noted as the clock ticked down towards our 0600 start time. We had chosen to head in the direction of the Garden Warbler area to give ourselves a fewe minutes of a start. We made it as far as the iron gate down from the northeastern corner of the reservoir before the clock hit 0600 and we were underway on our 2026 Dundee Big Half Day challenge. How would we fare this year? Time would tell...
First onto the list was Blackcap, followed immediately by Wren, Woodpigeon, Blackbird, Chiffchaff, Swallow, Chaffinch, Great Tit, Willow Warbler, Whitethroat, Dunnock, Carrion Crow, Siskin, Greenfinch and Starling. There was no sign of any Grasshopper Warbler or Garden Warbler, however we were still less than 10 minutes in. It didn't take too much longer to get Garden Warbler on the list though Grasshopper Warbler remained elusive. Things slowed down a little following the initial rush. Lesser Black-backed Gull, Pheasant, Herring Gull, Magpie, Bullfinch, Blue Tit, Skylark, Robin, Rook, Jackdaw, Song Thrush, Yellowhammer, Pied Wagtail, House Sparrow and Feral Pigeon were added over the remainder of the first hour.
Sand Martins, Coot, Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Mallard and Mute Swan were seen when we returned to the reservoir, having headed out along the farm track a bit. A Goldfinch overflew. Wandering round the water's edge, we managed to add Moorhen and Grey Wagtail. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was on the feeders at the car park. Rather than linger there to try to pick up a few small birds we decided instead to head for Riverside Nature Park, a bit ahead of our rough guide schedule. We parked at the end of the Perth Road and headed through the underpass. From the bridge over the railway line we were able to pick out Shelduck, Black-headed Gull and Oystercatcher. Stock Dove and Sedge Warbler were added from the hide. A Rabbit was on the path as we headed for the Lochan where Teal and Grey Heron (only seen by me) were seen.
We bumped into Mark Wilkinson who was headed for a look at the bay. Given Mark's track record for finding birds, we tagged along to increase our chances. At the bay, we found Cormorant, Curlew, Osprey, Grey Heron, a single (almost) summer plumaged Bar-tailed Godwit, Common Gull, a single Redshank and Goosander. While Lainy was visiting the 'facilities' Mark and I had a pair of Common Sandpipers fly past us. Thankfully, when Lainy returned, I was able to find them again, down on the shore and they were able to join the other species on the list. We decided to check the end of the runway at the airport for lingering Wheatear, and Mark managed to find one. A Buzzard was seen over the airfield.
Lainy had seen Long-tailed Tits as we headed along the path from the hide earlier, but I had missed them. Thankfully we chanced upon a pair, taking feathers into a rather large nest near the car park. We headed for Balgay Hill next. Goldcrest, Nuthatch, Treecreeper and Jay were quickly found near the footbridge and with most of our target species there rather easily found there was no real point in lingering. Instead we headed for the Law. Unfortunately, the early sunny start had given way to cloud and the wind had picked up quite a bit plus there was a bit of a chill in the air, none of which was particularly helpful. We drew a blank on new bird species at the Law, which was a little frustrating, though we did get a Speckled Wood butterfly there.
Having managed to get House Martin at Swannie Ponds on Sunday with Rohan we headed there next and once again were successful in getting that species with a couple hawking for insects low over the water. Next we headed for the Jack Martin Way area. This general area proved to be quite productive, with Stonechat, Linnet, Collared Dove, an unexpected Redpoll, and Reed Bunting all found there, as well as Roe Deer. Next we headed for Pitkerro Grove Cemetery where Tree Sparrow initially proved rather tricky but was eventually spotted. A visit to the Dighty Burn was rather disappointing with only Dipper noted there. Unlike the 2025 half day the tide times were more or less the exact opposite with high tide being around the start and finish times rather than near lunchtime.
As a result, Balmossie was our next stop and we reached there a little after 1430. Sandwich Tern, Eider, Wigeon and Great Black-backed Gull made it onto the list relatively quickly. Lainy's big scope got us some distant Gannets (new for my #2026Dundee150 list) as well as a few Red-breasted Mergansers. It was bitterly cold there and I was a little underdressed, so we moved on after a rather chilly 45 minutes or so, to try along by the castle for Rock Pipit. A Sparrowhawk was seen from the car, but Lainy was unable to see it from her side, which meant we couldn't count it. As we got out of the car by the castle, we found one right in front of us. We then tried along by the lifeboat station for Turnstone, again finding a single bird down by the water on the western side. A quick look at our running total showed that we had already surpassed last year's total and it was only 1600. We had 2 hours left to try to add other species, though our options were rather limited.
We tried the local nature reserve for Coal Tit which had eluded us so far, and continued to do so. With the tide now much further in, I suggested we try the river again, though using the steps behind the raised banking opposite the nature reserve western entrance, to protect us from the wind-chill. This worked out well with it proving to be fairly sheltered there. I managed to find an unexpected Red-throated Diver out on the river but getting Lainy onto it proved slightly tricky with no obvious landmarks to help pinpoint the location. Thankfully we did eventually manage to both see it and we had our 80th species of the day. With an hour left, I suggested we head to the Law car park on the off-chance of getting a Sparrowhawk or Kestrel before we ran out of time. As it turned out we spent around 20 minutes there, seeing very little, but having already surpassed last year's total, we were far from disappointed.
A successful day, in spite of the weather and the tide times, beating the record by 3 and reaching 80 species despite there being very few waders or raptor species around. How will we get on next year, with 2 years of experience behind us? I suspect that a date even closer to the 1st of May might be the 'sweet spot' for this sort of endeavour, at least as far as doing it in Dundee is concerned. Once again, massive thanks go to Lainy for her driving, company, bird-spotting ability and optimism on the day. The 2026 Big Dundee Half Day would not have happened without Lainy. I wonder if there is a 'sweet spot' for an Autumn big day (perhaps around August 31, when the bigger Riverside Nature Park totals tend to happen)...
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| Garden Warbler |
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| Black-headed Gull |
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| Lesser Black-backed Gull & Herring Gull |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Oystercatcher, Bar-tailed Godwit, Common Gull & Lesser Black-backed Gull |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Common Sandpiper |
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| Long-tailed Tit |
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| Jay |
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| Roe Deer |
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| Greenfinch |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Tree Sparrow |
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| Dipper |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Buzzard |
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| Dipper |
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| Dipper |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull & Mute Swan |
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| Lesser Black-backed Gull |
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| Turnstone |
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| Red-throated Diver |
Birds - Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dipper, Dunnock, Eider, Gannet, Garden Warbler, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black-backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Linnet, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Nuthatch, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Red-breasted Merganser, Red-throated Diver, Redpoll, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Sedge Warbler, Shelduck, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, [Sparrowhawk], Starling, Stock Dove, Stonechat, Swallow, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Wheatear, Whitethroat, Wigeon, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Butterflies - Speckled Wood.
Mammals - Grey Seal, Rabbit, Roe Deer.
