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| Hooded Crow (hybrid) (P900) |
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| Mallard (P900) |
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| Chiffchaff (P900) |
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| Pied Wagtail (P900) |
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| Grey Wagtail (P900) |
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| Grey Wagtail (P900) |
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| Dipper (P900) |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Blackbird |
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| Blackbird |
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| Puffin |
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| Puffin |
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| Puffin |
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| Cormorant |
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| Cormorant |
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| Puffin |
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| Puffin |
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| Fulmar |
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| Puffin |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Fulmar |
Last year I was contacted via Facebook by a fellow birder from Dundee who said he'd been reading, and enjoying, this blog and that it was giving him new ideas of where to go and what to expect when he got there. As this was feedback (and positive too) from an independent source it was doubly welcome. I added the birder, Doug Lucas, to my friends list on Facebook and we chatted a few times about birding trips, best places to see particular species etc. I also offered Doug the option of heading out birding together if we could find a time that suited us both.
As Doug works shifts the opportunities to do so were rather limited but he contacted me recently to see if I fancied a trip out on Saturday 4th April. I did indeed, but had arranged delivery of a new camera for that day (a Nikon P900 bridge camera with 83x zoom and what looked like pretty decent picture quality on review pages - to replace my fairly recently bought Canon SX50 which has been rather under-utilised). Doug fancied a trip to Aberdeen to try and see the Harlequin duck which has been a fixture on the river Don in Aberdeen since it was discovered in January. So did I. Between the two of us we managed to come up with a plan which was basically if the camera arrived before noon we would get cracking on our outing. If however, it hadn't shown up by then, Doug would go himself and I'd sit at home cursing courier companies.
Just in case of an early delivery I was up and more or less organised for the trip before 8am. I had a bit of a look out the window at about 0810 to see what was around, with there usually being a reasonable selection the earlier in the day that it is. Herring Gulls and a single Lesser Black Backed Gull high overhead, Blackbirds in the street, Jackdaws on chimneys opposite and a few Starlings whizzing around from perch to perch. A Woodpigeon clattered over, a Blue Tit called from a nearby tree. A group of Carrion Crows chased each other around. A Goldfinch calling drew my eye to the sight of the bird flying past. The Jackdaws flew around in pairs. A Feral Pigeon flew up onto my roof. The first House Sparrow of the day followed a few minutes later.
A few more spells at the window throughout the morning gave similar species to the above though the views dwindled as the morning progressed. As time wore on it looked increasingly likely I would be stuck at home all day waiting on the delivery. However at 10 minutes to 12, a van turned into my street and lo and behold moments later there was a knock at the door, and my parcel had arrived just in time. I discovered that the battery was charged so decided to take the camera with me to give it at least a bit of a try-out. I messaged Doug and within a few minutes we were underway.
The road to Aberdeen doesn't tend to offer up too much variety bird-wise and it was fairly standard fare for us as we chatted on the road to the north-east. A few Buzzards, Herring Gulls, Lapwings and Oystercatchers and Woodpigeons but little else. Nearing Aberdeen we added a single Magpie flying across the road and a few Rooks in a field. A Lesser Black Backed Gull on a lamp post as we drove along Beach Boulevard was another species seen while en route.
We found Seaton Park a bit quicker than on my first attempt at doing so and we drove into the car park past a flock of Carrion Crows by the entrance. Among them was a
Hooded Crow lookalike. Once out of the car I tried for a few photos of the Hooded Crow hybrid using the P900. I zoomed in all the way (not realising that the digital zoom was switched on), and managed a few frame filling photos. Unfortunately these were slightly blurred and not very sharp. The reach was very impressive though.
We headed for the river to look for the hoped for Harlequin Duck. A Magpie or two, a Chaffinch, Blue Tits, Great Tit, Herring Gulls and a few Oystercatchers among the crows on the football pitches were seen. There was no sign of the duck on the river with only a pair of Mallards actually out on the water. Some activity on the opposite bank caught our attention and we found a pair of Grey Wagtails and a pair of Pied Wagtails in close proximity. A calling Chiffchaff was finally spotted in a tree opposite.
We wandered upriver a bit until we bumped into a couple of birders who said there was no sign of the Harlequin Duck. We decided to check downriver instead and headed that way. A Robin and a few Woodpigeons, as well as a Wren were all we had to show for the efforts before we again ran into a couple of birders who had drawn a blank in the direction we were headed. So, an alternative plan was formulated. We would head back to the car and drive to the Papermill Drive area where I had seen the bird on a previous visit.
