STONEFACTION BIRDING: 0181 : Birds And Beasties (8/7/15)

0181 : Birds And Beasties (8/7/15)

One of the reasons for our weekly outings is so that Nat can get more experience and practice at identifying birds and in practice this has worked rather well, with more than a few folk commenting on her broadening birding skills of late. This suggests I'm doing something right..... However, one of the things I had been rather guilty of was pointing out birds, rather than letting Nat make the 'call' on what we were looking at. With this in mind we settled on Riverside Nature Park with a possible afternoon trip to Carnoustie Golf Course to search for Small Blue butterflies which had been reported from here recently, for our latest day out. With a decent cross section of species likely at the park, I decided that I should let Nat be the one identifying the birds, and if any were incorrect, or she was unsure, I would help out.

Whitethroat

Nat picked me up at our usual time and place and we set off with House Sparrow and Swift on the list before I reached the car, and Herring Gull added on our way out to the Nature Park. Swifts swooped around over the access road as we arrived and a Carrion Crow overflew as we got out of the car. From the trees a Blackcap sang loudly and we managed reasonable views of the rather showy male. Herring Gulls glided over and a Pied Wagtail called as it headed over the car park. High tide was supposed to be around 0830 so we would try to be at the hide around 1000 or so, to catch the tide on its way back out and hopefully see some birds on the mud. With this vague timetable in mind, we set off towards Buzzard Wood. Woodpigeon, Black Headed Gull and House Martin were all spotted by Nat.

A juvenile Robin on the path proved slightly trickier but the adult coming down to feed it gave the game away. A Whitethroat showed quite well in the bushes in front of Buzzard Wood by the boggy area. A Song Thrush flew out from the wood itself. Chaffinch, Starling and Blackbird were next onto the list, and I could hear Long Tailed Tits' contact calls. As if on cue we saw a few of these tiny birds flit from tree to tree ahead of us. Swallows zipped by us and we wandered onwards. Dunnock and Yellowhammer were next to be picked out, followed by a few Goldfinches. I kept hearing Siskins overflying but couldn't see where the calls were coming from.

Round towards the Lochan, a Grey Wagtail overflew towards the bay, and I spotted our first interesting insect of the day - a Common Blue Damselfly among the vegetation. Nearby were a few Sawflies which I showed to Nat. At the Lochan, a few Mallards slept, Jackdaws hopped around and a pair of Shelducks stood alert. Lesser Black Backed Gull could be seen heading over with a few Herring Gulls from the bay, and I pointed out a Stock Dove that Nat hadn't noticed as it flew by at speed. The first Feral Pigeon a minute later gave us something to compare its features to.

Out over the bay, where the tide was still in, a Sandwich Tern called and we spotted it as it circled around over towards Invergowrie. A Skylark rose into the air from near the top of the hill singing loudly. Checking among the vegetation, I found an interesting moth - a Straw Dot. This is a species I had seen last year at the park, and the shape looked very similar to a rather pale moth I had found on my previous visit and which I had been unable to identify. We looped back round the hill, stopping once again at the Lochan where a Buzzard was flying low above the railway line opposite. As we headed for the hide we found a small brown micro moth, another of the unidentified species from Sunday.

When we reached the hide, the tide had receded and exposed a nice large area of wet mud on which a mix of mostly Carrion Crows and Black Headed Gulls could be seen. A darker bird among the gulls was one of the rather ginger coloured youngsters from this years broods. Herring Gulls, Lesser Black Backed Gulls, Feral Pigeons, Jackdaws and Mallards were also picked out. More scanning found a few Common Gulls and Oystercatchers. Sandwich Terns could be seen perched atop rocks across the bay. Having spent a short time at the hide we moved on again. I found a minute micro moth which I didn't get a photo of, but it really was tiny, but well-marked. Giant Hogweed was rather noticeable at various places towering above the other vegetation, which was also rather high, but was still dwarfed by the unwelcome Hogweed. I have contacted the Council about the Hogweed and some rather large Bramble branches snaking their way across the paths in various places at inconvenient heights.

We scanned across the river from near the bottom of the hill, looking for Cormorants. I knew of a distant 'island' where the birds sometimes perched and could just make out a bird which looked like it was a Cormorant. A quick photo with the P900 using the digital zoom confirmed this, despite the distance of over a mile. I heard the call of a Common sandpiper and we watched a single bird fly out from the shore down below us. The numbers of these birds passing through should start to rise soon, and double figures counts are possible over the next month or so. We scanned out across the wet mud and I picked out two waders among the gulls. I suspected that they would be Redshanks and again the P900 confirmed this, the red legs showing clearly on the photos. A Great Black Backed Gull flew in.

