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| Shoveler |
I had been looking forward to a change of scenery for my birding on Sunday but with Rohan unfortunately having to cancel I was at a bit of a loose end, and once again was struggling to get motivated to get out. The weather was grey once again, but still relatively mild for the time of year, with very little in the way of wind. Having failed to get out of my bed early enough to make it worthwhile visiting Riverside Nature Park, I was struggling to come up with a worthwhile destination, even if I could force myself to head out somewhere. Eventually I decided to get organised and get out, even just for an hour or so, rather than mope around at home wasting a day off work.
I wasn't completely sure where I was going to go, but Eastern Cemetery seemed to offer a decent chance of at least some birds, whether that was 'winter thrushes' or the resident raptors, or a mixture of both. In addition, Swannie Ponds was on the way, which would give me a few more species for the day's list even if I didn't take any photos there. I headed out eventually, just after 1230. Blackbird, Great Tit, Feral Pigeon, Herring Gull, Robin, Starling, Magpie and Jackdaw provided a steady flow of unexciting birds as I wandered up to Clepington Road. I added Carrion Crow to the list before I reached Swannie Ponds where Mallard, Tufted Duck, Black-headed Gull, Coot, Goosander and Grey Heron were all noted. A Redpoll flying over was a decent surprise for the day's list.
House Sparrow and Woodpigeon were next as I made my way along to Eastern Cemetery. I wasn't overly optimistic that I would see much and despite finding Chaffinch and Goldfinch in the trees near the entrance there didn't appear to be any other obvious birds around. After around 30 minutes of wandering I spotted a male Sparrowhawk perched in the top of a tall conifer. After 15 minutes or so, it flew out to intercept a second bird towards the southeast corner of the cemetery and both birds returned to perch in the top of the same tree. A third Sparrowhawk was seen at the same time, though I didn't realise until later that I had actually caught all three in one photo. As I watched the male and female Sparrowhawk perched close together, I had a brief sighting of a Kestrel which was chased off its perch by a Magpie.
A Buzzard also flew in the direction ot the southeastern corner, pursued by crows. After a bit of a wander, I returned to the Sparrowhawks and the Kestrel flew past me, quite low. The female Sparrowhawk relocated to a different conifer, where Magpies harassed her before she moved on again. More wandering eventually rustled up a few Redwings and a Common Gull flew over. There were a few Grey Squirrels about too. I eventually found some Stock Doves and also some Goldfinches preparing to go to roost before adding Wren, Dunnock, Blue Tit and Coal Tit to the day's rather short list. I headed back up to Swannie Ponds where I was able to add Moorhen and a few Greenfinches readying to go to roost in their usual spot. I finished the day's birding with a total of 33 species and plenty of Sparrowhawk photos, of variable quality as a result of the grey and overcast conditions.
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| Magpie |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Redwing |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Kestrel |
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| Common Gull |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Grey Squirrel |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Goosander |
Birds - Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Redpoll, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Grey Squirrel.
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I had considered a trip up to Montrose Basin to round off the year but ultimately decided there was very little point as my actual 'year-list' is a mere afterthought compared to my much more important #2025Dundee150 list. I had already managed to reach my target of 150 species for the year, though not being entirely certain of the provenance of the Ring-necked Parakeet at Eastern Cemetery did add a little question mark to the year's total. On top of that, Green-winged Teal had also been 'lumped' with Eurasian Teal as one single species since my sighting of one in late Spring. However, as they had been separate species when I saw them, I decided to count both as distinct species for the year. Unfortunately, things had gone a bit samey since getting number 151 for the year, early in December.
I decided to get out for some birding on Hogmanay despite the likelihood of even more of the same. I wasn't 100% certain where I would go, though as the sun was shining, it did appear that revisiting Eastern Cemetery for better photos of the Sparrowhawks might be worthwhile doing. I headed out at 1000. About 30 minutes before leaving the house, I'd had a quick check of the weather by opening the window to feel how cold it was. A Grey Wagtail flew past and minutes later the local Feral Pigeons all took flight. The reason for the pigeon panic was an adult Peregrine hunting and I was able to get some reasonable photos of the bird as it circled round just slightly to the south of my street. A nice way to start off Hogmanay (though the pigeons probably wouldn't agree).
