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| Fieldfare |
Having to wait in for a parcel that had actually only succeeded in spending 2 days travelling around 20 miles further south, when it was supposed to be delivered to me in Dundee (Royal Mail Tracked "48") meant that I didn't get out for any birding on Wednesday the 11th of December. What made it more annoying was that the weather probably couldn't have been much better. So when Saturday came around, I wanted to get out somewhere. There were no obvious target species to try for and I'd spent longer in my bed than I had intended, meaning a bit of a later start with no real plan of where I was going to go.
I headed out at 1040 to find Feral Pigeon, House Sparrow, Magpie, Robin, Starling and Jackdaw without really having to try at all. With the low winter sun looking decent for illuminating Spring Grove in Baxter Park I decided to head there first of all. Pied Wagtail and Goldfinch were seen at Dura Street car park and I was quite surprised to find a flock of Fieldfares feeding in the trees in the grounds of the primary school there. I was almost tempted to take a few photos but instead I continued on towards Baxter Park after having noted the morning's first Herring Gulls. There were a few Carrion Crows in the trees at the Morgan Academy. There were Redwings in the tree tops opposite near the entrance to the park.
I added Woodpigeon, Coal Tit and Black Headed Gull as I headed over towards Spring Grove. Thankfully it proved to be a bit more productive than on my previous visit. In addition to Wren, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Long Tailed Tit, Greenfinch and Dunnock, there were also Redwings and a few Fieldfares popping down to the water - though most of these were very wary - unlike their Blackbird cousins which wandered closer to where I was standing. A couple of Treecreepers were heard from the nearby tall trees and a Dunnock also put in a brief appearance. A Grey Squirrel was spotted as it wandered over to the base of a tree before it was noticed by an off-lead dog which sent it scurrying up the tree trunk.
A male Bullfinch dropped into bathe, though it proved impossible to get a clear shot as it did so. I added Goldcrest and an overflying Sparrowhawk, as well as a flyover Pied Wagtail before heading up to Swannie Ponds to see what I could find up there. The usual Mallards, Moorhens, Mute Swans and Coot were all in attendance and I found a couple of the regular returning ringed Black Headed Gulls (White 2XJH - ringed near Edinburgh, and J0214 - ringed in Norway). With nothing out of the ordinary, I continued on to Eastern Cemetery for a look around there. The first Mistle Thrushes of the day were to be found in the trees and bushes there and I had a few reasonably close views of a single Buzzard and a Stock Dove flew past. An unexpected Curlew overflew and there were a few Rabbits around, as usual. A pair of Oystercatchers flew over me as I reached the main gate on Arbroath Road.
I had considered heading down to the Stannergate but the light was already starting to go and I'd either seen most of what I might expect down there, or I would stand an equal chance of getting them at City Quay, so I chose the latter as my next (and likely final) destination. A drake Goldeneye was seen flying upriver as I wandered along past the clock tower flats into the main quay area. Grey Heron and Cormorant were both seen, while out on the river I added a few more Cormorants. A Grey Seal surfaced quite close in a few times and a female Red Breasted Merganser flew into the quay from out on the river. A real surprise was a young Moorhen wandering around on the wooden platform next to the lock gates. I finished the day's birding with a total of 41 species, though once again, I failed to find anything new for my #Dundee150 list....and time is running out to get that elusive 1 species.
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| Blackbird |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Redwing |
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| Redwing |
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Herring Gull
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| Fieldfare |
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Blue Tit
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House Sparrow
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| Greenfinch |
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Bullfinch & Chaffinch
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Chaffinch |
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| Dunnock |
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| Fieldfare |
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| Fieldfare |
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Black Headed Gull (White J0214)
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Stock Dove
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| Buzzard |
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| Curlew |
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Mistle Thrush
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| Cormorant |
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| Goldeneye |
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Grey Seal
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| Cormorant |
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Red Breasted Merganser
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| Moorhen |
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| Moorhen |
Birds - Black Headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Grey Seal, Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.
