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| Kestrel |
Having not done any birding, other than on my walks to and from work, for over a whole week, I wanted to get out on both days when the most recent weekend arrived. My plan was to head for Riverside Nature Park following an early start on Saturday morning to catch the incoming tide, in the hope of finding a passing wader or two. Then for Sunday I would visit Broughty Ferry to see if there was anything of interest out over, or on, the Tay. However, I didn't feel like making the walk to the park when the alarm went off before 0500 on Saturday. When I did finally get out of bed I was still rather lacking motivation and with rain forecast for the afternoon it looked like being another 'no birding' day. Having treated myself to a new (second-hand) 300mm lens for my OM-1, due to frustrations with the 100-400mm zoom, I decided to go out for a short walk to at least give it a work-out and to get used to it.
Although Swannie Ponds isn't usually the most exciting of locations, it was close enough and guaranteed to at least provide some subjects for photos, so at just before 1415 I headed out, as it looked like it might actually stay dry. House Sparrow, Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon and Carrion Crow made for a slow start. Goldfinch and Jackdaw were noted when I reached Clepington Road, followed shortly after by Swifts and House Martins overhead near Mains Loan. Before reaching the ponds, the first Magpie of the day's birding was spotted. A Lesser Black Backed Gull was perched atop one of the lamp-posts by the road. On the top pond things appeared rather quiet.
There were a few Herring Gulls, a pair of Black Headed Gulls, a single Common Gull, a few Coots (including almost fully grown youngsters), a few Mallards in eclipse plumage and a single small duckling with its mother. There were still a couple of Tufted Ducks about, and a young Moorhen was seen skirting along the edge of the island while an adult was on the rocks closer to the path. The Mute Swan family were near the island on the north side. I spent a while taking a handful of photos, though there was very little actual activity which did rather limit the hoped for opportunities. I did find that a lot of the birds were a bit too close for the lens (with the 1.4 x teleconverter fitted) and I did miss the flexibility of a zoom, which I've always been used to previously. However, the focus did seem to be much better which was the main consideration.
With not much happening I called it a day around 1500. I added Woodpigeon to the day's rather short list before wandering in the direction of Mains Terrace. A Blackbird was seen but things appeared to be very quiet. I was on the verge of just continuing homewards when a small white moth flitted ahead of me before dropping down onto the edge of the path on Mains Loan. I grabbed a few photos with my phone, before taking the camera out for some 'proper' photos. It turned out to be a Common White Wave - a new moth species for me. I decided I might as well see if I could find any other insects to photograph.
While searching for insects, of which there were very few (bar some Red Soldier Beetles, a few Buff Tailed Bumblebees and a variety of fly species), I did manage to find a single Chiffchaff and at least 2 Whitethroats. Robin and Dunnock were also around. There were a few House Martins overhead and I picked out a very high flying Buzzard drifting in and out of the relatively low cloud layer. Another was seen a little later over Caird Park being harassed by Herring Gulls. A pair of Starlings flew past and a vocal Jackdaw did likewise a bit later. Chaffinch and Greenfinch were noted before I eventually did head homewards. My list for the day was just 27 species, though just getting out had been a bit of a struggle, so it was more than I would have seen from my window, and the lens had had a bit of a try-out.
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Common Gull
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Black Headed Gull
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Herring Gull
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| Coot |
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| Moorhen |
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| Goldfinch |
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Tufted Duck
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Lesser Black Backed Gull
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| Coot |
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| Moorhen |
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Common White Wave
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Buff Tailed Bumblebee
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| Honeybee |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Whitethroat |
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Fly sp.
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| Chiffchaff |
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Fly sp.
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Buzzard & Herring Gull
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House Martin
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| Blackbird | | |
Birds - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common Gull, Coot, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Starling, Swift, Tufted Duck, Whitethroat, Woodpigeon.
Moths - Common White Wave.
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It was a similar story on Sunday. The alarm was set for relatively early with a trip to Riverside Nature Park on the cards, but once again I went back to sleep. By the time I got up, there seemed little point in heading for either Riverside Nature Park or Broughty Ferry, so with blue skies and reasonably warm temeperatures I settled on a trip to the top of the Law, in the hope of a few raptors. My expectation levels were even lower than the previous day's visit to Swannie Ponds, but once again, I needed to make an effort and get outside, even just for a wee while. I headed out a few minutes after 1005. The sun was shining and it was pleasantly warm without being too hot.
Swift, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Feral Pigeon, Dunnock and Carrion Crow were first onto the day's list. Woodpigeon and Lesser Black Backed Gull were next as I headed up past the football stadiums. Goldfinch, House Martin, Magpie, Coal Tit and Blackbird were added between there and the beginning of Byron Street. I reached the top of the Law for 1030 and took up my usual spot by the trig point. A young Bullfinch flew past into the trees after a few minutes. The resident Kestrel put in a brief appearance, hovering quite high above the hill to the west of the mast. A couple of House Martins and Swifts were noted on and off throughout the morning, as were Carrion Crows, Herring Gulls, Magpies and a lone Lesser Black Backed Gull.
A couple of Chiffchaffs were singing from opposing sides of the hill and Oystercatchers could be heard calling distantly just after 1100, before a Common Gull headed over northwards. I picked out a very distant Buzzard well out to the west around 1120. A Blackcap was singing from the slopes just after 1130. A pair of young Black Headed Gulls circled round to the north at 1135 and a Chaffinch was heard in full song around 1140, with a Goldcrest heard likewise a few minutes later. Just after noon, a Jackdaw called from somewhere unseen. A Sparrowhawk was seen in steep dive to the southeast at 1215. The Kestrel flew in from the east and landed up on the mast at around 1220, where it perched for the next wee while.
A Sparrowhawk was seen off to the south circling up with gulls and while I was watching that bird, the Kestrel disappeared again. A shower of rain came in from the east and I took the opportunity to shelter in the doorway of the war monument till it had passed. A Peregrine was spotted perched on the northeast corner of Cox's Stack though it also did a disappearing act when I wasn't looking. I gave up at around 1345, noting a juvenile Robin, a Blue Tit and a Wren as I headed down from the hill top. These took the list for the day to 29 species - 2 more than the previous day. As the day's targets were raptors, it had been relatively successful with 4 species noted - even if only 1 of these was close by.
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| Kestrel |
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| Swift |
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| Magpie |
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Black Headed Gull
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| Swift |
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Carrion Crow
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| Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
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| Peregrine |
Birds - Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch,
Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Herring
Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lesser Black Backed Gull,
Magpie, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sparrowhawk, Swift, Woodpigeon, Wren.
