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| Kingfisher |
I had to change my day off work from Wednesday to Tuesday to wait for a new washing machine to be delivered. As with most of my days off recently, it rained anyway so I didn't get out birding at all. Naturally, Wednesday was a lovely day - for a change, and I was at work. The weather forecast for the weekend was rather variable with some rain forecast on both days. The weather on both Thursday and Friday had been very wet with almost constant heavy rain from Thursday morning right through till Friday afternoon. Thankfully, despite there being some rain forecast it was nowhere near as bad as it might have been. I was hoping to get out somewhere but I had managed to get a rather large and sore blister on the rear of my heel through wearing some 'new' shoes for Friday's walk to work, which I suspected was going to limit how far I would be able to walk.
I headed out at 1315 with no real plan other than to try and find some birds to watch and photograph. When I got outside, I decided that with the winds of the previous 2 days coming from the east there might be a chance of something like a Little Auk or a Grey Phalarope taking refuge at City Quay. Either bird would be a new one for my Dundee list and my 2022 Dundee list in particular, taking me to my target figure of 140. I set off downhill in the direction of the river. Feral Pigeon, Blackbird, Herring Gull, Woodpigeon and Magpie got the list for the afternoon up and running. Blue Tit and Carrion Crow were added as I made my way down Dens Road.
Rather than walk down Dens Brae I decided to cut down through the area to the east. This did result in me spotting a Sparrowhawk overhead which meant I stopped to fish out the camera for a few photos. Starling was also seen during this brief stop. I reached City Quay around 25 minutes after leaving the house to find there was a Guillemot near the footbridge. There was nothing else immediately obvious, so I headed for a look at the river first. Cormorants and a drake Red Breasted Merganser were hanging around at Submarine Rock. A Robin was calling from somewhere in below the flats. A couple of Black Headed Gulls were seen out over the river. I headed in for a look at the outer part of the quay area, and spotted Lainy. She was trying to relocate the Kingfisher. A trio of small birds flew past which turned out to be Linnets. A Red Breasted Merganser drake landed nearby and another Cormorant put in an appearance too. Pied and Grey Wagtail were both heard and we found a number of Goldfinches and House Sparrows feeding noisily at some feeders in the courtyard behind some of the flats, visible from underneath, but inaccessible to us.
Lainy was getting picked up by her husband, Adam, so I decided I would head up for a quick look at Baxter Park followed by a look at Swannie Ponds. A Wren was heard in Baxter Park and Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit and Chaffinch were noted at Spring Grove before I continued on for a look at Swannie Ponds. I spoke to a couple of guys there who had both seen the Kingfisher a little earlier. Most of the regular species were visible - Mallard, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan, Coot, Moorhen as well as Black Headed, Common and Herring Gulls. Fieldfare and Redwings were seen overflying. A single Goosander was also on the water. Eventually the Kingfisher put in an appearance as the light which hadn't been all that great for most of the afternoon was beginning to become virtually unusable. That didn't stop me from taking photos though as it perched on the edge of the path near the northeastern corner of the top pond. I was able to get a little closer by using the old metal box at the opposite corner to keep me hidden. Despite the camera being at ISO 25600(!) some of the photos turned out relatively well.
When the Kingfisher eventually flew off across the grassy area towards the playpark I decided I might as well call it a day too, and headed homewards. Although I had only managed a total of 32 species of birds it had been a reasonably nice mix of species, even though there was nothing exotic or rare hiding in City Quay. Catching up with the Kingfisher I had heard but not seen back at the end of October was also a bonus. My heel didn't give me too many problems but it wasn't overly comfortable when I walked at certain times in the afternoon. It was good to get out and about anyway, though time is rapidly running out for catching up with species number 140 before the year is out. I suppose I could always 'cheat' a little and count the 'escapee' Saker Falcon, if all else fails....(but hopefully that won't be necessary).
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| Sparrowhawk |
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Feral Pigeon
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| Guillemot |
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| Cormorant |
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Cormorant (probable 'Sinensis' race)
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Cormorant (probable 'Sinensis' race)
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| Linnet |
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| Goldfinch |
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Herring Gull
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Herring Gull
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| Starling |
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| Goosander |
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Tufted Duck
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| Mallard |
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| Coot |
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| Moorhen |
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Black Headed Gull (White J0214)
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Herring Gull
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Birds - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Cormorant, Fieldfare, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Tit, Grey Wagtail, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Kingfisher, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Wren.
