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| Dipper |
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| Hawfinch |
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| Hawfinch |
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| Red Kite |
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| Red Kite |
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| Red Kite |
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| Red Kite |
A lovely winter day of blue skies and sunshine looked on the cards when I looked out the window early on Sunday. The met office website seemed to confirm this. A good sign from a photography point of view. All it needed was for the birds to co-operate.
Sunday past was the day of the February Angus & Dundee Bird Club outing, with two sites to visit both with hopefully very good opportunities to see two rather different, but both very welcome year tick, birds. Scone Palace for Hawfinches, then onto Argaty near Doune for Red Kites.
Pick-up was the usual ADBC spot of a 9am meeting in Crichton Street, so I left the house around 8.30 to wander into town. House Sparrows chirped away from bushes and rooftops before I had got very far. Blackbirds along the path edges below overhanging bushes rooting around in the leaf litter and 'general' litter, while Herring Gulls hung in the wind above the rooftops. A Blue Tit flew over and perched atop a TV aerial, calling loudly from its lofty choice of perch. Goldfinch was next over, landing in a small tree nearby.
Both Woodpigeon and Collared Dove were added as I walked down Dens Road, the former in a tree, the latter on a lamp post. A Starling landed on a tenement chimney and a Robin perched on a fence briefly before flying off as I walked by. Two Coal Tits squabbled in the bare branches of a tree on Victoria Road and Feral Pigeons could be seen around the Wellgate area. A Carrion Crow in Bell Street completed the preliminary list.
Sunday past was the day of the February Angus & Dundee Bird Club outing, with two sites to visit both with hopefully very good opportunities to see two rather different, but both very welcome year tick, birds. Scone Palace for Hawfinches, then onto Argaty near Doune for Red Kites.
Pick-up was the usual ADBC spot of a 9am meeting in Crichton Street, so I left the house around 8.30 to wander into town. House Sparrows chirped away from bushes and rooftops before I had got very far. Blackbirds along the path edges below overhanging bushes rooting around in the leaf litter and 'general' litter, while Herring Gulls hung in the wind above the rooftops. A Blue Tit flew over and perched atop a TV aerial, calling loudly from its lofty choice of perch. Goldfinch was next over, landing in a small tree nearby.
Both Woodpigeon and Collared Dove were added as I walked down Dens Road, the former in a tree, the latter on a lamp post. A Starling landed on a tenement chimney and a Robin perched on a fence briefly before flying off as I walked by. Two Coal Tits squabbled in the bare branches of a tree on Victoria Road and Feral Pigeons could be seen around the Wellgate area. A Carrion Crow in Bell Street completed the preliminary list.
I met up with ADBC member George Adam and managed to secure some transport for myself from him. Once 9am passed, ourselves and another car full of birders headed for the next meet-up point. Quarrymill, near Scone Palace where the majority of the group would be. Black Headed Gulls were on the football pitches on Riverside Drive, and a Cormorant stood with wings held out on a sand bank in the Tay near the railbridge. A single Seal lazed on a smaller sand bank behind. A few Oystercatchers foraged on the grass by the roadside near the Technology Park and a male Chaffinch flew across the road in front of the car, the good light making identifying it easier than normal for a flyover small bird from a moving car. Not much else was identified en route to Perth, except a few Rooks in roadside fields and some Gulls in a flooded field below the Friarton Bridge the most visible birds, although a pale fronted bird caught the light above Kinnoull Hill before landing in a tree.
The car park soon filled up at Quarrymill as the numbers grew. A steady stream of Great Tits, Blue Tits and Chaffinches flew in to the feeders, though conversation and catching up meant the birds didn't receive too much attention from the assembled birders. A Sparrowhawk was pointed out as it disappeared behind the trees being mobbed by a Crow. A second Sparrowhawk buzzed over our heads, though a few of the group thought it was a Kestrel, though my not particularly good photos showed that Sparrowhawk was the right call. I took the decision to quickly pop down to the burn to see if I could see a Dipper, and there was one feeding just beside the bridge. I managed a few photos in decent light, which made a pleasant change. A few others hurried down but the shout went up that we were about to leave, so it was mostly about turn. Five minutes later we were still stood around in the car park....
