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| Collared Dove |
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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Wren |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Cormorant |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Long Tailed Duck |
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| Little Grebe |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Goldeneye |
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| Cormorant |
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| Eider |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Linnet |
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| Common Gull |
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| Peregrine |
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Peregrine
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As so often seems to be the case this winter, a warm bed held more appeal than the early rise and a 12 mile walk from Tayport to Leuchars despite the birding possibilities to be had with the latter. My year list so far is decidedly underwhelming with lots of species that would usually be ticked missing so far, and with nothing too unusual seen yet. I eventually made it out of bed around 1045 or so and having a parcel to collect from the local post office I headed out. Jackdaw, Starling, Feral Pigeon, Blackbird and Herring Gull were seen during the brief outing. With the sun shining I figured I should probably avoid wasting the rest of the day so decided to check out Swannie Ponds again to see if there were any further ringed birds, or exotic gulls.
I headed out at about noon, Carrion Crow and Herring Gull being the first birds onto the 'new' list for the day. Blackbird was next, with Starling and Feral Pigeon added before I reached Clepington Road. As seems to be the norm, Black Headed Gull was added before I reached Mains Loan and Feral Pigeons were perched on a roof together. A bird flying over relatively high caught my eye and I grabbed the binoculars from my bag to confirm my suspicions. A Sparrowhawk.
On reaching a very frozen Swannie Ponds, the first bird seen was a Woodpigeon in the tall mature deciduous trees nearby. There was very little open water again with birds congregated together where there was, and others, especially gulls stood around on the ice. Blue Tit and Blackbird were seen in and around the bushes. Three young boys (of 10 or 11) played around on the ice and the island. Thankfully the ice appeared to be more than thick enough to support them, although the water is less than a metre in depth. Mallards, Mute Swans, Black Headed Gulls, Common Gulls and Herring Gulls as always were seen, with just one solitary Tufted Duck among them. I'm curious as to where the rest disappear to when there is ice on the ponds. On the lower pond I found the only two ringed birds that seemed to be around - regular Norwegian birds JN69 and J4U2.
With the kids playing around the top pond and not much movement at the lower, I decided to head for Eastern Cemetery next in the hope of photographing Redwings and Fieldfares if possible. House Sparrows were seen as I wandered along Rodd Road. On entering the cemetery gates, the first bird seen was a Robin perched on a wall. Blackbirds fed down on the grass but it was pretty quiet overall. I decided to check out the northern half of the graveyard which I normally tend to ignore. Great Tit, Blue Tit, Dunnock, Chaffinch, Coal Tit and Blackbird were all around by the corner where a berry-laden tree overhung the metal railings. Someone had put a small feeder here and the tits were feeding on it. I could hear a distant Magpie but was unable to spot it. I wandered up the slight hill. Woodpigeons perched in a few trees and Herring Gulls drifted over. I found a Wren in the allotments near the top corner gate (which I was unaware existed).
Walking down the other side of the graveyard I found a Collared Dove preening in a small tree and managed a few photos before I headed back into the main part of the cemetery. A few Carrion Crows were seen, cawing loudly as they flew over in a northwesterly direction, others following on, also cawing loudly. There was obviously something which was the reason for the 'shout out' and crows followed in 2s and 3s for a minute or so. Movement in below a tree turned out to be two Wrens foraging around for food and I succeeded in grabbing one photo of one on the grass.
I spotted my second raptor of the day, circling high to the east. A Buzzard. A second one appeared much lower, being chased away by Carrion Crows, half hidden behind the trees from where I stood. I headed over in that direction, and spotted a Buzzard down on the grass under the trees. I used a gravestone as cover, keeping it lined up between me and the bird as I attempted to get close for a photo. Unfortunately the bird flew off into one of the trees a bit further away.
With none of the usual Mistle Thrushes seen, and no sign of any Redwing or Fieldfares I decided to try and catch a bus into town to check out City Quay. One or two more Blackbirds, Woodpigeons and overflying Herring Gulls were all that was seen before I caught a bus into town. Herring Gull and Feral Pigeon were spotted when I got off the bus near the Wellgate Centre, before I headed down past the bus station and down to the Quay.
