Having grown up when snow was something we got quite a lot of in winter, I wasn't too bothered by the hype about the "Beast from the East" and decided that I would probably still head out for some birding despite the wind-chill temperatures forecast to be somewhere between -6 and -11 on my day off this week. As long as I wrapped up well enough, and used shelter where possible to keep me out of the wind and any snow showers, I should be fine. I decided that I would try Swannie Ponds then Eastern Cemetery and then either walk out to Broughty Ferry or get the bus out to see what was around at high tide. With a little luck the winds might blow something good my way.
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| Kittiwake |
It was 1130 when I headed out suitably attired into what felt like quite a cold wind, as had been forecast. Having a hood up and a hat over the top of that meant that hearing birds was going to play a lesser part in finding stuff than it usually does, but as I wasn't expecting too many smaller birds anyway it wasn't a particularly big deal. Feral Pigeons overflew as I headed uphill and a couple of Herring Gulls hung in the wind above the rooftops. A Blackbird was perched in a bush on Court Street and Carrion Crow and a Black Headed Gull were added at the top end. A group of Fieldfares were seen flying around as I walked along Clepington Road.
Unsurprisingly the ponds were almost completely frozen with a small area of open water holding some of the resident Mallards and not much else when I arrived. As I'd taken some food with me to feed the birds, it didn't take too long for the Black Headed and Herring Gulls to show up. This gave me ample opportunity to look for ringed birds - which in some cases I was able to read off without binoculars as the birds were so close. In total there were 6 ringed birds today. White J4U2 and Green JN69 from Norway, Yellow 2CA6 and 2XLD both ringed in Scotland and metal ringed EY47212 which I'd seen here in 2015, as well as a 6th bird that I only managed to read the last 2 digits of.
A Coot appeared on the small area of water with the Mallards before I wandered round to check out the lower pond. A flock of Fieldfares landed in the tees as I passed and a Robin flew out of another tree. Mute Swans and Common Gulls were added at the lower pond before I headed for Eastern Cemetery. House Sparrows were seen on Rodd Road as well as Starlings. A few Goldfinches were seen as I entered the cemetery and there was a large flock of mostly Fieldfares, plus a few Blackbirds and Redwings feeding on the ground. A Woodpigeon was in the trees down from the gatehouse with more Fieldfares. A skein of Pink Footed Geese headed over towards the Tay.
More of a surprise was a flock of around 40 Skylarks which passed over southwards as I walked through the graveyard. A Mistle Thrush was with another flock of Redwings and Fieldfares and having just put the camera away in the bag again a female Sparrowhawk chose to hang in the air almost directly above me. Needless to say as soon as I got the camera out again, the bird moved off again, though I did still manage a few photos. I just missed a 73 bus to Broughty Ferry by a few seconds but by the time I made it to the bus stop I had enough time to eat a packet of crisps before the next bus turned up.
Arriving at Balmossie, there were plenty of House Sparrows and Starlings around in the gardens and trees. Crossing the footbridge over the railway line, a Pied Wagtail flew past me towards the houses. There were Oystercatchers attempting to feed on the grass behind the building to the west of the bridge. Carrion Crows were also dotted around. The tide was already well in and Black Headed Gulls made up the majority of the birds I could see. I walked along to the mouth of the Dighty to see what else I could find. Redshanks and Turnstones were around in small numbers as well as a trio of Goldeneye sheltering in the burn mouth from the main force of the incoming tide. A flock of Wigeon flew past.
A Rock Pipit landed on the rocks nearby before I started to search through the Black Headed Gulls for any sign of a Mediterranean Gull. I drew a blank on that species but did succeed in finding a white ringed bird which I eventually managed to photograph well enough to read the full ring - J4CP, a Norwegian ringed bird I'd previously seen here in July 2012. A yellow ringed bird I also found - 2BK3 which will be a NE Scotland ringed bird, was surprisingly the only new ringed bird of the day for me. A Meadow Pipit dropped in nearby for a few seconds.
