There were a couple of reasons why the usual midweek outing with Nat didn't happen today, though as it turned out the rather misty weather most likely meant that the target birds I was hoping to get to see would have been shrouded in fog, rendering the attempt rather pointless. However, rather than sit in all day I decided to have a walk up to Swannie Ponds to see if there were any ringed gulls around.
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| Goosander |
I headed out at around 1400, but the conditions were still rather misty, with the result that there were hardly any birds on the wing. A single Herring Gull was the sole exception. I missed seeing the House Sparrow flock on Court Street though they were rather vocal from their perches within the hedges. A Woodpigeon was feeding on the grass at the top of the road, and a Collared Dove was perched atop a lamp post further along Clepington Road.
Arriving at the ponds around 15 minutes after leaving home, I could see there were plenty of gulls around, though most were Black Headed Gulls and on the water. I heard Long Tailed Tits in the trees behind me with a Blue Tit but didn't look for them. There were Mallards sleeping on the island and a few Tufted Ducks on the water. There were some Herring Gulls and Black Headed Gulls on the paths with a group attempting to get some food from a family attempting to feed the ducks that were on the pond. A Moorhen was wandering around on the path and I was relatively surprised to see a pair of Coots around the rear side of the island.
I spent some time scanning through the gulls on the path while trying to get a little closer. A yellow ringed bird (2CA6) was photographed and a second yellow ringed bird was spotted (2XLD). I thought the former was a new bird for the site but checking later I discovered I'd seen it last February. I recognised 2XLD despite having seen that in March 2014 here. An elderly couple disturbed the flock when the man decided to clap his hands as they approached the junction of paths sending the birds in all directions. Having spent 15 minutes edging closer, I wasn't impressed.
The Mute Swans were at the edge of the lower pond and I checked the gulls there also for anything unusual but found nothing. I was joined by Blairgowrie birder Doug Milne, who had spotted me as he passed in his car and thought I might be looking at something interesting. A pair of magpies flew in to the island and a Carrion Crow was seen on a chimney on Pitkerro Road. A Starling flew past as I was checking on the crow. As the gulls had settled back on the path in front of us, I scanned again, finding a couple of Common Gulls and a white ringed bird which proved to be regular Norwegian ringed visitor J4U2. A metal ringed Black Headed Gull was too far away to identify as an individual. The sun managed to put in a welcome appearance for a short while.
By now, 3 Moorhens were wandering around on the path, with one even venturing down the grassy bank to the path bordering the lower pond. A Feral Pigeon flew over before I spotted a pair of Goosanders landing just behind us on the water. A third bird appeared with them unseen, though I noticed it as we were about to leave around 1515. There were Starlings in a tree by Morgan Academy. A visit to Brand's Books drew a blank on any "new" books - the only ones there were all titles I already own. A Chaffinch was in a tree near the police station, and as I neared home I added a few Goldfinches and a Blue Tit to the short list for the walk, taking me to 18 species.
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| Black Headed Gulls (2XLD on right) |
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| Black Headed Gull (2CA6 front left) |
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| Black Headed Gull (2CA6) |
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| Black Headed Gull (2CA6) |
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| Black Headed Gull (J4U2 centre) |
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| Black Headed Gull & Common Gull |
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| Mallard, Herring Gull & Black Headed Gulls (2XLD near left) |
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| Magpie |
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| Goosander |
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| Black Headed Gull (2XLD) |
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| Moorhen |
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| Black Headed Gulls (2CA6 centre) |
Species seen - Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Goldfinch, Goosander, Herring Gull, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Feral Pigeon, Starling, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon.
