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| Kestrel |
It has been a while since I was last out birding with Steph but we managed to get some birding arranged finally, for Sunday. With Steph 'doing a year-list' this year, I was hoping to help her find a few of the less common species which can be found in Dundee. We would start at Swannie Ponds in the hope of Shoveler (though I'd failed to see either of the pair the previous afternoon), then down through Caird Park - with a quick check for Kingfisher, then onto Trottick Ponds in search of Snipe and Jack Snipe, then up to Ardler Pond in the hope that we might somehow get lucky enough to see one of the often heard though seldom seen, Water Rail there then onto Clatto Reservoir and Templeton Woods for Raven, Nuthatch and Crossbill. There would likely also be other birds along the way that weren't yet on Steph's fledgling year-list. We arranged to meet at Swannie Ponds at 0745.
I headed out the door a bit later than intended at 0730. The sound of chirping House Sparrows greeted me as I stepped outside. A few Herring Gulls glided overhead, a Blue Tit called from the other side of the road while Feral Pigeons perched atop a tenement roof and a Carrion Crow cawed loudly as it flew up to land on a chimney stack. I added Blackbird, Goldfinch, Dunnock, Song Thrush, Magpie, Starling and Woodpigeon as I changed my mind on my route and headed up Court Street to Clepington Road where I added Jackdaw to the morning's list. Greenfinch and Wren were noted as I neared the Swannie Ponds to wait for Steph to arrive.
Despite the sun having just cleared the horizon there was already a photographer down by the water and a second one clambered out of a parked car to get some photos as well. Although I was stood up by the road I was able to jot down Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Tufted Duck, Coot, Goosander, Common Gull, Black Headed Gull and the drake Shoveler which had thankfully reappeared. Steph arrived just after 0745. I pointed out the Shoveler and we discussed the plan and route. We made a lap of the top pond which added a Grey Heron perched on the now cut back fallen tree before heading for Mains Terrace and the SuDS pond. As we set off a skein of Pink Footed Geese overflew heading inland.
Things were rather quiet at Mains Terrace and at the SuDS pond opposite but thankfully picked up a little as we walked down through Caird Park towards the ponds there. Chaffinch and Robin were both new for the morning, as was a Rabbit and we found a flock of feeding Curlews at the RPC athletics track. We added Goldcrest and Great Tit as we crossed the 9-hole golf course en route to Trottick Ponds having drawn a blank on Kingfisher at the ponds. A Coal Tit was noted near the entrance to the local nature reserve. There were birds on the ponds, but nothing different from what we'd seen at the Swannies or Cairdie Ponds.
I had packed the thermal imager to help us track down Jack Snipe and Snipe but it appeared that we were out of luck initially. I eventually managed to spot a heat source and as we tried to get some sort of view to confirm that it was even a bird, I spotted a Snipe in flight and pointed it out to Steph. We spent almost an hour trying to get a decent angle and a view of what eventually turned out to be a Jack Snipe that we would've been highly unlikely to find without the thermal imager. With another target 'in the bag' we headed for our next stop at Ardler Pond. Expectations were low, though there was a possibility of a 'heard only' Water Rail and a better chance of a Reed Bunting. Steph spotted a Bullfinch in a garden tree as we headed up Harestane Road.
We did manage to hear a 'sharming' Water Rail calling a few times but only managed to see a Moorhen lurking among the reeds at Ardler Ponds. A Reed Bunting was spotted by the bird feeders at the western end. As Steph had plans for the afternoon we only had a little over an hour left to play with by this point. I decided to change our route slightly in the hope that we might be lucky within the now rather limited timeframe available. A Collared Dove dropped down to the middle of the thankfully rather quiet road just in front of us as we hurried up towards Clatto Reservoir. I spotted a flock of birds as we passed one of the bus stops and a quick check showed them to be Siskins - which gave Steph her first view of the species perched. Along with the Jack Snipe these seemed to be a major highlight.
A quick look at the reservoir gave us a couple of Lesser Black Backed Gulls, a female Wigeon, a few Goldeneye and Cormorants and the usual suspects. My change of plan was to walk out past the farm then up through the trees to the bench area. We managed to find a few Skylarks to the north of the track as well as a couple of Roe Deer in one of their favoured spots. We spotted a Red Squirrel and heard a Jay as we headed up through the trees to the bench. Unfortuantely things turned out to be very quiet there, except for another couple of Red Squirrels and with time running out we couldn't spend any longer there than 15 minutes or so there. Steph arranged for her husband to pick her up at Birkhill Cemetery - which I only recently discovered was 'in Dundee' (though Birkhill is outside) and we wandered down, arriving just after her husband had.
Once I'd said cheerio to Steph and her husband, I decided to see what things looked like at the cemetery from a birding perspective - noting a Common Gull and a Black Headed Gull wandering around on the grass as well as a few Chaffinches and Blue Tits in the small trees dotted around. With not much else to be seen I headed back towards the bench. A brief stop there proved fruitless once again so I set off back towards the Reservoir. As I crossed the 'field' between the water tower and the play park, I heard a 'pruk' and turned to see a Raven flying over in the direction of the bench. As it disappeared over the tops of the trees it made a half-roll onto its back and then righted itself again in flight. I continued on down for another look at the reservoir but failed to add anything new.
I set off in the direction of home but in no real hurry to actually get there. A Yellowhammer gave decent views as I wandered up the driveway back towards the main road. With the weather being rather nice I decided to pay a visit to the top of the Law, though I wasn't really expecting to see much once I got there. I reached the hill top around 1330 and managed to pick out a couple of very distant Buzzards over Balgay Hill, which were joined by a third bird. A few minutes later I happened to turn around to see a Kestrel hovering not particularly high above the western slope towards the back of the hill, just in line with the bench there.
I got myself into a reasonable position for photos, with the sun on the bird and was treated to some nice close views for a few minutes before the bird dropped down into the vegetation near the road before flying off to perch up in the trees (having made a successful catch?). Before leaving the hill, I spotted 3 Buzzard out to the east, possibly the same trio I'd seen earlier over Balgay. I could see them in the distance as I headed down past the top of the Hilltown. I decided to try to see them from my living room when I got home and this proved to be successful as they headed back westwards in a rather relaxed manner, allowing me to grab a few photos for this post, in the process. I ended the day's wanders having managed to see or hear a total of 51 species, and was also able to add a few new species to Steph's year-list (and life-list). Mission accomplished....
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Pink Footed Goose
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| Shoveler |
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Song Thrush
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Jack Snipe
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Jack Snipe
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Lesser Black Backed Gull
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| Goldeneye |
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Common Gull
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| Raven |
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Wigeon & Goosander
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Lesser Black Backed Gull & Herring Gull
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Robin |
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Carrion Crow
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Kestrel
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Kestrel
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| Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Buzzard |
Birds - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldeneye,Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jack Snipe, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pink Footed Goose, Raven, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Shoveler, Siskin, Skylark, Snipe, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Tufted Duck, Water Rail, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals - Rabbit, Red Squirrel, Roe Deer.
