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| Great Crested Grebe |
During discussions on Sunday with Ian, Lainy and Keith about Migrant Hawkers and the possibility they might be elsewhere around Dundee, though either overlooked, or unproven (along with mine at Riverside Nature Park - which I'm now even more convinced was one, a possible had been seen at Campy Growers by Kate Treharne and Lainy had seen a possible over the water tower field at Clatto) several possible sites had been mentioned. One of these was Clatto, and with Lainy having been unable to spend much time there lately, I decided to visit on Tuesday - though after a look at the Caird Park ponds and another look at Trottick, as the weather forecast was predicting lighter winds. Having not been to Clatto for a while, I was also hoping that I might find something interesting amongst the birds.
I headed out at 0925. Carrion Crow, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Herring Gull, Blackbird, Dunnock, Magpie and House Sparrow were all noted as I headed up to Clepington Road and Caird Park. Woodpigeon, Blue Tit, Meadow Pipit and Starling were added as I headed down to Cairdie. Goldcrest, Wren and Goldfinch were found before I reached the ponds where the usual Mallards and Moorhens were easy to see. Speckled Wood and Red Admiral butterflies were noted on the way to Trottick Ponds along with a Grey Squirrel and a Coal Tit. Overflying Skylarks were seen just as I crossed the wee bridge into the nature reserve. A Chiffchaff was heard as I made me way up to the northeast corner.
It didn't take long to get views of the Migrant Hawker this time, though getting photos was a different story. A Black-headed Gull dropped in to the island pond while a couple of Brown Rats could be seen furtively wandering around along the pond edge below where I was standing. Mute Swan and Little Grebe were easy to see. Lainy came down to join me and we had a few more views of the rats and the Migrant Hawker as well as a few Common Darters, Red Admirals, Speckled Woods. A Sedge Fly was seen swimming between algae 'islets', which seemed to be very unusual behaviour for an adult Sedge Fly. There were a few hoverfly species around at the Ivy by the path. Unfortunately, Lainy's plans for the day were interrupted by a phone call meaning that she was going to have to go. She offered to drop me off at Clatto first and I gratefully took her up on the offer. Jackdaw and Buzzard were noted as we headed for Lainy's car.
Lainy dropped me off at the end of the driveway into Clatto and a skein of Pink-footed Geese struggling into the stronger than expected winds gave me an immediate photo opportunity. Long-tailed Tit, Buzzard, Great Crested Grebe, Coot, Grey Wagtail, Swallow, Tufted Duck (including a rather Scaup-like female, though regular Tufty sized), Lesser Black-backed Gull and Grey Heron were all quickly added at the reservoir. A single Little Grebe was also seen by the southwestern island. I slowly made my way along the western side, which was mostly sheltered from the wind by the trees and the slope of the reservoir edges. A Painted Lady butterfly was new for the day. A pair of Ravens showed briefly over the trees. I added a few insect and spider species in the bushes behind the Kingfisher shed, including a couple of 22-spot Ladybirds. A Song Thrush was seen in the trees.
A Common Darter was seen near the small wildflower patch that Lainy had cultivated nearby, but it was to be the only dragonfly species seen during my wandering there. I headed down to beyond the iron gate which only got me a Bullfinch. Heading up across the water tower field failed to get me anything and it was a similar story in below the trees, though the Raven pair put in another short appearance, flying off to the wood behind the reservoir. Thankfully, I was able to get Linnet, House Martin and a wandering Small White butterfly down by the farm. Rook and Pied Wagtail were added to the mix before I returned to the reservoir where there were now a number of Common Gulls down on the beach along with some Black-headed gulls, including a Norwegian ringed individual (white J1U6) which Lainy had seen there in July 2025. By this time, my legs were starting to ache a bit so I headed homewards. The day's haul comprised of 45 species of birds, 4 of butterflies, 2 of dragonflies, 1 of grasshoppers, 4 of hoverflies, 2 of ladybirds, 2 of mammals and 4 of spiders.
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| Grey Heron |
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| Eriozona syrphoides |
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| Moorhen & Little Grebe |
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| Sedge Fly sp. |
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| Buzzard |
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| Pink-footed Goose |
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| Tufted Duck |
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| Tipula confusa |
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| Raven |
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| Great Crested Grebe |
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| 22-spotted Ladybird |
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| Painted Lady |
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| Pink-footed Goose |
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| Mute Swan & Herring Gull |
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| Buzzard & Carrion Crow |
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| Great Crested Grebe |
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| House Martin |
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| Black-headed Gull (White J1U6) |
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| Common Gull & Black-headed Gull |
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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
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| Little Grebe |
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| Starling |
Birds - Black headed-Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Linnet, Little Grebe, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pied Wagtail, Pink-footed Goose, Raven, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Swallow, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies - Common Darter, Migrant Hawker.
Grasshoppers -- Field Grasshopper.
Hoverflies - Episyrphus balteatus, Eriozona syrphoides, Eristalis pertinax, Syrphus ribesii/torvus.
Ladybirds - 22-spot Ladybird, 7-spot Ladybird.
Mammals - Brown Rat, Grey Squirrel.
Spiders - Araneus diadematus, Metellina segmentata, Pardosa ametata, Pisaura mirabilis.
