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Tufted Duck
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Winter is probably my least favourite season. It doesn't help that it can be cold, wet and windy or any combination of the 3. On top of that, the amount of daylight can be as short as a little over 6 hours of which maybe 4 or so is actually any use for birding. If I don't get out of my bed early enough then there is often little point in going anywhere. With Balmossie being around 2 hours away and Riverside Nature Park an hour away, a pre-dawn start really needs to be considered to make the effort involved worthwhile. On Saturday the 25th of November, I turned off the alarm and went back to sleep rather than make the early start I had intended.
As a result of this decision, it was around 1115 by the time I finally headed out for some birding. I didn't really have much of a plan. As there wasn't much point in going to either end of the city, I decided to head for Caird Park first, with a possibility of continuing on to Trottick Ponds afterwards. A Fieldfare flew over as I stepped outside. Herring Gull and Carrion Crow were added as I headed up Arklay Street. Feral Pigeon, House Sparrow and Robin were next as I continued on towards Clepington Road with Blackbird and Starling being noted as I neared the Post Office at the top of the hill. Woodpigeon, Magpie, Blue Tit, Great Tit and Long Tailed Tit made it onto the list as I headed down Graham Street towards the Kingsway and Caird Park.
I wandered down through the golf course. Near the bottom of the track I stopped to watch a Jay which was feeding on the ground but which flew off in company with a second bird as a couple of walkers approached from the direction of Kirkton. A Grey Squirrel was found in the trees by the path on the north side of the Gelly Burn and a Lesser Redpoll flew over. I heard a Coal Tit before I noticed a Bullfinch pair high in a tree. A photographer was stood on the south side path at the top pond. I had a feeling it would be the Kingfisher he was photographing and it turned out I was correct. The bird was near the bottom end of the pond but it flew off as a runner went past. A Grey Heron landed in one of the trees between the two ponds.
The photographer followed the Kingfisher down to the lower pond. A Dipper flew up from the lower pond and continued on up towards the burn. Moorhen and Mallard were also around as always. Rather than spend too much time trying to photograph the obviously rather skittish Kingfisher I decided to go exploring instead. I found a Wren by the lower pond, a Great Spotted Woodpecker called from the golf course, a Buzzard flew off near the graveyard and I accidentally spooked a Roe Deer among the 'garden waste' opposite the starter's box for the 9-hole golf course. More exploring added Goldcrest, Jackdaw, Pied Wagtail, Stock Dove and an unexpected female Pheasant - not a bird I recall having encountered at the park before (though Grey Partridges were regular in the rough on the 18-hole golf course back in the 1970s and early 80s).
I decided against continuing along to Trottick Ponds and headed back to the ponds again. I had better views of the Kingfisher and had a brief chat to Jed, a birder/photographer, who I've not seen for a while. A few Chaffinches were in the bushes and a trio of Pink Footed Geese passed high overhead. I photographed a Siskin as it flew over and found a few Redwings in one of the taller trees at the lower pond. I decided to head up to Mains Terrace and Swannie Ponds to see what else I could find. Passing the Regional Performance Centre, I noticed there was a flock of Curlews feeding on the grass in the centre of the cycling track. I wandered in to the car park there to grab a few photos then continued on up the road back to the Kingsway. There was a mixed flock of Tits, Siskins and Goldfinches in the trees by the practice strip at the golf course.
As I crossed the first carriageway at the Kingsway, out of the corner of my eye I saw a bird fly up and land in a conifer. Although I hadn't had a particularly good view as I had been concentrating on crossing the road, I was sure it was a Sparrowhawk and I was able to confirm this as the bird was perched more or less in full view. I grabbed a number of photos from the central reservation of the crossing before the bird seemed to dive down to the grassy area in front of the RPC building next to the car park. I decided not to cross back over the road for a look and instead headed up to Mains Terrace which proved to be very quiet though a Dunnock was seen there.
Things proved to be slightly better at Swannie Ponds though the mix of birds was very typical with Black Headed Gull, Herring Gull, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Coot, Mute Swan and Goosander all noted. There was no sign of any Moorhen or Common Gull but a single Mistle Thrush was decent consolation. I hung around for about 15 minutes before wandering down to take a look at Spring Grove in Baxter Park. Although there were birds bathing in the spring, the light was rather poor by this time and there seemed very little point in lingering there. Nevertheless I did add Greenfinch and a Song Thrush there which took my list for the 3 hours or so I'd been out, to a reasonable total of 46 species, which wasn't too bad considering I was never more than a mile from my front door.
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| Jay |
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Grey Squirrel
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| Bullfinch |
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| Kingfisher |
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Grey Heron
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| Buzzard |
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| Siksin |
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| Magpie |
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Pink Footed Goose
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| Moorhen |
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Grey Heron
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| Kingfisher |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Curlew |
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Siksin & Blue Tit
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| Sparrowhawk |
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Herring Gull
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| Moorhen |
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| Goosander |
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| Goldfinch |
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Long Tailed Tit
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| Greenfinch |
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| Blackbird |
Birds - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Coot, Curlew, Dipper, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, jay, Kingfisher, Lesser Redpoll, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Grey Squirrel, Roe Deer.
