 |
| Kingfisher |
The weather forecast for Sunday was pretty much non-stop rain, mostly quite heavy, all day. However, as the morning progressed the Met Office app's rain map seemed to show a relatively dry couple of hours from late morning until mid-afternoon. Could I perhaps get out birding after all? There were no guarantees that this dry spell would actually come to fruition, but if it was going to, then I wanted to try to make the most of it. I would probably stay relatively close to home, just in case the rain returned but I wanted to be out and about birding, rather than being stuck at home. As it happened, the rain eased off and the sun tried to put in an appearance around 1130. My views of the sky in all directions except out to the east, are rather limited but I decided to take a chance and headed out.
It was just after 1145 when I did so. Herring Gull, Carrion Crow, Blue Tit and Wren made for a slow start as I set off for City Quay (having already visited Swannie Ponds and Eastern Cemetery a few times of late). A Sparrowhawk being harassed by Jackdaws high over Cotton Road, a Great Tit and a Chaffinch were noted as I continued down towards Victoria Road. A Grey Wagtail flew over from the former Eagle Jute Mills buildings to the area to the south. A Feral Pigeon was seen in flight. The walk down Dens Brae added Goldfinch, Blackbird and a single Magpie. I reached City Quay just after mid-day. Things once again appeared fairly quiet around the water park area.
Further on though there were at least 4 Cormorants fishing in the corner by the Clock Tower flats with a load of Herring Gulls circling overhead, sometimes splashing down as if they were fishing. This unusual level of activity suggested that there were more fish in that area than usual. A Grey Heron was asleep on the broken jetty by the old dry dock. A couple of Blackbirds, a pair of Robins and a Dunnock were feeding between the road and the dry dock and a lone Starling overflew towards the flats. The only birds visible in the outer part of the quay area appeared to be a few more Cormorants. There was no sign of any Kingfishers, despite checking all the visible potential perches.
I paused near the broken lock gates, trying to decide where to go next. There was a sudden splash in the water down in front of me. There was the Kingfisher doing a spot of fishing from a perch previously unseen. The bird then flew to the opposite side of the lock gates and perched on the wall giving me good views, and in decent light, which allowed me to finally get some decent photos of the Kingfisher that winters there. I suspect having the camera up in front of my face was the reason the bird stayed put for a minute or so before flying off, as ordinarily the bird flies off if you get within about 50 metres of it. I had a few other rather distant views of the bird over the course of the next 30 minutes or so. I then amanaged to add Black-headed Gull, Linnet, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail and a Goldcrest before moving on elsewhere.
I decided to try Baxter Park and headed up towards Arbroath Road. Things were very quiet at Spring Grove so I continued on up to Swannie Ponds. There were some Long-tailed Tits in the trees by the top gate of Baxter Park. There were no surprises to be had at the ponds with the usual Mallards, Mute Swans, Coots, Tufted Ducks, Black-headed Gulls, Herring Gulls and a solitary Moorhen. The trees around the former tennis courts had a few Woodpigeons and a Greenfinch sitting around in the tops but things were otherwise quiet. A few Jackdaws and Chaffinches at Mains Terrace were all that I could find before finally heading home. I finished the day's wanders with a total of 34 species. Given the weather forecast for the day, I was glad to have been able to take advantage of the window of opportunity that had arisen, and especially happy with my Kingfisher photos.
 |
| Grey Heron |
 |
| House Sparrow |
 |
| Robin |
 |
| Dunnock |
 |
| Robin |
 |
| Cormorant |
 |
| Kingfisher |
 |
| Kingfisher |
 |
| Kingfisher |
 |
| Kingfisher |
 |
| Kingfisher |
 |
| Kingfisher |
 |
| Kingfisher |
 |
| Kingfisher |
 |
| Cormorant & Grey Heron |
 |
| Cormorant |
 |
| Kingfisher |
 |
| Kingfisher |
 |
| Cormorant (Sinensis race) |
 |
| Cormorant (Sinensis race) |
 |
| Cormorant (Sinensis race) |
 |
| Black-headed Gull (White 2XJH) |
 |
| Moorhen |
 |
| Moorhen |
 |
| Jackdaw |
 |
| Chaffinch |
Birds - Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Coot, Cormorant, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kingfisher, Linnet, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Wren.
