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| Spotted Redshank and Common Redshanks |
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| Common Redshanks and Spotted Redshank |
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| Spotted Redshank and Common Redshanks |
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| Mallard and Wigeon |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Herring Gulls |
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| Lesser Black Backed Gull |
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| Little Grebe |
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| Buzzard |
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| Cormorant |
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| Stock Dove |
Although I am no longer a committee member of the Friends of Riverside Nature Park I do still help out from time to time with leading guided walks at the park my main input (along with keeping tabs on the running total of species seen - currently 135 in just over 3 years). I had agreed to lead one on Sunday October 5th from 1pm, at the same time as there was a second event to take place building nest boxes for next year's breeding season in the park. As things turned out, the folk who turned up were there for the walk, but boxes were still put together and even put up by the committee members present.
With high tide due to coincide with the start of the walk I decided to pop down early to see what was around and hopefully find something good in the bay as the tide came in. Although I still wasn't feeling 100% I couldn't back out, not that I even considered doing so, as I do actually enjoy showing people the birds (and other wildlife if we are lucky) in the park. If I'm free (or going to be at the park anyway) I'm usually up for a wee guided tour, so if anyone is interested, feel free to get in touch....
Anyway..... I left the house at around 1005 and as usual was regaled with the sound of House Sparrows chirping from the roofs nearby. One flew into a bush which is a regular haunt, and a Herring Gull languidly flapped its way over. Further down the road I added Blackbird to the list. Dens Road had a Collared Dove and a Robin with a Carrion Crow overflying as I reached Victoria Road. A few Feral Pigeons were on the chimneys of the flats to the west of the sikh temple. I heard the distinctive call of a Magpie from the trees and had a pair fly in the general direction of the calling bird, so at least three in that area. They are definitely on the verge of being an 'everyday' species in Dundee. Another long tailed black and white bird headed over too. A bit smaller this one and another fairly regular bird around Dundee - a Pied Wagtail.
I caught the number 22 bus in town adding Starling as it headed up Blackness Road. Alighting at Glamis Road I wandered downhill towards the Botanic Gardens spotting a Woodpigeon in a tall tree in a garden of one of the large houses. As I reached the steps by the railway line at the bridge, four Song Thrushes overflew westwards towards the park. More visible migration, I suspect. Reaching the park, I decided to continue on along the main road to look into the park from inside and enter at the Invergowrie end to check out the tide status in the bay.
Walking along the fence line got me a Carrion Crow and Woodpigeon first before I reached the Lochan. Mute Swan and Mallard were visible here. A few Herring Gulls glided over towards the bay. Heading into the park I scanned out over the river, picking up a distant Cormorant and a much nearer Feral Pigeon dropping in behind the trees. From behind the hide screen I could see numerous Redshanks and a couple of Oystercatchers. Around half a dozen Wigeon, still in eclipse plumage were in the burn outflow along with a few Teal and some Mallards, with more Mallards roosting towards the railway line. Black Headed Gulls were on the mud with a few Herring Gulls on the pipe. A few Jackdaws dawdled around among teh other birds. A single Curlew was further along the mud. There were also a couple of Black Tailed Godwits visible near the main Redshank flocks below the hide.
Something made me look twice at a Redshank in the water on its own. Unfortunately it chose to move as I did so and the rose bushes between the hide and the bay got in the way. A small group of four Redshanks were roosting in the water and I found the bird among them. It certainly looked different, but only subtly, to the others. It also had its bill tucked away under its wing. I was almost certain that it was a Spotted Redshank but frustratingly the bird wasn't giving any clues. Eventually a Mallard sailed a bit too close to the group and the head came up and I glimpsed what certainly appeared to be a rather fine bill, although the bird had its back to me. I waited for a chance to get a photo to confirm the ID and after a few minutes I managed a view that gave me confirmation. The bird then took flight a short distance to drop into the main flock where I lost sight of it.
My attention was then grabbed by a lone bird further out across the bay. A female Sparrowhawk was tearing into a kill around ten feet from the incoming tide. It was a bit too far away for decent photos but I took a few anyway as I never manage to see a Sparrowhawk with a kill usually. After a few minutes the waves started lapping at the bird's talons and the meal. Rather than attempt to drag the prey off, or carry it away, the raptor kept tearing away at it, the plucked feathers being spread around by the water beginning to envelope the prey. Eventually, the Sparrowhawk took flight, leaving its meal to the waves and flew off to a small bush by the railway line. This seemed to draw the attention of all the Carrion Crows and two Magpies that were around and they took up position around the bush. The Sparrowhawk wasn't going to get a quiet escape when it eventually got around to moving on.
