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| Tree Sparrow |
Having failed to find any Quail along the northern edges of the city, my attention turned to the cereal fields out on the western fringes of the city, beyond Liff and Dykes of Gray for my birding on Saturday the 1st of August. As it takes around an hour to get there, I would need to make a really early start even to get to where I was going, for around 0700. I set my alarm for 0445 and somehow managed to get out of bed. The weather forecast was fairly decent with some sunshine and relatively light winds. I made it out the door just before 0545.
Woodpigeon, Magpie, House Sparrow, Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Goldfinch and Starling were quickly noted as I headed up past the football stadiums. Blackbird, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Jackdaw and Dunnock were found near the Strathmartine Road/Clepington Road junction, with Song Thrush, Coal Tit and Robin a bit further on. Wren, Blue Tit, Chaffinch and Great Spotted Woodpecker were spotted as I wandered along the driveway into Camperdown Park. A single Roe Deer was seen stood out on the grass quite distantly and there were a number of Black-headed Gulls feeding down on the grass between me and the Roe Deer. Chiffchaff, Treecreeper, Nuthatch and Great Tit made it onto the list before I left the park.
Thankfully the roads were still very quiet and I was able to walk the short distance down to the junction for Liff without worrying about being clipped by the wing mirror of some big 4x4 or van. Yellowhammer, Willow Warbler, Tree Sparrow, Swallow, House Martin and Pheasant were noted before I reached the bend in the road where it is safer to walk on the wrong side of the road so traffic can see you from both directions rather than on the inside of the bend, where pedestrians are meant to be. I heard my first Dundee Tree Pipit of the year before a Whitethroat popped up from the bushes. Long-tailed Tit was heard along Church Street. Walking out the Gray Den Road got me the first Buzzard of the day.
Swifts and Sand Martins were seen in flight and there was a small flock of noisy Tree Sparrows at the end of the road. Heading down the hill, Pied Wagtail, Reed Bunting and Grey Wagtail were all seen. A Mistle Thrush flew into a nearby tree top near Benvie. I heard what sounded like a Kingfisher along what appeared to be a small drainage ditch. I wandered along the edge of the field and was surprised to find 2 Kingfishers, one of which posed nicely for me, albeit on top of a plastic tub. Back at the road I decided to wander further up towards the dual carriageway than usual. This added Skylark and a Brown Hare. There was still no sight or sound of a Quail though and I was beginning to run out of prospective fields.
I wandered back along to Dykes of Gray, spotting a Kestrel en route at Benvie, and weighed up my options. I could head for home directly, or go via Riverside Nature Park. As it was still only 0830 I settled on the latter, which meant a much longer walk than usual (16.5 miles by the time I was done). Greenfinch and Common Gull were new for the day as I headed down to the Landmark Hotel. Oystercatcher was seen within the grounds while Speckled Wood and Meadow Brown butterflies were found across the other side of the burn. The walk down through Invergowrie failed to add anything new but once back within Dundee's boundaries, a Bank(?) Vole scurried across the path ahead of me and a Blackcap was heard.
I reached Riverside Nature Park at 0950 and quickly added a number of species to the park list for the day. Herring Gull, Wren, Greenfinch, Carrion Crow, Redshank, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black-headed Gull, Cormorant, Woodpigeon, Sandwich Tern, Magpie and Willow Warbler all making it onto the list before 1000. A Meadow Brown butterfly was seen. Jackdaw, Feral Pigeon, Lapwing and Blue Tit were next before I left the hide to walk into the main parts of the park. A few insect species were found - Marmalade Hoverfly, Common Greenbottle and the large hoverfly Volucella pellucens. A Curlew flew over as I headed round for a quick look at the Lochan. Swift, House Martin and Moorhen were all feeding in the general area.
I walked back round towards the bay again. Starling, Goldfinch and Robin were in the bushes and trees while a few Mallard were picked out down in the bay. Some distant Common Seals could be seen hauled out on a distant sandbank. A wee look at 'the bowl' added Buff-tailed and Red-tailed Bumblebees, a few 7-spot ladybirds and a Red Admiral butterfly. Swallows and Stock Dove overflew. Blackbird, Buzzard, Coal Tit and Long-tailed Tit continued the run of species as I headed for the exit at the eastern end. A Green-veined White butterfly finally settled long enough for a firm ID. Totals for the park visit were 30 species of birds, 2 of bees, 3 of butterflies, 1 of blowflies, 2 of hoverflies, 1 ladybird and 2 of mammals.
The walk home from the park was a bit of a weary one. For some reason I decided to take a look at Western Cemetery which had most of the Ivy ripped out a year ago. Despite this I did manage to find a Holly Blue and Peacock butterfly (and a Marmalade Hoverfly) but by this time it was much windier than it had been first thing in the morning and my legs were very tired. Rather than have a look at either Balgay or the Law I headed straight home once I left the cemetery. My 'outwith the park' list for the day was 48 species of birds, 4 of butterflies, 1 of hoverflies and 3 of mammals, for combined totals of 56 birds (1 new for my #2026Dundee150 list - in bold), 2 bees, 6 butterflies, 1 blowfly, 2 hoverflies, 1 ladybird and 5 species of mammals. Unfortunately no Quail once again, but a reasonable morning's birding overall.
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| Swallow & House Martin |
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| Tree Sparrow |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| House Martin |
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| Buzzard & Carrion Crow |
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| Buzzard & Carrion Crow |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Swallow & House Martin |
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| Brown Hare |
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| Brown Hare |
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| Tree Sparrow |
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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
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| Meadow Brown |
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| Lapwing |
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| Volucella pellucens |
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| Moorhen |
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| Curlew |
Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie,
Mistle Thrush, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sand Martin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Tree Pipit, Tree Sparrow, Treecreeper, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Butterflies (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Holly Blue, Meadow Brown, Peacock, Speckled Wood.
Hoverflies (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Episyrphus balteatus.
Mammals (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Bank Vole, Brown Hare, Roe Deer.
Birds (at Riverside Nature Park) - Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Cormorant, Curlew, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Martin, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sandwich Tern, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Bees (at Riverside Nature Park) - Buff-tailed Bumblebee, Red-tailed Bumblebee.
Butterflies (at Riverside Nature Park) - Green-veined White, Meadow Brown, Red Admiral.
Blowflies (at Riverside Nature Park) - Common Greenbottle.
Hoverflies (at Riverside Nature Park) - Episyrphus balteatus, Volucella pellucens.
Ladybirds (at Riverside Nature Park) - 7-spot Ladybird.
Mammals (at Riverside Nature Park) - Common Seal, Rabbit.
