Other than on my walks to and from work, and the odd #5MinsBirding from my windows at home, (posted on Twitter), I've not done any actual birding since the new Covid restrictions came in on the 5th of January. Ideally I'd like to take a scope down to Balmossie and stand for a good few hours scanning the river, the beach and the Gull roost, but I'm not allowed to just now, so I have to make do with going for a walk and taking my binoculars and camera with me, though with the intention not to linger anywhere for longer than a few minutes - so that it is exercise, rather than 'recreation'. My mental health benefits from me getting out birding but to comply with current regulations and hopefully manage to stay safe and healthy, I have to sacrifice those benefits to a large degree. The more people who do comply the quicker we can hopefully get back to doing things we enjoy without restrictions.
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| Goosander |
On Wednesday, having waited in for another new bird book (Wildguides Flight Identification Of European Passerines And Select Landbirds) to be delivered, I decided I would go for a walk to get some Vitamin D that wasn't in capsule form. I decided to see where I ended up and headed out shortly after 1115. I headed towards the City Centre first but decided to turn around and head for Swannie Ponds instead which did mean a very different route than normal to get there. It was a fairly standard selection of species seen in the 15 minutes it took to reach the ponds. Although there were a few small areas of open water the ponds were largely still frozen. I scanned through the Black Headed, Common and Herring Gulls in the hope of finding something better but had no success.
There were 4 ringed 'regulars' among the Black Headed Gulls (White J4U2 & JMK7 and Yellow 2CA6 & 2XLD) as well as possibly 3 metal ringed birds (1 ring was upside down but none of them could be read clearly enough to get an ID). Surprisingly there were a dozen Goosanders on the top pond, as well as Mute Swans, Mallard, Tufted Duck and Coots. Mistle Thrush and Goldfinch flew over before I set off for Caird Park via Mains Terrace. Collared Doves were seen perched on a chimney and a few Jackdaws noisily flew past. House Sparrow, Dunnock, Robin and Long Tailed Tits were seen at the wasteground.
Heading into Caird Park I added Siskin and Goldcrest before finding a Treecreeper on the track down to the ponds. A couple of Moorhens picked around on the path while a Grey Heron stood motionless in the water. A few Mallard made up the numbers. A Wren and a rather vocal Jay were spotted before I added a Great Spotted Woodpecker on my way down to check the Dighty Burn in the hope of a Kingfisher photo with a DSLR. There was no sign of any Kingfisher this time though I did manage a few photos of a singing Dipper before wandering upstream as far as the road back into the park.
A Jay which was chattering away quietly to itself opposite the 9-hole golf course caused me to detour a little. A few Chaffinches and Blue Tits were noted as well as the first of the day's Sparrowhawks drifted overhead. I headed back down through the trees to the burn again, adding a few more Dipper photos. A Buzzard put in an appearance above the golf course before I wandered back uphill into the park once more. Bullfinch was heard but not seen as I wandered across the golf course. A second Sparrowhawk was being harassed by a Carrion Crow and a distant third bird was seen briefly disappearing behind the trees a little later.
A Mistle Thrush and a pair of relatively tame Jays were seen between the 18th and 10th fairways. A Fieldfare which was missing a few secondary feathers overflew as I headed for the Kingsway and homewards, taking the total for the few hours I'd been out and about to a reasonable 38 species - all just within a mile of home. In addition I did manage to get some rather nice photos especially of Goosander, Grey Heron and Dipper.
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Black Headed Gull (J4U2)
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Goosander
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Goosander
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Black Headed Gull (2CA6)
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Goosander
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Coot
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Goosander
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Goosander
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Tufted Duck
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Tufted Duck
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Tufted Duck
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Tufted Duck
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Goosander, Mallard, Tufted Duck & Black Headed Gull
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Blue Tit
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Goosander
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Goosander
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Goosander
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Common Gull
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Herring Gull
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Mistle Thrush
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Goosander
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Mallard
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Coot
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Dipper
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Dipper
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Sparrowhawk
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Sparrowhawk
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Jay
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Carrion Crow & Sparrowhawk
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Dipper
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Coal Tit
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Buzzard
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Woodpigeon
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Grey Heron
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Moorhen
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Grey Heron
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Grey Heron
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Goldcrest
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Mistle Thrush
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Jay
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Jay
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Jay
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Jay
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Fieldfare
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Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Dipper, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Treecreeper, Woodpigeon, Wren.
