I was undecided where to go on Saturday morning, with Letham Pools, the Tay Reedbeds and Fife Ness area all options. As I couldn't make my mind up I ended up lying in bed much later than I had intended. This did however have the benefit of helping me decide where to go. I settled on a visit to Riverside Nature Park as I'm leading a guided walk at the park in early May (Saturday 7th from 0830 till around 1030) and a visit would allow me to get an idea what was around and where - though there is still time for more migrants to arrive. Ian Ford had seen Ringed Plover and Wheatear at the park during the week.
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| Willow Warbler |
It was a bit windy so I wasn't certain how successful a visit I was likely to have. I had a contingency plan to catch a bus out to Errol to visit the reedbeds if things at the park were just too quiet. It was around 0930 when I left the house and birds seemed to be in short supply with only Herring Gull and Feral Pigeon seen before i caught a bus into town. I decided to cut through the Howff cemetery as it would give me a chance at a few extra species that walking down Reform Street almost certainly wouldn't. Woodpigeon, Blackbird, Goldfinch and Blue Tit seemed to vindicate my decision. From the bus out to the Nature Park I added just one more species - Carrion Crow. A Song Thrush was singing loudly from a tree near the railway line as I used the path from Perth Road to near the eastern entrance to the park.
While on the bus I had contemplated how many species I might realistically see at this time of year if I took my time and looked properly at everything. I knew 40 was possible, but I suspected that given the time of year, 50 might also be reachable. I posted on Facebook the target number for myself (though with the proviso that as it was windy 40 might be more realistic). I decided I would take make my time and not rush anywhere. A Carrion Crow got my list for the park started. A few Starlings glided into the trees and a Pied Wagtail scurried around on the grass. Goldfinches were next, with a few calling from the trees just ahead of me. A Blackbird hopped out from the undergrowth and a Herring Gull glided over.
A few Feral Pigeons flew over just to the north of the park. A pair of Swallows swept low across the grassy area to the east of Buzzard Wood. A Woodpigeon flew into the trees. A pair of Robins showed together in the same bush - obviously a breeding pair. In the trees above them a Chaffinch male sang briefly. A Willow Warbler sang from the corner of Buzzard Wood. I walked a little along the path behind the wood. Ahead of me on the grass I could see a Carrion Crow engrossed in whatever it was eating. Feathers strewn around showed that it was a bird. I managed to get relatively close before the Crow flew off. I had a look at the remains and collected a few of the primary wing feathers. Examining them later at home it appears the victim was a Song Thrush. Unusually, a pair of Rooks overflew towards the compost area.
A male Yellowhammer called from the hedge and a Dunnock pecked around below. A pair of Blue Tits chased each other from the hedge dividing the fields where the Highland Cattle usually are. Wandering around the outside of Buzzard Wood, a pair of Oystercatchers swept over low calling loudly. A Lesser Black Backed Gull passed over heading north. Although there was almost always a bird in sight, it was around 20 minutes before I added another species to the list - a fly-over Stock Dove. Slightly more unexpected was a Collared Dove which flew rapidly from the far end of the wood in the direction of the Lochan. A small group of Sand Martins were next to pass over the park, while a few pairs of Mallards wandered around in the muddy water in front of Buzzard Wood.
Buzzard Wood itself seemed rather quiet with only a few Chaffinches showing among the tangle of branches. A Siskin male dropped in, and a few more Goldfinches were in the trees at the corner. A skein of Pink Footed Geese were another unexpected sighting, first looking like they were flying north before changing direction and being swept eastwards by the wind following the line of the river. A live Song Thrush appeared on the path while a male Reed Bunting paused for a few seconds in the small trees behind the fence. I'd already been in the park for around 90 minutes and hadn't yet progressed beyond Buzzard Wood. I heard a calling Greenfinch from the bushes beyond the flooded area and after a bit of searching spotted the very green male in the lower branches of the bushes.
I heard a vaguely familiar call that I wasn't 100% sure about and decided to try and investigate. Wandering around I was pleased to see that my best guess was accurate. It was a returning Lesser Whitethroat - a park specialty. I took a few photos then left the bird in peace, something that was to be in short supply when the bird was discovered by other birders the following weekend resulting in most of the year-listers in Angus who 'need' Lesser Whitethroat turning up for a few photos or just a look. Unfortunately if the bird isn't showing well there are methods which shouldn't be used during the breeding season that are sometimes pressed into service. The bird's welfare comes first, hence the reason I decided not to put out word of the bird on the local grapevine this year, as the park is the only known local breeding site in Angus.
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| Lesser Whitethroat |
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Lesser Whitethroat
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| Lesser Whitethroat |
A Meadow Pipit flew past and a minute later a Common Gull glided by. A
trio of Lesser Redpolls flew into the tops of the trees but didn't
settle long enough for a photo before they were off again. I eventually
ventured into the top half of the park after around two and a half
hours. A male Blackcap was singing in the trees at the top of the short
slope, while a Skylark took to the air above the hill. I wandered slowly
towards the Lochan adding a few flyover Jackdaws. A Mute Swan was on
the Lochan while a few Mallards slept around the edges.
