One of the websites I frequent regularly is Birdforum. If you've never had a look, and have an interest in birds, then you may well find it of interest. There is pretty much something for everyone there - from local area birding, to ID threads, to equipment discussions, and even other wildlife. With regards the local area aspect, there is a Scottish subsection to the "UK and Ireland County by County" section - which despite treating Scotland as merely a 'county' can be a decent spot for finding info that doesn't always turn up elsewhere. Sometimes members of this particular sub-forum meet up to bird together in different areas around Scotland - these are known on the site as "bashes". One of the site moderators, Delia Todd is a "local" of this part of Scotland and she is usually the one trying to round up birders for a 'bash' meet. Her latest attempt struggled to find a date/venue that suited everyone but rather than give up she decided to go ahead anyway.
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| Teal |
So, myself (as guide at Riverside Nature Park - the meeting place), Delia and Paul, a Fife based birder arranged to meet at 0900 on Saturday at the Nature Park car park, have a wander around seeing what birds we could then decide on a plan for the rest of the day. I headed out at about 0750 to make the journey to the park. Herring Gulls were making a racket from the rooftops nearby and a Blackbird flew across Dens Road before I caught the 22 bus. There were only a few species seen from the bus - Feral Pigeons, Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon and a Robin before I reached Ninewells Hospital. I got off the bus at the stop just outside the hospital grounds to cut down through the Medipark and in at the western entrance to the park.
Walking down Thurso Crescent a large-ish bird flew up into a tree from the opposite side of the street, having obviously seen me before I saw it. Delving into my bag for my binoculars I was pleased to find that the bird in question was a Jay. Further on, the first skein of Pink Footed Geese from the Tay headed north to the fields of Angus. A Curlew overflew as I walked down through the Medipark. Blue Tits and some unseen Long Tailed Tits were in the trees at the end of the footpath. As I neared the underpass to the park a small group of Siskins overflew into the trees of the business park.
I checked the burn but there was no sign of any birds. I scanned the bay from the bridge over the railway line but with the tide well out most of the birds were rather distant. A Herring Gull glided over and Feral Pigeons circled round. Redshanks and a handful of Pink Footed Geese were at the burn outflow, along with a few Teal. A few more Curlews headed inland and a Grey Wagtail flew into the bay. Looking along towards the Lochan I spotted the Mute Swan pair and a few distant Mallards. In addition at the Lochan there were also a few more Teal. A Robin, a Song Thrush, a few Goldfinches, a flyover Meadow Pipit, a couple of Carrion Crows and a Yellowhammer were added as I got nearer to our rendezvous point. I also heard a Magpie but it stayed hidden within the trees.
As I neared the car park, Blackbird, Chaffinch and Dunnock all put in appearances while a Jay made a hasty exit westwards giving only a tail-on view as it went. A Stock Dove dropped in beyond the recycling area. We chatted once the introductions were made and decided we should wait just in case anyone else decided to join us, but no-one did. More Siskins overflew as did a Black Headed Gull. Woodpigeons and Feral Pigeons could be seen passing further to the north. We decided to check the boggy area for Snipe first. A pair of Greenfinches and a Wren were in the bushes before the first Snipe broke cover and flew off before coming past again at a higher level. A short distance further in and a second bird burst forth. This one however stayed relatively low and I managed to get a look at the bird through binoculars, which allowed me to see the much shorter bill of a Jack Snipe before the bird dropped into the weeds somewhere over towards the road.
As we checked Buzzard Wood for birds I heard a Redwing calling and we watched one fly overhead. The wood was rather quiet though we did add Blue Tit at the rear and a Buzzard flew off over the fields as we headed west along the path. House Sparrows in the dividing hedge were eventually spotted. Great Tit and the first Long Tailed Tits showed well as we wandered round towards the Lochan. Pink Footed Geese numbers heading inland started to pick up and there were easily hundreds overflying as we checked the Lochan. A single Pink Footed Goose was across the far side and a drake Teal showed nicely on the water just in front of the hide. The Mute Swans however had vanished.
Further west towards the hide overlooking the bay we were treated to very close views of two Goldcrests in a bush as Long Tailed Tits swept by on both sides of the path, flying from bush to bush. A few Skylarks headed westwards before we reached the hide. Feral Pigeons, a single Pink Footed Goose and not much else were visible out front. More distant were Black Headed Gulls out on the mud while a single Oystercatcher picked around. I was sure I heard a Kingfisher calling and seconds later it was confirmed when it called again and I spotted where it landed, on a rock in the burn. It was joined by a Grey Wagtail, adding some colour to what was still quite a grey morning.
Heading back along the path to scan the bay from further south near the hill we added more species to the list with a distant Grey Heron, a small flock of Dunlin and a Black Tailed Godwit out on the mud with Curlews, Redshanks and Teal. The Dunlin flock took flight and I grabbed a few photos to check for anything unusual among them. Surprisingly, one of the birds clearly wasn't a Dunlin, but had a white rump. It didn't look much bigger than the Dunlin, if at all, but checking later at home it appeared to be a rather late Curlew Sandpiper, rather than a White Rumped Sandpiper, which would have been a new bird for the park list. Still a very good bird to get this late in October.
I found 4 Cormorants well out in the river with a few others nearby giving us yet another species. A Common Gull flew into the bay and we continued our walk back round to the car park. A pair of Jackdaws flew over heading in the direction of Ninewells. Redpoll was heard flying over but I struggled to pick it up visually. I next heard a Bullfinch calling and managed to find it in a tree though the branches made getting a clear view for a photo tricky. At the car park we managed to add a final species to the park list for the day, the 46th - as 2 Starlings flew past.