From the car park we found a Stock Dove stood with a Woodpigeon by a large flooded area. A few Mallards were dotted around, and Doug spotted a couple of Teal on the water. One or two Oystercatchers and Jackdaws were also around. Arriving at Papermill Drive after a couple of large detours due to roadworks, we found a lack of birders which wasn't promising. However, nothing ventured, nothing gained, so we scanned around. A couple of Goldeneyes downstream and a large group of Mallards closer in to the bank. No Harlequin Duck though.
Our views upriver where the water looked more likely habitat for the duck were blocked by bushes and the bend in the river. A wee detour found us a gap in the fencing and with no obvious reason to 'keep out' or signs to that effect, we decided a spot of off-piste exploration was in order. A pair of Dippers and a Mute Swan was more or less all we found however, along with a dead shrew. A Chaffinch was seen on the way back to the car, as well as a Robin. We drove a bit further upriver then wandered down onto a bridge across the river for a look. A Cormorant flew by, and a Coal Tit called from the trees by the steps down to the bridge.
A Dipper was on a rock in the middle of the river. A pair of Grey Wagtails flitted around by the bank. Goosander, Goldeneye and Mallard were grouped together among rocks near the shore by another bridge a bit further upstream. We decided to wander up for a better look. Great Tit and Pied Wagtail were seen as we wandered along the road. Herring Gulls drifted over, and from the second bridge a Grey Heron was seen downstream. With time increasingly against us we admitted defeat and headed back to the car to head back down the road to Dundee.
I remembered about the Mandarin Drake at Johnston Gardens and we decided to make the short detour to try and see it. A light rain had started to fall so it was going to be a flying visit, with a quick lap around the pond. A few Mallards were all that was on the water though a very trusting male Blackbird flew in and landed on the fence inches from my elbow. Doug was eating something, so he handed me a small piece to offer to the bird, which without any fear took it from my fingers and flew off to eat it.
There wasn't too much to see in the small park sandwiched behind houses, though we did succeed in adding Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush and Godlfinch to our trip list. Robin and Great Tit were also seen, though neither was as tame as the male Blackbird who we encountered again on the way back to the car. I remembered to take a photo this time. Heading down the A90 there wasn't much to see except a few Woodpigeons and Carrion Crows.
One last detour was discussed, a second attempt in two days to try and see the Puffins at Auchmithie. We turned off the A90 a little early but this gave us a few more species that we wouldn't otherwise have added. Pheasant, Collared Dove and a Black Headed Gull in Brechin. A few more Oystercatchers and Woodpigeons were seen before we made an unplanned stop for a few minutes at Boghead Farm. A few birds were in the tops of the large tree by the road. These weren't the hoped for Corn Buntings but Linnets, still another species for the day. A Kestrel perched in a tree by the side of the ploughed field was another addition.
On we headed for Auchmithie where we parked at the north end of the village to peer over the wall down the cliffs. A few Eiders close in to the rocks by the harbour, Fulmars gliding along the cliffs, with a few birds on nests. Three very distant birds to the south of the village were identified from photos taken with the P900 using the digital zoom.
Guillemots and my first of the year. Were there any
Puffins? Oh, yes, a small group below the clifs with others dotted around in small groups giving a total of around 20 birds. A couple of Cormorants flew by and there were Herring Gulls on the water.
With the time now after 6pm we headed back to Dundee managing to add two final species as we passed Swannie Ponds with a Tufted Duck and a Moorhen visible from the road, in addition to the Mallards, Mute Swan and Herring Gulls. An enjoyable afternoon out even if we did fail to see our target bird for the day. 48 (actually 47 and a half - with the Hooded Crow hybrid not being completely countable). Two full species new for my year list seen though (in bold).
Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Cormorant, Dipper, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail,
Guillemot, Herring Gull,
Hooded Crow (hybrid), House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail,
Puffin, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Wren.
NOTE : The photos in the first part of the photo section were taken with the P900 in poor light (grey and overcast all day)and before I had any chance to have a look at how to actually work the camera, so most photo are shot using digital zoom at the maximum equivalent of 8000mm, or close to that total. Despite this, they show the reach capabilities and also to a degree the strength of the image stabilisation on the camera. A better idea of the camera's real capabilities will be seen in my next blog post.