My usual Wednesday birding outing was cancelled this week owing to me
attending a rather good gig in Perth on Tuesday night and choosing to stay
over in the city rather than hurrying for a train home afterwards.
However, I did some casual birding in Perth with my friend who was at
the gig with me as we enjoyed the blue skies and sunshine and
wandered along the river and around town before heading for home
mid-afternoon.
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| Grey Heron |
A Buzzard greeted us as we left the
hotel gliding over as we waited for the pedestrian crossing lights to
change. A Carrion Crow was next. A wee detour into Rodney Gardens gave
us a selection of songbirds - Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tits,
Great Tit, Robin and a Wren. Woodpigeons and Feral Pigeon were also
seen. Down by the Tay a pair of Goosanders flew upriver as a pair of
male Mallards flew over heading in the opposite direction. We found a
larger group of Goosander further upriver and another few Mallards. A
Black Headed Gull and a Herring Gull glided over. Greenfinch was heard
but not seen. A female Blackbird unconcernedly foraged among the leaf
litter by the path.
Further on towards the bridge we
added flyover Pied Wagtail and Goldfinch as well as a Coal Tit high in a
tree. Jackdaws were perched up in the trees at the far end of the
bridge. A seat in the sun at the North Inch as we had something to eat
for lunch added a pair of Oystercatchers and a Song Thrush was heard
singing further along the path but not seen. We did add a Goldcrest
which was also singing as walked along to visit the Museum. Later on the
way to the railway station we added a Rook perched on a building not
far from the South Inch and there were House Sparrows in a garden as we
walked along the main road opposite the park.
From the
train back to Dundee we spotted Mute Swans at the fishery below the
Friarton Bridge as well as a field full of Pink Footed Geese and as we
passed Invergowrie Bay there were a few Greylags very close in to the
seawall. Gulls were numerous out in the burn outflow but the train was a
little too fast to be able to identify them.
25
species seen around Perth and on the way home without actually birding
(list was only belatedly started after we'd spotted most of the above).
Not a bad haul, even if there wasn't anything particularly unusual among
the birds seen. No photos were taken as I didn't have my usual birding
gear with me.
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed
Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Goldcrest,
Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow,
Jackdaw, Long Tailed Tit, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied
Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Woodpigeon, Wren.
As
it was such a sunny day I decided to pay a visit to Swannie Ponds for
an hour once I made it home to see if I could find any unusual gulls, or
at least record a few ringed birds. I chose a different route from my
usual Clepington Road one, taking the more southerly route along to
Morgan Academy and up to the ponds that way. Herring Gull, Jackdaw and
Feral Pigeon started the list off, followed soon after by a 'singing'
Starling on a tenement roof and a flyover pair of House Sparrows. A
Black Headed Gull glided past as I neared the Dura Street car park where
a couple of Herring Gulls were foraging around the recycling bins.
Woodpigeon
and Carrion Crow were seen as I headed up past Baxter Park. A Blue Tit
was heard but not looked for. Arriving at the ponds I found the lower
one full of good numbers of Black Headed and Herring Gulls but nothing
unusual. The top pond held even more birds with good numbers of Black
Headeds in particular and maybe around 20 or so Herring Gulls. Mallards
(including a couple of the domestic females that 'arrived' somehow
fairly recently), Tufted Ducks, the trio of Mute Swans, a Coot and a
Grey Heron roosting on the island made up the numbers. A pair of
Woodpigeons wandered around feeding on the grass.
A
male Chaffinch sang from the trees near the end of the path up to the
road. A Moorhen appeared on the island. A pair of Magpies were in the
trees above it. A second Coot appeared from around the rear side of the
island. There were quite a lot of Black Headed Gulls stood out along the
path and I scanned through them looking for ringed birds. First was
Green J63P, a fairly recent find - a Norwegian bird. Two yellow ringed
birds were next, both regulars here - 2CA6 and 2XLD. I also managed to
get photos of a metal ringed bird as it preened and was pleased to find
that I could read the full ring number from the photos once at home.
Another Norwegian ringed bird - 6181458, a bird I'd seen here in 2015.
A
yellow ringed bird that wandered into view as I was adding Common Gull
to the list was rather surprisingly a new one - 2BC5. It will likely be
another relatively local ringed bird, as the Yellow 2*** birds all are.
As the sun sank lower in the sky, the temperature started to drop and my
fingers were getting rather cold so I chose to call it a day and head
for home. I found a pair of Bullfinches quietly feeding on buds in the
trees at the corner by the path up to the road, though on the opposite
side from where the Chaffinch had been earlier.
There
were a few more species to be added on the walk home with a flyover
Goldfinch, a displaying Greenfinch, a Great Tit calling from a tree in a
garden all seen. A Robin was heard, but I was surprised to not see any
Blackbirds at all. Jackdaws were annoying a Feral Pigeon flock on
Clepington Road. A Siskin did fly over as I walked down Court Street and
a pair of Collared Doves were perched on a chimney as I neared home.
23
species seen in roughly 90 minutes worth of enjoyable birding with the
bonus of another new ringed bird. As the months progress towards Spring
the numbers of Black Headed Gulls will probably rise a little more then
start to fall again as birds move on to their breeding sites though as
the probability of the ponds being icebound falls so does the likelihood
of adding more ring records at the site this winter.
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| Grey Heron |
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| Mallard & Mute Swan |
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| Black Headed Gull & Mute Swan |
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| Coot |
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| Tufted Duck |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Chaffinch |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Mallard |
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| Black Headed Gull (J63P) |
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| Mallard |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Black Headed Gull (2CA6) |
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| Black Headed Gull (2XLD) |
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| Magpie |
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| Black Headed Gull & Common Gull |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Black Headed Gull (2XLD) |
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| Black Headed Gull (6181458) |
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| Black Headed Gull (2BC5) |
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| Black Headed Gull (2BC5) |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Black Headed Gull (2CA6) |
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| Black Headed Gull (2CA6) |
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| Black Headed Gull (6181458) |
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| Bullfinch |
Species
seen - Black Headed Gull, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared
Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron,
Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute
Swan, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Starling, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon.
36
species in total seen overall which isn't too bad given that I wasn't
really birding for most of the day (though if I'm outside, I'm probably
birding to a degree, even if it is just making a mental note of what I
can see/hear).
