Another Monday holiday, this time a public holiday rather than one of my annual leave days, and I awoke undecided where to go. As I ended up lying in my bed longer than planned while pondering on that question I finally settled on Riverside Nature Park as my birding destination. It doesn't take too long for me to get to, and there was also a chance of adding Lesser Whitethroat to my year list with the species having been seen the previous day on the Isle of May. Fingers were crossed.
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| Starling |
I headed out at just after 10am. Blackbird, Herring Gull and House Sparrow the first 3 species on the list before I even made it to the next street. Woodpigeon and then Starling followed before I reached the bus stop to wait for the bus into town. Feral Pigeon was added on the way with 2 fighting Lesser Black Backed Gulls seen in the High Street beside City Square. When I got off the second bus near the Nature Park a pair of House Martins chittered overhead and a Dunnock sang loudly from a garden wall before I passed below the railway line.
I decided to walk the fence-line and see what I could see from outside the park and enter at the west end entrance instead of my usual eastern end. Carrion Crow and Starling overflew, 3 House Sparrows flew into the hedge which provides the border between the easternmost field and the next one along. An Oystercatcher took flight noisily from this field. Jackdaws hopped around among the flowers along with a Carrion Crow. Gliding over went a Herring Gull.
A pair of Gadwall took flight from the Lochan but the Mute Swans stayed put as I wandered along the path trying to ensure I didn't wander into the path of any speeding cyclists. Feral Pigeon and Goldfinch flew over before I reached the western entrance and walked down to the hide to scan out across the bay. In addition to the Herring Gulls, there were a number of Lesser Black Backed Gulls, and Shelduck shuffled around on the mud. Mallards were in the burn and hauled out to sleep on the bank.
A Willow Warbler sang from the trees by the hide and a male Blackcap was a slight surprise. A few Sand Martins whizzed by as I set off along the track into the main body of the park adding Chaffinch and Yellowhammer in the hedges. I spotted the Magpie pair on the hillside before they flew off into the trees. I decided to see if there was any sign of the Lesser Whitethroats yet and went to the area they have been seen most often since I found them in the park a few years ago. There was no movement among the bushes and no calling or songs.
Movement overhead caught my eye and it took a moment to register what sort of raptor it was that was winging its way over towards the river. An Osprey, always a nice surprise at the park. I abandoned my search for the elusive, or non-existent, Lesser Whitethroats and hurried up the hill where I managed to relocate the Osprey well out over the river fighting its way into the wind and upriver. A few gulls gave it a bit of hassle but it didn't seem too bothered. A Skylark lifted from the grass nearby and climbed vertically skywards in full song.
A male Kestrel was the next addition and a welcome one at that, the species being less commonly seen than it has been previously. A Meadow Pipit overflew, as the Kestrel hovered a bit further towards the main road and Invergowrie. A few Woodpigeons hurried over, the wind behind them, propelling them along at pace. A Grey Heron was spotted out by the edge of the tidal mud. A Buzzard circled up above Ninewells Hospital before drifting east towards the airport. A Common Gull was the next species added as one flew in with a handful of Herring Gulls. A male Reed Bunting called from within a bush and a Robin hopped around just below.
I wandered back once more to see if there was any sign of the park's rarest known breeder. A minute or so after I arrived at this particular part of the park, I heard a loud alarm call from one of the birds with another answering from a different point. A third bird hidden away in the bushes gave a quick burst of song. Seconds later, amid the tangle of bare branches a
Lesser Whitethroat showed itself as it foraged for insects, stretching to reach down to the branch below to retrieve one. I took a few photos but none was in focus and the bird disappeared back into cover and out of sight. Still it was confirmation that the species had returned again, and that there was more than just a pair.
I watched from the path for a while but there was no further confirmed sighting with a possible flying off to another small wooded area nearby, and a few snatches of song. A Blue Tit pair flitted around in a tree nearby and a Robin obviously had a nest somewhere close by returning time and again with a beakful of insects. Swallows zipped through above at speed. A few Black Headed Gulls flew in towards the bay and a Dunnock looking like it had recently had a bath disappeared into the bushes as I wandered along the path towards it. A Pied Wagtail perched on the fence near the House Sparrow hedge.
A Stock Dove landed on the grass as I wandered along by Buzzard wood. With the day's list growing more slowly than earlier in the day, new birds were proving a bit harder to find, despite zig-zagging around the park's path network. Great Tit was the next new find and having bumped into local birder Graham Smith we tried for a sighting of the Lesser Whitethroat but they stayed quiet though Graham did catch sight of a bird in nearby bushes that I failed to get onto in time.
We headed round towards the bay to try for Common Whitethroat. This species proved to be much more showy than its rarer cousin, announcing its presence with a song flight display before landing nearby. We then succeeded in finding a Wheatear down towards the river beyond the compost area on our way back to the car park. Graham headed off and I wandered back towards Buzzard Wood and the boggy area in front. A male Greenfinch and a pair of Linnets were in the hedge here, as well as a few Reed Buntings feeding among the vegetation on the boggy ground.
A Song Thrush was in the bushes near the Lochan and a pair of Teal were in the burn as it snaked its way through the mud in the bay. A surprise among the Carrion Crows and Jackdaws in the field was a pair of Rooks. Another species that isn't a common visitor to the park. The Starlings were feeding on St Mark's Flies along the hedges towards the hide. A Wren was the next find as it scrambled around low down in a bush. On my way back to the exit I chanced upon a pair of Long Tailed Tits and my last species for the day was a flyover Cormorant.
48 species seen in total at the park (1 new for the year in bold - and 1 species seen outside the park only - in brackets).
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Jackdaw |
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| Magpie |
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| Skylark |
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| Kestrel |
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| Lesser Whitethroat |
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| Shelduck & Carrion Crow |
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| Dunnock |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Robin |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Buzzard |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Robin |
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| Kestrel |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Buzzard |
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| House Sparrow |
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| Jackdaw |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Blackcap |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| Rook |
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Blackcap |
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| Rabbit |
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| Rook |
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| Shelduck |
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| Skylark |
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Shelduck
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Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Cormorant, Dunnock, Gadwall, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, (House Martin), House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lesser Black Backed Gull,
Lesser Whitethroat, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Shelduck, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Teal, Wheatear, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
