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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Redwing |
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| Redwing |
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| Redwing, Fieldfare and Mistle Thrush |
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| Mistle Thrush |
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| Coal Tit |
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| Coal Tit |
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| Mistle Thrush |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Cormorant |
Earlier this week I was messaged by one of my birding buddies, Gus Guthrie, via Facebook and asked if I would mind showing a young Belgian guy, who is in Scotland volunteering with the SWT, some of the local birding areas. Gus also mentioned that he lived quite close to me. A day or two later, I was messaged on Facebook, this time by the man himself, Stefan. We arranged to meet up and I would show him some of the better areas within walking distance of home for birding.
We had arranged to meet at 9am on Clepington Road and I had a vague plan in my head as to where to go. It would involve quite a bit of walking but hopefully it would be worthwhile and we'd see some decent birds. I left the house at about 0855 to walk to the rendezvous point. With the sun not long up I knew there should be birds around. First up was a Blackbird, while two Carrion Crows and a Feral Pigeon pecked around on the frosty paths. Herring Gulls flew over. Heading up hill I added Woodpigeon and a Black Headed Gull to the list. While I waited for Stefan to arrive, I heard a Robin and a Magpie. I did manage to catch a glimpse of the Magpie as it flew off through the back greens of the tenement blocks.
Shortly after, I spotted Stefan nearing the top of the road and indicated that it was indeed me that he was meeting. Our first area to visit was to be Caird Park, and the ponds in particular, so we headed along Clepington Road to walk down Graham Street and across the golf course. A Rook was a bit of a surprise by the car park at the Ceramic Tile Warehouse. Graham Street produced Starling, House Sparrow, Feral Pigeon near the top end, with Black Headed Gulls on the football pitches, a pair of Blackbirds in a berry-laden bush near the bottom and a Blue Tit in a tree opposite.
As we crossed the Kingsway, I spotted a Buzzard swooping down from the tall trees at the top of the park with two Carrion Crows giving chase before the raptor flew into the conifers on the other side of the fairway. Not a bad start. A little further on, a pair of Dunnocks and a Blackbird foraged in the undergrowth below the trees. Nearing the bottom of the hill, Stefan spotted a Grey Wagtail ahead of us, with a Robin close by. Another decent bird to see. Walking along towards the ponds, we added Coal Tit and saw a few more Woodpigeons.
At the lower pond, there were three Moorhens and fourteen Mallards together on the water, one of the Moorhens still being a rather brown juvenile bird. A Goldcrest showed quite well in the bare branches of a bush on the island. We also had a sighting of a possible Sparrowhawk overflying, but the views weren't conclusive enough to be certain. Blue Tit was seen by the cemetery gates but there was no sign of any woodpeckers or Jays. We decided against heading along to Trottick Ponds, as the effort involved wasn't likely to produce much more than maybe Dipper for the list, that we wouldn't get elsewhere on the planned route.
Walking up past Mains Castle, I spotted a small flock of Goldfinches and a Chaffinch in a small tree along with yet another Woodpigeon. Black Headed Gulls fed on the football pitches further up towards the Kingsway. We headed up Mains Loan, with a few Feral Pigeons flying over as we did so. The House Sparrow flock at Castle Terrace was unusually absent but we did add a Collared Dove perched atop a lamp post in Lammerton Terrace and a pair of Jackdaws a little further on.
We arrived at Swannie Ponds to find them almost completely frozen with Black Headed Gulls and Herring Gulls of various ages stood around on the ice. A few Mallards splashed around in the one small area of open water but there was no sign of Tufted Duck or Moorhen. A Pied Wagtail flew in and landed on top of a lamp post and a Greenfinch landed in the trees on the island. I finally spotted a Common Gull perched atop another lamp post alongside a Black Headed Gull and explained the differences between the Herring Gull and Common Gull pointing them out in his rather battered Belgian edition Collins guide.
The lower pond held more Black Headed Gulls as well as a Common Gull and a few more Herring Gulls. The Mute Swan family were in the small area of open water on this pond, and a Pied Wagtail flitted around by the edge of the water near the road. A Magpie was in the TA centre grounds, flying off as we approached. Further on, Jackdaw was seen again with a few Woodpigeons going over, relatively high.
We headed into Eastern Cemetery hoping to add the likes of Mistle Thrush to the list. A few Blackbirds flew across the path into a berry covered bush and I heard the distinctive call of Mistle Thrushes off to our right, Unfortunately the low sun made it difficult to make out the birds but we could see movement among the trees. I heard Redwings calling too but these seemed much closer, and they were. A flock fed on the grass ahead of us, with a few Chaffinches nearby as well. We watched them for a few minutes and I succeeded in getting a few photos. We then headed in the direction of the Mistle Thrushes, and found that there was a whole mixed flock of 'Winter thrushes' spread out across the northwestern corner of the graveyard with plentiful Redwings, a handful of Fieldfares and some Mistle Thrushes among the trees and gravestones.
