As I was (/am) still not feeling 100% I chose not to go very far today, though the weather was worse than had been forecast when I got out of bed anyway. By lunchtime it appeared that any further rain was unlikely, (though the grey clouds did remain for much of the afternoon), so I decided I should head out for a walk. I was undecided as to how far I would go, but chose to head for Swannie Ponds to see if there had been any change to the ringed birds since midweek. It was around 1310 when I eventually made it out the door.
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| Cormorant |
Herring Gull was first onto the day list, followed soon after by a flock of Starlings and a few Woodpigeons in a tree where I don't usually see any birds.A Carrion Crow flew off from its lamp post perch and a Blackbird flew across the road a minute or two further on. A Jackdaw was on the chimneys of the easternmost tenement on Clepington Road. The first Feral Pigeon of the day flew in and landed on a roof as I passed a hundred metres or so along the road.
Arriving at the ponds, I was just in time to see a couple of young children run along the path spooking all the Black Headed Gulls which had been stood on the path. There were a few Herring Gulls on the water, along with Mallards, a few Tufted Ducks, a single Coot, the Mute Swan pair and their fully grown cygnets. There were still a trio of Goosanders lingering around. Scanning through the gulls eventually found a Common Gull hidden among the Black Headeds. A Moorhen put in an appearance after a while.
The Black Headed Gulls soon chose to move back onto the path and I was able to scan through those that had done so. Yellow 2XLD was rather obvious, with white J4U2 also still around. Green JN69 was also found, having not been seen in midweek, but there was no sign of the other yellow ringed bird, 2CA6. A Magpie flew off from the island before I decided to head along to Eastern Cemetery in search of winter thrushes.
A Blue Tit flew across the road behind me in Rodd Road and the local House Sparrows were around in their usual spots. Things were very quiet in the cemetery, with hardly any birds around. A Robin was the first bird seen, followed by a few Blackbirds eating the few remaining berries on the trees that usually harbour Redwings and Fieldfares. A Mistle Thrush was spotted flying off from the gravestones further down the hill. A male Chaffinch was spotted atop a tree and a Great Tit foraged around lower in the same tree. A Goldfinch flew over and I managed a photo of a Woodpigeon on a gravestone. Blackbird, Robin and another Great Tit were picking around on the ground below the trees near the entrance.
I weighed up heading to the Stannergate, but chose instead to walk down to Broughty Ferry Road and along to City Quay. There were birds in the trees behind the houses on Dalgleish Road but I couldn't use the binoculars to identify them with certainty. There were a few Herring Gulls and a single Cormorant in the outer quay area at City Quay, and another few Herring Gulls near the Unicorn. A Cormorant swam under the footbridge as I crossed giving me nice photo opportunities despite the rather gloomy light.
I headed to the river to scan for any birds out on the water. Beyond Submarine Rock was a single Goldeneye and a trio of Red Breasted Mergansers. A Pied Wagtail flew past and I spotted a very distant Grey Heron well to the east flying in over the river. Feral Pigeons and House Sparrows were seen in the city centre before I headed for home, after a spot of browsing (and buying) in the book shops. Not the longest list with only 28 species seen, but some much needed exercise for me.
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| Black Headed Gulls, Goosander & Moorhen |
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| Black Headed Gull (JN69) |
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| Goosander |
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| Goosander |
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| Tufted Duck |
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| Coot |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Cormorant |
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| Cormorant |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Starling, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon.
