STONEFACTION BIRDING: 06/20/15

0171 : Sunday Surprises (14/6/15)

There are days when I just can't muster up any motivation to get out and about, though if the weather looks bearable I usually force myself to get out at least locally and usually end up having a good day in the end. Sunday past was just another one of those days and it wasn't until after 1pm before I finally emerged blinking into the daylight for a wee wander to Swannie Ponds and City Quay.

Herring Gull chick

Surprisingly for an afternoon start I managed a very quick first five species all more or less simultaneously with Blackbird, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Swift and Woodpigeon all in view at the same time. Starling was next and there were some high flying House Martins overhead as I headed for Clepington Road. A pair of Feral Pigeons zipped past. Carrion Crow was added on Clepington Road and a singing Greenfinch was sat atop a chimney of a house further on. Crossing Forfar Road towards the ponds, a Lesser Black Backed Gull glided over while two Swallows shot by me at eye level catching flies in the relative shelter provided by the houses and trees.

Although Herring Gulls and Lesser Black Backed Gulls still made up the majority of gulls on the water, there were a handful of Black Headed Gulls now dotted around. I looked for ringed birds among the few but found none. Down on the path beside me a Chaffinch and a Collared Dove fed, while near the island a confrontation between one of the Coots and both the Moorhens erupted into a full on fight. Normally the Coot would have the advantage of size and weight against the smaller Moorhen but it was a different story against two of the feisty Moorhens. I didn't see any of the youngsters which suggests that perhaps the gulls have predated them, which wouldn't be a shock, unfortunate though it may be.

There weren't many Mallards around, though the majority may have gone somewhere safer to moult. House Sparrows continued to take insects around the perimeter of the pond and I almost stood on a Dunnock which ignored my approach and I crouched down to get some nice close-up photos though most were affected by some motion blurring because of the close proximity. I discovered the local Mute Swan pair tucked in near the northeast 'corner' of the island with a small party of sleeping Tufted Ducks out on the water.

Across the other side I could see a congregation of gulls out on the path and as I wandered round I spotted that one of the Lesser Black Backed Gulls was ringed with a black plastic leg ring, coded in white F389. Knowing that these birds were summer visitors to Dundee and this the first time I'd found a ringed one I was curious to know where it might have been ringed. A quick google search on my phone found that a ringing project in southern Portugal was the likely source. This was confirmed for me by Chris McGuigan who I pass on all my ringed bird sightings to. The bird had been ringed in April 2014 and mine was the first sighting since. Chris told me that he had ringed a bird in Montrose which turned up in Portugal so it appears that like the Norwegian Black Headed Gulls we have a bit of to-ing and fro-ing from Tayside.

A female Tufted Duck made a beeline for me, eventually jumping out of the water and standing beside me. Normally this species is a little bit more wary, but this particular duck doesn't appear to have that gene. A Pied Wagtail scurried along the edge of the pond picking at tiny insects among the stones. Having completed a circuit of the pond, and with nothing to be seen on the lower pond except model boats I decided to head for City Quay to see how far on Dave the Diver's breeding plumage was. A Blue Tit was in the bushes as I headed for Pitkerro Road. The walk into town was uneventful with nothing new added until I had almost reached City Quay where a pair of Goldfinches were feeding among the overgrown area near Blackscroft. At City Quay, Linnets flew off as I entered near the clock tower flats. I spotted Dave lazing out on the water between the Unicorn and the footbridge and wandered round.

His summer plumage was almost complete though there was still some white feathering on his face and the red patch on his throat was still incomplete and quite a dusky red. He stayed more or less in the same position for the rest of the time I was there, allowing me plenty opportunity for photos, albeit slightly distant ones. Hopefully over the next few weeks the red on his throat will be complete and he will finally look like a real Red Throated Diver, despite his still damaged wing, which is the only reason he is still around at the quay.

I wandered along to check the gulls nesting area by the dry dock area. In addition to the Herring Gulls, Woodpigeons and Feral Pigeons fed at the western end and a male Linnet sang from the metal barriers. An almost fully grown, but still obviously recently fledged, Oystercatcher wandered around near an adult. I received a text message from Nat asking if I fancied an evening outing, and if so, she would pick me up at 6pm. I replied "yes" and headed for home to give me time to grab something to eat and to sort out work stuff that I might struggle to fit in later.

Passing the bus station I spotted a Herring Gull adult lying on the ground just through the fence opposite the taxi rank, and then I saw why it was there. A youngster which had fallen off the roof stood nearby. The adult flew up to the billboard above while the youngster limped closer till it was a bit too close for photos. I snapped away as the opportunities to photograph gulls at this stage of life are rather limited given the obvious protectiveness of the parent birds. The location by the taxi rank and plenty of passing pedestrians made the adult's job of scaring away the humans a fruitless one so it appeared that the realisation of the protection afforded by the large metal fence was enough and that intervention by the parent would only be a last resort. After a few minutes I headed for home with some nice photos to show for what had turned out to be an interesting afternoon.

27 species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Coot, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Red Throated Diver, Feral Pigeon, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon.