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| Kingfisher |
Having only had limited opportunity to try out my new thermal imager since it arrived the previous Wednesday, I decided to head for Trottick Ponds to see if there were any Snipe or Jack Snipe in the reeds there on Sunday the 8th. These birds tend to be a decent test of the ability of the thermal imager, depending on where among the reeds the birds are, if there are in fact any there. My plan was that I would cut down through Caird Park and have a look to see if the Kingfisher was still around at the ponds, then following that once I'd checked the reeds at Trottick, I would see where else I felt like going. I was organised and ready to head out just after 0900.
Feral Pigeon, Carrion Crow and Herring Gull were the first few species onto the day's list as I headed for Clepington Road. House Sparrow, Blue Tit, Blackbird and Magpie were added on Arklay Street. The football pitches off Graham Street held a couple of Curlew, Common Gull and Black Headed Gull, with a few Redwings in the trees along the eastern edges. I wandered down across the golf course once I'd crossed the Kingsway. There were a few golfers and dog walkers around so birds seemed to be in short supply. A couple of Buzzards drifted out over one of the fairways just after I'd passed by, though I was able to see them further up towards the clubhouse from where I was. Coal Tit and Goldcrest were in the trees next to me.
I continued down towards the ponds. Woodpigeon, Wren, Chaffinch, Robin and Jay were noted before I checked the conifers by the burn for any sign of Tawny Owl, but unsurprisingly I drew a blank. A Rabbit was seen nearby. On the ponds were a few Mallards and Moorhens. A small flock of Siskins flew over. Using the thermal imager to check ahead of me I found the Kingfisher without flushing it. I had fairly good views though the low winter sun and the ponds location at the bottom of a dip means that despite blue skies overhead the light is always really poor for photos in winter. If Kingfisher photos are your goal, Morton Lochs or the Eden Estuary at Guardbridge in Fife, or Montrose Basin (Lurgies or the Visitor Centre) are far better options. Even within Dundee itself, the Dighty Burn will tend to be a better option, though obviously finding a Kingfisher can be slightly more hit or miss.
I continued on down to the Dighty via the area north of the graveyard. Great Tit was seen there and a Grey Heron was seen on the opposite bank of the burn just after I'd crossed the road. A skein of Pink Footed Geese flew over as I reached the entrance to the Trottick Ponds reserve. There were a few Long Tailed Tits in the trees by the burn. I added Mute Swans at the ponds, alongside Mallard, Moorhen and Black Headed Gulls. Continuing round to the reeds, I found a way in and scanned with the thermal imager. Despite trying a few more spots to scan from, I failed to find any heat sources and there were no Snipe flying off from cover, as sometimes can happen. A few Jackdaws were noted however. I contemplated wandering up to Clatto Reservoir next but decided to try Swannie Ponds and Baxter Park instead, with the Stannergate and/or City Quay both options after visiting those two locations. Another quick look in Caird Park and Mains Terrace en route would also be on the cards.
Heading up the hill into Caird Park, the first few Fieldfares of the day flew over and a Dunnock was seen in below the bushes opposite. At the ponds the same birds as previously were noted along with a Dipper on the Gelly Burn. There were 2 photographers present who were playing a Jay call and told me they'd played a Robin's call to get a close-up photo earlier. I told them that it wasn't a great idea to do so, as the bird wastes energy it shouldn't have to, (and in colder weather too), as a result of trying to check on the perceived 'intruder'. This didn't seem to register with either, who continued to play the Jay call. The volume of the playback was fairly low, so it is doubtful that anything but the likes of the Robin (which aren't usually particularly phased by humans anyway) would have been persuaded to waste energy needlessly, but they clearly had little interest in the welfare of their subject matter (with one quite keen to tell me he'd sold a photo recently to one of the newspapers, and that he'd try to do likewise with one of his Robin photos).
Leaving them behind, I headed back up past Mains Castle. A pair of Mistle Thrushes, along with a few Oystercatcher, Curlew and Jackdaw were on the grass area inside the athletics track and a Sparrowhawk was seen out to the east as I neared the Kingsway again. I checked the SuDS pond area on Mains Loan with the thermal imager and was able to see something moving amongst the vegetation. I was hoping it might be a Jack Snipe but I had to settle for a Grey Wagtail (which was still new for the day's list). Mains Terrace proved to be very quiet, though a Sparrowhawk and a Buzzard did overfly while I was there. A single female Goosander, plus Tufted Duck and Coot were more new additions at Swannie Ponds, before I continued on my way down to Baxter Park.
Goldfinch and Grey Squirrel were seen on the walk down through the park to reach Spring Grove. Unfortunately, things were rather quiet there with relatively little activity. There were a few Redwings around but they always kept within the branches of some of the trees and bushes making a clear shot nearly impossible. A Pied Wagtail flew past and a Greenfinch popped down for a drink. Most of the activity at the grove however consisted of Blackbirds, Goldfinches, Chaffinches and Blue Tits. As I left the park to head home I could see a few Starlings up on the Morgan Academy building's highest points. These took my total number of species for the day to a fairly decent 43. My Kingfisher photos turned out to be better than expected, though this was mostly as a result of the post-processing noise reduction capability of the OM Workspace software which came with the camera, as the photos themselves were taken at ISO 12800 (or 10000), which wouldn't be anyone's first choice settings.
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| Mallard |
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| Moorhen |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Kingfisher |
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Grey Heron
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Pink Footed Goose
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| Moorhen |
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| Dipper |
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Long Tailed Tit
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| Kingfisher |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Buzzard |
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Jackdaw, Mistle Thrush, Curlew & Oystercatcher
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| Sparrowhawk |
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Grey Wagtail
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| Moorhen |
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| Coot |
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Tufted Duck
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Grey Squirrel
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| Redwing |
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| Goldfinch |
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Blue Tit
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| Fieldfare |
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| Blackbird |
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| Magpie |
Birds - Black Headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Curlew, Dipper, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kingfisher, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.