A few Feral Pigeons were seen around the buildings at City Quay and a bird diving below the water near the footbridge turned out to be a Cormorant. Wandering along past the Unicorn I found a roosting Grey Heron huddled up against the cold wind behind the mechanism for the lock gates to the dry dock. At the outer quay area, I soon spotted Dave, the Red Throated Diver and one of the Little Grebe pair. A Herring Gull and two Oystercatchers roosted on the harbour wall. A surprise was a
Long Tailed Duck swimming near the centre of the water, just slightly too far away for decent photos, but a nice year tick anyway. I headed round to check the river, finding some black and white dots near the moored ships further to the east. I suspected Red Breasted Mergansers but photos showed that the dots were actually drake Goldeneye. Two Mute Swans flew past heading upriver towards the bridge, before disappearing round towards the Apex Hotel.
A lady walking her dog stopped to ask what I was photographing and we got chatting about the wildlife, and Dave in particular. She said her pal, who was very keen on birds, would be interested in seeing him and I pointed him out to her so that she could tell her pal all about him, and so they would have a better chance of seeing him, if they knew what they were looking for. The other Little Grebe popped up. As I was intending to walk along the river to the bridge and the woman, Karen, was doing the same anyway, we decided to continue our chat. I pointed out the Cormorants on the 'submarine', as well as a sleeping drake Goldeneye and a young Eider near the bridge. A Black Headed Gull perched on the fence ahead of us before flying off again as we got nearer. A Cormorant fished near the seawall. Two female Goldeneye whizzed past before swinging back eastwards.
As we arrived back at the corner by the lock gates a Grey Heron flew in pursued by a Herring Gull. I had spotted a jack-up oil rig out in the mouth of the Tay and decided to hang around to photograph it being towed in, despite Karen offering to drop me off if I was headed for home. A Grey Wagtail overflew, and a flock of Linnets appeared on the roof of a building across the other side of the lock gates. The flock took flight fairly regularly, wheeling round before landing back on the roof. There were in the region of 20 birds in the flock. With the jack-up rig making slow progress up the river, I headed in to the quay again and found Dave much closer than before. I managed to move closer and was rewarded with around 15-20 minutes of close views and decent photo opportunities, although the light was beginning to go, with the sun out of sight behind the flats.
Heading back to the river once again, a Common Gull landed in the water near the lock gates. I hung around for what felt like an age, photographing the tugs and their oversized load towering over them as it neared the harbour area. The 'action' was relatively limited so with my fingers feeling extremely cold I wandered back round to the quay area again where a number of Pied Wagtails overflew, heading to roost. One of the Mute Swans seen earlier was near Dave, and the Long Tailed Duck was still around also. With the temperature, and the light levels, continuing to drop I walked back to get a few more rig photos.
I heard high pitched calling and turned to see a loose flock of gulls to my right. One bird caught my eye - a Peregrine. I snapped a couple of photos despite the camera being set for much slower shutter speeds than required for birds in flight. A second or two later, I realised why there had been calling. A second Peregrine swooped at the first bird angrily. This skirmishing and scuffling continued as the birds headed east, presumably to roost, somewhere around Broughty Ferry perhaps. This was my first sighting of more than one Peregrine in Dundee.
With the sun having set and the light levels dropping further, the rig edged closer and closer to the dock, but I decided I had enough photos of the rig's slow progress and headed for the city centre and the bus home. Passing the Unicorn, I stopped to see the Grey Heron which was still in place where it had been earlier in the afternoon and the Mute Swan pair swam to just below me, obviously expecting food. As I had none for them, or for myself, they were left unfed. I did buy myself a bag of chips to warm myself up before catching the bus.
Not a bad afternoon out, with 35 species seen (1 year tick in bold). Highlights probably the two Peregrines squabbling and the great views of Dave.
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant, Dunnock, Eider, Goldeneye, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Linnet, Little Grebe,
Long Tailed Duck, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Red Throated Diver, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Wren.