Normally we walk into Scone Palace grounds to search for Hawfinches but this winter the grounds are open and parking is free, so a convoy of cars filed in to find a few more birders staring into the trees with at least one Hawfinch in their view. Unfortunately the group leader didn't seem to notice and the group marched off up past the Palace and onto the main driveway to search for Hawfinches among the mature trees of the Palace grounds. There were a few birds heard and flying birds seen before a decent view of a Hawfinch was had. Trying to give directions to a small bird perched on a branch in a tall tree among lots of other tall trees isn't easy and not everyone managed to see this one. Walking on, other Hawfinches were heard 'ticking' in the trees and small groups of 2 or 3 birds were found and photographed. Scopes were set up to allow better views for members who had never seen one of these rather chunky finches before. I wandered off through the trees to try and get the sun behind me so that I could get more than just a silhouetted shape, as had happened in the past. Thankfully I did manage a few shots, and saw plenty others moving around in the trees above. The group fragmented with some watching one group while others tried for a different angle and others searched in other parts nearby. I walked nearer the drive way gate and a Song Thrush flew low past me. I then lost sight of the main body of the group so headed back to try and catch up with them which I did quite quickly.
Walking back towards the Palace, we managed to see a Great Spotted Woodpecker near the top of a tall tree and I spotted a male Pheasant near a pen which held a Peacock, but there was little else to see except a Goldcrest and a Coal Tit in the low branches of an overhanging conifer. A Carrion Crow did fly over and an unidentified Gull circled over the trees as we sorted out the plans for getting to Argaty. A handsome Peacock strutted by on the grass behind the car park allowing a few nicely detailed photos in the sunshine while we waited.
A few Swans could be seen in flooded fields by the A9 as we headed roughly southwest from Perth and a pair of Roe Deer could be seen not far from the Perth-Glasgow railway line. There was quite a lot of snow on the ground and the hills to the north and the south were mostly white standing out well against the largely blue sky. As we neared the turn-off for Doune the cloud cover had increased but the light still looked decent for photographing the Kites at the feeding station. Driving up to the farm a pool on the left held a few Goosanders but not much else.
We ate our packed lunches around the car park as we watched for Red Kite numbers to increase, the first bird already being watched as we drove in. The birds drifted in from all directions as feeding time drew nearer. A few smaller birds were seen in the car park vicinity, mostly Chaffinches, though I did find a female Bullfinch feeding on buds in a small bush behind the picnic tables. A Robin shared the bush but there was no sign of any male Bullfinch.
I popped in to make use of the "facilities" while the rest of the group headed up hill to the hide. Unfortunately this was to be an error of judgement on my part as the east side of the hide was filled up when I got there meaning that the better photo opportunities would not be happening in front of me without a little bit of luck. However, as I had managed plenty of shots previously of the "main action", I decided the use the opportunity to try for shots that were different from the ones I already had. While waiting for the feeding to start, I managed to get shots of two different birds perched, one on a dung heap and another on a post. A few Magpies and Carrion Crows, Rooks and Jackdaws were all around, their numbers increasing along with the Kites which circled and effortlessly glided and soared above the hide.
A Buzzard was the first bird to swoop down for food on 'my' side of the hide when the feeding began, with a Magpie grabbing some meat a few seconds later, Unfortunately for me the Kites refused to come down in front of my lens. The rapid fire clicking of 'machine-gunned' camera shutters across the hide suggested there was plenty happening out that side, but I concentrated on the few birds that were nearby. I did manage a few shots of Kites eating on the wing, transferring food from their talons to their beaks. The light was very good, but unfortunately the snow of the day before had melted depriving us of the reflected light onto the undersides of the colourful Kites. Soon enough the decision was being made that our time was over, despite the few of our group on the same side of the hide as me having seen no swooping for food (although the option of swapping sides had been on offer). This was disappointing but not unexpected. Making our way back down to the car park House Sparrows cheeped and chattered from a bush by the farm buildings.
Heading back down the road we added Mute Swans at the pool where the Goosanders were. A few more Swans (most likely Mutes) were in the flooded fields by the dual carriageway, and a small gaggle of Greylags were spotted in a field close to the road. Just as before there were very few birds seen en route back to Dundee, though we did manage to see a single Magpie perched in a tree between the Doubletree Hilton and the NCR building.
Only 33 species seen (but 2 year ticks - in bold) -
Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Cormorant, Dipper, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greylag Goose, Hawfinch, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Magpie, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Red Kite, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Woodpigeon.