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| Common Gull |
Finding a drake Shoveler at Swannie Ponds on Hogmanay to take my #2025Dundee150 list to a final total of 152, also gave me a much-needed mental boost and a reason to get up early and out before the sun came up on the 1st. I had been contemplating a change of my usual trip to Broughty Ferry but as I would need to head east first, it made sense to continue in that direction, trying Eastern Cemetery for Ring-Necked Parakeet before heading out along the river to the castle and then onto Balmossie. Unfortunately, the weather was looking much less promising than Hogmanay, with fairly strong winds and windchill down to -6 or so. It was however meant to stay dry, so it wasn't all bad.
I headed out around 30 minutes before sunrise. It was very cold and I almost contemplated turning round and heading back home. Herring Gull was first on the list for 2026, with Robin, Magpie, Feral Pigeon, Dunnock and Woodpigeon following as I made my way to the Swannie Ponds. The white of the Shoveler stood out well in the pre-dawn gloom and I had my first 'tricky to get' species in the bag. Goosander, Mallard, Mute Swan, Coot, Common Gull, Black-headed Gull and Moorhen were all spotted around the large holes in the ice where the birds were mostly congregated. I heard Greenfinches leaving their roost and picked up a pair of Collared Doves as I left the ponds en route to Eastern Cemetery.
There were a few Starlings noted before I spotted a raptor in a tree near the Mormon church. It appeared almost Merlin-like but was most just a Sparrowhawk perched 'differently' due to the strong winds. It had disappeared before I got close enough to the tree for a decent view. The year's first Carrion Crow was seen as I headed in to the Cemetery at the 'top end'. Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Blackbird and Goldcrest, plus plenty of Grey Squirrels made for a more productive visit than I had been anticipating. I managed to see a hunting Sparrowhawk a couple of times as I wandered down through the Cemetery. As I searched for the Parakeet, I spotted a goose flying low over the 'new houses' over the wall. I ran to get a clear view and managed to get a few photos that showed it was an unexpected Greylag Goose, rather than the more likely Pink-footed Goose that I was expecting.
House Sparrow, Siskin and Wren were all found as I made my way down to the Stannergate from the Cemetery. A Curlew flew over as I passed the shops at the bottom of Craigie Drive, and there was a pair of Oystercatchers on the triangle of grass opposite. I detoured into the area behind Alpha Projects to look for more small birds, and perhaps a Woodcock there. I did succeed in getting a Redpoll, which showed quite well, near the railway line. A few Rabbits and a Rook were next onto the list before I headed down to the river. A pair of Little Grebes quite close into shore were a surprise, especially as I hadn't seen any at all on the Tay this winter. They retreated further out into the bay before I continued on towards Broughty Ferry.
The tide was already looking like it was going to be further in than ideal before I even reached the castle, let alone Balmossie where I had been hoping to get a nice mix of birds. A pair of Fieldfares flew past westwards upriver. Single Cormorant, Eider and Red-breasted Merganser were seen distantly out on the river and a Stock Dove flew over eastwards as I neared the sailing club sheds. I finally managed to find a Turnstone by the pipe at Douglas Terrace. A Pied Wagtail showed nicely near the lifeboat station and a skein of Pink-footed Geese headed over. A Grey Seal popped up not too far offshore but there appeared to be a lack of birds out on the river, or closer in towards the castle.
A Great Black-backed Gull was seen on the water near the yellow marker post as I continued on in the direction of Balmossie. There was no sign of any Bar-tailed Godwits to the east of the castle, though I did see Redwing and Long-tailed Tits near the Glass Pavillion. A single Linnet flew past and I spotted a couple of very distant Wigeon out on the river before diverting into check the nature reserve. A couple of Great Spotted Woodpeckers chasing each other around, a Great Tit and a few Bullfinches kept things interesting. Heading back to check the shoreline towards Balmossie, I spotted some Ringed Plovers flying out from the beach, having been disturbed by dog walkers. When I reached them a few minutes later, I found 3 distinct groups, one of which contained a trio of Dunlin.
Out over the river I picked up a distant flock of Knot and a few Grey Plover. The covered outflow at Balmossie had a number of Redshanks and Turnstone roosting atop it. A Jackdaw flew in and landed down on what was left of the beach. When I was at the nature reserve, word had come in that there was a flock of Waxwings at Monifieth railway station. I figured it wasn't too far away and that it might even be possible to see the birds from Balmossie. It turned out I was actually correct and I managed poor, but identifiable photos of around 7 or 8 of these birds in flight. Just as with the birds out over the river, as long as I am in Dundee, and the birds can be identified I can count them for my list, so these Waxwings made it onto the January 1st list.
Crowds of people were by this time heading in the direction of the castle, for the annual New Year's Day 'dook'. With crowds of people around the castle, my chances of getting Rock Pipit there were basically zero, and walking into crowds of people heading in the opposite direction is not enjoyable either, so I decided to take a different route home. I headed up North Balmossie Street and managed to add Dipper and Grey Heron on the Dighty Burn. There was nothing new found along Balgillo Road and although I had planned on heading back along the Dighty between Douglas and Whitfield I ended up changing my mind and cut across Dawson Park then along the Arbroath Road to Eastern Cemetery as the sun sank lower in the sky.
Things were relatively quiet at the Cemetery, though I happened to be in the right place at the right time when a flock of Mistle Thrushes landed in the top of a tree beside me. I had another look at Swannie Ponds and took some photos of the Shoveler in slightly better light than in the morning. There was a bit of a flurry of snow as I left the ponds but I decided to have a quick look at Mains Terrace on the way home. Things were very quiet though I did manage to spot a Grey Wagtail down in the SuDS pond opposite. I finished the day's birding with a better than expected 61 species of birds, as well as 3 of mammals. Given the rather cold and windy weather conditions, this was around 10 species more than I realistically expected to get, and was a nice way to get things underway for 2026.
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Curlew |
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| Redpoll |
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| Little Grebe |
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| Dunnock |
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| Red-breasted Merganser |
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| House Sparrow |
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| Turnstone |
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| Pink-footed Goose |
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| Cormorant |
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| Collared Dove |
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| Long-tailed Tit |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Robin |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Dunlin & Ringed Plover |
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| Rook |
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| Wigeon |
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| Wigeon |
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| Jackdaw |
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| Redshank & Turnstone |
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| Waxwing |
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| Chaffinch |
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| Dipper |
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| Mistle Thrush |
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| Grey Squirrel |
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| Moorhen |
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| Common Gull |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Herring Gull |
Birds - Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dipper, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black-backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Plover, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Knot, Linnet, Little Grebe, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink-footed Goose, Red-breasted Merganser, Redpoll, Redshank, Redwing, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shoveler, Siskin, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Turnstone, Waxwing, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Grey Seal, Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.
