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| Waxwing |
December's weather has overall been rather mild, so far. Unfortunately, it has also been a bit windy and wet. Neither of the latter two are particularly great for birding, bar a few exceptions, mostly around migration times. As a result, getting out for some worthwhile birding this month has proved to be a bit tricky. I have still managed to get out, but once it starts raining, or if it is really windy, it is hard to stay enthusiastic and the birding itself can become a bit of a chore. Unfortunately, the weather forecast for the second weekend in December was pretty much wet and windy on both days. Checking the rain map on the metoffice app/website I noticed that there was a chance that I could get out for some birding on Saturday morning. I might still get wet, and the light wouldn't be particularly great for photos but I would be out birding, which was something that looked much less likely for the following day.
I had a vague plan, but it really was weather dependent, and very much 'subject to change'. I headed out just after 1025, with City Quay my intended first destination. With strong winds from the south, I was hoping there might be a chance of something sheltering in the quay, or close in, out on the river. Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon and Magpie got the day's list underway, followed a minute or two later by Blue Tit and Jackdaw. Birds were in rather short supply, mostly due to the strong winds. I added Coal Tit on Victoria Road. I chose instead of heading directly to City Quay, to check the city centre spots that have held Waxwings in the past (The Howff and the Willison Street car park). Needless to say, there was no sign of any of these birds, with Carrion Crow and Goldfinch being very scant consolation.
I wandered down to the V&A then along the riverside to City Quay, where I found a few Cormorants stood around on the broken wooden jetty,behind the Unicorn. There were House Sparrows in the bushes opposite, in below the flats. I peered into the flooded (former dry) dock and unintentionally managed to spook the Kingfisher. The bird flew towards the eastern end and out over the Buddliea bushes into the main outer quay area. The bird once again spotted me before I spotted it and flew off again when I reached the back of the parked cars, a minute or so later. It flew to somewhere near the wooden platform in the corner via a couple of brief stops around the perimeter wall. I was rather surprised when it flew round and landed on a ladder by the lock(ed) gates as I was stood opposite. This did mean I was able to get reasonably decent photos of the bird once again, before she flew off again.
I checked the river but bar a few Cormorants on the 'conning tower' of Submarine Rock there was nothing to see. I managed to find a Robin by the flats then a Pied Wagtail was seen as I headed out along East Camperdown Street, on my way to crossing East Dock Street. I was intending on continuing up to Eastern Cemetery, though as always at this time of year, my expectation levels were very low. Chaffinch and Oystercatcher were found on the walk up to the cemetery. A few rather fed-up looking Woodpigeons were dotted around the lower part of the graveyard and it took a bit of wandering to find anything else. A Blackbird feeding down on the ground and an overflying Black-headed Gull were noted before I spotted some distant thrushes in the bare branches of a deciduous tree.
Not unexpectedly these turned out to be Redwings and Mistle Thrushes. A Sparrowhawk flushed them just after I'd reached them. They circled round a few times before dropping down to a more central tree. More thrushes dropped in from above to join them. As I was wandering over in their direction, I was surprised to spot some Starling shaped birds also flying in to the same tree the thrushes were in. I heard the tell-tale sound of Waxwings and realised I'd managed to find a decent sized flock of around 20 birds. There had been a flock of 20-30 over the previous few days at Barry Buddon and I wondered if these birds might be some of those relocating. I managed to get fairly close to the Waxwings and watched them dropping down to feed in the (Irish) Yews. Unfortunately, the Sprrowhawk was in determined hunting mode and sent all the birds skywards once again, as it rushed through.
I managed to relocate the Waxwings over towards the east end 'square' but they flew off before I got anywhere near them. Grey Squirrel and a single Rabbit were seen. With no further sign of the Waxwings, I added a small group of Greenfinches as well as a calling Goldcrest and a Great Tit while walking up towards the gatehouse entrance. I continued on up to Swannie Ponds for a look around there. Coot, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Tufted Duck and Goosander were all easily found at the ponds but the light was now even worse than it had been. I did have some very close views of a Pied Wagtail. I decided to head home via Mains Terrace. I found a flock of feeding Long-tailed Tits there along with heard-only Dunnock and Wren. These took my total for the day's exertions to 34 species of birds and 2 of mammals, with the main highlights being the Kingfisher and the Waxwings. While not a classic day's birding, it was worth heading out for.
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| Cormorant |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Cormorant |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Cormorant |
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| Cormorant |
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| Cormorant |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Grey Squirrel |
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| Redwing & Mistle Thrush |
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| Redwing |
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| Mistle Thrush |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Mistle Thrush |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Redwing |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Goosander |
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| Moorhen |
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| Tufted Duck |
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| Long-tailed Tit |
Birds - Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Coot, Cormorant, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kingfisher, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sparrowhawk, Tufted Duck, Waxwing, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.
