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| Wren |
Following on from Saturday's birding I still 'needed' Chiffchaff. The Red Kite had been a very welcome sighting of what is still a relatively tricky bird to get from within Dundee (I've managed 2 sightings in 2021, 1 in 2022, 2 in 2023 and Lainy has 1 this year, as now so do I, so still far from guaranteed). Chiffchaff is a completely different 'kettle of fish'. Once the first one arrives in March they seem to be everywhere for a few weeks, then they are either drowned out by all the other arriving migrants and local birds, or they themselves go quiet to concentrate on breeding. Barrie Hunter had found 2 Chiffchaffs at Broughty Ferry local nature reserve on Saturday afternoon, so I decided to head along the Dighty Burn first to try for one, with Broughty Ferry the eventual destination if I was unsuccessful along the burn.
I had to pop up to Fintry first to drop off something and pick up something else so I had factored that into my chosen route for the day's birding. I headed out just after 0820 with a quick look at Swannie Ponds being my first intended stop of the day. Herring Gull, Carrion Crow, Starling, Blue Tit, Feral Pigeon, Magpie, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Robin, Jackdaw, Chaffinch, House Sparrow and Goldfinch made for a steady stream of birds onto the morning's list as I walked along Dundonald Street to the Dura Street car park. A singing Dunnock was found by the car park and a detour into Baxter Park proved relatively productive with Goldcrest, Great Tit and Greenfinch as well as a number of seemingly very tame Redwings - although typically my camera was still in the bag as the birds watched me from just a short distance away.
Swannie Ponds was mostly lacking in gulls bar a couple of Herring Gulls and a single Lesser Black Backed Gull, but the usual Coot, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Mallard and Tufted Ducks were still around as were a few younger Goosander. A Pied Wagtail was heard and a Grey Wagtail was seen just 2 minutes later flying across towards the island. I found a Siskin as I walked down towards the Kingsway. I had planned to check the rugby pitches between Morrisons supermarket and the Kingsway, for gulls, as I remember there being quite a large gull roost there back when I was at primary school - now rather a long time ago. Once across the dual carriageway I headed down the steps towards the rugby pitches but bar a solitary Herring Gull checking out the bins there were no birds visible beyond the fence. A pair of Collared Doves were seen briefly on the ground but flew off as I got closer.
However, off to my right, there were a number of Starling-sized birds flying up from the tree-top to catch flies before dropping back into the top branches of the tree next to the Servite housing block. Waxwings - at least 25 rather unexpected birds on their way back north to Scandinavia. I grabbed a few photos but couldn't really linger for long. I put word out on the ADBC grapevine and continued on down through Linlathen. Woodpigeon was noted as I crossed the viaduct over the Dighty - a route that I knew well from daily walks to and from school (both primary and secondary). I added a Wren and an Oystercatcher while getting the 'errand' part of the morning out of the way and headed back down to Findale Street and the path along the north side of the burn.
At the bridge over Pitkerro Road, I could see a Dipper on the far side, which proceeded to fly up the burn past me. Once across the road I headed along the path through the small wooded area that led towards Drumgeith Park. I hadn't gone very far before I heard what I was hoping to hear - a singing Chiffchaff. It was coming from across the other side of the burn and I struggled to see the actual bird but it was unmistakably my 106th species of 2024 so far. I continued on along the burn knowing that I didn't have to go all the way to Broughty Ferry after all, unless I wanted to. I was undecided - the weather was a bit colder and greyer than Saturday and disturbance from dog walkers at weekends can make a Ferry visit a frustrating experience. I would make my mind up later.
A Black Headed Gull was on the still slightly flooded football pitches along with a couple of Herring Gulls and a pair of Mallard. A Buzzard flew out from the trees bordering the new school development as I watched a party of Redwings. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was seen doing a bit of drumming on a tree trunk a little further on. A Reed Bunting showed in a tree by the small weir next to the halfway footbridge and a trio of Roe Deer were in the fenced off area on the other side of the burn. I filmed a short clip of a singing (ringed) Dipper and got a second clip of an unringed bird a bit further downstream a bit later. I heard a few Long Tailed Tits in the trees behind the recycling centre and as I chatted to a couple of walkers a Sparrowhawk flew over the burn away from us. I managed to get my first 'conspiracy theorist' encounter of the year a short while later when a lady stopped to chat about nature before going off on a tangent very similar in tone and subject matter to 2 encounters last year.
A Meadow Pipit passed over heading north as I neared the road by Sainsbury's. I found the local Dipper ringing group checking out a few of the birds in the area. I continued on to check the stretch of the burn by the industrial estate but not surprisingly things were rather quiet. A Buzzard pair were seen circling up above the industrial units as I headed back to the road again, having decided to double back on myself to check if the Waxwings were still around, so I could try for a few photos (rather than just rely on my earlier hurriedly grabbed shots). A Song Thrush and a Rook were the only additions as I carried on along towards the halfway bridge. The Redwings were still perched in the very tops of the same trees I'd seen them in earlier. As I tried to get a better view of them, a Grey Heron flew past but swung away to the south rather than continuing on down the burn. A Coal Tit was also in the same stand of trees as the Redwings.
Further on again, I found the Chiffchaff had moved across to the north side of the burn and I was able to see it this time. Needless to say, as soon as I tried to get the camera out of the bag again, the bird flew back across the burn and out of sight again. A Pheasant was heard calling from somewhere not too far away. I continued on along the burn then up to where I'd seen the Waxwings earlier. I'd heard from Lainy that they'd been spooked by a Sparrowhawk while she had been watching them and that she was in Caird Park trying to relocate them on her way home. There was no sign of them for me either. I spent a bit of time at Swannie Ponds before heading down to check out Spring Grove in Baxter Park which was rather quiet with a few species seen - though mostly not showing particularly well except for a showy Wren which posed nicely. A Sparrowhawk circled above briefly before flying off in the direction of Eastern Cemetery.
I headed back up to Swannie Ponds but didn't linger there long before having a quick look for the Waxwings again. I then detoured into Mains Terrace for a look there but it too was very quiet, as was the SuDS pond opposite. I headed home from there having seen or heard a total of 46 species on my travels - including a single Dundee150/year tick (in bold). The Waxwings had also been an unexpected highlight as they are not a bird I usually see much of in Spring. Despite having seen a lot of the birds back in late Autumn, I've somehow managed to not get too many memorable photos of them over the course of this 2023/24 winter, and this latest lot were no exception. However, just as with a number of other species, the world really doesn't need any more Waxwing photos.....though will that stop me, or anyone else? I doubt it....
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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Great Tit
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Great Spotted Woodpecker
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Reed Bunting
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| Dipper |
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| Dipper |
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Lesser Black Backed Gull
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Grey Wagtail
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| Dipper |
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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
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Carrion Crow & Buzzard
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| Buzzard |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Wren |
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Blue Tit
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Blackbird
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Song Thrush
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| Coot |
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| Goosander |
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Collared Dove
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Birds - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Coot, Dipper, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Tufted Duck, Waxwing, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Roe Deer.