A pair of Linnets overflew and I heard Curlews from over towards Invergowrie station. I managed to find 3 brown blobs which looked good for the species and once more the P900 confirmed this, their long curved bills clear to see on the photos. One of the reasons I had bought the P900 was that it could be used as a sort of lightweight spotting scope. The detail wouldn't be as good, but being able to freeze distant birds in a photo could help identify distant blobs/specks, without having to carry either a heavy scope or a tripod to mount it on. The Curlews, Cormorant and Redshanks had proven the concept could work. A large-ish group of Oystercatchers and Lapwings flew into the bay from the direction of the airport, before we headed back to do another lap of the lower half of the park.

An almost black and white Hoverfly was found on bushes at the car park. Greenfinches flew into the bushes in front of Buzzard Wood, and I finally spotted an overflying Siskin party of 4 calling birds which were obviously lower than the earlier birds. A Reed Bunting was our next find before we stopped to look at the pool where there was now only one Diving Beetle and a few Pond Skaters. We decided to have a wee break from the birds and do a spot of exploring of the area where I had seen plenty insects on my previous visit. It was a bit quieter but we did find a few extra species of Hoverfly, as well as Leafhoppers, Sawfly and a species of Bug. Our next find was a new one for the park, though not unexpected. Earlier in the year, there had been a large amount of frogspawn in the boggy area pool beside the path and what was moving about among the grass in front of us, was one of the Frogs which had no doubt been born within the park.

A few more insect species were seen, including Ringlet and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies, a small Hoverfly species and two types of micro "grass" Moths. A small metallic green Fly was also photographed. On the way back to the car for luch we had a flyover Grey Heron, our first of the day. We had managed 42 species of birds within the park, which was a good total for a morning in July, despite missing out on a few others that could be expected such as Blue Tit and Willow Warbler. While having our lunch we discussed whether or not to try Carnoustie for the butterflies. With the wind speed increasing and the butterflies being rather small I thought our chances were limited but we decided to try anyway.

On our way through Dundee and Broughty Ferry birds seemed to be in short supply with only Woodpigeon and Starlings seen. Between Monifieth and Carnoustie however, things picked up a bit with Carrion Crow, Black Headed Gull, House Martins, Feral Pigeon, Swallows and Kestrel all being seen. Rook was added just before we reached Barry village and Blackbird and a flyover Peregrine were added as we passed through the town. Our directions for finding the butterflies were rather vague to say the least, but we knew where to start from, and I had an idea of where the area in question might be. We set off from the car park by the starter's shed at the Golf Course and headed west along the road-cum-cycle path towards Barry Buddon. An Oystercatcher flew down onto the fairway to feed, a Pied Wagtail flitted around just over the fence and a Linnet sang from its perch atop the fence.

Orchids were much in evidence along the grass verge, and Ringlets flitted around. A Greenfinch was spooked by a passing train and flew into the trees by the course. On reaching the area I suspected may have been the one described, we found the plant that the Small Blue needs in an area, but unsurprisingly no sign of any of the tiny butterflies. Having never really visited the golf course to look for wildlife we followed the path round the edge of teh golf course and found, to my surprise, a rather large pond. Coot and Tufted Duck could be seen on it. Further on were other pools, with more Coots including a few youngsters.

With time now nearing 1500 we decided to double back on ourselves, but not before I explored an overgrown corner where I found a Latticed Heath moth and a Blue Tailed Damselfly. At the first of the weedy pools on our way back we added Mallard and a rather elusive Little Grebe before getting sidetracked by insects again. A small brown micro-moth was first, followed by a Blue Tailed Damselfly and a green Grasshopper which tried to hide behind the stalk of grass it was on. A Common Damselfly was also found here. Out on the water a Moorhen appeared. Wandering on to the next pond found a Sedge Warbler adult and a youngster among the vegetation out on the water. A Buzzard could be seen above the trees from here briefly. I found a Large White butterfly resting off to the side of a raised tee. A brown coloured Grasshopper put in an appearance here to.

A Mute Swan could be seen along with a Black Headed Gull on the original and largest pool and a little further on we stopped to watch a Lesser Redpoll male, which turned out to be a ringed bird, singing from the top of a tree. I managed a short video clip before we carried on again. There were plenty of resting Ringlets among the long grass by the track and as we walked back towards the car park, a Sand Martin hawked over head. A Chaffinch flew across the railway line, and a Carrion Crow flew out from a nest in a tall tree that I had spotted on our way out. Reaching the ca park we watched a few Goldfinches flitting around in a small weedy patch by the burn before we headed back towards Dundee.

All in all, another worthwhile day out with a mix of birds and insects seen - 42 species of bird at Riverside Nature Park - Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Mallard, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sandwich Tern, Shelduck, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Whitethroat, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.

Outwith the park - 30 species of bird - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coot, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Kestrel, Lesser Redpoll, Linnet, Little Grebe, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Sedge Warbler, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon.