 |
| Jay |
I had a half-formed plan for how I would spend the final birding day of November. It had been quite a while since I had visited the Dighty Burn between Douglas and Whitfield. I would then head out to Pitkerro Grove Cemetery for a look there, then have a wee search around the Barnhill area for any signs of Ring-Necked Parakeets, then wander back towards Gardyne College as the light started to go, to see if I could find any sign of roosting Ring-necked Parakeets there. I was not overly optimistic, but getting out and actually looking for 'some' Parakeets seemed to be the only way I was likely to find out how many of these birds are actually flying around the eastern end of the city these days, given that the Facebook comments I left have been ignored so far.
I headed out into what was quite a pleasant and sunny winter day around 0910. Feral Pigeon, House Sparrow, Herring Gull, Blackbird, Wren, Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon, Starling and Fieldfare were all noted between home and Dura Street. I headed to Baxter Park for a quick look via Janefield Place and the Morgan Academy grounds. Black-headed Gull and Pied Wagtail were seen on the way to the park. Spring Grove was very quiet so I headed up to check Swannie Ponds next. Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Magpie, Great Tit and Blue Tit were seen around the top end of the park as I walked up to the top corner gate. A Curlew flew over as I continued up to check the top pond. Mallard, Mute Swan, Tufted Duck, Moorhen, Coot, Goosander and Grey Heron were all quickly added at the ponds.
As I was in no real hurry, I decided to check Eastern Cemetery next. This got me Redwing, Mistle Thrush, Oystercatcher, Buzzard, Goldfinch, Goldcrest, Robin and Grey Squirrel, though no Ring-necked Parakeet(s). Coal Tit and Siskin were both heard as I headed up past the Fire Station on the Kingsway to cross Asda car park on my way to the Dighty Burn. Having not visited the area since the Spring, I wasn't sure quite what to expect. The path by the burn had been dug up and appeared to be in the process of being widened for access to the new school complex, complete with 'path closed' signs. A couple of cyclists coming from the opposite direction suggested that 'closed' wasn't completely accurate, even if the intent was there. Birds however were in rather short supply along the dug-up (and wider) path.
A Lesser Black-backed Gull perched on the Baldovie recycling plant was a little bit of a surprise. A Roe Deer in the fenced off area with the 'deep water' signs to the west of the police station was less so, though they've been fairly scarce compared to earlier visits. The first of a few Dippers was seen down on the burn, with another singing individual a bit further on. A Sparrowhawk put in a brief appearance over the Baldovie chimney but things were otherwise pretty quiet. I bumped into Bill by the burn and we had a chat for 10 minutes or so, before continuing on our respective ways. Rook and Jackdaw, as well as Dunnock and Song Thrush were found along the burn by West Pitkerro Industrial Estate. I had planned on routing across the fields to Clearwater Park but cattle in both fields north of the Dighty put paid to that idea. However, walking up the edge of the eastern side of the Murroes Burn looked doable, as long as the cows across towards the centre of the field didn't notice me.
A Grey Wagtail showed nicely at close range as I wandered up the edge of the field, where a row of fence posts were new - I suspect livestock might be more likely than crops in future. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was seen in flight over the trees on the west side of the Murroes Burn. The field to the north of the track along to the 'crossroads' was full of sheep. Meadow Pipit and Linnet were also around too. I wandered up to check the Cemetery next. A Jay flew in the opposite direction. I was slightly surprised to find a wary flock of geese feeding in the field to the east of the track. Using a clump of trees to break up my outline, I was able to check them for any interlopers, but I was out of luck, with all of the birds present being the expected Pink-footed Geese. I failed to find anything out of the ordinary at the Cemetery and there was no sign of any Tree Sparrows there either.
I did however finally manage to see a Stock Dove there (surprisingly they had been absent for their usual spots down by the east-west track). A male Sparrowhawk was seen perched in a tree but flew off as I got closer. I continued down to the Arbroath Road and crossed over to the Balgillo Road area. I checked the nearest berries for any Waxwings, but wasn't surprised to draw a blank. I decided to visit Barnhill Cemetery to see if I could find anything there, with Lainy and I's recent visit being somewhat curtailed by rain. I did actually succeed in noting Bullfinch and Long-tailed Tits there, as well as a few Chaffinches, Mistle Thrushes, Blackbirds and Redwings, with the very bottom area being the most productive by far. I headed along Nursery Road and then took a zig-zag route from there towards Claypotts Road. A few more Bullfinches and a female Sparrowhawk perched in a tree were seen.
I checked the streets roundabout Claypotts Castle for Parakeets but saw none, nor heard any. I spent a wee while in Dawson Park, hoping to catch 'some' Parakeets going to roost but again didn't have any luck there. A Common Gull wandered around on the rugby pitch near where I was standing. Cutting down onto Strathern Road then up through the college car park then up past the football pitches to the north also proved to be relatively quiet bar the local corvids and gulls heading to roost. I continued on along to Eastern Cemetery as sunset approached. Walking up through the Cemetery on my way home, I was in the process of sending a message on my mobile, when I realised I could hear Waxwing calls. I looked up from my phone to see a flock of seven birds having just flown over me and disappearing over Old Craigie Road. Thankfully, I was actually quick enough to manage to get a few photos of the birds, which took my total for the day to 51 species of birds and 2 of mammals.
A few days later I saw a post on BlueSky from Stuart Green with a photo of 8 Waxwings snapped from a car by his son, perched in the small Rowans in front of the houses next to the Fire Station at the bottom of the Kingsway. The photo had been taken in the morning, and although it didn't say it was Sunday, the bright blue sky was a bit of a giveaway. Given the direction of travel of my small flock it was very probably the very same birds that I'd seen at the end of the day. Less favourable weather on Monday seemed to deter anyone from actually trying to relocate the birds, with no further reports since then of any of these birds anywhere in Dundee. That isn't to say that they are definitely not around. Although berries are in very short supply this winter, there are still lots of places these birds could still be, unseen by birders and unnoticed by (most) non-birders. Given that I've been in the right place 3 times already, out of 4 sightings within the city, I wouldn't bet against it being worth the effort to get out looking.
 |
| Buzzard & Magpie |
 |
| Grey Squirrel |
 |
| Dipper |
 |
| Dipper |
 |
| Mallard |
 |
| Grey Heron (& Oystercatcher) |
 |
| Grey Wagtail |
 |
| Goldcrest |
 |
| Buzzard |
 |
| Starling |
 |
| Goldfinch |
 |
| Sparrowhawk |
 |
| Jay |
 |
| Pink-footed Goose |
 |
| Pink-footed Goose |
 |
| Roe Deer |
 |
| Long-tailed Tit |
 |
| Mistle Thrush |
 |
| Sparrowhawk |
 |
| Common Gull |
 |
| Oystercatcher |
 |
| Curlew |
 |
| Waxwing |
 |
| Waxwing |
 |
| Redwing |
Birds - Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard,
Carrion
Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Curlew, Dipper,
Dunnock, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring
Gull, House Sparrow,
Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Linnet, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard,
Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied
Wagtail, Pink-footed Goose, Redwing, Robin,
Feral Pigeon, Rook, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Tufted
Duck, Waxwing, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Grey Squirrel, Roe Deer.
