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Following on from Friday afternoon's success with the Slavonian Grebe at City Quay my plan for Saturday's birding was to wait for the forecast rain to abate enough to venture out, then to head for Ardler Pond where Lainy had found a decent sized flock of Waxwings the previous morning. My suspicion was that they were very likely to still be around somewhere in the general area and that I shouldn't have too much trouble catching up with what would be my 151st species for Dundee in 2023. The MetOffice app was showing the rain should clear around 1030, so I was ready to go....
I headed out at around 1050. Starling, Jackdaw, Herring Gull, Blue Tit, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Magpie, Goldcrest and Dunnock got the list for the day off to a decent start. Blackbird, Carrion Crow, Redwing, Goldfinch, House Sparrow and Woodpigeon were next. I had decided to take a route via a few spots where I've had Waxwings in the past - just in case. While 'twitching' birds found by others is often a neccesity (as with the Slavonian Grebe), I do prefer to find my own, if at all possible. Given how many Waxwings appeared to be flooding into the country, there had to be a decent chance I might find some elsewhere. I added Black Headed Gull as I crossed Fairmuir Park.
Around 20 minutes later I was walking along Camperdown Road when a bird perched in a tree up Garry Terrace caught my eye, as it flew up briefly before dropping back into the same tree. The upright posture of the Starling-like bird caused me to take a closer look, as I was fairly sure I was looking at a Waxwing. Sure enough, it was a Waxwing and there were a few others dotted about nearby in some of the other trees in and around the sheltered housing complex. I spent the next half hour or so trying to get a better view and a few photos in the less than ideal lighting conditions. The birds were spending all of their time at the tops of some of the taller trees which also didn't help much. A few folk stopped to ask what the birds were and I told them what they were and where they had come from and that this year appears to be an 'irruption year', with thousands of the birds crossing the North Sea from Scandinavia.
A few Fieldfares flew over as I watched the Waxwings. Lainy messaged me to say there was a Great Spotted Woodpecker chasing the Waxwings at Ardler Pond. I caught a bit of a confrontation between a Waxwing and a male Blackbird in a tree just before it began to rain. I made sure the camera was covered up and did my best to keep out of the worst of the rain, though with no shelter nearby, I wasn't particularly successful. Having found my own Waxwings (around 10 were seen together in trees behind the tenements on the north side of Camperdown Road at one point), there wasn't any real need to continue on to Ardler Pond, but I decided I might as well go and meet up with Lainy for a blether. As it turned out she'd had enough of the rain and had headed homewards before I got there. At the pond I was able to add Mallard and a callingWater Rail that stayed hidden.
I managed to see some of the Waxwings though they spent most of their time in the tops of the tall conifers. A Mistle Thrush in one of the small Rowans across the road was much showier though I managed to not take any photos of that one. The sun did attempt to come out for a short while before it got grey again. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard and a Moorhen was seen out on the pond. Wren, Long Tailed Tit, Great Tit and Coal Tit were also noted in the general area before I headed for home. A skein of Pink Footed Geese overflew and a Bullfinch pair and a Pied Wagtail were noted on the walk back. Across on the south side of the Kingsway again, I found another couple of Waxwings in a conifer near the northeastern corner of Fairmuir Park and a few Common Gulls on the football pitches took the day's total to 31 species - though 1 of those (in bold) was new for my Dundee145 list and my year list too. Although I ended up getting a bit wetter than I'd expected to, it had been another worthwhile trip out, even if the photos weren't the best due to the conditions and the wariness of the Waxwings.
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Waxwing & Blackbird
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House Sparrow
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Birds - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Starling, Water Rail, Waxwing, Woodpigeon, Wren.
