Once again low temperatures kept me in my bed a bit longer than necessary and I decided not to go very far again, once I did get up. I wrapped up warm and decided to head up to Swannie Ponds in the hope of perhaps finding some ringed gulls there, then on to Eastern Cemetery to look for winter thrushes and then finally to City Quay to try to add a Kingfisher found yesterday by Stuart Green of Angus Birdtours to my site list/city centre list.
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| Moorhen |
It was a few minutes before 1300 when I headed out into the cold. A few Herring Gulls kicked off the list and a Robin hopped around on the road as I passed. A Blackbird was in a rose bush on Court Street but there was silence from the House Sparrow hedges. Reaching Clepington Road a Magpie flew past and a bit higher overhead flew a pair of Carrion Crows. Feral Pigeons circled round above the road further on. A detour via Mains Loan and Mains Terrace proved fruitless with only a single Blackbird heard, but not even seen.
A pair of Blue Tits flew over my head as I waited to cross Forfar Road. The trees behind the old tennis courts site seemed empty except for a Woodpigeon. The ponds were frozen over though there were still a few large areas of open water. Herring Gulls and Black Headed Gulls stood out on the ice while Mallards milled around on the water by the edges. Scanning through the birds I found a metal ringed Black Headed Gull but it was too far back to read much off the ring before the whole lot were flushed by a dog walker.
Much further round there were Tufted Ducks, Coots and a Moorhen on the water. Behind me in the bushes I managed to find a Goldcrest which was feeding among the branches. A small group of Chaffinches overflew as a Dunnock rooted around among the dead leaves below a bush. A pair of Goosanders were on the water relatively close in to the path. A second ringed Black Headed Gull proved to be a different bird to the first one with a metal ring beginning EY on upside down (I've previously seen a bird with a ring like this here, so I suspect it will be the same bird).
A Pied Wagtail landed out on the ice as I scanned the gulls on the lower pond. This produced another 2 previously seen Black Headed Gulls - with Norwegian ringed white J4U2 and Scottish ringed yellow 2XLD. Also on the lower pond were a couple of Common Gulls and the local Mute Swans. A small group of Starlings flew over just a minute before a pair of Collared Doves did likewise. A pair of Magpies loitered in the trees and a Carrion Crow picked around on the grass.
Eastern Cemetery was my next location to check and when I arrived, having seen only a single Magpie en route, things looked very quiet. Luckily within 5 minutes or so, I did pick up a single Mistle Thrush in flight. Within the next 5 minutes things livened up with a mixed flock of mostly Mistle Thrushes and Redwings, plus a few Greenfinches and a Chaffinch or two being found. A circuitous route to get the sun behind me gave me the chance of a few photos but the flock was very flighty with only a few birds not flying off anytime I got within sight. The local Woodpigeons and Carrion Crows were a lot more relaxed and stayed put. Blue Tits, a few Coal Tits and a single Great Tit were added before I headed for the bus.
City Quay was very quiet until I passed the frigate Unicorn where I found 3 Cormorants stood on the old lamp posts by the former dry dock. A Grey Wagtail was heard but I failed to see it. Reaching the outer quay area another 2 Cormorants were on the water across the far side by the Sea Cadets building. Also here was a single female Red Breasted Merganser. The hoped for Kingfisher was seen flying low over the water before disappearing behind the Sea Griffon tug used by the Sea Cadets. Unfortunately, this was the only sighting of the bird I managed.
Out on the river, I added a Great Black Backed Gull and a Grey Heron stood on the concrete structures at Submarine Rock and the rocks nearby. The Merganser flew out onto the river, as did one of the Cormorants. I headed back to check for the Kingfisher again, but there was no further sign. A pair of Linnets flew over. A detour back to the river added more Starlings and a House Sparrow as well as a Pied Wagtail. I tried the drainage pools by the bridge access road hoping for Grey Wagtail but drew a blank, so headed for home.
A decent enough haul of 35 species seen in a little over 2 hours, though even with gloves on the cold managed to get at my fingertips, meaning I was glad to get home for a cup of tea to warm them on.
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Goosander |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Common Gull & Black Headed Gull |
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| Moorhen |
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| Greenfinch, Mistle Thrush & Redwing |
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| Greenfinch, Redwing & Mistle Thrush |
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| Redwing |
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| Redwing |
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| Cormorant |
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| Cormorant |
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| Cormorant |
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| Red Breasted Merganser |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Great Black Backed Gull & Red Breasted Merganser |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Kingfisher, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Starling, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon.
