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| Pintail |
Lainy had messaged on the 1st to confirm the young Pintail that she had seen at Clatto late in December was still around. That meant a wee bit of a change of plan for me for the 2nd, as Pintail isn't always particularly easy to catch up with in Dundee. I would try Caird Park for Kingfisher then Trottick Ponds for Snipe before heading up to Clatto for the Pintail and anything else I might be able to find there and in Tempelton Woods next door. Heading home via Balgay Hill (for Nuthatch) was a possibility, depending on how tired I was feeling by that time. Again the weather forecast was dry but icily cold and windy. Not ideal and especially so at such an open site as Clatto, but it was most definitely a case of 'needs must'.
I headed out at more or less the same time as the 1st and once again Herring Gull was first onto the list for the day. Dunnock, Carrion Crow, Feral Pigeon, Jackdaw and a flyover Linnet were added as I headed for Mains Loan. The Grey Wagtail I had seen the previous afternoon was probably the same one I saw fly off from the same SuDS pool, and a Wren was seen in the same area. Long-tailed Tits were in the trees by the Kingsway and both Robin and Siskin were heard as I made my way across the former golf course. I heard Crossbills and saw a couple of birds fly into the top of a nearby conifer. Despite wearing woollen gloves, my fingers were absolutely freezing so it took longer than it should have to get the camera out of the bag. As I finally raised the camera the birds flew off. Thankfully I managed to get further views and record shots shortly after.
Goldcrest and Redwing were added as I headed in the direction of the ponds. A pair of Roe Deer were on the path above the ponds and wandered off slowly as I attempted to take photos in the early morning gloom, with the thick conifers blocking out most of the available light anyway. A Magpie was seen, but there was no sign of the Kingfisher down at the ponds. A Grey Squirrel was seen, along with Chaffinch, Woodpigeon and Moorhen. More wandering found Great Tit and Bullfinch before a mewing Buzzard was heard though my view was blocked by trees. I heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker calling from the former golf course and headed in the direction of the calls. It turned out there were 2 together in the same relatively small tree and I was able to get a few photos in the sunshine, before they flew off.
The first skein of Pink-footed Geese overflew as I headed for Old Glamis Road, and a Jay was heard. For the next 10 minutes or so there seemed to be an almost continuous stream of geese heading inland. I failed to find any Snipe at Trottick Ponds, though it appeared the usually marshy ground there was frozen. A Grey Heron was seen a bit further up the burn before I headed out onto Harestane Road to walk up to Clatto. Lainy had messaged to confirm the Pintail was still there when I had been in Caird Park and I said I would be there within an hour or so. As I headed along the first stretch of Harestane Road, I could hear and see a pair of Bullfinches, and a number of Chaffinches in the mature trees overlooking the burn. I heard a familiar call, but not one I would normally expect there. I crossed the road to try to see the bird in question. It didn't take long to find my first Nuthatch of 2026, and even better that it was in another new location for the species within Dundee.
Starling and House Sparrow were the only further additions as I headed up the hill to Strathmartine Road. Birds were in very short supply along the length of the dirt track up past the new houses and it wasn't until I reached the Garden Warbler 'corner' that I found anything new for the day's list - a small flock of Greenfinches. Continuing up to check the reservoir, I quickly noted Coot, Wigeon, Black-headed Gull, Goldeneye, Cormorant, Mallard, Goosander, Tufted Duck and Common Gull. I couldn't see the Pintail on the water anywhere, but as I neared the toilets I discovered why. The Pintail was up on the path with a group of Mallards beside the Mute Swan family. I was able to get fairly close and managed to get some decent photos. A Yellowhammer was seen near the feeders, along with Dunnocks, Blue Tits, Robin, Chaffinch and Blackbirds.
I could hear the drumming of a Great Spotted Woodpecker and went to try to find the bird. I found almost immediately when I raised the binoculars and subsequently managed to get rather close. A family crossing the grass could also hear it and I was able to show them exactly where it was. I showed a few more folk after that, one of who was my own GP and his 2 young sons (one of whom knew the actual species of woodpecker). Coal Tit and Mistle Thrush were seen before I wandered out along the farm track. I flushed a couple of small birds from the long grass by the track, which turned out to be Reed Buntings, one of which I managed to get decent views of as it perched up in a small bush between two fields. A decent sized flock of Skylarks were seen in flight, and a short while later dropped into the field I was stood beside.
At one point I thought I had a pair of Ravens, aerobatically tumbling as they headed in the direction of the large flock of corvids down in the stubble field. The photo I looked at on the back of the camera seemed to show a typical Raven tail. However, I couldn't see any Ravens among the other corvids. The reason was that the 2 aerobatic birds had actually been Rooks. I failed to find any Pheasants in the surrounding fields which was disappointing. I headed up through the trees into Templeton Woods looking for Treecreeper but finding only a few rather dark grey backed Coal Tits and a few Great and Blue Tits. A pair of Jays were in the trees near the sundial. I then headed back down towards the reservoir again and decided to wander along the path between the trees that run between the car park and waterside. This proved to be a good idea as I managed to find a Treecreeper in there.
I spent a wee while getting even better photos of the Pintail as it fed with the Mallards at the path. With the sun sinking lower towards the horizon I decided to head for home. As I wandered along the driveway behind the houses, a Sparrowhawk swooped up past the small tree that held a few feeders and landed atop the house roof. Unfortunately, it was very much against the light but I took a couple of photos before the bird realised I was there and disappeared over the other side of the roof. I failed to find anything of interest at Ardler Pond, with not even a hint of a Water Rail squeal to be heard. I did add my final species of the day - a Pied Wagtail a short distance further on though. This took my list for the day to 51 species of which 11 were year firsts (in bold), taking my total to 72. Once again, it had been a successful day out despite the cold and windy weather. Thankfully, it did warm up slightly after the sun came up, which made using the camera a lot easier than it was first thing.
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| Crossbill |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Roe Deer |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Pink-footed Goose |
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| Pintail |
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| Blackbird |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Dunnock |
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| Mistle Thrush |
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| Tufted Duck |
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| Goldeneye |
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| Rook |
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| Moorhen |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Skylark |
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| Coal Tit |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Treecreeper |
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| Goldeneye |
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| Pintail |
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| Pintail |
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Pintail |
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Sparrowhawk
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Birds - Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Crossbill, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Linnet, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Nuthatch, Pied Wagtail, Pink-footed Goose, Pintail, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Skylark,Sparrowhawk, Starling, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals - Grey Squirrel, Roe Deer.