We watched the flock for a short while before moving on a bit further, getting really good views of two Coal Tits perched on top of two small bushes as well as Mistle Thrushes feeding on a Yew tree. Blue and Great Tits were also found, though the Great Tits were remarkably difficult to see despite only being a few feet above our heads in a bush. Greenfinch and Carrion Crow as well as more Woodpigeons were seen in addition to a Robin before we reached the gate and headed on towards Stannergate and the Tay.
There wasn't much to see among the houses with only a distant Starling flock which I hoped might be Waxwings but weren't. We crossed the road and walked down towards the river. A Robin was in the bushes by the cycle path and I heard but didn't see a Song Thrush. Carrion Crows were feeding on the road ahead of us but they flew off as we got closer. A few Black Headed Gulls and a single Common Gull were along the shoreline. Stefan spotted an Oystercatcher and I was surprised to see a Little Grebe close in. Not a bird I've seen here before. Stefan spotted his second Grey Wagtail of the day not too far away from us on the beach. He also found another Rook as it foraged on the grass to the north of us.
Scanning further along I picked out a Grey Heron on a long seaweed coated spit (possibly an outflow pipe?). A few Carrion Crows foraged among the seaweed as did a Curlew which after some rather poor directions from me, Stefan finally managed to see. A Herring Gull landing behind it made pinpointing it a bit easier. Out on the water, though rather distant, I picked out three Red Breasted Mergansers. A few birds which I suspected to be Linnets flew around but I couldn't get good enough views. Minutes later I succeeded in identifying them positively when a small group of them landed in a tree nearby. Stefan noticed a few House Sparrows below the bushes where the slope met the beach. Something unseen caused a bit of commotion which gave us another day tick in the shape of two Redshanks flying past from near where the Rook had been.
We decided to head to City Quay next and decided just to walk. The Robin was in the same place as we wandered back up to the main road and we had good views of the Linnet flock in a tree not far in front of us. Naturally this was just after I'd put the camera away. There wasn't much to see as we wandered along by the main road although we did chance upon a mixed tit flock with the calling of Long Tailed Tits being heard above the traffic noise and the birds themselves easy to pick out as they flitted around by the trees on the opposite side of the road.
Reaching City Quay we stopped to check the area behind the Sea Cadets buildings. A small group of Red Breasted Mergansers were obvious, as was a Herring Gull. Behind the Herring Gull swam Dave, the resident Red Throated Diver. His new found friend (see previous blog) was also still in attendance, with the two birds being in close proximity out on the water. A Cormorant flew past. Having seen our target bird we weighed up our options. Stefan needed to be home no later than 3pm, so we didn't really have enough time to do Riverside Nature Park justice, so instead we decided to check the rest of the Quay and the river then walk towards Discovery then up through the city centre via the Howff then home.
A Pied Wagtail was seen along from the Clock Tower flats while four Cormorants, including the very white fronted one seen on Monday rested along the wall opposite, along with a Feral Pigeon. One of the Cormorants dropped into the water and dived under, bringing a rather large fish up seconds later which was quickly despatched. We headed towards the river, spotting a skein of Pink Footed Geese flying at an angle upriver and away from us. There was only a small group of Red Breasted Mergansers to be seen out on the water though a single Cormorant did fly in to stand on the 'submarine'.
I could see a sandbank out in the river off Newport which seemed to have a healthy amount of wildlife on it. We wandered towards Discovery for a better view. A Black Headed Gull flew past close to the sea wall. I took a few photos of the distant sandbank which identified the birds as mostly Herring Gulls and Cormorants with a few Black Headed Gulls and a probable Common Gull as well as two adult seals and a youngster. We headed up towards the Overgate to cut through to the Howff graveyard (our third of the day!). The list for the day (as recorded at least - it turned out I had missed 3 species!) sat at 39 and I hoped we could maybe get a 40th before we got home.
The Howff however disappointed with only a few Blue Tits, a Chaffinch, a Robin and a Great Tit seen. We headed up past the High School and up Victoria Road but birds were in seriously short supply. The realisation when I got home that I hadn't actually recorded three species relieved the slight disappointment at not finding a "40th" species for the day, with the actual total being a pretty decent 42 species. We had also walked slightly more than eight and a half miles in just under five hours of birding, and the reason for the walk - to show Stefan some of the local birding spots, had been a success. It also gave me some idea of what to expect in a few places if I get the chance to attempt my 'challenge' to see over 70 species in Dundee in a short winter day.
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Linnet, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Starling, Woodpigeon.