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| Shoveler |
On Friday the 12th of January I managed to add another species to my Dundee150 list with a Tawny Owl heard then seen via the thermal imager in Balgay Cemetery. On the way home after work I heard what sounded like a Waxwing calling as I walked along Byron Street. Unfortunately there was lots of other noises all happening at the same time so I couldn't be certain. I had a bit of a look around for it, but as it was already around 30 minutes or so after sunset, I knew it was likely I'd heard the bird going to roost (if indeed it had been a Waxwing). I decided that I would try to see if I could find it on Saturday morning. The weather forecast was to be relatively decent - dry but relatively cold. After hopefully finding the Waxwing I had a few options of where to go, though nothing was really set in stone.
I headed out slightly later than intended at 0835. Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Blue Tit, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Starling and House Sparrow filled the first few minutes with a stream of species. Magpie, Long Tailed Tit and Jackdaw were then added on Sandeman Street. I added Great Tit, Wren and Siskin as I checked the trees around the rear side of the Law. Song Thrush, Goldfinch and Blackbird were next before I walked up the steps on the western side to scan from the top of the hill. I managed to find a Coal Tit and saw the escaped Saker Falcon perched on the southeastern corner of Cox's Stack. I heard a Raven 'prukking' from somewhere out to the northeast but couldn't see it. I then realised it was a bit lower than expected and my view of it was largely hidden by the trees. Thankfully it gained a bit of height as it passed the hill and continued on westwards towards Lochee.
I added Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Goldcrest and Dunnock before I headed down off the hill. I weighed up my options before deciding to head for Trottick in search of Jack Snipe. Despite using the thermal imager I failed to pick out any of between 6 and 10 Snipe which flushed in small groups even though I was nowhere near them. I eventually managed to find a 'heat source' but this turned out to be another Snipe. A Dipper was heard from the Dighty and a Sparrowhawk followed the path down to the bridge at speed in the hope of a surprise attack. A Moorhen wandered through the trees by the reedbed before I walked round to check the ponds. Mute Swan, Mallard, more Moorhens and Black Headed Gulls were all at the mostly frozen ponds, along with a Grey Heron.
I headed across the 9-hole golf course at Caird Park which turned out to be relatively busy. I then checked out some of the wooded areas around the western edges of the course. There I found Jay and a fairly approachable Buzzard before I headed down to the Gelly Burn and the ponds. Between the 2 ponds the Kingfisher flew past me towards the far end of the top pond. I slowly walked round to get a few photos. As I was photographing it, Ged appeared from the other end of the pond and we both managed to get some fairly decent photos before the bird flew a short distance to the trees on the other side of the island. A Dipper then flew low past the Kingfisher and onwards up the burn. There were plenty of Siskins around in the taller trees. Ged and I had a chat for a while before going for a wander to the graveyard though other than another Jay it was relatively quiet there. We headed back to the ponds before Ged headed home to watch some snooker.
I decided to head for Mains Terrace and Swannie Ponds for a look, then to continue on to Baxter Park and City Quay then home. A Pied Wagtail was at the SuDS pond by the new houses on Mains Loan and a pair of Collared Doves were in the trees along with a flock of Long Tailed Tits and Blue Tits at Mains Terrace. Black Headed Gull, Redwing and a flyover Pied Wagtail were all added as I wandered along to check the Swannies. I found the ponds mostly frozen but with most of the usual locals in attendance - Black Headed, Common and Herring Gulls, Mute Swans, Mallard, a pair of Tufted Ducks, Moorhen and Coot. As I scanned through the birds I realised that in addition to the drake Gadwall that has been around recently there was also a pair of very unexpected Shoveler - not a species I've seen at the ponds before, and a very welcome Dundee150 tick for me.
I put word out on the local grapevine and it didn't take too long before someone showed up for a look. I had a chat to him and a few other folk while also taking plenty of photos of the Shoveler and Gadwall. Jon Cook showed up to see the ducks and I ended up chatting to him for a while before calling it a day and heading home but not before adding a flock of Greenfinches in the trees beyond the former tennis courts. I ended the day's birding having managed to find a total of 42 species of which 1 (in bold) was new for my Dundee150 list and was a good one to get - given that they tend to be a 'one visit per year' species in the city. They took my total to 87 species, 8 days ahead of last year's efforts, which is a bit of a surprise.
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Saker Falcon (escape)
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| Raven |
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| Snipe |
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| Moorhen |
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Herring Gull
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Grey Heron
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Jay & Buzzard
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| Buzzard |
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Pink Footed Goose
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| Kingfisher |
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| Kingfisher |
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Grey Heron
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Long Tailed Tit
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Collared Dove
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| Gadwall |
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Tufted Duck
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| Shoveler |
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| Shoveler |
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| Gadwall |
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| Shoveler |
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| Gadwall |
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Pied Wagtail
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Herring Gull
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| Gadwall |
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| Coot |
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| Greenfinch |
Birds - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Dipper, Dunnock, Gadwall, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kingfisher, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pied Wagtail, Raven, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, [Saker Falcon], Shoveler, Siskin, Snipe, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Woodpigeon, Wren.
