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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Juvenile Gulls |
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| Herring Gulls |
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| Black Tailed Godwit, Black Headed Gulls and Herring Gull |
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| Sand Martin |
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| Dunlin and Redshanks |
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| Chiffchaff(?) |
With high winds from the east and heavy rain forecast from mid-morning onwards I knew that if I wanted to try and get any birding done I would need to be out and about early. Not always the easiest thing to do after a hard week at work, but I somehow managed to get up and out the house for around 0730 to head for Riverside Nature Park.
Herring Gull and Feral Pigeon were seen almost as soon as I set foot outside with Swifts overhead, Woodpigeon on a lamp post and the tinkling call of a Goldfinch flying over before I had got much further. I added Collared Dove to the list as I walked down Dens and a Carrion Crow flying across Victoria Road added another species to the list. Somehow I managed to catch the bus in town earlier than hoped and was out at the park for before 8am.
I decided to walk along the fenceline first to check out the bay, in the hope that the tide was right for seeing waders. A Woodpigeon over the trees in the park began part 2 of the list. Carrion Crow and Oystercatchers overflew in the direction of the park. I spotted a Buzzard on one of the roadside lamp posts and managed a quick photo of the perched bird before it took flight and flew towards the eastern end of the park. A Robin was near the western end and a few Swifts shot over westwards.
Unfortunately, the tide wasn't yet far enough out for any uncovered mud, so there were no waders to be seen, only a few sleeping Mallards by the burn outflow and some Herring Gulls on the water. A couple of Feral Pigeons flew down to near the Mallards. A Pied Wagtail called as it flew from near the bay into the main body of the park. Lesser Black Backed Gull was next onto the list, and a Swallow zipped by at pace. Two Stock Doves took flight as I neared the Lochan, heading over the main road towards the gardens beyond.
A calling Meadow Pipit drew attention to itself as I wandered round towards the car park. It was very quiet in the trees here, rather surprisingly, so I pressed on towards Buzzard Wood. A few Chaffinches, Goldfinches and a family group of Long Tailed Tits showed here. I looped back round to the car park, spotting a Wren in the bushes behind before having a very close view of a male Sparrowhawk which flew over from the recycling area into the trees behind me. A cawing Carrion Crow alerted me to something happening just as the hawk flew out from the trees at around 10 feet up and passed about 5 feet in front of me. Great to see, unless of course you are on the menu.
I headed back round towards the bay via the Lochan, getting a few photos of a Stock Dove as it lifted from the long grass just to the west. I had seen it landing there, so I was prepared for it bursting skywards. In the bay, the tide had receded a bit, exposing some of the mud. The predominant species was now Black Headed Gull, though there were still plenty Herring Gulls around also. A Blackbird flew out from the trees by the hide, and a few Jackdaws were down on the pipe. Two Mute Swans were in the burn outflow paddling against the flow. A Song Thrush flew into the rose bush down from the hide. Lapwings began to fly in to join the other birds in the bay.
I managed to find a Common Gull among the flock of gulls, the first of the day. Redshanks began to fly in to feed out on the mud. A Greenfinch in the trees was a slightly unusual find for this part of the park. The first Sandwich Tern showed as it flew over the mud in front of the hide. I had heard a few already but couldn't pick them out among the mass of white birds around. A Black Tailed Godwit appeared as if from nowhere, obviously having flown in when I was looking at something else, but a welcome addition all the same. A Starling glided over as I searched the bushes behind the hide for smaller birds.
A Cormorant was spotted out over the river. A while later with a change of location, nearer the bay, by the fenceline, I added a flock of Dunlin and also Common Sandpiper to the list for the day. Further round the path, four juvenile Shelducks were seen, first on the water, then flying off towards Kingoodie a short while later. I headed back towards the Lochan hoping that something had perhaps dropped in, but only succeeded in adding a Yellowhammer in the bushes nearby. Rain was beginning to threaten, so I decided to head back towards the eastern end via a circuitous route. A few Sand Martins flew through following the line of the river westwards on their migration journey back towards Africa,
A few Linnets flew up from the compost area as I neared the car park again. In the trees behind, I found a rather scruffy warbler, which I suspect was an adult Chiffchaff (though it could easily be a Willow Warbler), and a Coal Tit. In addition to the Chaffinches, Buzzard Wood produced a Blue Tit and surprisingly a House Sparrow. With the rain starting to fall, I headed off to catch the bus home.
42 species seen in the park in a little over 2 hours was quite a good return, and although nothing new for the year list was added, it was still a worthwhile early morning visit.
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff (or Willow Warbler?), Coal Tit, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Cormorant, Dunlin, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Shelduck, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer. (also Collared Dove and Swift en route).