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| Goosander |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Lesser Black Backed Gull among Herring Gulls |
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| Mediterranean Gull |
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| Black Headed Gull (ringed in Norway) |
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| Black Headed Gull (ringed in Aberdeen?) |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Iceland Gull |
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| Tufted Duck |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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Another longer lie in bed than intended had me wondering where to go for a spot of birding, and maybe some photography. I decided to head for the local Stobsmuir Ponds (Swannie Ponds to us locals) where I had photographed the Iceland Gull last weekend. It had come to light the following day that a Mediterranean Gull had also been photographed, but had only been identified from the photo at home later. The Iceland had been hanging around all week but the Mediterranean Gull hadn't been seen again. Anyway, the chance to maybe get some closer shots of the Iceland Gull was appealing so I had a wander up around 1130.
There wasn't much to see en route, a few Herring Gulls overhead, and a pair of Blackbirds chasing each other around. I heard an Oystercatcher before I saw it, flying over the playing fields at the DISC. A small flock of House Sparrows flying across the road from garden to garden and a Carrion Crow completed the very short in-transit list, before I arrived at Swannie Ponds.
Usually the ponds hold 3 species of gull (Common, Black Headed and Herring Gull - Lesser Black Backed too in summer), Mute Swans, Mallards, Tufted Ducks and a few Moorhens. Round about in the trees, the usual 'garden birds' can sometimes be seen, but it tends to be just a few Blackbirds rooting around in the bushes on any given day.
Arriving at the ponds, the usual suspects were all in place, out on the water. Scanning through the birds without binoculars the first semi-surprise was a few Goosanders (there had been a few last weekend) still around. Unfortunately there were no drakes, but the females/youngsters were coming close in to the bank when kids were throwing out bread for the ducks. The next surprise was a Lesser Black Backed Gull, my first of the year, and slightly earlier than my usual first sighting.
Walking a little further round I scanned the chimneys where the Iceland Gull had been perching last weekend, and there it was, stood in its favourite spot. A fairly steady stream of parents and children came down to the water to feed the birds, meaning that birds were constantly on the move, milling around in the air, or out on the water. A few Black Headed Gulls stood out on the path further round from where I was sitting and I spotted a leg ring on one. White J4U2. A bit of investigation from Gus Guthrie discovered that the bird was ringed in Norway, and this was the first sighting outwith that country. As I tried for a better photo, a different bird caught my attention. A different shape to the Black Headed Gull and with no black on the wingtips - the Mediterranean Gull. A nice adult bird with a bit of black feathering on the head. Very nice.
A second ringed Black Headed Gull - with a yellow leg ring was also seen later. This one was possibly ringed in Aberdeen, but confirmation is awaited. A Pied Wagtail fed along the path and a small group of Goldfinches overflew, while a flock of Feral Pigeons could be seen from time to time above the houses.
I put a text in to the ADBC grapevine service mentioning the Iceland, Med and Lesser Black Backed knowing that there would be birders interested in seeing the latter two (and probably still some to see the first too) and concentrated on getting more photographs while not getting too cold. There were a mixture of Herring Gull-type birds and I tried to determine whether they were all 'just Herring Gulls' or something more interesting. Unfortunately my knowledge of that particular subset of gulls is pretty limited so I took plenty photos to compare with the books, but the illustrations in the books never quite match the birds in the photos. I think that is probably one of the main reasons a lot of birders get frustrated with gulls.
Birders started to show up a wee while later but the Med Gull had vanished, though the Iceland Gull was still around, between the ponds and its favoured rooftop perch. Lots of chatting and scanning of birds along with lost of clicking camera shutters summed up the next few hours, but there was no sign of the Mediterranean Gull so most of the assembled throng of birders drifted off, leaving just three of us. Myself, Mark Caunt and a novice birder. I sat at one end of the pond and Mark was up near the other end. Mark phoned to say to give him a wave if we spotted the Med Gull. No sooner was he off the phone when I saw him edge forward for a better look at the flock of gulls on the path in front of him. I spotted what he was looking at - the Med Gull had returned.
We hurried round but the gulls flew down onto the water. The novice birder struggled to get onto the bird and while I was trying to give him directions I was missing the opportunity to get photos. Eventually he succeeded and both he and I managed to get some photos before the flock took flight again. Mark put another text out on the grapevine before heading off, and I started to head for home, although I did get a bit sidetracked with a Moorhen, some Tufted Ducks and a Goosander. A Woodpigeon flew into a tree as I walked towards the steps but flew back out again as I got closer. Saw a large flock of a couple of hundred Gulls over Caird Park but they were too far away to identify anything to species level. Overall a good day with lots of pretty decent photos taken.
Only 19 species seen (1 new year tick in bold) -
Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Carrion Crow, Common Gull, Goldfinch, Goosander, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Iceland Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Mallard, Mediterranean Gull, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Feral Pigeon, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon