In the hide at Guardbridge on Saturday I had been talking to a lady, Theresa, from Malaysia who was visiting Scotland to photograph some of our birdlife and who was looking for some other local wildlife 'hot-spots' easily reachable using public transport. I mentioned Riverside Nature Park, my former 'patch' in Dundee and soon arrangements had been made for me to meet her in Dundee on Monday and show her the park where hopefully some of the birds would provide decent photo opportunities.
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| Chaffinch |
With contact details having been exchanged and a quick phone call received to say that she was on the bus from Guardbridge I headed to the bus station to meet Theresa so that we could catch a bus out to the park. Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon, Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull and Blue Tit were all seen on the way. I only had a few minutes to wait before Theresa showed up. An attempt to purchase an ABC day ticket at the bus station was thwarted by the tale that they didn't take cash but that the ticket was available from the drivers on the buses. Except it wasn't, which meant a slight change of plan and added expense in the end. However, we made it to the park by around 1010.
Just prior to crossing the road I spotted a Buzzard fly up into the trees which backed onto the cow field. I pointed it out and out came the cameras. We had better views from the path into the park at the eastern end which allowed us some front view shots as it perched on a branch sticking out from the small wooded area. Not the worst way to start. A Woodpigeon overflew followed by a second bird and a few Blackbirds showed in the trees opposite. Once into the park, a Carrion Crow was spotted on the grass and a Dunnock was in the bushes. A Herring Gull adult and youngster drifted over.
Some time was spent attempting to see a Chiffchaff which we could hear calling. Instead we had decent views of our first male Chaffinch of the day - a bird that Theresa had seen on the feeders at Guardbridge but was pleased to see in more 'natural' surroundings. Eventually the Chiffchaff flew out in the direction of Buzzard Wood. There were a few House Sparrows and more Chaffinches in the hedge between the fields. Four Pied Wagtails overflew together before the first sighting of Magpie of the day as a bird flew over the car park and into the trees beyond.
A Song Thrush zipped past us as we looked for birds at the front of Buzzard Wood. A pair of Siskins overflew and we had more Chaffinches and a better view of the Chiffchaff giving plenty of fleeting glances among the branches but remaining frustratingly out of unimpeded view. High above the wood a party of Swallows swept over, heading west. A flock of Goldfinches landed in the bushes by the flooded area, so with breeding season over and the 'off-path' areas accessible again, we wandered over hoping for better views, The birds were bathing below the bushes and then drying off among the thorny branches above. Reasonable views were had and a few Greenfinches flew in to join them. A Reed Bunting female (or youngster) also put in an appearance.
Robin was added to the list as we headed for the car park as was a Blue Tit. A Stock Dove flew over from the direction of the airport. In the Buddleia bushes near the hill we added Great Tit to our list and had more Goldfinches, Chaffinches, Blackbirds and Robins. I heard geese calling from the north and picked out a sizeable skein of around 150 Pink Footed Geese, my first of this 'winter'. Minutes later a smaller group of around 10 flew south a good bit lower. They looked like landing in the Tay at one point but instead continued on again after having lost a lot of height.
Overlooking the bay, Theresa was impressed by the view. I told her it was even better from the top of the hill, where we would stop for lunch. Below us in the bay, there were a few Redshanks and Teal visible on the mud, with a few Oystercatchers and Curlews a bit further away. We headed up the hill to sit and eat our lunch. A few Meadow Pipits were seen from the top, After enjoying our seat in the sun and lunch and Theresa enjoying the enhanced view from higher up, we headed down the hill again to walk round to the Lochan. We added Peacock and Pained Lady butterflies to our photos, and a singing Goldcrest proved elusive, on the way.
There were Mallards and Teal dotted around the far side with the local Mute Swan pair on the water. Also there was a Tufted Duck - not a common sight at the park (possibly the 4th sighting if my memory is correct). We had good views of the Mute Swans preening and the ducks out on the water, After 20 minutes or so we set off towards the bay. Feral Pigeons were on the pipe along with a few Jackdaws. A single Wigeon was in the burn. Herring Gulls and Lesser Black Backed Gulls could be seen on the pipe while one or two Black Headed Gulls could also be seen. We could hear Long Tailed Tits in the trees behind the hide but they stayed out of sight. More geese overflew.
We wandered back towards the hill, a Yellowhammer was heard but not seen near the fork in the path towards the foot of the hill. Wren was another heard-only further round towards the bay. Looking down at the waders in the water and on the mud I managed to find 4 Black Tailed Godwits and there were plenty of Dunlin around among the Redshanks. Also among the gulls I found a few Common Gulls and a Grey wagtail overflew. The rock well offshore from Kingoodie held Cormorants, and a Grey Heron flew into the bay.
I recieved a text message from Ian Ford, the chairman of the Friends of Riverside Nature Park asking how the "tour" had gone. He was on his way to check the waders from the hide. Having been on our feet all day we couldn't muster much enthusiasm to do likewise instead heading back towards the car park. I asked Ian to let me know if he found anything good. One of the birds on Theresa's list of wanteds was Great Spotted Woodpecker and as we headed for Buzzard Wood I heard the distinctive call of one, but we couldn't see any obvious sign of it. Another photo-stop at Buzzard Wood gave us more Chiffchaff frustration though the Chaffinches did show well.
More Goldfinches dropped into the bushes and we headed in that direction. The call of the woodpecker rang out again and I spotted the bird flying from the wood towards the road towards Buzzard Wood. I ran to see if I could see where it would land as it appeared to be flying over the wood. It landed in a tree along the path from where we were. We slowly moved closer but couldn't see it. As we were on the verge of giving up it called again and we spotted it flying further into the wood and shuffling up a tree trunk of a Sycamore. Theresa managed at least one photo, but there were branches in the way. A Starling flew over, before we called it a day.
Ian texted me to say he'd found 1 Ruff, 1 Bar Tailed Godwit and 2 Greenshank among the waders that we hadn't seen. With our total of 43 seen, 4 heard-only and Ian's 3 that gave a very respectable total of 50 species at the park for the day. The one disappointing aspect of the day was the amount of dogs off their leads around the park that would come up and investigate Theresa, some more vocally than others. Despite her turning away in obvious fear from the animals, not one single owner offered any apology, with most not even bothering to call their dogs away from her. Granted this isn't just a Dundee thing but it hardly encourages visitors to return to the park if they've had a similar experience. Over all though, Theresa did enjoy the park and I look forward to seeing her photos of our 'exotics' on her flickr photostream once she's back home, with the Chaffinches, Greenfinches and Goldfinches being the highlights - species we take for granted.
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| Buzzard |
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| Robin |
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Peacock butterfly |
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| Robin |
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| Pink Footed Geese |
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| Painted Lady |
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| Teal |
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| Tufted Duck |
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| Mallard & Mute Swan |
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| Mallard |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Pink Footed Geese |
43 species seen (outwith and in the park in italics) - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit,
Blue Tit, Buzzard,
Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail,
Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw,
Lesser Black Backed Gull, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Teal, Tufted Duck, Wigeon,
Woodpigeon.
Heard only - Goldcrest, Long Tailed Tit, Wren, Yellowhammer.
