 |
| Cormorant (Sinensis race) |
It has been a while since I last wandered down the Dighty Burn, so to
round off February I decided to do just that. There would be no great rush, I
would try for Ring-necked Parakeet at Eastern Cemetery and at Dawson
park later, then look for the White-billed Diver down at the Tay on my walk back homewards but overall my expectations really were on the low side. With no
great hurry to get anywhere, I would just take my time and see what I
could find (which would hopefully include something good, and new for my #2026Dundee150
list). I got organised and was ready to head out just after 0810.
With absolutely no hurry to be anywhere specific and an intention to be out for
most of the day, I decided I would take a rather meandering route and
spend as much, or as little, time as necessary at any particular spot.
Goldfinch, House Sparrow, Herring Gull and Woodpigeon got the day's list
underway, followed by Feral Pigeon, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Magpie and
Blackbird as I headed for Clepington Road. I detoured via Mains Terrace
but found nothing new there except Jackdaw and a Sparrowhawk which I didn't
notice until it flew out from the tree it had been perched in. Between there and Swannie Ponds I
managed to get Robin and Dunnock for the list. Swannie Ponds turned up the expected species - Black-headed Gull, Mallard, Moorhen, Coot, Tufted
Duck, Mute Swan, Common Gull and Goosander as well as Starling and
Chaffinch and as I was leaving the ponds a Grey Wagtail was seen.
I
headed for Eastern Cemetery next where Coal Tit, Goldcrest, Greenfinch,
Bullfinch and Oystercatcher were all found. A pair of Collared Doves
were perched on a chimney as I headed up Douglas Road across the road from the back
of Asda. I reached the Dighty Burn around 0915 and wandered slowly along
the path eastwards. There didn't appear to be much activity though Jay,
Long-tailed Tit and Dipper were found. I spotted a small group of Roe Deer
and watched from a distance as a couple of them groomed each other,
even managing to get a short video clip of this interaction. Continuing on again got me
Buzzard, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail and Great Tit. A couple of Lesser
Black-backed Gulls were seen on the roof of the former Michelin factory
buildings. A Song Thrush was singing from a burn-side tree as I wandered
along the track south of West Pitkerro Industrial Estate. A Cormorant
was a bit of a surprise stood by the burn in the fields to the east. A
Great Spotted Woodpecker was seen a couple of times in the trees by the
Murroes Burn.
There was a large mixed flock of gulls, Jackdaws, Rooks,
Curlews, Oystercatchers and Woodpigeons in the field along with the
Cormorant but I failed to find anything more interesting than a couple
of Lesser Black-backed Gulls. A Wren and a Treecreeper were heard
and a Stock Dove flew over, and a skein of Pink-footed Geese were seen
distantly. I had a lengthy chat with a lady who was 'foraging' for some
Wild Garlic by the burn and while we were talking I heard a Skylark calling. It took
around 20 seconds before I managed to pick it out, still a few
hundred metres away, but it did then fly directly over us before heading back
northwards. I decided to try Dawson Park next, in the hope of
encountering the Ring-necked Parakeet which has been seen there, and in
the general area, recently. I was surprised to see a trio of Great
Spotted Woodpeckers flying very high above the park, chasing each other
and calling, before they dropped down into a stand of mature trees near
where I was.
I ended up spending around 90 minutes
watching, photographing and pointing the birds out to interested walkers
and cyclists, most of whom had never even seen a woodpecker before. One
lady had actually seen the Parakeet recently, hanging around with Woodpigeons, which was
encouraging news. Redwing and Siskin were both noted while I watched the
woodpeckers (which turned out to be 2 females and a male) before I
decided to move on to the Tay to see if the White-billed Diver was
around. I reached the river at 1400 and quickly found a group of Eider. I had a
chat to two birders who were scoping for the Diver but who had so far had no luck. I
wandered along towards the castle to check from there where a
birder/photographer from Aberdeen who had seemingly seen the Diver earlier in the
day, said the Diver couldn't be upriver as it would have to swim against
the river flow as the tide went out. Despite me telling him that Lainy and I had seen the bird
doing exactly that multiple times during its stay, he was rather
dismissive of the possibility. II had great close views of a Sinensis Cormnorant in breeding plumage as it fished in the harbour by the castle and I did manage to get Rock Pipit for
the day before setting off westwards again.
Things were
otherwise rather quiet out along the river though I did eventually see
Redshank and Turnstone as well as a Red-breasted Merganser. Unfortunately,
there appeared to be no sign of the White-billed Diver along the river
or over towards Tayport and it was not seen again (as far as I'm aware).
By now my legs were starting to feel a bit heavy. There didn't seem
much point in heading home via Eastern Cemetery and either Baxter Park
or Swannie Ponds, so I decided to wander along the Docks Way cycle path
to City Quay instead. What was likely the same pair of Kestrels
I'd seen flying in that direction previously were seen perched in a tree
in the docks. As I was watching them, I got into a conversation with a
Chinese guy, Roy, who was walking his young child and who stopped to ask
what I was seeing. It turned out he was a birding friend of Mathieu
Soetens (who happened to be in India, and who Roy was actually messaging before he
stopped to ask about the Kestrels). I told him I knew Mathieu and to say 'hi' and Mathieu messaged
me directly, to say 'hello' back and 'small world'. As we were both going in the
same direction anyway, Roy and I wandered back along to City Quay,
blethering about birds and birding before going our separate ways. I
headed home rather wearily, having managed to find a total of 56 species
of birds, and 1 of mammals in exactly 9 hours worth of birding.
 |
| Jay |
 |
| Roe Deer |
 |
| Buzzard |
 |
| Dipper |
 |
| Dipper |
 |
| Great Tit |
 |
| Long-tailed Tit |
 |
| Song Thrush |
 |
| Cormorant |
 |
| Goosander |
 |
| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
 |
| Skylark |
 |
| Redwing |
 |
| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
 |
| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
 |
| Eider |
 |
| Cormorant (Sinensis race) |
 |
| Curlew |
 |
| Redshank |
 |
| Redshank |
 |
| Redshank |
 |
| Red-breasted Merganser |
 |
| Kestrel |
Birds - Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common
Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dipper, Dunnock, Eider, Goldcrest, Goldfinch,
Goosander, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull,
House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied
Wagtail, Pink-footed Goose, Red-breasted Merganser, Redshank, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock
Pipit, Rook, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Roe Deer.