Herring Gull, Starling, Magpie, Blue Tit and Black-headed Gull got the day's list started as I headed up towards Clepington Road. A pair of Collared Doves flew past and Jackdaw, Carrion Crow and Robin were added as I reached Clepington Road. Woodpigeon and Chaffinch were seen on the walk along to the Swannie Ponds. There was a flock of Long-tailed Tits feeding in the trees by the northwestern corner of the top pond and I watched them flitting through the bare branches before turning my attention to the birds on the water. Close by were a few Mallards and Coots and I set off to check the birds further round.
I happened to glance round over my shoulder and realised that there was a bird I hadn't noticed on the water with those I had seen. A drake Shoveler - a new and very welcome bird for my #2025Dundee150 list, and one that I had given up on seeing in 2025. I suspect it was the same bird that was seen 2 years ago, then with a female in tow. There was a brief sighting last winter apparently, at the ponds and in early January what was very likely the same bird was seen at Trottick Ponds. However, there was no sign the next day when I went to try to see it as the ponds had frozen over during the night. I got some photos of the bird swimming around and waited for it to come closer. I messaged Lainy who said she'd maybe pop down after she'd checked her patch properly.
I got into conversation with a Polish guy and as we were chatting I happened to turn around, to find Rohan there. She had decided to have a wee look in as she was passing by. We had a bit of a chat before she headed off again. I added Common Gull and Goosander before I was joined by Lainy. By this time the Shoveler had moved onto the ice and decided to have a sleep. A Great Tit was seen in the trees and a flock of Fieldfares overflew. The Shoveler would sometimes wake up, have a stretch, look like it might do something... only to go right back to sleep. I already had plenty of photos but the bird seemed to be teasing Lainy. A Black-headed Gull with a metal ring landed nearby and I was able to get reasonable photos of the entire ring (though the last digit wasn't completely clear). It turned out to be an Icelandic ringed bird, which was a big surprise.
Lainy and I had a wander round both ponds at one point - finding the other ringed regular Black-headed Gulls - Norwegians green J63P and white J0214, as well as Scottish ringed white 2XJH. The Mute Swans were down on the lower pond and the day's first Greenfinch was noted just after 1300. A Blackbird was also spotted. We were joined by Craig ('The Swan Family and Friends' YouTuber) who was feeding the birds and the 3 of us chatted while waiting for the Shoveler to actually do something. Needless to say, only once the sun disappeared behind the clouds low in the sky to the west did the bird eventually come closer. The young Grey Heron landed on the path not too far away and a Pied Wagtail dropped in. Lainy called it a day and headed homewards a bit before 1500.
I decided to head down to Eastern Cemetery for a quick once around but got sidetracked at the lower pond and ended up not going. Needless to say, the Greenfinch pre-roost meet then caught my attention and it was actually just after 1600 before I finally headed homewards (in a thankfully quite brief snow flurry). I finished the day's birding with a total of just 28 species - though the one (in bold) that was number 152 for my #2025Dundee150 was the star of the Hogmanay show. A very nice way to round off 2025.
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| Peregrine |
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| Shoveler |
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| Shoveler |
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| Black-headed Gull (icelandic ringed) |
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| Goosander |
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| Coot |
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| Mallard |
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| Goosander |
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| Coot |
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| Coot, Shoveler & Mallard |
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| Shoveler |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Shoveler |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Shoveler |
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| Shoveler |
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| Shoveler |
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| Mute Swan (probable Avian Flu survivor) |
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| Greenfinch |
Birds - Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow,
Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Fieldfare, Goosander,
Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Robin,
Feral Pigeon, Shoveler, Starling, Woodpigeon.
