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Pink Footed Goose
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As I hadn't done any proper birding at Clatto for a while and was also in need of a bit of a change of scenery, I decided to head there on Saturday the 5th of October. I didn't have any particular target species in mind, but my plan was to head down through Caird Park then continue on via the Trottick Ponds site and up to Clatto. Templeton Woods and possibly Camperdown Park would then follow before I headed home again. The weather forecast was ok overall and it was supposed to be overcast and dry, with a chance of sunshine later. I was organised and ready to head out around 0930.
A singing Robin, some of the local Feral Pigeon flock and a couple of Starlings made for rather a slow start. The first skein of geese overflew as I headed for Court Street, though unusually they were completely silent. Given the date, I did wonder about the possibility of Taiga Bean Geese on their way to Slamannan. However, the location meant that I was very reluctant to take out the binoculars and camera to check. They went on the list as the default species - Pink Footed Goose. Magpie, Herring Gull and Blackbird were added as I headed up Court Street, with Song Thrush, Jackdaw and Carrion Crow a bit further on. Caird Park proved to be relatively quiet bird-wise though Woodpigeon, Blue Tit, Coal Tit and Long tailed Tit were noted on the way to have a look at the ponds.
Moorhen, Mallard and Grey Wagtail were seen at the otherwise quiet ponds, with Wren and Goldcrest also around nearby. A Grey Squirrel was in the trees as I headed down towards the Dighty Burn. As I crossed Barns of Claverhouse Road, I could hear the calls of Skylarks from somewhere high above, but failed to see them as I did have to pay more attention to the road traffic than what was overhead at that point in time. A Sparrowhawk was seen as I made my way to check out the Trottick Ponds. Black Headed Gull and Mute Swan were seen there along with Mallard and Moorhen. House Sparrows were heard from the gardens which back onto the site - though I was frustrated to see that all the vegetation downstream from the footbridge the way in had been removed, leaving just a bare concrete track behind the garden fences, where trees and bushes had previously stood.
A Grey Heron was heard but not seen as I wandered round towards the reedbed across the other side of the burn. There was a flock of Siskins in the area, but things were too overgrown to check properly for Snipe (and also Jack Snipe which should be arriving back around now). Chaffinch was the only other addition in that area before I headed up Harestane Road. On the walk up the hill, a Pied Wagtail was heard from down by the burn and a Jay flew over near Baldovan Road. Collared Dove was heard as I wandered downhill at Strathmartine Road to take me to the farm track 'back way' in to Clatto. Things were rather quiet as I walked up the track with only a couple of Dunnocks and a large skein of Pink Footed Geese to the west noted before I headed in through the green gate to check the reservoir.
As with almost everywhere else along the day's route, things appeared to be very quiet there too. I had close views of one of the Great Crested Grebe youngsters and added Common Gull, Coot, Teal and Goosander to the list. I headed up to check the fields to the north which lie outside Dundee (as does the only place to view them from). There were a few hundred Pink Footed Geese visible in a grassy field but there was nothing obvious amongst them. As both the birds and myself were outside the Dundee boundary, this was almost good news. I had decided to leave my scope at home, which meant I had to rely on the camera for 'reach'. Thankfully, there was just enough detail on the photos that I should have been able to pick out something that wasn't a 'Pinkie'. I headed back down to the farm track and noticed that there was a large flock of Pinkies wheeling round over the fields beyond the far end of the farm track.
From the road it was possible to scan through the hundreds of Pink Footed Geese in the 2nd field to the north on the other side of the road. As with the earlier flocks I failed to find anything different amongst them. I did end up spending a fair bit of time watching and photographing these birds and the sun even put in an appearance. Some of the birds even relocated into the closer field and I was able to get some fairly decent photos from within the trees that bordered the track along to Birkhill. After 90 minutes or so spent watching the geese I headed up into Templeton Woods. Again, things were very quiet though I did hear a Great Spotted Woodpecker. I slowly wandered down through the wood. A Buzzard was flushed from an unseen perch but I was lucky enough to see where it landed.
This did mean I was able to get a couple of photos before it flew off again, having seen me again. I crossed the main road and headed down through Camperdown Park. A few Jays and another Buzzard were the sum total within the park. Great Tit and Goldfinch were the only additions on the walk home from Camperdown, taking my total for the day to 40 species. Although there was nothing 'new' in with the geese it was good to be able to watch the birds while 'on foot' without flushing them. At one point a cyclist in a luminous yellow jacket had stopped by the field they were in, resulting in some of the gaggle flying off elsewhere though thankfully not all of them did so. While it wasn't the most exciting day's birding, it was good to have a wee change of scenery.
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| Sparrowhawk |
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Pink Footed Goose
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| Dunnock |
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Great Crested Grebe
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Great Crested Grebe
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| Teal |
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| Chaffinch |
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Pink Footed Goose
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| Jay |
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| Jay |
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Pink Footed Goose
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Pink Footed Goose
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Pink Footed Goose
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Pink Footed Goose
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Pink Footed Goose
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Pink Footed Goose
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Pink Footed Goose
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Pink Footed Goose
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Pink Footed Goose
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Pink Footed Goose
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Pink Footed Goose
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Pink Footed Goose
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Pink Footed Goose
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| Robin |
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| Buzzard |
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| Jay |
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| Buzzard |
Birds - Black Headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, jay, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Teal, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Grey Squirrel.
