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| Whitethroat |
Although Broughty Ferry at weekends is a bit of a lottery, with too many people (and dogs), it was more or less the only place I hadn't given much attention to over the course of my Spring migration week off work. On our Big Dundee Half Day we had managed to see a few species there, but waders were in very short supply and the river itself felt very quiet. Nevertheless, there was a slight chance of picking up a migrant or two on its way north and with no other stand-out options, and wanting to get out somewhere, I decided to give it a go. Expectations were minimal, at best.
An early start does offer the chance to at least get a period of not too much disturbance before things get busier as the morning progresses, but only a visit in the dark is likely to manage to avoid ALL the dogs on the beach (despite the signs) and even then it would not surprise me to find dog-walkers there at 0300, though seeing any birds at all would be unlikely in the dark (though it might be interesting to visit with a thermal imager in July, with easterly winds). House Sparrow, Herring Gull, Dunnock, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Jackdaw, Blackbird, Goldfinch, Carrion Crow, Starling, Lesser Black-backed Gull and Collared Dove were all spotted between home and Albert Street. At Baxter Park, I was able to get Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Chaffinch and Coal Tit.
A Grey Squirrel was spotted towards the eastern end of Bingham Terrace. Cutting down through Eastern Cemetery added Bullfinch, Chiffchaff and the day's first Rabbits. An Oystercatcher flew over as I reached the southeastern gate. Greenfinch was found near the bottom end of Craigie Avenue. At the Stannergate, I had Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Robin, Song Thrush and Linnet before I reached the small car park. Birds were in short supply as I headed east along the river with only a Grey Heron added until I reached the sailing club sheds where an unexpected Jay was seen chasing a Sparrowhawk in the trees to the north. A pair of Mallard flew in to land by the beach a bit further on. A drake Goosander was picked out on the river as I reached Douglas Terrace and a Swallow zoomed past, having crossed the Tay northwards.
A bit further on, I was able to find the day's first Cormorants and a couple of drake Eiders. I set up the scope the other side of the castle near the crazy golf course as the gazebo swimmers were in place between the castle and the other building. Things were still rather quiet out on the river but I was able to see a distant Osprey hunting over towards the Tayport side of the river. A Peregrine and a Buzzard in the same area provided a bit more variety though views were very distant. As I watched the Osprey a Swift was noted high above the river. A Rock Pipit was seen wandering along the beach in front of me but despite spending the best part of another hour I failed to add anything else, so decided to continue on along to Balmossie.
A Speckled Wood butterfly was seen in the local nature reserve as was a Blackcap. At the Barnhill Rock Garden a few more butterflies were found - Orange Tip, Green Veined White and Small Tortoiseshell. I continued on along to Balmossie. A few Red-breasted Mergansers, some Mute Swans, a couple of Great Black-backed Gulls, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull and Wigeon were all seen around the area of the burn mouth. Further out I was able to get a few Gannets and Sandwich Terns. With nothing much else to be seen I started to make my way back west towards home. A Peacock butterfly was found at the Rock Garden and I spent some time watching the Sandpit Mining Bees.
Goldcrest and Long-tailed Tits were at the local nature reserve. My first Small Copper butterfly of 2026 was also found there. I also found some tiny Grasshoppers, Green Longhorn Moths and a few micro-moths (and the slightly larger Barrie Hunter) there. A Whitethroat showed nicely by the western entrance to the reserve and I had a brief chat who had read this blog previously, via links on Twitter. Pied Wagtail was seen by the lifeboat station as I wandered back. A detour into Beach Lane to look for Holly Blue butterflies finally proved successful with at least 2 seen there. The walk back along to the Stannergate was as usual rather quiet. A shout from a car as I passed there resulted in getting a rather welcome lift home from Dana. I finished the day's birding with a total of 52 species of birds, 7 of butterflies and 2 of mammals. Nothing new for the year except my 12th species of butterfly (Small Copper) but an enjoyable sort of day regardless.
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| Linnet |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Cormorant |
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| Goosander |
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| Eider |
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| Peregrine |
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| Osprey |
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Gorse Pod Moth(?) |
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| Hoverfly sp. |
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| Green-veined White |
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| Goosander |
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| Wigeon |
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| Sandpit Mining Bee(?) |
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| Sandpit Mining Bee(?) |
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| Sandpit Mining Bee(?) |
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| Hoverfly sp. |
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| Speckled Wood |
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| Green Longhorn Moth |
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| Myathropa florea |
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| Blackcap |
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| Small Copper |
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| Robin |
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| Small Copper |
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| Grasshopper sp. |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Empis tessellata(?) |
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| Holly Blue |
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| Holly Blue |
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| Marsham's Nomad Bee(?) |
Birds - Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant, Dunnock, Eider, Gannet, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black-backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Linnet, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Red-breasted Merganser, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Sandwich Tern, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Whitethroat, Wigeon, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies - Green-veined White, Holly Blue, Orange Tip, Peacock, Small Copper, Small Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood.
Other insects - Grasshopper sp., Green Longhorn Moth, Hairy Shieldbug, Marsham's Nomad Bee(?), Sandpit Mining Bee.
Mammals - Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.
