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| Shoveler |
While January's birding tends to be very focused, with target species in mind most of the time when I head out birding, February tends to be almost the complete opposite. I will often go out without any real plan, or even with a destination in mind, and just see where I end up. This can work out in my favour sometimes with chance encounters with unexpected species along the way but especially in the earlier part of the month, February's birding tends to be of a more relaxed nature. Having managed to find my first Lesser Black Backed Gull of 2024 on Wednesday, I was keen to get out again on Saturday. With the gull being my 99th species for my Dundee150 list, I knew there was a chance of finding number 100.
It was a later than usual start - around 1050, when I headed out. A Blue Tit was calling from almost the only tree left standing nearby, and a Jackdaw 'chacked' from the chimneys of the next street over. A Herring Gull was perched on the roof of a different block of flats while House Sparrows chirped loudly from within a small bush on the corner. A flock of Feral Pigeons flew over along with a smaller group of Starlings as if disturbed by a raptor but I couldn't see anything obvious. I had decided to make City Quay my first destination for the morning and a Woodpigeon was noted on Dens Road as I headed in that direction. Arriving at City Quay, a single Black Headed Gull was on the water by the aqua-park. Further on, a Pied Wagtail was seen near the Unicorn. A single Grey Heron was roosting on the wooden platform in the corner of the outer section of the quay. Out on the river were a number of Herring Gulls, as well as Cormorants and Red Breasted Mergansers.
Next, I decided to walk out along the cycle path to the Stannergate. I added Magpie and Wren before spotting a Buzzard sharing a tree with Woodpigeons, Carrion Crows and a few more Magpies. The camera had stayed in the bag up until this point but I decided to grab a few photos. In trees closer to the railway line were a few Goldfinches, Greenfinch and a lone Chaffinch. Further on towards the Stannergate I watched a flock of Long Tailed Tits and a few Blue Tits and Great Tits flitting through the remaining trees on the northern side of the railway line. The usual Rabbits were seen by the sewage tank at the Stannergate. Out on the river I could see a few distant Eider and a Common Gull glided by just offshore. I weighed up my options and settled on walking out towards Broughty Ferry.
A couple of Turnstones were seen down on the shore before I found the Stonechat in its usual place. I spent a short while photographing the bird as it moved from bush to bush and dropped down onto the beach and rocks to feed. A Dunnock and a Robin were seen among the same few bushes. Rather than continue on towards Broughty Ferry I decided to head back to Eastern Cemetery and up to Swannie Ponds. I added a Collared Dove at Auchrannie Terrace but failed to find much of anything at the cemetery, except for what was surprisingly the first Blackbird of the day. As I wandered along Rodd Road on my way to the ponds, a flock of Curlews flew low overhead - probably having been disturbed from feeding on the grassy area at the muslim section of the cemetery.
I reached the Swannie Ponds around 1400 and found most of the usual suspects - Coot, Mallard, Mute Swan, Moorhen, Tufted Ducks, Goosander, Black Headed Gulls and Herring Gulls. The Shoveler pair was still around and was much less wary than previously, coming in close when any food was on the go, and at times even bullying the larger Mallards out of the way. I got talking to a lady, Dana, about the birds at the ponds and elsewhere around the city and we even had a go at hand-feeding the Coot - which turned out to be a bit gentler than the Feral Pigeons that also took the opportunity to grab some free food at the same time. As the light levels and temperature began to drop we both decided to call it a day around the same time. I added a flock of Greenfinches and a skein of Pink Footed Geese as I left the ponds. A detour via Mains Terrace and the SuDS pond opposite found both disappointingly quiet. My total number of species for the day was 39 of birds and 1 mammal. Whilst not a classic day's birding, I did manage to get some fairly decent photos and had an enjoyable chat with Dana.
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Carrion Crow, Magpie, Woodpigeon & Buzzard
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Buzzard & Magpie
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Greenfinch & Goldfinch
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| Rabbit |
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Red Breasted Merganser
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| Turnstone |
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Black Headed Gull
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Common Gull
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| Stonechat |
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| Stonechat |
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| Stonechat |
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| Stonechat |
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| Turnstone |
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Red Breasted Merganser
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| Stonechat |
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Carrion Crow
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| Stonechat |
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Collared Dove
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Stock Dove
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| Curlew |
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| Goosander |
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| Moorhen |
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| Shoveler |
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| Greenfinch |
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Pink Footed Goose
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Birds - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Eider, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Shoveler, Starling, Stonechat, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Rabbit.
