STONEFACTION BIRDING: 0162 : On The Ponds (16/5/15)

0162 : On The Ponds (16/5/15)

Having spent the previous 7 days birding, I was a wee bit tired by the Saturday, but was also determined to keep going to try for a full 9 days worth of birding before having to go back to work again. I was largely undecided where to go but eventually settled on getting out for a walk locally and to see what I could find.


Moorhen

It was much later than normal when I finally headed out at about 1230 and I headed initially for Caird Park via Graham Street. As is usually the case, by around lunchtime birds are much less visible than they are early in the day when feeding after roosting overnight keeps the activity levels high. Blackbird, Herring Gull and House Sparrow got my list underway with Carrion Crow and Feral Pigeon the next additions. Starlings and a few more House Sparrows were seen on Graham Street.

Once into Caird Park I followed the path down through the golf course, with more golfers than birds around. I did find a handful of birds though - Blue Tit, a few Woodpigeons and a distant Buzzard circling over the ponds area. I was surprised when a Magpie flew across the path in front of me. A Wren gave a quick burst of song before flying up the burn and into the vegetation. A Great Tit was in the trees by the top end of the ponds.

I could hear a Blackcap singing in the trees up the slope, but it took a few minutes of searching to finally find it. A Chiffchaff calling loudly proved a lot more elusive and went unseen. A Song Thrush scrabbling around below the trees gave its position away and I managed to see it in the gloom as it hopped away into cover. A few Chaffinches fed among the tress along with a few more Blue and Great Tits.

On the ponds a pair of Mallards splashed down. I wandered up the hill to try and see a calling Long Tailed Tit and to also try for views of the still elusive and still vocal Chiffchaff. I managed to see the Long Tailed Tits but the Chiffchaff stayed out of sight. Back down at the ponds I was surprised to see a Moorhen collecting nest material and bringing it to a nest under construction a foot or so from the path round the ponds. It completely ignored me as I stood watching as the bird would dive under the water and surface with a length of vegetation which it would drag to the nest and fix it in place then repeat the procedure.

After a few minutes it swam towards the island where a pair of tiny bald headed chicks met it, begging for food. Their presence was a surprise given the nest-building, which may have actually been nest-restoration, which I had just been observing. A second adult bird and a third chick also put in an appearance and I watched, and filmed, the family as they fed and foraged around the margins until a heavy shower of rain interrupted proceedings.

A few Swallows arrowed over at speed as the sun came out again and as I wandered around the top pond, I heard the Chiffchaff call from the island and spotted movement among the branches of a small bush. At last, a Chiffchaff for the list. I added Coal Tit to the list before I headed for the old graveyard. I could hear the rasping call of a Jay in the trees nearby and spotted it shuttling back and forward to the ground from the trees through a gap in the cover.

Although the Trottick Ponds nature reserve entrance was meant to be blocked off due to demolition I decided to head along the Dighty anyway to see if I could maybe find a Dipper. Crossing the main road onto the old road which runs parallel and is used these days as a path, I spooked a Grey Heron from the bank of the burn where it had been standing unseen. It flew upstream and I didn't see it again, though views of the burn were rather limited by vegetation and a fence.

Reaching the bridge at Claverhouse, House Martins were swooping around the children's nursery buildings and nearby. A Pied Wagtail scurried around on the road. I was surprised to see the demolition crew collecting up the 'road closed' signs but as they had finished for the day it was actually possible to enter the Trottick Ponds site via the main entrance bridge next to the old pub.

Starlings picked around in the grass, and a few Goldfinches overflew. I found a break in the vegetation that allowed me to reach the edge of the burn to check for Dippers, but I saw none. A Great Spotted Woodpecker flew into a tree a short distance away and worked its way upwards and out of my view. On the ponds were a few Mallards, a Tufted Duck pair, a Herring Gull and a Mute Swan was sleeping on the area between the ponds.

Wandering round the edges following the path which follows the burn, I found a Robin and watched as a Blackbird decided against eating a dead bumblebee. A little further on, I was slightly surprised to watch a few Sand Martins overhead. A Willow Warbler gave a few snatches of song from a bush by the path. I wandered as far as the next footbridge over the burn from where I watched a Pied Wagtail catching flies on the burn.

As I walked back, I could hear Long Tailed Tits and noticed that they seemed to be taking a close interest in a small bush nearby. This seemed slightly odd, and a quick check discovered the reason. They were in the process of building a nest in the bush. From a distance I watched through a gap in the leaves and branches as one of the pair arranged the materials making up the soft ball that would become their nest. Great to see, and yet another unexpected find.

I don't actively seek out nests and prior to this year I rarely spotted anything that wasn't an obvious nest like a Starling's or a House Martins/Swallows/Sand Martins/Swift's or a Rookery, indeed mostly just in recent weeks I seem to be noticing the clues that suggest a nest is nearby a lot more. It is amazing just what I must have missed in the past. Open eyes and ears make a huge difference to what I find.

Wandering back I spotted a Greenfinch high in the trees. I watched a male Blackbird feeding a pair of youngsters on the opposite bank of the burn as I headed back to the bridge as well as Starlings collecting food to take to youngsters in nests unseen around the gardens backing onto the reserve. From the bridge I watched a male Grey Wagtail on the stones in the burn flitting around catching insects.

I wandered back up through Caird Park adding an Oystercatcher on the football pitches near the Kingsway to the list for the day. Although I suspected I was unlikely to see much of interest I decided to detour to Swannie Ponds before heading home. Jackdaws were seen, but no Collared Doves as I wandered along Lammerton Terrace. Lesser Black Backed Gull was the only addition at Swannie Ponds, not unexpectedly, so I didn't linger there long, instead heading back along Clepington Road towards home. One final species made the list. Two of the very few Swifts seen around the tenements locally so far this year.

An interesting wee walk with some more nice video footage added to my growing collection and a fairly respectable total of 38 species seen.

Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sand Martin, Song Thrush, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Tufted Duck, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.