The option of a trip up Glenshee with Ian was on offer for Saturday but the forecast was for fog making it a rather pointless exercise for the target species of Ptarmigan. My alternative plan was to try the Tay reedbeds to see if I could catch a Bittern (which I think must be there somewhere in winter) and maybe finally manage some Beraded Tit photos. However, the temptation to stay in a warm bed won the day and so it was around 1130 when I finally headed out to do some birding. I decided on some of my potential January 1st route with a trip to Broughty Ferry via Swannie Ponds.
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| Little Grebe |
As it wasn't particularly windy there were actually a few birds around as I headed for the ponds via Mains Terrace where there were some Redwings feeding on berries in the trees. Fieldfares were seen near the ponds where a fairly typical mix of species was on show, though there were no Common Gulls or Moorhen to be seen in the short time I spent there. Rather than my usual route via Eastern Cemetery I headed for the Kingsway to see if there were still any Waxwings around. There were. At least 20 were found across near the Cutty Sark pub and another 8 in the trees on the south side of the dual carriageway just behind the wall. A Goldcrest was seen at the Stannergate.
It was a fairly typical mixture of birds on the walk along the waterfront to Broughty Castle with numbers on the low side of all the species seen. A Grey Seal pup was seen surfacing out in mid-river while swimming towards Dundee. A Turnstone put on a nice show as I chatted to a (possibly Canadian?) lady who stopped for a blether as I was photographing the bird from the esplanade. A Little Grebe was a surprise near the sailing club slipway and a few Long Tailed Tits were in the trees opposite the end of the esplanade at Douglas Terrace. At the jetty between the harbour and lifeboat station I found both Pied and Grey Wagtail as well as a Rock Pipit. The Little Grebe put in another appearance at the harbour by the castle.
I then headed back into town via the charity shops where I picked up a couple of decent beginner bird books for a friend I'm encouraging to get a wee bit more interested in birds and I dropped them off on my way home. One final addition to the list for the day was a skein of Pink Footed Geese southbound over the city as I neared home. I ended the day having seen 37 species of bird and 1 of mammal which wasn't a bad haul for a few hours walk within the city boundaries though I'll be hoping for more than 50 on the 1st of January which will require a bit mor luck and a bit more walking.
Species seen home to Stannergate - Feral Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Herring Gull, Blue Tit, Robin, Jackdaw, Magpie, Blackbird, Redwing, Starling, Collared Dove, Fieldfare, Mallard, Mute Swan, Coot, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Waxwing, House Sparrow, Goldcrest, Grey Heron, Cormorant.
Stannergate to Broughty Ferry and home - Goldfinch, Dunnock, Turnstone, Curlew, Red Breasted Merganser, Oystercatcher, Little Grebe, Common Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Redshank, Pied Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Rock Pipit, Eider, Pink Footed Goose.
Mammals seen - Grey Seal.
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| Grey Heron |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Cormorant |
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| Red Breasted Merganser |
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| Little Grebe |
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| Little Grebe |
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| House Sparrow |
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| House Sparrow |
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| Turnstone |
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| Turnstone |
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| Common Gull |
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| Common Gull |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Curlew |
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| Curlew |
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| Curlew |
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| Grey Wagtail |
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| Starling |
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| Red Breasted Merganser |
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| Starling |
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| Red Breasted Merganser |
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| Starling |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Redshank |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Cormorant |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Cormorant & Red Breasted Merganser |
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| Cormorant |
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| Cormorant |
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| Little Grebe |
Species seen - Blackbird, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Eider, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Starling, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Waxwing, Woodpigeon.
Mammals seen - Grey Seal.
