Although Saturday's birding had been mildly disappointing I decided that I would make an early start on Sunday and try to get out and about before the crowds got too big. I decided that I would retrace my route from the 1st of January - walking to Balmossie, via the Swannie Ponds, the Dighty Burn at Baldovie, then down through Barnhill to Broughty Ferry local nature reserve and Balmossie before heading back along the waterfront then up through Eastern Cemetery to Swannie Ponds and home again.
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Treecreeper
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It was just after sunrise when I eventually headed out the door. With few people around at that time of the morning, and on a Sunday, birds were relatively easy to see and hear and within 10 minutes I had already seen 18 species. Arriving at Swannie Ponds, I found most of the regulars around including the Moorhen but there was no sign of any Goosander or the Gadwall from Friday. Moving on again I added Mistle Thrush and Siskin. Lesser Black Backed Gull and Pied Wagtail were added around the Longtown Road area. I reached the stretch of the Dighty Burn which runs between Whitfield and Douglas around 0745.
On my first quick check of the Burn I found a singing Dipper. A little further on, having somehow walked past a Grey Heron stood just a few feet away, a Buzzard took flight and flew ahead of me for a short stretch before landing in a tree on the opposite bank. A pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers then showed quite well in the trees to my left. I detoured into the slightly reedy area where I spotted a couple of male Pheasants and a quartet of Redwings. A single Roe Deer was also seen in the same general area. Unfortunately the water filled hollow that I stepped in wasn't seen, but thankfully my boots did manage to keep my feet dry.
A skein of Pink Footed Geese headed over northwards, the first of a few throughout the day. A few Long Tailed Tits and a Coal Tit were seen in trees before I heard a calling Water Rail in a patch of small reeds surrounded on 3 sides by water. Despite spending around 10 minutes looking I failed to see the bird, but as I'm counting heard-only birds this year, it went onto the 2021 list. I rued my decision to leave the thermal imager at home (to save a little weight) as I suspect it may have allowed me to pinpoint where the bird actually was. A Reed Bunting sang from the top of a tall tree by the Dighty.
A pair of Oystercatchers flew out noisily from the buildings at Baldovie but there was no sign of either the Kestrel or Sparrowhawk I had seen on 1st of January in the same area. Crossing the dual carriageway to explore the area beside Sainsbury's I managed to add a Yellowhammer and a Common Gull. There was also a pair of Mallards on the burn. I headed along the dual carriageway before cutting up onto Balgillo Road. A pair of Rooks flew over. I reached the small local nature reserve at around 0915, roughly 2 hours on from leaving home. As things were rather quiet I decided to check the beach before it got too busy. The tide was rather far out meaning the majority of birds were rather distant.
I did manage to add Redshank, Bar Tailed Godwit and Knot, as well as Curlew, Eider, Great Black Backed Gull and Wigeon before a drake Goosander was picked up in flight well out over the river. Despite scanning through the gulls I failed to find anything particularly interesting. I was distracted for a while by the ongoing military exercise over in St Andrews Bay but set off westwards along the beach. A Skylark taking flight was a surprise for here though the pair of Turnstones were rather more expected. I detoured into the local nature reserve where I had decent views of a pair of Treecreepers and a small flock of Bullfinches. A Stock Dove flew into one of the gardens on the other side of the railway line.
Pied Wagtails and a pair of Rock Pipits were seen near the Castle as were a few Eiders, Oystercatchers, Redshanks and Turnstones. Despite lots of scanning I failed to find any Red Breasted Mergansers out on the river. A drake Goldeneye flew upriver adding another bird to the day's list. Unfortunately that was the final addition despite stopping to scan the beach and the river while also keeping an eye on the sky on the walk back. Eastern Cemetery was very quiet. Swannie Ponds was very busy with families and the Goosanders had returned but there was still no sign of the Gadwall which appeared to have moved on again. I had a nice chat to a lady with a camera and her daughter (I think) about the birds at the ponds and around Dundee in general.
An enjoyable walk of around 7 and a half hours covering roughly 13.5 miles with 60 species of birds recorded, including a welcome year-tick (in bold) and 2 species of mammals. Despite there being only 2 months between the 2 walks there was some differences between the 2 lists though overall both lists had a very similar total number of species noted. I may give the route another go in 2 months time to see what else Spring brings. Warblers, including Grasshopper and Sedge, should be possible, and there may even be some scope for Garden Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat. Time will tell.
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Buzzard
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Pink Footed Goose
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Wigeon
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Black Headed Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull & Oystercatcher
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Curlew
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House Sparrow
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Carrion Crow
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Starling
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Oystercatcher
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Goosander
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Bullfinch
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Bullfinch
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Bullfinch
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Treecreeper
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Treecreeper
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Treecreeper
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Jackdaw
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Pied Wagtail
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Great Tit
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Common Gull & Black Headed Gull
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Turnstone
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Turnstone
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Eider
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Goldeneye
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Eider
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Cormorant
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Redshank
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Curlew
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Redshank
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Turnstone
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Turnstone
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Oystercatcher
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Herring Gull
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Curlew
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Curlew
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Turnstone
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Turnstone
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Herring Gull
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Rabbit
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Black Headed Gull (J4U2)
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Black Headed Gull (JMK7)
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Goosander
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Coot
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Tufted Duck
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Tufted Duck
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Mallard
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Grey Heron
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Grey Heron
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Mallard
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Long Tailed Tit
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Coot
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Herring Gull
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Herring Gull
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Birds - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dipper, Dunnock, Eider, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Knot, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Turnstone,
Water Rail, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals - Rabbit, Roe Deer.