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| Greenfinch |
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| Buzzard |
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| Robin |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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Kingfisher
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| Kingfisher & Grey Wagtail |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Curlew Sandpiper & Dunlin |
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| Bullfinch |
Species seen in the park - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jack Snipe, Jackdaw, Jay, Kingfisher, Long Tailed Tit, mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Skylark, Snipe, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
We decided to head for Craigmill Den next as it was a relatively short walk and by the time we reached the burn mouth there was a good chance that the tide would be quite far in, giving us a decent chance of seeing some waders etc close in. There weren't too many species seen on our way to Carnoustie, with only Black Headed Gull, Rook, a few Starlings added and around half a dozen Whooper Swans seen flying over Carnoustie as we passed along the main road. A Grey Squirrel ran across the road as we drove down the hill just before the layby. A few Jackdaws were added when we got out of Paul's car at the small lay-by at the northern end of the Den.
One of the local Buzzards put in an appearance as we walked slowly down through the Den. The grey clouds had cleared and the sun was relatively warm, the weather in general being better than had been forecast. There were birds on the wires but these turned out to be Goldfinches rather than Linnets. Blackbirds were in the trees across the far bank and Great Tit and Blue Tit were seen foraging around in bushes near the path. A single backlit bunting on the wires turned out , not unsurprisingly to be just a Reed Bunting with a damaged tail. A trio of Dunnocks were in the weeds by the path and a few Yellowhammers arrived on the wires along with a couple of Linnets. A small flock of Lapwings overflew, and Paul spotted a Goldcrest in the trees.
At the bottom end of the Den we checked the burn for Kingfisher but drew a blank. A train passed as we were about to cross the level crossing. We bumped into Neil Black who gave us directions to his earlier sighting of Ring Necked Parakeet in Arbroath whch had been reported on the ADBC text grapevine service. A Stonechat showed well on the fenceposts along the edge of the small dunes. A distant flock of small birds towards Easthaven proved to be the missing Linnet flock. Photos showed a few Goldfinches and Tree Sparrows making up the numbers. A few small flocks of Wigeon flew past and there were a trio of Wigeon on the water that initially did a passable impression of Geese, due to the lighting conditions. Further out were a few Eider and a single Great Black Backed Gull towered above a nearby Herring Gull. On another rock, a Cormorant held its wings out in characteristic pose. On the beach, a number of Redshanks and a few Oystercatchers attempted to sleep.
Some of the Linnets flew past, while higher up Skylarks passed over in small numbers. Another bird flying past was a Meadow Pipit. The call of a Pied Wagtail had us all looking in various directions for the source before the bird landed on the beach just a short distance away from us. Scanning among the rocks, I eventually found a Turnstone - again after having been alerted by its call. A Common Gull glided by before we headed back into the Den. Movement on a tree trunk ahead of us turned out to be a Treecreeper while higher in the trees a Coal Tit and a Great Tit foraged around among the leaves. A Chaffinch was next on the list and a single young Grey Heron was in the field opposite. A Wren gave us brief views further along the track before a pair of Stock Doves flew over. Near the top end of the Den I found a female (or young) Blackcap in a bush on the opposite bank of the burn. It showed well in the sunshine, much to Delia's delight - it being her first of the species for quite a few years. Paul spotted a male Pheasant as we wandered back along the road to the car.
We decided to try Arbroath for the Parakeet but despite Neil's directions we drew a blank, so cut our losses and headed inland to Montreathmont Forest. Things were very quiet as we walked down the track with a few Siskins and Goldcrests heard but not seen. Redpoll was also heard but not seen. As we neared the track for the hide, a skein of Pink Footed Geese and a pair of Cormorants flew over. I checked the far tall trees and spotted a number of Fieldfares high in the branches. Paul and Delia headed into the hide and I wandered further down the track in the hope of perhaps finding a returning Great Grey Shrike. However, birds proved to be in very short supply with only a distant Great Spotted Woodpecker, a small flock of Redwings and a Mistle Thrush seen in 30 minutes though a Wren was heard from the gorse by the track as was a call that I failed to recognise but which fell silent when I attempted to get a recording. Things were also rather quiet at the hide with Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Red Squirrel being the highlights there.
With the light starting to fade a bit we headed back to the car with the intention of heading to Forfar Loch for one final stop. A few small Vs of Golden Plover were a nice bonus bird as they headed west over the trees. We made a brief, but productive stop at Balgavies Loch, at the half-way car park. Despite trees blocking most of our view of the water we still managed to add Goosander, Goldeneye, Coot, Moorhen and Tufted Duck, plus Greylag and Mute Swan. Not bad for an unscheduled stop. having added so many waterbirds here, there weren't too many more to add at Forfar Loch with only Teal, Little Grebe, Mallard, Gadwall and Shoveler on the water new here. A Collared Dove flew up into one of the trees by the caravan site giving us a surprise bonus bird. With the time now around 1645 and the sun getting low in the sky we called it a day and headed back to Dundee, having seen 64 species outside Riverside Nature Park.
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Treecreeper |
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Blackcap
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Blackcap
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| Wigeon |
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| Fieldfare |
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| Golden Plover |
Species seen out with the park - Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Eider, Fieldfare, Gadwall, Goldcrest, Golden Plover, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Jay, Lapwing, Linnet, Little Grebe, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shoveler, Siskin, Skylark, Starling, Stock Dove, Stonechat, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
76 species seen in total. 34 seen in both locations. 12 seen only at Riverside Nature Park, and 30 seen only outwith the park.
