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Pink Footed Goose
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Having finally reached my target figure of 140 species from within Dundee the previous day with a brief encounter with a lone but very welcome Waxwing, I didn't want to rest on my laurels on Sunday. Between now and the end of the year I still want to add as many more new species as I possibly can. I spoke to a colleague at work recently about whether there were still lots of geese visiting a field near Dykes of Grey near the western extremities of the city. As he had replied in the affirmative, I decided that checking through a goose flock might be a decent way to add something new - perhaps a White Fronted Goose or one of the Bean Geese species. There was also the small matter of around 25 Waxwings having been reported on the Kingsway near Tesco the previous morning. As the light was forecast to be much better than the rather dreich Saturday, I figured I might as well have a look for them as I would be passing that way anyway as it would maybe allow me to get a better photo of the species for my annual round-up which isn't actually too far away now...
I headed out just before 0840. It was much brighter than the previous day and warmer too, which was relatively welcome news. Magpie, Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Starling, Carrion Crow, Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Robin, Blue Tit, House Sparrow, Redwing and Goldfinch provided the main interest as I headed up to and along Clepington Road to check an area where Waxwings have been seen a few times in the past. There were no Waxwings there but a Crossbill was a nice bonus as it flew over southwards. Further on, Black Headed and Common Gulls were on the football pitches at Fairmuir Park. Long Tailed Tits were heard across the Kingsway and a Sparrowhawk circled overhead as I neared the 'big' Tesco. Still no sign of any Waxwings though, nor anything distant that looked promising.
I continued on westwards, adding Coal Tit, Pied Wagtail, Grey Wagtail and Greenfinch before passing underneath the Kingsway at Dryburgh. A Great Tit was added in the industrial estate before I finally reached the track I was looking for, leading off from near the NCR building. A Rabbit ran across the path ahead of me. At the western side of the industrial estate I decided to have a look at the fields. A male Pheasant was seen rather distantly and another Sparrowhawk flew off over the fields. A Siskin passed overhead and a trio of Roe Deer could be seen in the next field to the north. I decided I would do a spot of exploring. It looked like there was a track of sorts along the edge of the field I was in which met up with one to the north which exited onto the road I'd walked in from Camperdown Park the last time I'd checked out this area.
I wandered slowly along the very edge of the field trying to avoid both the muddy edges of the ploughed area and the longer grass at the edges. When I reached the northern edge of the field I discovered that there was a fence separating the fields and that the burn I could hear as I walked up the field also ran along the northern edge. Neither was good news. Thankfully, I discovered that the burn wasn't actually an issue along by the fence after all, though there was a bit of a steep sided ditch I needed to negotiate before I could get to the fence. Trying to get up the other side from the bottom I slipped back down when the soft banking gave way under my weight. Surprisingly this created a small step that made my second effort to get up much easier. I now had to get over the fence. It was a little higher than waist height with barbed wire a metre or so higher above. Although it wasn't particularly easy to get through I did manage it. Next time I consider exploring 'off-piste' I need to remind myself of this particular example as to why it isn't always a great idea.
I did add Wren, Jackdaw, Buzzard, Fieldfare, Mistle Thrush, Rook and the day's first small skein of Pink Footed Geese as I wandered up the slope through the top field. There were more Fieldfares and Magpies in the fields on the north side of the road and more Roe Deer were also seen. Near the primary school I had a quick look at the large field to the south, down towards Dykes of Gray. With nothing obvious there I continued on westwards through Liff village. Things were rather quiet along the country roads out to the west though Skylark, Goldcrest and eventually a couple of Tree Sparrows were found near the T-junction where I found them on my first visit. A female Bullfinch flew over as I headed downhill towards Benvie. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard and then seen in flight quite distantly to the east.
The same field on the Perthshire side of the road that had distracted me on my first visit did so again. Near the far end I could see 2 large birds that appeared to be feasting on something near the far end of the field. A quick photo showed that they were Ravens, as I had suspected. I decided I wanted to try for a better view, and to see what it was they were eating. I tried as best I could to use the large trees bordering the field to hide my approach but not unexpectedly the Ravens managed to spot me as I negotiated the gaps between those few trees. Helpfully, they flew up into one of the trees by the side of the road where I managed to get a few photos before they flew off, one flying off to the north and one to the south. Their 'food' turned out to be a dead Roe Deer, likely a casualty of some late night road traffic.
I headed back to the Dundee boundary, photographing a couple of low flying Grey Herons going in the opposite direction. A small flock of Stock Doves, which were feeding with a handful of Feral Pigeons and a Woodpigeon in one of the fields just north of Benvie were seen but they flew off when they realised I was there. Carrying on along the gravel track eastwards I added a few Chaffinches to the list. I eventually found a large flock of hundreds of Pink Footed Geese in the field that bordered the road at the eastern end of the track - the one I'd looked at from the top end earlier in the day. I checked those that I could see well enough, being careful to not give them any reason to fly off. This proved successful as did using the hedge along the southern edge as a screen a little further on. Near the junction with the main road I found that the birds were actually not particularly wary and I was able to watch them from just behind the cottage at the corner's garage.
It was apparent from watching the birds they were quite used to people coming and going up and down the path which bordered the field. I hadn't found anything but Pink Footed Geese so far but wandered round to check the rest around the bottom half of the field. There were quite a lot at the top end too, which would mean heading up the hill yet again for a closer look at those. The light was mostly behind the birds by this time which didn't make things too easy but I eventually decided that as far as I could tell, everything I could see were just Pink Footed Geese. It was a similar story towards the top end of the field though the lay of the land did make checking those bird properly a bit more difficult. A Sparrowhawk was chased off by Rooks and a Jay was seen in the trees on the opposite side of the road.
I headed back towards Camperdown Park for the walk home, rather tired by this time. Although there were birds seen on the way back, there was nothing new added and another check along the Kingsway for Waxwings proved fruitless. In all a total of 42 species were seen or heard and I walked around 15.5 miles though mostly at arather leisurely pace. Although there was no sign of anything out of the ordinary among the geese, I will probably pay them another visit before the year is out, just in case. The fact that they are relatively relaxed with people around nearby is a big plus as it does allow the opportunity to get some photos and to take time scanning through them. Maybe next time there will be a Red Breasted Goose in there....
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Jackdaw |
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| Buzzard |
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Mistle Thrush
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Pink Footed Goose
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| Fieldfare |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Raven |
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| Raven |
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| Raven |
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Grey Heron
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Woodpigeon, Stock Dove & Feral Pigeon
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| Fieldfare |
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| Chaffinch |
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Pink Footed Goose
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Sparrowhawk & Rook
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Pink Footed Goose
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Pink Footed Goose
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Roe Deer
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| Jackdaw |
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Common Gull
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Birds - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Crossbill, Common Gull, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mistle Thrush, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Raven, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Siskin, Skylark, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Tree Sparrow, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Rabbit, Roe Deer.
