As Eastern Cemetery can be a decent spot for birding in winter, I wondered about the suitability of the equivalent site in the west end of Dundee - the Western Cemetery. I had never had any reason to visit before so had no real idea of how similar it would be to Eastern Cemetery. Checking Google Maps showed that there were fewer trees and bushes which was likely to limit the numbers of birds I would be likely to find there. As I'm hoping to better my Dundee species total for 2021 next year, I'm on the lookout for prospective sites that might turn up something that I might not find elsewhere within the city. Although it was highly unlikely Western Cemetery would prove worthwhile in that respect I figured there was no harm in checking it out for a spot of Sunday birding.
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| Nuthatch |
The weather was better on Sunday than it had been the previous day, so I headed out around 1025 with no real plan for my route to get me to the Cemetery. I chose to head for The Howff first, as I've had Waxwings there in the past. With almost zero Waxwings reported in the whole country this winter, my chances of stumbling upon any were rather slim, but if you don't look then your chances of finding anything is definitely rather slim. I set off down Arklay Street noting Blackbird, House Sparrow, Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon and Magpie. A Goldfinch flew over as I passed the Dura Street roundabout and a Woodpigeon was perched in a tree near the bus stop.
A skein of Pink Footed Geese passed overhead and Blue Tit and Chaffinch were found a little further down opposite Arthurstone Terrace. A Carrion Crow was perched on a tenement roof towards the T-junction at the end of Dens Road. I continued down Victoria Road adding a surprise Siskin in one of the trees on the south side of the road. Things were relatively quiet at The Howff with only a Robin added before a small flock of Redwings dropped in from the west. I checked the trees behind the Overgate Centre where Siberian Chiffchaffs were found by Ian a couple of years ago but unsurprisingly they were bereft of birds.
I continued west so I could wander down through the University campus, having found a couple of Waxwings there last December. A Pied Wagtail was all I could rustle up there this time. I had considered continuing out along Perth Road to the Cemetery but realised that I could check out the river by crossing the footbridge at Tesco, walking along the footpath to the football pitches then crossing the railway and heading back up Windsor Street to Perth Road. So that's what I did. Out on the river I counted around thirty Cormorants, with around two thirds of that amount swimming together in one large group. A few Black Headed Gulls and a Common Gull were found on the grass on the north side of the road not far from the Bridgeview Station restaurant.
The football pitches were also rather quiet though I did add Starling and Oystercatcher before crossing the road and then the railway line. I then discovered that Windsor Street starts off with quite a shallow gradient but gets progressively steeper the further uphill you go. Thankfully, it isn't a particularly long street. I reached the Western Cemetery ahead of my predicted time of noon and wandered in for a look. There were a few dog walkers about and the rows of gravestones were much closer together. In addition, the grass was a good bit longer than at Eastern Cemetery which might also be considered a plus. Unfortunately, there weren't many birds around bar a handful of Woodpigeons in one of the larger trees on the western edge.
Despite plenty of looking it appeared I was going to draw a blank but a flock of Mistle Thrushes and Redwings did fly over as I headed back down towards the gate. As I left, I happened to look up and saw what at first appeared to be a light plane but turned out to be a Sparrowhawk gliding over. Until this time the camera had stayed in the bag as it hadn't been required. Unfortunately, by the time I had fished the camera out of the bag the Sparrowhawk had disappeared over the houses to the northeast. I added a calling Wren as I wandered slowly up the much longer and steeper West Park Road with the intention of checking out Balgay Hill and Cemetery.
As I neared the top of the hill I spotted a few small birds in one of the trees on the north side of the road, just by the steps that lead towards Royal Victoria Hospital. With a house behind the tree and someone stood at the foot of the steps I didn't want to draw too much attention to myself while I tried to get an ID on the birds. Thankfully I was able to get a view into the tree from the side of the house at the top of the steps. They turned out to be a couple of Bullfinches, Chaffinches and Goldfinches. I added Great Tit to the list as I reached the park with a bird visiting the small pond that Ian Ford had shown me a few months ago.
I headed up the eastern half of the hill first. Things were largely as quiet as they'd been everywhere else which was disappointing. A Grey Squirrel was spotted up in one of the trees and I almost managed to miss a very unobtrusive Dunnock picking around among the leaf litter at the side of the path. A Jay was heard but not seen. As I was passing the Yews just to the south of the observatory I heard a tapping sound and stopped to try to find the source of the sound. It was coming from above me, in a mid-size tree. I eventually managed to see that it was a Nuthatch making the noise as it tried to break open the Yew seeds.
I spent the next hour or so watching and photographing this bird, and another Nuthatch as they foraged in the bushes and flew into the tree to attempt to break into the seeds. I only managed to catch both birds in the same tree once. I suspect they may be the breeding pair, and hopefully they will breed again in 2022. There were a few Great Tits and Blue Tits around as well, and eventually a Treecreeper showed quite well in another large tree behind the Yews. A Coal Tit was also added and I had good views of the partially leucistic Blackbird I'd photographed back in Spring just a short distance away, suggesting that I'd stumbled upon his territory (which is handy to know given that it is both a photogenic and confiding individual).
Having managed to see the Nuthatches and Treecreeper I decided that there wasn't too much point in checking out the rest of the area around the cemetery and decided to head for home instead. I took a slightly less direct route home via Dundee Law which didn't add anything else to the list for the day. Slightly disappointingly I only managed to see or hear 30 species of bird, and a single mamal species despite the distance covered. However as the main purpose for the walk had been checking out a new site it was a case of mission accomplished.
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| Bullfinch |
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| Bullfinch |
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Blue Tit
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| Nuthatch |
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Blackbird (& Great Tit)
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| Nuthatch |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Blackbird |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Nuthatch |
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Great Tit
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| Treecreeper |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Treecreeper |
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| Treecreeper |
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| Treecreeper |
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| Treecreeper |
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| Treecreeper |
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| Treecreeper |
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| Nuthatch |
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Nuthatch & Grey Squirrel
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Great Tit
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| Blackbird |
Birds - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Cormorant, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jay, Magpie, Mistle Thrush, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Treecreeper, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Grey Squirrel.