With a forecast for heavy rain on Friday, I decided to treat myself to some new binoculars as I would likely be stuck at home anyway. When I discovered that they would be delivered by 1300, all going to plan and that the weather forecast had improved slightly I decided that I really should get out somewhere to test the binoculars, and hopefully see some good birds along the way. So when the parcel arrived not too long after 1300, I ripped open the packaging, changed over the strap and decided where to go to avoid the worst of any weather and see some birds without spending all my time on a bus. Riverside Nature Park offered the best compromise. If I was lucky I might find some grounded migrants in the park. If not, I would get to test the binoculars out in less than perfect conditions.
 |
| Long Tailed Tit |
I headed out shortly before 1345 but birds were in short supply until I made it into town with only a Feral Pigeon and a Blackbird seen. Cutting through The Howff I did manage to see some more birds even if it was just a Carrion Crow, a Woodpigeon and another Blackbird. Once I made it to somewhere near the park on a re-routed bus, I managed to find a few Goldcrests in a tree on Glamis Road.
I arrived at the park at around 1430, the journey having taken a bit longer than it really should have (I could have made it to Guardbridge in less time). A Coal Tit was in the trees bear the entrance and a couple of Robins sang to mark their own little bits of the park. A young Woodpigeon was in a small tree just inside the park and the first Magpie put in an appearance flying over towards the road. As with everywhere else this week, it didn't take too long to find a few Goldcrests in another tree. Two birds caught my eye as they flew over beyond Buzzard Wood. A pair of Snipe flushed from the boggy area. A Blackbird hopped about ahead of me as I wandered in the direction of Buzzard Wood. An odd call caught my attention from the direction of the back of Buzzard Wood and I headed in the direction of the sound.
I failed to see what had made the noise (Sparrowhawk kill?) but I did hear and then see Bullfinches in the trees. A few Carrion Crows overflew and I wandered round to the front of Buzzard Wood adding a flyover Chaffinch en route. I decided to check out the boggy area first. A Meadow Pipit and another Chaffinch perched in one of the small bushes before I flushed a couple of Snipe. A Herring Gull drifted over as did a pair of Black Headed Gulls minutes later. A Starling landed on a telegraph pole by the road. A couple of Goldfinches landed in the bushes and another Snipe took to the air as I negotiated my way through the swampy underfoot conditions.
Buzzard Wood was very quiet with nothing seen, though there were one or two birds calling from deep within the trees including a Great Spotted Woodpecker that remained unspotted. A Great Black Backed Gull overflew as I headed round to wander around the edges of the former dog exercise 'field' checking the trees. But first I had to collect some muddy dog footprints on my clothes from a bulldog called Bella. The owner was actually apologetic which made a refreshing change. The trees were very quiet though a very dark reddish male Pheasant wandered into a nettle bed when it spotted me. A flock of Jackdaws loitered in the trees near the car park.
A Grey Heron lifted from the boggy area as a dog walker and his charge went exploring. The Great Spotted Woodpecker I had heard earlier flew into the trees across the road from the car park entrance, its call alerting me to its flight in. I headed next in the direction of the Lochan, encountering a flock of Long Tailed Tits and a few Blue Tits on the way. At the Lochan there were a hundred or so Redshanks roosting along the far side with a few Teal and Mallards. The Mute Swan pair were on the water but there was no sign of the Tufted Duck seen on previous visits. A pair of Stock Doves appeared from behind a patch of vegetation as they flew off.
The hide was my next stop in the hope of adding a few more waders to the list. The tide was still rather high with only a few feet of exposed mud to be seen by the end of the pipe at the burn outflow. Out on the water were plenty of gulls, mostly Black Headed Gulls together, a single Great Black Backed Gull was on its own and further out were some Herring Gulls. As the pipe and the mud slowly reappeared from the receding tidal waters Redshanks began to fly in to land on the pipe before a few moved onto the now larger area of mud. The Great Black Backed Gull joined some of the other gulls on the pipe and I was surprised slightly to see a Lesser Black Backed Gull also in attendance. I was less surprised to see a couple of Common Gulls but they were no less welcome, adding another species to the list.
A pair of Black Tailed Godwits flew round the bay before settling among the Redshanks and gulls on the mud. Mallards swam out from their roost before a few more Godwits flew in as did many more Redshanks. A Cormorant stood on the pipe drying its wings. With no sign of any Curlews, Oystercatchers or Dunlin coming in I decided to head on back past the hill as the sky was beginning to look increasingly threatening with rain further upriver. The bushes near the recycling site were full of Goldfinches and a few Blackbirds were out in the open along the edges. I found another flock of Long Tailed Tits and succeeded in getting a short video clip of one obliging bird before I called it a day and headed for a bus. Unfortunately this entailed a walk up to Ninewells and a rather protracted journey home via numerous detours. Still the binoculars had proved to be rather impressive (as they should have been considering the price paid) and I'd managed to see 32 species (those seen in and outside the park in italics) even if there had only been a few Goldcrests representing the migrant influx.
 |
| Goldfinch |
 |
| Pheasant |
 |
| Jackdaw |
 |
| Teal |
 |
| Teal & Redshank |
 |
| Great Black Backed Gull |
 |
| Common Gull |
 |
| Black Tailed Godwit & Redshank |
 |
| Herring Gull |
 |
| Lesser Black Backed Gull, Herring Gull & Great Black Backed Gull |
 |
| Cormorant |
Species seen -
Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Bullfinch,
Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Cormorant,
Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Grey Heron,
Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Pheasant, Redshank, Robin,
Feral Pigeon, Snipe, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal,
Woodpigeon
