0150 : A Wee Walk After Work (1/5/15)

With a guided walk to lead at Riverside Nature Park on Saturday 9th of May at 8.30am and not being certain when I might get another chance to visit before then, as well as trying to see my first Common Whitethroats, and hopefully our returning Lesser Whitethroats - a park specialty, I decided to pop down to the park for around an hour after work.

Jackdaw

I arrived at the Invergowrie end and scanned the bay where the tide was beginning to retreat once more. A few Carrion Crows were by the pipe while a little further downstream a mix of Herring and Lesser Black Backed Gulls were in the burn. A few Mallards, a pair of Mute Swans and a few Shelducks were around too, either on the mud or in the water. A Woodpigeon flew out from the trees and across the bay. Further across the bay, there was a small-ish flock of Redshanks strung out along the shore. A few Common Gulls were a bit closer. More scanning found a Black Headed Gull with a single Dunlin in summer plumage behind.

Heading out from the hide to walk into the park, a Blackbird was on the path and a Willow Warbler sang from the bushes. Jackdaws were in the field by the road. A Dunnock skulked in the hedge, I managed brief glimpses only. A Buzzard circled up above the trees at the back of Ninewells Hospital before gliding off to the east and out of my line of sight. Two Shelduck slept by the Lochan and Jackdaws picked around among the Highland Cattle.

There was no sign of any Lesser Whitethroats around their chosen site from the past 2 years, but a 'takking' Blackcap finally showed as it hurried through the branches of a tree. Further on, Chaffinch was added. I headed back over the top of the hill to check the outer bay and river. Curlew and Oystercatcher were seen in flight heading back in to feed on the mud as the tide receded. Searching back along the shore, I noticed that the Redshanks had moved to the park side of the bay, and found a pair of sleeping Teal by the water's edge a little closer to where I was.

A short burst of semi-familiar singing caught my attention. A bird flew up and landed in a nearby tree. Common Whitethroat, one of my targets and my first of the year. Quite probably the same bird which held territory in the same area last summer. I scanned from the wooden gate further round and discovered that two of the four Wheatears from the previous weekend visit were still around (or maybe they were different birds).

A male House Sparrow in a small sapling was an unexpected surprise, although the species does seem to breed in the park in the summer months. Blue Tit and Linnet were next, both species seen in flight. A Robin was in the bushes at the car park. At Buzzard Wood a few Goldfinches were calling from the trees and a Song Thrush was singing towards the western end. I headed for the exit and my bus home at around 5.30pm, adding a Great Tit and a flying Stock Dove near the gate at the eastern end. Lots of Rabbits feeding in the fields on the way out.

32 species seen (including a year-tick - in bold) in just over an hour. It gets a bit harder when the leaves are back in place though....

Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Shelduck, Song Thrush, Stock Dove, Teal, Wheatear, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon.

Redshank

Dunlin & Black Headed Gull

Whitethroat

Rabbits

Rabbits

 

0149 : One Of Those Nights (30/4/15)

Another evening out with Nat, so with the weather having put paid to the previous week's plans and looking a bit better this time, we decided that the Tay reedbeds should be our destination. We were hoping to see Bearded Tits, though with the species being a schedule 1 bird (illegal to disturb near the nest) it would by necessity be distant views only, if we were lucky enough to see these wee birds. We would find a spot where we could look over the top of a section of the reeds and stand quietly and watch for movement and then hope that it was a Bearded Tit. A bit like looking for a needle in a hay-stack but with a few pins thrown in to confuse things a bit.

Yellowhammer

It was a fairly typical start to the list with Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Feral Pigeon, Starling and Woodpigeon seen before we left Dundee heading west. Swallow, Jackdaw and Pheasant all being added before we reached our chosen spot to try and see the Beardies.

I had decided to try a spot which I hadn't been able to try properly owing to lack of time (and transport) in the past. This gave a more or less unhindered view out across the tops of the reeds from the top of a small bank. There was little in the way of birdsong and nothing appeared to be moving. Hmmm, omens didn't appear too great. However the sun was shining, mostly. I figured the best bet was to scan with binoculars and hope to be looking in the right place at the right time for what have been described as "mini-pheasants in flight (long tails and whirring wings)".

The first bird I spotted was only a Reed Bunting. We were to see quite a few of these over the next 50 minutes or so. A minute or two later I managed to see a Bearded Tit. Unfortunately it dropped back into the reeds before I could direct Nat onto the bird. Lack of landmarks does make getting someone onto a tiny moving bird in seconds rather tricky. A Blackbird flew by, and out on the mud on the river the sun illuminated a few Shelduck while a few Carrion Crows loitered nearby.

The first Sedge Warbler of the evening launched into song from somewhere among the reeds nearby. Frustratingly he stayed hidden so didn't make it onto our evening list. As did the Water Rail from somewhere close by also. The 'sharming' call as it is known does sound like a pig squealing, and although you know the bird is there, a few feet in front of you, they are a nightmare to see among the tangle of reeds.

We had a short walk to try another section of reeds, picking up Blue Tit, Chaffinch and Long Tailed Tit along the way. A few more Reed Buntings and another Bearded Tit in flight (again Nat missed out) were seen before a Dunnock was seen. The temperature had dropped quite significantly as the sun had got lower in the sky, so we decided to give it another ten minutes or so then move on somewhere else. Great Tit, Robin and a singing male Yellowhammer bumped our rather short list up a little. More scanning got us more Reed Buntings, a few "not certains", and another Beardie for me. Nat was getting the feeling she was jinxed and not meant to see one, so we gave up and headed back to the car. We will try again later in the year.

Having heard via facebook that there was possibly a Cuckoo on Auchterhouse Hill we decided to try there next, taking the back roads to get there. Strangely we saw hardly any birds at all on the way, with only three Mallards in a field to show for around half an hour's driving. When we reached the hill we found that parking spaces are at a premium, but the thought that it was rather chilly and my legs felt like lead meant we didn't bother finding somewhere further away to park to walk up the hill a bit. Instead we headed downhill and back to Piper Dam.

An Oystercatcher in a field just outside Birkhill gave us another tick for the night. Thankfully, despite the bitterly cold wind when we arrived at Piper Dam there were some birds around. Half a dozen Pied Wagtails called from various places around the car park, while out above the water, Swallows and Sand Martins skimmed around trying to find winged insects to feed on. Below them on the water were a few Canada Geese, Mute Swans, Coots, Mallards, Tufted Ducks and a pair of Little Grebes. Not much but a boost for the paltry totals.

We decided on one last stop. Nat knew of a Tawny Owl in Camperdown Park and with dusk fast approaching there was a slight chance that we might see the bird flying around if we couldn't find it among the trees. Having parked the car it then became a bit like trying to spot the Beardies but in the vertical plane. Needle in a haystack stuff. A Song Thrush in a tree behind us proved to be almost as hard to see, despite it calling loudly every few seconds. It eventually showed in a different tree as we headed back to the car.

A Pipistrelle Bat flitted around among the trees and I even managed to take a short piece of video of the wee mammal. We heard the Tawny Owl call, which gave us a bit of hope. We wandered towards where the call came from but frustratingly the bird didn't call again. Although it was slightly less chilly among the trees we decided to call it a night and headed for home.

Somehow we had still managed to see 30 species (with a few others heard only - Sedge Warbler, Water Rail and Tawny Owl) which although not great is still reasonable.

Bearded Tit, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coot, Dunnock, Great Tit, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Tit, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sand Martin, Shelduck, Song Thrush, Starling, Swallow, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.

Yellowhammer

Canada Goose

Canada Goose