Having led a successful morning's guided walk at Riverside Nature Park, I didn't want to waste the afternoon by sitting at home. However, Xplore Dundee/National Express' failure to send me a replacement for my monthly buspass which had gone astray, despite contacting them the required 5 days prior to the start date (today) to alert them to the non-arrival, meant that I would have to pay for my bus fares anywhere in Dundee using the company's buses (which my direct debit already does), so rather than being out of pocket I decided to stay local, and have a wander up to Swannie Ponds to see if any of the ringed gulls were around.
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| Coot |
Once I had edited the few photos from this morning and typed up a blog post covering the walk, I headed out at about 1450 for the short walk to the ponds. As with the walk into town in the morning, birds seemed to be in short supply with a Woodpigeon perched on a roof the only bird seen until I had almost reached Clepington Road. A Magpie chuckled from a tree in front of a tenement block and after a little looking I spotted it among the branches. A Jackdaw flew onto another tenement block on Clepington Road. A few Feral Pigeons were around near Mains Loan.
As I neared the ponds, I spotted a young Herring Gull circling up high above the houses, and a Black Headed Gull flew out from the ponds as I crossed the road to the steps. There were Black Headed Gulls and Herring Gulls stood on the path, with only a few on the water. There were plenty of Mallards on the water though. A Moorhen youngster swam past the island close in to the bank. I spotted a Coot further round. There were a couple of Tufted Duck youngsters on the water and a trio of magpies flew back and forward to the island. I could hear Song Thrush on the island but failed to see it.
I scanned through the Black Headed Gulls for ringed birds but saw none. More Black Headed Gulls were at the lower pond, but none of these were ringed either. There was a single Common Gull, also unringed, among this group, and a few Herring Gulls on the pond. Nearby were the local Mute Swan pair and their almost fully grown cygnet. A Carrion Crow flew past. A few Woodpigeons and Feral Pigeons overflew, as I sat on one of the benches photographing the birds with the P900 camera that I had chosen to take instead of the DSLR set-up.
After around 45 miutes at the ponds I decided to head for home, with the sky darkening, looking like a heavy shower might be on its way. Despite detouring via Mains Terrace, I failed to add anything new, though Robins singing and the local House Sparrow flock calling from a hedge were heard and what may have been a Goldfinch flying in to a garden was seen, but went unidentified. A Collared Dove was in a small tree as I headed back down the road, and just when I thought I was going to draw a blank on seeing a Robin, despite numerous singing birds, a pair popped out onto the pavement opposite, possibly squabbling over their little bit of territory. A small charm of Goldfinches flew past near the shops. 16 species seen, with nothing unusual among them, though the 3 youngsters and 2 adult Coots still being around was a surprise.
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| Coot |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Common Gull |
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| Magpie |
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| Tufted Duck |
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| Tufted Duck |
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| Tufted Duck |
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| Coot |
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| Mallard |
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| Coot |
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| Coot |
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| Coot |
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| Coot |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Swannie Ponds |
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| Coot |
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| Mallard |
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| Herring Gull |
Species seen - Black Headed Gull, Carrion Crow, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Goldfinch, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon.
