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| Dipper |
I think Saturday was the first day of this year when I could have been out birding but instead stayed at home. To be fair, although I didn't really feel like going out despite it appearing to be a lovely day outside with blue skies and sunshine, I did have a good excuse - as well as waiting for a parcel to be delivered, I'd woken up with a very stiff neck which I figured might have been exacerbated by hanging a camera and binoculars from it for a few hours and walking a few miles while doing so. I thought I would make the most of the time to edit photos and catch up with these blog-posts but most of the day was wasted doing nothing much. Thankfully, my sore neck had eased a bit by the time I woke up on Sunday morning.
I had been hoping to head down the Dighty with Steph at some point this weekend, but other commitments meant she was unable to make it anyway as things turned out. I decided I would try Swannie Ponds and then head down to the Dighty between Douglas and Whitfield to see what I could find. With blue skies and sunshine it appeared to offer a decent chance of seeing some soaring raptors. I was hoping for a Red Kite, even though they are still rather uncommon visitors to the edges of the city. I headed out at 1055. House Sparrow, Herring Gull, Jackdaw and Starling got my list for the day underway with Magpie, Woodpigeon, Blue Tit, Feral Pigeon, Dunnock, Blackbird and Wren all noted on Court Street as I headed for Clepington Road. Further on I added both Siskin and Great Tit to the morning's early haul.
At the ponds most of the regulars were in place - Black Headed Gulls (though oddly, not very many), Herring Gulls, Moorhen, Coot, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Goosander and the Shoveler pair. I continued on down the Kingsway and along Longtown Road. Goldfinch, Carrion Crow and a circling Sparrowhawk were noted as I headed for the Dighty Burn opposite Drumgeith Park. In the trees by the building site which will be the new secondary school I found a flock of Redwings. I watched as a Buzzard circled high a bit further out to the east. A Grey Heron was stood in behind the fence where the birdfeeders are on the stretch just beyond the building site. Further on, a Dipper whizzed past me heading up the burn. A Great Black Backed Gull passed overhead.
A second Dipper was found behind the police station and an Oystercatcher was seen (and heard) in flight. A third Dipper was singing by the wooden bench and submerged shopping trolley. I found a small flock of Long Tailed Tits in the trees by the meeting of the 2 burns by the main road. Another Sparrowhawk was seen soaring higher in the sky. It had been joined by 2 Buzzards by the time I'd crossed the road. I then managed to add Jay and Song Thrush in the trees behind the industrial estate. There were some Oystercatchers in the field opposite. I had intended on continuing out towards Clearwater Park and then down to Broughty Ferry but with calm conditions and a blue sky and a few soaring raptors already noted I decided I would head out to the area I found my Grey Partridges recently in the hope that doing so might increase my chances of running into a passing Red Kite.
A Grey Wagtail was heard as I wandered back along Barlow Avenue. I decided to take a different route out to Balumbie Golf Course which straddles the border between Dundee and Angus. I added a Robin as I wandered up through the houses and I watched a number of high flying gulls streaming inland. A Buzzard circled off to the north as I crossed into Angus. Nothing new was added until I had crossed back into Dundee territory behind Barns Of Wedderburn Farm where a small group of Skylarks were singing and chasing each other around above the field. There were a couple of Pheasants further up the hill as well but things seemed rather quiet. A small group of Rooks overflew as I passed the row of cottages where the road levelled off.
As I neared Powrie Castle I found a few Collared Doves and at least one Chaffinch in the trees and ahead of me in the trees by the junction I could see a flock of around 100 Linnets. The sound of trail bikes from the road to nowhere behind Fintry was a constant background noise as I wandered back down Powrie Brae. Greenfinch was heard from the garden by the lone house near the bottom of the brae. I continued on down to Mill O'Mains and up into Caird Park where Bullfinch and Coal Tit were added near the roadbridge over the Gelly Burn and a Common Gull flew past the castle. I considered having another look at Swannie Ponds but my legs felt quite heavy so I headed home having recorded a total of 45 species on a roughly 10 mile walk. Slightly disappointingly the only raptors actually seen were Buzzards and Sparrowhawks, though it is still relatively early in the year for seeing some of the others that I might happen to hope to see above the city. Fingers crossed for another year with a nice mix of raptor species....
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| Redwing |
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| Buzzard |
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Grey Heron
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| Dipper |
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| Dipper |
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| Dipper |
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| Buzzard |
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| Dipper |
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| Dipper |
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Herring Gull
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Sparrowhawk & Carrion Crow
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Buzzard |
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| Goosander |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Goosander |
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| Pheasant |
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| Dunnock |
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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
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| Linnet |
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| Linnet |
Birds - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Dipper, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shoveler, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Wren.
