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| Swallow |
While I was stuck at work on the 1st of May - just prior to a week off on holiday and hopefully lots of birding - Lainy was finding returning Garden Warbler and Grasshopper Warbler on her patch. That made my decision about where to go birding on Saturday the 2nd very easy, a trip up to the Clatto reservoir area with an early start, in the hope of catching up with Garden Warbler and a reeling Grasshopper Warbler - which does make things much easier than finding a silent bird as Lainy had done. The alarm was set for around 0500, so I could get out for around 0600 and reach Clatto for around 0700.
I was around 20 minutes behind schedule when I eventually got out. House Sparrow, Blue Tit, Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Robin, Dunnock, Blackbird, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Goldfinch, Starling, Common Gull and Great Tit made for a relatively busy first 5 or 6 minutes, though things tailed off a bit after that. Magpie, Jackdaw, Oystercatcher, Swallow, Chaffinch and Greenfinch were added along Clepington Road. Having crossed the Kingsway, Long-tailed Tits were heard with Chiffchaff and Goldcrest being detected likewise at the Crematorium. A pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers were heard then seen at Rosemount Road. A Grey Wagtail overflew a little further on.
At Ardler Pond I wasn't expecting much to be happening but Reed Bunting in the reeds, House Martins overhead, Moorhen and Mallard on the water, a singing Blackcap in the nearby trees and an unseen calling Water Rail proved my slight pessimism a little misplaced. Willow Warbler and Siskin were both heard as I wandered down the driveway at Clatto around 10 minutes later. A quick check of the reservoir produced Coot, Mute Swan, Tufted Duck, a slightly unexpected Great Black-backed Gull and Great Crested Grebe. In the trees and bushes were Coal Tit and Song Thrush and a Pheasant was heard calling to the north somewhere. My first Swift of the year was spotted high overhead as I wandered down to where I hoped to find my two actual target species of the morning.
Skylarks could be heard in full song flight mode above the nearby fields. A Whitethroat put in an appearance but there was no sight or sound of either of the wanted warbler species. More wandering added Yellowhammer and a few Sand Martins. After about an hour of searching I finally caught a Garden Warbler briefly out in the open, though a little further away than ideal. It proved tricky to locate with the camera and just as I did it flew off over a fence. There was still no 'reeling' to be heard though, so I was fairly certain I was going to be out of luck on the Grasshopper Warbler, though the Swift had been a bit on the surprise side, and 2 new species for my #2026Dundee150 list was a decent way to start my 9 days off work.
I had decent views of a Bullfinch before heading out towards the farm, where Rooks and Jackdaws were in the fields, a Redpoll was heard, a Jay was spotted and a trio of Roe Deer were in the field beyond the farm buildings. I stopped to photograph some Swallows and House Martins collecting mud from a small puddle until one of the farm dogs started barking, so I moved on again. A Small Tortoiseshell butterfly was photographed flitting around the path edge. Back at the reservoir, a Grey Squirrel was seen in the trees and as I walked round a Stock Dove was seen in flight. Continuing on a Black-headed Gull, Buzzard, Pied Wagtail and a Sparrowhawk were all seen. I had another attempt to get Grasshopper Warbler but unsurprisingly drew a blank.
I did however add Treecreeper to the day's list and had great views of another Jay. Green-veined White, Orange Tip and Small White butterflies appeared as the temperature crept slowly upwards. A Speckled Wood butterfly was found near the iron gate. Back round at the feeders, I had very close views of a confiding Red Squirrel. I headed homewards around lunchtime, wandering down through Templeton Woods and in below the trees at the fringes of Camperdown Park. A Nuthatch was heard there. It had clouded over by this time and there was quite heavy rain forecast and the sky looked like that rain wasn't far away. I did however, pop up to the top of the Law for a quick look on the way home, but nothing else was found except a 7-spot Ladybird. I finished the day's birding with a total of 59 species of birds (including 2 - in bold - new for my #2026Dundee150 list), 5 of butterflies, 1 ladybird species and 3 of mammals. A decent enough start to my Spring migration holidays.
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| Great Crested Grebe |
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| Wren |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Swift |
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| Whitethroat |
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| House Martin & Swallow |
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| Swallow |
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| Roe Deer |
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| Small Tortoiseshell |
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| Great Crested Grebe |
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| Green-veined White |
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| Jay |
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| Jay |
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| Jay |
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| Blackcap |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Small White |
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| Moorhen |
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| Stonefly sp. |
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| Red Squirrel |
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| Red Squirrel |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Speckled Wood |
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| Treecreeper |
Birds - Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Dunnock, Garden Warbler, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Black-backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Redpoll, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Water Rail, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Butterflies - Green-veined White, Orange Tip, Small Tortoiseshell, Small White, Speckled Wood.
Ladybirds - 7-spot Ladybird.
Mammals - Grey Squirrel, Red Squirrel, Roe Deer.
