STONEFACTION BIRDING: 05/12/15

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.

Swift

Song Thrush

Goosander

Skylark

Cormorant & Herring Gull

Linnet

Ringed Plover

Whitethroat

Willow Warbler

Buzzard

Shelduck

Highland Cow

Dunnock

Herring Gull

Oystercatcher

Red Throated Diver

Herring Gull

Red Throated Diver

Woodpigeon

Oystercatcher

Mute Swan

Cormorant

House Sparrow

Red Throated Diver

0154 : Hoot Dares Wins (7/5/15)

During our outing the day before to Fife Ness, Nat had suggested a possibility, weather permitting, of an evening visit to Loch of Kinnordy. With a General Election vote to be cast on the way home from work it would mean either a more rushed turnaround or a later pick-up but I was up for getting out birding if the opportunity was there. With the evenings period of usable light lengthening by a few minutes each day, we agreed on a later pick-up if Nat decided that the weather was suitable for the trip. She would send me a text message if it was on.

Starlings

At lunchtime, the text came through. We were heading for Kinnordy that evening. On the way round the corner to meet Nat I started the list off with a trio of regulars - Carrion Crow, Herring Gull and Starling. Surprisingly these were the only species seen on the way out of Dundee. Things did improve slightly on the back road to Glamis and on to Kinnordy with birds in some of the roadside fields - Pheasants, Mallards (which always look odd stood in a field), Oystercatcher, Grey Partridge and Lesser Black Backed Gulls. Buzzard, Rook and Swallow plus a pair of Mute Swans on a large pool in the middle of a field rounded off the en-route list.

On reaching the reserve we added a few species from the car park - Chaffinch, Coal Tit and Great Tit in the trees and a flyover Lapwing. Once into the hide the binoculars were put to good use and the list grew a bit more. Black Headed Gulls at their nests on the bog-bean islands, a few Moorhens among them, Sand Martins low over the water with Swallows, a few pairs of Teal could be seen without much effort.

A little more effort added Grey Heron, Tufted Duck and a drake Wigeon which chose to feed a few feet in front of the hide allowing much better views than usual for what can be a rather wary species. A Wood Sandpiper had been found earlier in the day but there was no sign of it on any of the islands. A small two-tone wader flew in and landed. Unfortunately it was only a Common Sandpiper. An Osprey flew over but kept going rather than indulge in a spot of fishing. A few Pied Wagtails flitted around and a Redshank landed on the bog-bean.

A drake Shoveler edged into the water from within the longer vegetation on one of the smaller islands. Nat spotted a Snipe feeding along the edge of the loch not too far beyond where the Wigeon was feeding. A pair of Shelducks had appeared on the water off to the east. Scanning round a while later I noticed a bit of white had appeared in the owl box on the 'lone pine' across the far side of the loch. The Barn Owl was at home, and awake. I tested the reach of the P900 by taking a few photos of the box and these clearly showed the bird's face, finally giving me a 'usable' Barn Owl photo.

Not too long after two small waders landed off to our left on a narrow strip of bog-bean. The glare from the sun made it difficult to be certain of what they were so photos were taken before one of the birds took flight. The white rump on this bird confirmed that it was indeed the Wood Sandpiper, at last, and the earlier photos showed the spangled back and wings relatively well. A nice year-tick for me. An Osprey flew in for a fishing attempt but despite hovering a few times it decided against diving and flew off to land in the trees at the far side.

We had a brief wander along to the swamp hide but the low sun made viewing rather tricky though we did add Greylag Goose there and Willow Warbler and Blackbird along the track on the way there. A Roe Deer buck sprung out from the vegetation and ran into the reeds as we reached the boardwalk on our way back. Once back in the gullery hide we spotted the male Marsh Harrier low above the reeds before it dropped out of sight again. The female appeared too and landed in the same area as the male had.

We were joined in the hide by Gus Guthrie and we chatted about various things including where we might have a chance of seeing Tawny Owls. Gus gave us directions to some of the 'better' possibilities in the area that were on our way home so we could try for one. A few Roe Deer could be seen across the far side of the reserve. As the light began to fade, Gus headed for home, leaving Nat and I to see if anything else would put in an appearance before we too headed home. A few bats, most likely Pipistrelles though apparently there are also Daubenton's Bats at Kinnordy, swung out over the water in front of the hide and I attempted to take photos and video of them. Not easy.

We called it a night at around quarter to ten and took a slow drive down the road hoping that we might see an owl on the way. Unfortunately we managed to miss the turn for the road that Gus had suggested but rather than turn around I suggested we might as well just continue our normal route. We saw a few bats flitting around, and nearing Glamis a larger round winged shape flew across the road from one wooded area and towards another. Tawny Owl, my second year-tick of the evening.

38 species seen (2 new for the year, in bold) - Barn Owl, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Sandpiper, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Grey Partridge, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Rook, Sand Martin, Shelduck, Shoveler, Snipe, Starling, Swallow, Tawny Owl, Teal, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Willow Warbler, Wood Sandpiper, Woodpigeon.