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| Cormorant |
With just 2 potential birding days for 2024 remaining and being 1 short of my target figure of 150, I knew I needed to get out birding on Saturday the 28th of December. I needed to maximise my chances of adding something new so I decided I would really need to spend most of the day outside birding. A bird I've never seen in Dundee is Barn Owl though I'm aware of the species being seen (or found dead in some cases) at a few spots. With my new thermal imager, if I could get out early enough, I might have a chance of finding one hunting in the pre-dawn darkness. I had provisionally planned to go looking a few times previously over the past month or so, but had found my warm bed a more appealing option. I knew I had to actually get up and out this time...
When the alarm went off, I first checked the weather forecast, and then got up and got organised. With sunrise not until around 0850, I knew I could have at least an hour's worth of darkness and another 45 minutes or so of pre-dawn gloaming to hopefully catch up with a Barn Owl. There was a chance of a Tawny Owl on my way to where I was headed too. I headed out into the quiet of a late December Saturday morning just after 0615. It would take me roughly 35 minutes to get to the 'back of Fintry' where I hoped I might find one hunting over the fields there. Over the years, I've heard of the species being hit by traffic on the dual carriageway and being found dead at the side of the road in that general area.
I knew my chances were likely to be very slim, given that I'm not aware of any sightings in that area for probably around 10 years, but if I didn't look, I certainly wouldn't find one. The walk up to Caird Park got me Robin and Blackbird. There appeared to be something down in the SuDS pond off Mains Loan, but as it didn't appear to be moving, I continued on down to Caird Park. A Song Thrush was singing in the trees opposite the RPC complex and a number of Rabbits were picked out on the verges further down near the golf course car park. I heard a Tawny Owl calling from somewhere near the cemetery as I passed the castle and contemplated going to look for it. I decided against it as it was a different owl species I needed to find.
As I wandered down towards the road, I caught a glimpse of movement amongst the silhouetted branches of a tall tree, accompanied by the sounds of another Tawny Owl. I stopped and looked up through the thermal imager just as a second Tawny Owl flew up next to the first. I watched them for a couple of minutes, and even grabbed some thermal imager video clips of the pair, before heading on again. Walking up past the tenements of Fintry, I added a calling Wren and heard a Feral Pigeon cooing quietly from one of the front verandahs of the flats. I reached Jack Martin Way around 0700, slightly later than I had planned. I considered walking up to the Black Watch memorial to scan the fields visible from there, but decided the time would be better spent checking the fields running parallel to the road.
There were plenty of Rabbits around and I wasn't particularly surprised to pick out a Fox working its way down across the westernmost field towards me. I grabbed some video as it came closer, but it spotted me before it got too close and ran off again. Despite not much available light, I made my way up the rather muddy track towards the top of the field. I found a few Magpies, a Carrion Crow and a male Pheasant roosting in the trees there. More Rabbits were picked out as I headed back down to the road to walk out along to Middleton Wood, where I figured there might be a chance of a Barn Owl hunting over the rough ground behind the secondary school nearby.
As I walked along I kept scanning with the thermal imager. I picked out what appeared to be a Brown Hare among the stubble before finding my first Roe Deer of the morning. As I neared Berwick Drive, I could hear quacking from the pond, and a few small groups of Mallard took flight, passing over me before I had reached the road. I was rather surprised to find the pond chock full of ducks, with their heads all held aloft. I made sure not to spook them and continued on up towards the entrance into the wood. I picked out a few more Roe Deer and heard a Redwing overflying. By this time, the horizon to the southeast was beginning to show a sliver of colour.
As I checked the rough ground, a Woodcock overflew me, silhouetted briefly against the sky. A little later, a pair of them were seen. A Buzzard circled round, mewing loudly and a flock of Herring Gulls took to the air above the houses to the southwest. I could see the trees were full of birds - most likely thrushes and I could see a larger bird in below the bushes and trees down the slope. By this time, the sky had lightened enough to be able to see where I was going making attempting to find the spot where this bird was, a possibility. As it transpired, it flew off as I got close, and I suspect it was a Woodcock though I didn't see it (but I did hear wingbeats which ruled out an owl).
Great Tit, Goldfinch, Siskin and Dunnock were all heard as I wandered around and a Kestrel was seen hunting over the rough ground. Woodpigeon and Mistle Thrush were seen before I decided to head back to the fields behind Fintry to check for flocks of finches (in case of a Brambling). A small group of Roe Deer crossed the skyline up the hill, as I left the wood, and I was able to see the other small group I'd picked out earlier with the thermal imager as I headed back towards the pond. There were no ducks at the pond, just a single Moorhen. Walking back along Jack Martin Way added Rook, a single Yellowhammer and a small flock of Linnets. I wandered back up the slope and along the track I had navigated along earlier in the dark. A Mute Swan flew past westwards.
