Having once again not been feeling 100% this week, I didn't head out for my usual Wednesday outing with Nat this week. I used the time to catch up on sleep and to buy a new pair of boots now that the old ones have started to let the water in, which as the colder, wetter weather approaches is hardly great timing. Rather than not squeeze in any birding I decided to 'break in' the boots with a short wander up to Swannie Ponds to see if there were any of the ringed Norwegian Black Headed Gulls around.
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| Mallard |
I headed out at about 1500 and found the area close to home devoid of birds. It was a few minutes before I saw any at all, when a pair of Feral Pigeons flew over. A Woodpigeon did likewise as I neared Clepington Road where I also added a Black Headed Gull to the rather short list. While crossing Forfar Road at the Clepington Road crossroads I heard, then saw, a pair of Goldfinches flying over. The weather was unseasonably warm and it was actually relatively pleasant in the sunshine.
There were plenty of Black Headed Gulls on the ponds when I arrived, with probably around 100 of the birds on the top pond, and maybe another 50 on the bottom pond. Among them were a few Herring Gulls, but probably less than 20 of the species in total. There were a few Mallards out in the open and a few others roosting close in to the island. A single Tufted Duck was stood on the small ramp at the back of the island. A Carrion Crow was down by the water's edge checking out the contents of a discarded polystyrene food container.
I picked out a Common Gull among the other species as they flew around as a mum and child threw bread to the ducks. The local Mute Swan pair were stood by the other pond. A quick scan through the Black Headed Gulls beside them showed no sign of any ringed birds. Unfortunately for me, there were very few Black Headed Gulls stood out of the water at any time, though I did once or twice catch glimpses of a bird with a single metal ring though they were always distant views, so there was no chance of reading any lettering/numbering.
I found a seat in the sunshine and waited to see if the Black Headed Gulls would give me any better views, but they seemed to much prefer the water today. I spotted a trio of Starling shaped birds flying towards me from the rear of the island. Rather than Starlings these turned out to be Redwings. Another pair passed over about 15 minutes later. In the intervening period I happened to look up and spotted a male Sparrowhawk circling high above the ponds. I shot a short video sequence of the bird, though the quality wasn't great.
With the sun disappearing behind a cloud, the temperature took a dip and I decided to check out the rear of the island. I could hear a Blackbird alarm calling from time to time from the island but it remained unseen, as did a Blue Tit in the trees beside where I was sitting. There had been no sign of either Coot or Moorhen in the time I had been at the ponds, but I did succeed in finding one of each around the rear of the island. The Coot looked like it was possibly one of the youngsters, so it will be interesting to see if it stays around for the winter, or disappears like the rest of the family appears to have done. With a not unexpected rather short list, I headed for home.
14 Species seen - Black Headed Gull, Carrion Crow, Common Gull, Coot,
Goldfinch, Herring Gull, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Redwing, Feral
Pigeon, Sparrowhawk, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon.
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| Tufted Duck |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Moorhen |
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| Coot |
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| Coot |