I was sheltering against the wall of the railway line at the footbridge over the burn which meant that I was mostly out of the worst of the wind, making it not as uncomfortable as it might have been otherwise. There weren't many dog walkers around except for a few hardy souls so disturbance was minimal. Scanning out over the river I found a few Eiders and a single Dunlin flew past much closer in. A Grey Plover was seen low over the sea, the tell-tale black 'armpit' patch showing well. Slightly more of a surprise was the young Kittiwake which briefly dropped in amongst the Black Headed Gulls before heading off eastwards again.
A Fieldfare struggled into the wind and dropped onto the little bit of exposed beach on the other side of the burn, and found itself being caught in the incoming waves a bit before it moved further up the beach. I suspect that it wasn't in the greatest condition. A trio of Golden Plover flew east before I decided I should move on. A quick check under the bridge gave me a pair of Mallard on the burn and better views of the Meadow Pipit. The wind at my back made progress quicker than it would've been going into the wind, though it did make stopping to scan across the river slightly tricky. I added a distant Cormorant and a Guillemot.
More skeins of Pink Footed Geese passed over. I found a few waders on the beach - Dunlin, Grey Plover and Ringed Plover. I was careful not to spook them, taking a wide arc away from the fenceline before having another look from behind. A drake Eider was close into shore as a flock of 5 Bar Tailed Godwits flew past. A Wren was under the arch at the entrance to the local nature reserve and I almost stood on a Redwing a little further on by the edge of the pavement, before it flew up into the trees to join another Redwing and a Blackbird.
Near the castle I found another Rock Pipit, a Pied Wagtail, a few Turnstones, Common Gulls, Ringed Plover and a Sanderling. On a 'normal' day, disruption from dog walkers on the beach would have meant that hardly any of these birds would have been seen. From the other side of the castle I found a few Red Breasted Mergansers out on the river. A pair of Eiders were in the harbour and a young Shag was resting on the harbour wall but dropped back into the water when it spotted me. A Grey Seal showed briefly offshore. A Curlew was with the gull flock in the small bay west of the harbour and a Song Thrush flew into a nearby garden as I decided to head for the bus as the snow began to fall quite heavily.
I stopped into a few charity shops for a look - finding a couple of bird books to buy, before catching the bus back to Dundee. I decided City Quay should be worth a look, but apart from a few gulls (Herring & Black Headed) it was rather disappointing. House Sparrows and Starlings were seen, a Robin was heard and a few Cormorants were out on Submarine Rock but overall it was very quiet. With more snow looking like it was coming in I headed for home.
Despite the weather, a decent enough day out with 43 species seen and some reasonable photo opportunities to be had. The new ringed Black Headed Gull was a nice bonus as was the Kittiwake, which appeared to be a new 'Dundee tick' for me. I also now know just how many layers I need to wear for temperatures down to -10 in future. Hopefully I won't need that information too often...
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| Black Headed Gull & Mallard |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Fieldfare |
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| Herring Gull (with deformed bill) |
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| Pink Footed Geese |
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| Fieldfare |
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| Fieldfare |
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| Skylark |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Black Headed Gull (2BK3) |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Black Headed Gull (2BK3) |
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| Turnstone |
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| Wigeon |
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| Common Gull |
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| Goldeneye |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Black Headed Gull (2BK3) |
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| Black Headed Gull (J4CP) |
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| Kittiwake |
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| Wigeon |
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| Goldeneye |
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| Golden Plover |
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| Wigeon |
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| Fieldfare |
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| Redshank |
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| Goldeneye |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Redshank |
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| Turnstone |
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| Wigeon |
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| Wigeon |
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| Wigeon |
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| Cormorant |
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| Guillemot |
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| Dunlin |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Grey Plover & Dunlin |
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| Dunlin |
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| Dunlin & Ringed Plover |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Bar Tailed Godwit |
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| Grey Plover, Turnstone & Common Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Common Gull |
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| Sanderling |
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| Ringed Plover |
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Oystercatcher & Herring Gull |
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| Red Breasted Merganser |
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| Shag |
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| Shag |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Eider |
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| Eider |
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| Cormorant |
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| Curlew |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Oystercatcher |
Species seen - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Carrion Crow, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Fieldfare, Golden Plover, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Gre Plover, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Kittiwake, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Redwing, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Sanderling, Shag, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Turnstone, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
