 |
| Tufted Duck |
A Woodpigeon flew along in front of the houses and a male Blackbird flew across the road to land in a Rowan tree to feast on the plentiful crop of orange berries. A few minutes later and I reached the ponds, just in time to see the gull flock disappearing to the west. A quick scan of the pond found no gulls whatsoever on the water. Instead there were a number of Mallards asleep on the water and a single Coot, while off to the right, the Mute Swan pair and a Tufted Duck fed on soggy bread still half-afloat on the water. I wandered round to take a seat in the sun and to see if the gulls would return.
A calling Pied Wagtail caught my attention as it flew over the trees behind me. A few Black Headed Gulls started to drift back into the pond, but only initially in very small numbers. Above, a few Herring Gulls glided round but showed no interest in landing. A small sleeping duck caught my eye near the island. I suspected Teal, based mostly on size, but could not completely rule out a Mallard hybrid, given that there had been a 'call duck' on the ponds earlier in the year. Eventually I was able to catch sight of the green/blue (teal, in fact) feathers on the speculum on the wing as the bird preened.
A single Lesser Black Backed Gull which was beginning to show some head streaking landed on the lower pond. A Blue Tit foraged in the tree behind me. A Song Thrush flew in and landed in the trees on the island. The Black Headed Gull numbers slowly increased, with a steady stream of people coming to feed the ducks, and the gulls rather less intentionally. I eventually counted somewhere around 50 of these small gulls and a handful of Herring Gull youngsters. Among the Black Headeds, I managed to see a white ringed bird, coded J4U2, one of last year's regulars. Having had no sightings of Moorhen yet, I was pleased to see the characteristic head-bobbing swimming style as one rounded the island. Another showed much closer in to the island.
A Goldfinch flew over, and I decided to have a slow walk around the pond and maybe along to the nearby Eastern Cemetery to see if i could add a few more species to the list. A Robin was finally spotted in the bushes a little further round the path, and a second Coot was at the rear of the island along with the Mute Swans, a trio of Tufted Ducks and more Mallards. The Teal had hauled out onto the island to preen. A pair of Song Thrushes were glimpsed feeding on berries on the island.
As I watched a Woodpigeon fly by, through binoculars, I spotted the distinctive soaring flight of a distant Buzzard overhead Caird Park as it spiraled upwards. With nothing extra to add, I headed across Pitkerro Road in the direction of Eastern Cemetery. House Sparrows were heard in a garden but a large thick hedge hid them from view. The cemetery proved to be rather quiet with Woodpigeons and a handful of Blue Tits and Robins, but the only addition was a single foraging Goldcrest high in a conifer. Rather than do a complete circuit I decided to cut my losses and head for home. The only additional sighting of note was a soaring Buzzard being harassed by a Carrion Crow, high above Clepington Road.
Not the most exciting of outings, but with very little wind and decent sunshine, I was able to catch some video clips with not much wind noise, though I ended up not taking too many photos as a result. Videos can be seen on YouTube under the user name Stonefaction.
21 species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Coot, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Song Thrush, Teal, Tufted Duck, Woopigeon.
 |
| Tufted Duck |
 |
| Tufted Duck |
 |
| Teal |
 |
| Teal |
 |
| Tufted Duck |
 |
| Black Headed Gull |