With a pre-arranged commitment planned from mid-afternoon onwards, I had to forego the temptation of a trip to Montrose Basin to try and see the Lesser Yellowlegs which has turned up there, as well as a couple of Yellow Wagtails at Westhaven (along with a Black Tern). I had originally intended on a very early start to catch the receding tide at Riverside Nature Park, but an 0530 alarm doesn't always lead to me getting out of bed. However, as I'm off on holiday for the next week, I want to squeeze in as much birding as possible, so I decided to take the short walk to Swannie Ponds around lunchtime, primarily to see if any Mediterranean Gulls had dropped in, or any ringed birds had returned or arrived anew.
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| Juvenile Coot |
It was just before noon when I headed out. A pair of Robins disappeared below a hedge, one chasing the other. Seconds later a pair of Jackdaws chasing each other disappeared over the roofs. Further up the road, I heard the wings of a bird close behind me and knew what it was before I even turned my head to look -a Collared Dove. Walking along Clepington Road, I spotted a single high flying House Martin and a little further on, a Sparrowhawk circling up which I lost sight of behind the houses. As I crossed the Forfar Road, I spotted the bird again just as it went into a stoop and dived behind the houses opposite me. A few steps on, and the bird emerged from behind the houses chasing a Feral Pigeon above the road. The pigeon went over the top of the tall trees and the Sparrowhawk gave up its chase and landed in the trees.
A pair of Magpies were in the trees as I arrived at the ponds. On the island stood a Grey Heron. A family group of Coots were nearby. A mixed group of Lesser Black Backed Gulls, Herring Gulls and a few Black Headed Gulls were on the water. A rather white headed young gull caught my eye but appears to have been just a rather pale young Herring Gull. The Mute Swan pair with their single cygnet swam towards me, expecting food, as did a single drake Mallard in partial eclipse plumage. A Starling flew over, and a family group of Blue Tits foraged in the trees. A Moorhen preened on the island as I did a lap of the top pond. The majority of Mallards were roosting at the far end of the island along with a single female Tufted Duck. Another family group of Coots, with two slightly younger chicks (facial shields still small) swam over towards me, giving me some nice close-ups. I counted at least 10, possibly 11 Coots on the pond - a large increase on what was a population of zero just a couple of years ago.
A Woodpigeon pair flew over and I heard a Grey Wagtail but failed to see it. I was a bit luckier with a flyover Meadow Pipit which I did manage to see passing overhead. A Black Headed Gull with a damaged foot posed for a photo before flying off. A Coal Tit flew into the trees by the path and a Swallow passed over rather high in the sky. After roughly 45 minutes at the ponds I headed for home, stopping briefly to photograph a Grasshopper on the pavement on Clepington Road, with my phone. I added House Sparrows at a bird table on Court Street as well as a Blackbird flying up into a hedge before I made it home.
Not a bad 75 minutes with a total of 24 species seen and a bit of fresh air and exercise into the bargain. Not many gulls around at the ponds yet which means another visit in a few weeks time to check for returning birds from Norway.
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| Grey Heron |
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| Lesser Black Backed Gull & Herring Gull |
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| Mallard |
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| Mallard |
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| Lesser Black Backed Gull & Herring Gull |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Lesser Black Backed Gull |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Moorhen |
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| Coot |
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| Coot |
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| Juvenile Coot |
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| Adult Coot & 2 juveniles |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Mallard |
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| Grasshopper sp. |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Coot, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swallow, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon.