Though the tide was actually on its way in, it was still far enough out to be able to scan across the bay and pick out the birds on the mud. There were Black Headed Gulls in surprisingly large numbers given the time of year. A few Shelducks and Curlew were dotted about while there were larger numbers of Redshank. From further round to the south I found the first Teal pair of the day and a Common Sandpiper was on the mud just down from the bench at the southwest corner of the park. I spotted a small group of 4 Black Tailed Godwits across the bay among the Redshanks. Off Kingoodie, the rock out in the river that the Cormorants roost on had enough Cormorants on it for the birds to be visible despite the distance.
I headed round towards the car park via the top of the hill and once again popped in to check out the Lochan, but there was nothing to add. However when I walked back out onto the path, above me were a pair of Buzzards relatively low in the sky. They circled around before returning towards Ninewells. Another addition to the day list. When I once again reached the hide I found the tide a bit closer in and more of the birds being pushed closer in. In addition to the 4 Black Tailed Godwits found earlier I realised that there were also a group of 6 Bar Tailed Godwits and another of 3. It isn't too often that both species are found on the same bit of coast with the Bar Taileds usually further out on the sea coast whereas the Black Taileds are the more likely to be seen further upriver or sometimes "inland" at Kinnordy or Letham Pools etc.
A young Great Black Backed Gull loitered among the gull flock but despite more searching I couldn't add any other waders or gulls to the list. I headed back into the park and bumped into Friends of Riverside Nature Park committee member Graham Cross and I stopped for a chat. As we did so a male Kestrel caught my eye as it glided over us and a rapid grab shot proved far better than my Merlin of a few days previously. We then heard a calling Great Spotted Woodpecker from the trees and another behind us. We were then fortunate enough to see both birds in flight.
I had a wander along to the hide with Graham, who was handing out copies of the new park regulations to dog walkers. I had spoken to a few during the day about the signs that at least two-thirds seemed to either be ignoring or somehow managed to miss. The responses ranged from very apologetic and understanding - a very nice lady who was visiting the park for the first time who chatted about the birds, to the rather rude - an older lady with 2 walking poles and a small child as well as 2 dogs, all of which were roaming through bushes and well ahead/behind of where she was. She didn't have a lead with her and made no effort to see what her dogs were doing - one seemed to be exploring the compost area, and she wasn't interested in whether or not they were fouling the park. Another man who I didn't get the chance to talk to, with 2 black labs (Dougal and Hamish, I think he called them) wandered over the hill with the dogs running around and he completely ignored one doing its business off to one side of where he was. The council dog wardens could raise a small fortune in fines at the park any day of the week, and doubly so at the weekends.
Myself and Graham haeded along to the hide where the Black Tailed Godwits could still be seen stood by the waters edge. A Long Tailed Tit foraged around in the trees off to the side. We had a short chat to a family with a dog on a lead about the park and what could be seen before heading back along the path to the fork where I left Graham to go back to refill the feeders while I headed round the hill and back through the car park. A pair of Magpies were in the trees across the road but they flew back down onto the airfield out of sight. Checking the total for the visit I realised I had actually reached the target figure of 50 species although it had taken 7 hours to do so. There were a few species that could be expected but weren't seen and it was surprise to only see a single Blackcap. I headed for home adding a Magpie and House Sparrow when I got off the bus near home.
An enjoyable day's birding in reasonably warm sunshine, with only the more irresponsible/ignorant dog owners bringing any negativity to the day. 50 species seen in the park and 10 outside (only House Sparrow wasn't seen in the park of those 10), giving 51 in total
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| Rabbit |
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| Chaffinch |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Lesser Black Backed Gull |
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| Siskin |
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| Pink Footed Geese |
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Greenfinch |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Chaffinch |
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| Common Sandpiper |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Buzzard |
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| Starling |
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| Bar Tailed Godwits |
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| Bar Tailed Godwits |
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| Curlew & Lesser Black Backed Gull |
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| Redshank & Bar Tailed Godwits |
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| Great Black Backed Gull & Herring Gull |
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| Black Tailed Godwits |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Kestrel |
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| Black Tailed Godwits |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Blackbird |
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| Magpie |
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| Robin |
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| Pied Wagtail |
Species seen in the park (birds seen both in and outside of the park in italics, year-tick in bold). - Bar Tailed Godwit,
Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit,
Blue Tit, Buzzard,
Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock,
Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Greenfinch,
Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Lesser Redpoll,
Lesser Whitethroat, Long Tailed Tit,
Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin,
Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Shelduck, Siskin, Skylark,
Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Teal, Willow Warbler,
Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.
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