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| Marsh Harrier |
With the Campy Growers Lesser Whitethroat still seemingly around at Camperdown Park, I decided to try a slightly later visit to the park (than my early morning visit had been), to try again. My plan was to pop into Campy Growers while it was open (as I had done a few days earlier with Lainy, to negative results, after we had been watching the butterflies at Victoria Park) and have one final try to see, or even just hear, the bird. Given my lack of success up until this point, I was far from optimistic but you just never know. I headed out at 0900 for the walk towards the western end of the Kingsway.
Swift, Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, House Sparrow, Carrion Crow, Pied Wagtail, Goldfinch, Woodpigeon and Lesser Black-backed Gull made for a steady start to the day's list. Magpie, Blackbird and Blue Tit were next a bit further on. Things proved very quiet for the next 20 minutes or so of my walk. Greenfinch and Oystercatcher were found as I wandered through the Dunsinane Industrial Estate. Things naturally picked up once I crossed the Kingsway and headed into Camperdown Park. Robin, Wren, Buzzard, Chaffinch, Blackcap and Great Spotted Woodpecker along with Grey Squirrel were easily picked up there. A Whiethroat was heard and almost immediately afterwards I heard a different 'song'. Surely this had to be the Lesser Whitethroat. The Merlin app didn't offer any suggestions for the singing bird.
I headed in the direction of the singing bird, which seemed to be somewhere near the pond. Once there, I could still hear the bird but I couldn't see it. A small bird flew across into the nettles below the trees to my right, before making its way to the top of the tree where it started singing again. It was the bird I'd been hearing! Finally! However, the behaviour seemed a bit odd for Lesser Whitethroat and more like Common Whitethroat. The bird also didn't appear quite right for Lesser and the photos seemed to show that this bird was actually a Common Whitethroat. This was both a surprise and a bit of a disappointment. I had a bit of a wander and was taking to Kate Treharne when Ian Ford put word out that the Lesser Whitethroat was once again singing. I could still hear the 'odd' bird but hadn't seen Ian. After a short chat on the phone, I headed down to see Ian, and the bird, to make sure it was the same bird I'd heard and seen.
It was, and I showed Ian the photos and he agreed that the bird (which he hadn't previously had any views of) was indeed a Common Whitethroat, albeit one with a 'different' song from the Common we could hear occasionally singing elsewhere at the site. Still, we'd managed to see the bird at last, even if the outcome was no addition to my 2026Dundee150 list. I had a bit more of a wander round the site seeing what i could find, with insects primarily my focus. I still added more birds - Great Tit, House Martin and Nuthatch and a few insect species - Small Tortoiseshell and Ringlet butterflies, Buff-tailed Bumblebee, Tree Bumblebee, Common Carder Bee and Red Soldier Beetle before heading homewards. Stock Dove, Treecreeper, Goldcrest, Chiffchaff and Coal Tit were noted before I left the park. Song Thrush and Starling were found on the walk home, taking my total for the morning to 31 species of birds, 1 of mammals, 3 of bees, 1 of soldier beetles and 2 of butterflies.
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| Whitethroat |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Lesser Black-backed Gull |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
Birds - Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Goldcrest,, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Magpie, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Swift, Treecreeper, Whitethroat, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Bees - Buff-tailed Bumblebee, Common Carder Bee, Tree Bumblebee.
Beetles - Common Red Soldier Beetle.
Butterflies - Ringlet, Small Tortoiseshell.
Mammals - Grey Squirrel.
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Rohan had suggested another evening birding outing for that Saturday, and after a bit of deliberation, we decided to head for Loch of Kinnordy. The weather was rather grey and overcast, which did mean the likelihood of the hides being full of photographers was rather slim, which would be a bit of a bonus. Rohan picked me up at 1730. Feral Pigeon, Magpie, Herring Gull, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow and Swift were seen as we headed out of Dundee and up the A90. The weather looked even worse from the road up with low cloud hiding the Sidlaws. Thankfully it cleared a little once we were on the other side of the hills. House Martin, Swallow, Starling, Buzzard and Red-legged Partridge were all noted as we took the smaller roads to Kirriemuir and onwards to Kinnordy. There was a single car in the car park. Wren, Chaffinch and Blackbird were seen as we headed into the Gullery hide. There were a couple there but they headed off a few minutes after we arrived, leaving us with the hide to ourselves.
Things looked rather quiet with a lone Grey Heron and a smattering of Mallards out in front of the hide. A Water Rail was heard just before I spotted an Osprey over the reserve. Shortly after, a Peregrine headed over westwards. Then a Redshank and a trio of Lapwings were seen in flight over the far side. A Lesser Black-backed Gull flapped over, and a Reed Bunting was heard, then one was seen. We then had our first Marsh Harrier sighting of the evening, which included a food pass (which I managed to catch on photos - though they were a bit blurred, unfortunately). A Reed Warbler was heard singing to the right of the hide and a few minutes later the bird showed nicely just outside the side windows, though I wasn't quick enough to get the camera onto the bird for photos. A family of Willow Warblers were active in the small trees there too. A Moorhen swam out from the reeds and a distant adult Mute Swan with cygnets was seen among the small islets.
A Sedge Warbler was singing to the left of the hide and a load of Rooks lifted from the fields to the west, before some settled noisily in a tall tree along towards the Swamp Hide. We had a wander along to that hide a bit later, noting Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit and Robin on the way, but things were even quieter there so we headed back to the Gullery Hide where a few Treecreepers were seen in the trees outside. The Reed Warbler was seen again, as were the Marsh Harriers (and a Buzzard), with the male giving us a nice close flypast. Another Osprey sighting (blue CR9) was also had, with the bird hovering a few times but making a single fishing attempt before pulling out of its dive. We decided to head along to Lintrathen for a wee change of scenery. A pair of Red Kites and a few Oystercatchers were seen from the car on the way. With a few cars already parked at the hide we decided not to go in, and chose to head homewards instead. A quick look at Swannie Ponds got us Black-headed Gull and Coot for the evening list (38 species of birds). All in all, a nice way to spend a Saturday evening - good company and good birds (including 5 species of raptors).
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| Peregrine |
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| Redshank & Lapwing |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Treecreeper |
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| Marsh Harrier & Buzzard |
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| Marsh Harrier & Buzzard |
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| Marsh Harrier & Buzzard |
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| Marsh Harrier & Buzzard |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Osprey & Marsh Harrier |
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| Marsh Harrier |
Birds - Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coot, Goldcrest, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Martin, Lapwing, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Red Kite, Red-legged Partridge, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sedge Warbler, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Treecreeper, Water Rail, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.
