STONEFACTION BIRDING: 0155 : Weekend Walk (9/5/15)

0155 : Weekend Walk (9/5/15)

With a weather forecast varying between wet and dry all week, I hoped that it would be the latter when Saturday came around as I had agreed to lead another guided walk at Riverside Nature Park. With May being the best month to visit the park I hoped that there would be a decent turn-out for the walk. As things turned out there wasn't but those that did run the slight risk of getting a wee bit wet saw a nice variety of birds.

Willow Warbler

With a start time of 0830 I had to leave the house around 55 minutes earlier to catch a bus into town and another out to the park. Feral Pigeon, House Sparrow, Herring Gull and Collared Dove got the day list started, with Woodpigeon and Blue Tit added before the bus arrived. I reached the park at around 0815, the first bird seen being a Woodpigeon as I headed for the car park. Blackbird and Starling were next onto the list followed shortly after by Jackdaw and Chaffinch.

At the car park there was only one car which didn't bode well. This was a facebook friend of mine, Joy, who I had only met for the first time at the last guided walk I led at the park. We said our greetings and chatted as we waited for any others to turn up. Another car pulled up and dropped off a father and son duo that are regulars at the guided walks at the park. The dad, Ian, and his young son, Jamie do a lot of local area birding and I have bumped into them once or twice in other locations.

A Swift swept over the car park. Apart from me, this was a new bird for the year for the others. A Carrion Crow landed in the trees as we waited to see if anyone else would show up. Blue Tit and then Song Thrush were next on the list. Having waited 5 minutes or so it was apparent that there would only be 4 of us this time, so off we went. A Magpie was perched in a tree up from the car park but flew off as we stopped to look at it. Another 3 Swifts sped over.

Swallows darted by us and a Yellowhammer flew over into the trees. A Dunnock sang from the bushes. We stopped at the wooden gate to check for any Wheatears lingering. A Mallard flew towards the bay. I spotted movement in the grass but instead of Wheatear it turned out to be a 'patch tick' for me - A Ringed Plover, though a bit of heat shimmer made nailing the ID tricky. The orange bill picked out on photos being the key to separating the bird from Little Ringed Plover. Ringed Plover had been seen in the bay previously but it was a new species for me at the park.

We headed in the general direction of the hide, picking up Black Headed Gull flying into the bay as we went and a drake Goosander. The Whitethroats near here showed really well with at least 4 birds (possibly 2 pairs) calling, singing and perching in the open. From the hide we added 8 new species - Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Common Gull, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Teal, Shelduck and Cormorant. Waders were noticeable by their absence (except the Oystercatchers) so it appears that most waders have gone on to their breeding grounds already. A Reed Bunting flew by.

We wandered along towards the Lochan where only a pair of Shelduck loitered. A Blackcap sang and gave us brief glimpses. Great Tit and Willow Warbler were also added, both being picked up first by their calls. A pair of Linnets passed overhead. Having spent a bit longer than we possibly should have watching the Whitethroats and Ian and Jamie being picked up at around 1030 we had to rush the lower half of the park a bit, which wasn't ideal but we still managed to add a few extra species.

A House Martin flew over, and along with the Chaffinches at Buzzard Wood we saw a few Goldfinches. A Pied Wagtail landed on the grass nearby as we were almost back at the car park. We had seen more than 30 species with a few good ones among the list. We said our goodbyes and I set off again for another lap or two of the park. A Kestrel appeared over the park before the cars had even left the car park.

I stopped for better photos, and video, of the Ringed Plover. A Skylark lingered nearby. Along at the hide a Willow Warbler was collecting nesting material for a nest which was obviously quite close to where I was standing as it was reluctant to leave the fence it was perching on. I moved on to allow it to return to its nest site.

The first Buzzard of the day was seen circling up above the hill from near the Lochan. A second bird joined it briefly with both showing well. Stock Dove and House Sparrow were both seen in the lower half of the park with a few Sand Martins zooming over and a Robin hopping around below a hedge. A distant Sparrowhawk was picked up as it circled up on a thermal with gulls above the hill. After a bit of effort I managed to see the rather vocal Chiffchaff near the east gate before I headed for the bus back to town, having seen 43 species.

Blackbird was seen along with a few House Sparrows as I waited what seemed like ages for a bus to show up. Once in town I decided to head for City Quay to see if Dave the Diver was still around (Ian had said he hadn't seen him when he last looked). I found him without too much difficulty near the Unicorn, though he was actively fishing. There was definite traces of summer plumage beginning to show so hopefully we will get the full effect relatively soon.

By the dry dock there was a variety of birds with Herring Gulls, Lesser Black Backed Gulls, Woodpigeons (surprisingly), Feral Pigeons, Oystercatchers and a male Linnet. Wandering round to check out the river added Cormorant and a pair of Mute Swans flying past the road bridge and towards Broughty Ferry. With the time now after 3pm I headed for home.

45 species seen in total - 43 at park, 2 others only seen elsewhere (in brackets).

Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, (Collared Dove), Common Gull, Cormorant, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Tit, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, (Red Throated Diver), Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Robin, Sand Martin, Shelduck, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Teal, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.