I added Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Black Headed Gull, House Sparrow and Grey Wagtail before crossing the dual carriageway to head for Trottick Ponds, to see if there were any Snipe or Jack Snipe at the reedbeds there, having drawn a blank previously. I found a smaller flock of Linnets by the stables at Claverhouse. I headed down to the Dighty but drew a blank on Dipper or Grey Heron there. The only thing new at the ponds was a single drake Goosander with the Mallards, Moorhens and Black Headed Gulls. At the reeds, there were a few Chaffinches, Goldfinches and tits in the trees, but the reeds appeared to be empty. After a few minutes of fruitless scanning with the thermal imager (and having had to change the battery) I picked up a heat source, partially hidden behind vegetation. It was definitely a bird, but I couldn't see it with binoculars.
After a few minutes more, it began to call, which helped to identify the hidden bird. It was a Water Rail, skulking behind a green patch next to a small patch of reeds. Eventually I was able to see the red bill of the bird and the grey of the neck through thin gaps in the vegetation. I added a Grey Squirrel which popped into a hole in a tree when it spotted me on the walk back towards the ponds. By this time, the effects of the early start were beginning to hit me, so I headed for Caird Park to check the ponds there. I added Starling to the morning's list as I left the nature reserve. I wandered up the hill to the ponds adding a Goldcrest on the walk up past the 9 hole golf course. I found the Kingfisher at the lower pond and was joined by Angus Duncan (and his grand-son) who were looking for the bird. It had flown off however when I hadn't been looking.
We had a bit of a chat adding a few more species as we did so. Jay, Coal Tit, Siskin, Chaffinch, Redwing, as well as the resident Mallard and Moorhen on the ponds were all seen. We found the Kingfisher at the south end of the ponds and got a few photos before it once again vanished, this time most likely down the Gelly Burn. We made another circuit of the ponds before I headed up to Mains Terrace and Swannie Ponds. A trio of Bullfinches distracted me behind one of the storage buildings by the golf course for a few minutes as they picked seeds from scrubby vegetation. At the SuDS pond on Mains Loan there was no sign of the earlier heat source - which may have been a bird after all (perhaps even a Jack Snipe?). Things were fairly quiet at Mains Terrace though I did add Jackdaw there.
Swannie Ponds provided a few more birds for the day in the shape of Coot, Tufted Duck, Pied Wagtail and Common Gull. I headed down to Spring Grove in Baxter Park next but didn't linger too long there as things were fairly quiet, though I did see another Bullfinch pair there. I contemplated continuing on to Eastern Cemetery but instead I decided to pop home to lighten my bag and to rest my legs for a while. After an hour or so at home, I decided I had best head out somewhere again. My plan was to head for City Quay then out to the Stannergate. As it transpired, my legs weren't up to the required effort needed to do both.
The walk down to City Quay didn't add anything I hadn't already seen. I was about to photograph a Cormorant at the Wild Shore area, when a lady with an Australian(?) accent let me know there was an Eider around. There was a Grey Heron sleeping at the end of one of the ramps and as I wandered round towards the footbridge, I spotted the female Eider swimming along towards me. I headed next to the river to see if I could spot a Red Throated Diver or even just a Red Breasted Merganser there. A Great Black Backed Gull was stood out on the concrete block on "Submarine Rock" where it was joined by another Cormorant. The river appeared devoid of any other birds however.
I continued round to the outer quay area and as I passed the lock gates, I found a trio of birds on some exposed pebbles - a Herring Gull, a Redshank and an Oystercatcher. The Oystercatcher flew off leaving the others to continue with what they were doing, seemingly unconcerned by my presence. Another 2 Cormorants were seen in the quay along with a Little Grebe. Having added another 7 species to my earlier list, my total for the day now stood at 52 species of bird, as well as 5 species of mammal. I decided to head home rather than heading out to the Stannergate. The weather forecast wasn't looking too promising for Sunday, so it looked like Saturday's efforts might actually be my last proper birding of 2024, and despite finding some pretty good birds (and mammals) I had failed to add anything new to my #Dundee150 list again, leaving me on 149.
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Roe Deer
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Carrion Crow & Buzzard
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| Linnet |
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Mute Swan
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Goosander |
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| Moorhen |
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| Goosander |
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Water Rail
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| Kingfisher |
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| Siskin |
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Great Tit
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| Bullfinch |
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| Jackdaw |
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| Redwing |
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Pied Wagtail
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| Mallard |
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Tufted Duck
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| Wren |
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Blue Tit
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Grey Heron & Cormorant
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| Eider |
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Great Black Backed Gull
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| Redshank |
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Herring Gull
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| Cormorant |
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| Cormorant |
Thermal Imager photos, and video (Tawny Owl and Fox)
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Tawny Owl
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Brown Hare
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| Woodcock |
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Water Rail
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Birds - Black Headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Dunnock, Eider, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Linnet, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Siskin, Song Thrush, Starling, Tawny Owl, Tufted Duck, Water Rail, Woodcock, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals - Brown Hare, Fox, Grey Squirrel, Rabbit, Roe Deer.