An adult Lesser Black Backed Gull was on the pipe and with time wearing on I set off to explore the rest of the park. A Cormorant was on the pipe as I headed up the path away from the hide. A family group of long Tailed Tits were feeding in the bushes along the path, contact calls ringing out along quite a stretch of the hedge. A Buzzard showed over towards the houses before I reached the Lochan. There was more to see from inside the park at the Lochan than was apparent from outside, with a few Teal in addition to the Mallard and Mute Swans dotted around. The Little Grebe which had been reported (same bird as last year?) was also out in the middle of the water. A Blackbird flew off from the hedge over the road and away.
Following the path through the bushy area and round past the small sinkhole cone, a Starling overflew and I spotted a single Stock Dove on the grass up on the hill. It flew off quickly when it spotted me despite the distance. I heard a Skylark high in the sky and picked it out against the clouds. I was joined at the car park by Kate from the Friends committee who was there to help set up the nest-box building session. We chatted as a few more Skylarks overflew. A Robin showed nearby and a small charm of Goldfinches dropped into the trees by the recycling area. With at least another two and a half hours in the park ahead of me, I decided to have a quick trip up to the Botanic Gardens before anyone else arrived. On my way past Buzzard Wood, I added Chaffinch and a Song Thrush near the eastern entrance while a Magpie skirted around me as I headed out watching me warily but not flying any great distance.
A Wren was singing at the Botanic Gardens and another family group of Long Tailed Tits were in the trees by the railway line steps. Arriving back at the park, I found that a few other committee members and Natalie from the council had arrived and we chatted a little. A few folk began to arrive for the walk as the clock ticked towards the start time of 1pm. A Pied Wagtail flew past and I then picked up an overflying Meadow Pipit. Just as we were about to set off, a Kestrel was seen to teh east of teh car park hovering over the long grass. There were eight of us together and we headed first for Buzzard Wood where Blue Tit, Chaffinch and Carrion Crow were all seen. As we were stood there a Buzzard glided past from the direction of the airport and over the trees away from us.
As we reached the rear of Buzzard Wood I heard Long Tailed Tits in the trees by the other path and we spotted some of the group flying along the tree line and across to Buzzard Wood further along from us. The park was relatively quiet bird-wise, not unexpectedly given the early afternoon timing of the walk. A few more Carrion Crows and Woodpigeons were seen as we headed back towards the car park. We headed round to the Lochan next stopping briefly to watch three Buzzards circling up on a thermal towards the hospital with another bird flying off towards Invergowrie. Most of the group managed to see the Little Grebe plus the Mallard, Teal and Mute Swans at the Lochan. I initially managed to overlook a nearby group of roosting Redshanks in the southeast 'corner' but thankfully someone else spotted them and the birds stayed put allowing everyone decent views.
With the tide still likely to be in, I decided that we should route over the top of the hill then back round the path and on to the hide where hopefully we would time things reasonable well enough to see something other than gulls on the water. From the viewing area at the top I spotted the Grey Heron roost at the airport where seven of the birds had chosen to rest up (not a great idea safety-wise as a Heron could cause significant damage to pretty much any aircraft likely to be using Dundee Airport). A Skylark flew over and a Cormorant was spotted down in the bay. Heading back round past the compost area to the bench overlooking the bay we stopped to scan again to see if the tide looked to be in our favour. There were plenty of gulls and ducks in the bay and the tide did seem to be receding so we headed towards the hide at last.
There was a small corner of mud visible beyond the pipe and Redshanks were visible on a small 'beach' below the hide. Mallards were roosting towards the bridge with more Redshanks among them. It didn't take too long until there was much more mud and much more activity in front of us. Black Headed and Common Gulls were first to occupy the mud. A few Black Tailed Godwits appeared amongst the Redshanks along with a Curlew. Wigeon and Teal showed again in the burn. Carrion Crow, Herring, Jackdaw and Feral Pigeon all showed on the pipe and they were joined by a juvenile Grey Heron. We also managed to count around half a dozen Lesser Black Backed Gulls among the gull flock eventually. A rather pale bird dropped in to the edge of the reeds across the bay. It may 'just' have been a Water Rail (new patch tick) or something more exotic but it vanished from sight immediately and despite scanning it wasn't refound. With the time now being around 1515 and legs beginning to get sore from standing in one place, folk started to drift away, thanking me for the walk and saying that they had really enjoyed it. The small group that was left and I wandered slowly back to the car park again, stopping for another quick look at the Lochan and adding a Stock Dove to the birds seen during the walk.
Once again, the weather (and the birds to an extent) had co-operated during a guided walk at the park and some reasonably good birds were seen, though unfortunately the Spotted Redshank remained unseen in the afternoon. 39 species seen in total.
14 species were seen outwith the park (birds only seen outside park in italics) - Blackbird, Carrion Crow, Collared Dove, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Song Thrush, Starling, Woodpigeon, Wren.
36 species seen at the park - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Goldfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Spotted Redshank, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Wigeon, Woodpigeon.