As the sun was shining when I finally got out of bed I decided that I wasn't going to waste the entire day at home. Instead, I would go somewhere in the hope of finding an early Spring arrival, most likely a Chiffchaff. As one of the better spots in Dundee for connecting with Chiffchaff early in the season is around Riverside Nature Park, I decided that was where I would go. With warmer temperatures than of late it promised to be a nice walk even if I was unable to find my target bird for the day.
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| Long Tailed Tit |
It was just before 1400 when I headed out hoping to catch a bus into town. Herring Gull and Feral Pigeon were all that I managed to see. One of the local RSPB group members was at the bus stop already and we had a chat as we headed into the City Centre. Only a Carrion Crow was added on the journey down. Nothing else was added on the second bus journey out towards the park either, though it was nice to see the sun shining and blue skies.
Heading into the park I spotted 2 Buzzards along to the west, somewhere around the Botanic Gardens, circling up on a thermal. A Herring Gull glided over and a Carrion Crow hopped around on the grass. A pair of Woodpigeons flew off as I walked in past the trees at the entrance. In the trees opposite a Chaffinch was perched and as I neared the gate a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew off towards Buzzard Wood. A Greenfinch was difficult to find among the bare branches but I found it after a few minutes of homing in on its call. The Blue Tit in the branches above was a lot easier to see.
The first Long Tailed Tits of the day flew through the trees I was scanning. On the ground along the eastern side of Buzzard Wood there was lots of activity, with 4 Redwing, 3 Blackbirds, 6+ Chaffinches and a Robin all feeding. Unfortunately a rather loud plane taking off from the airport seemed to spook them back into the trees. On the grass to the south were a small flock of Feral Pigeons. A Song Thrush was spotted in a tree at the corner of Buzzard Wood half-hidden among the branches. A pair of Oystercatchers flew past, noisily calling, which seemed to upset a pair of Mallards which shot out from the boggy area in front of Buzzard Wood.
There was a reasonably large flock of Jackdaws in the cow fields and a pair of Goldfinches flew over as I searched the boggy area for Jack Snipe. One of these days I will succeed in seeing one up close on the ground. There were 4 Snipe in the area but they didn't hang around. Having had a decent start to my park visit the 'new' ones fizzled out for a while until I found a Coal Tit in a conifer round towards the Lochan. The Lochan itself had a flock of 24 Oystercatchers and maybe 12 or so Redshanks plus 5 Mallard. A pair of Long tailed Tits with nesting material were seen flying to a particular bush.
On the hill behind a Stock Dove picked around before being joined by a male which proceeded to strut around, throat feathers puffed out. This did not impress the female dove and he soon gave up. A pair of Starlings were in the grass between the Lochan and another large pool. As I walked along the path I noticed that there appeared to be a small flock of Stock Doves feeding on the hill. A Common Gull flew over and a Black Headed Gull was another addition as I headed for the hide overlooking the bay.
It is increasingly difficult to see down into the bay from the area around the hide with trees and bushes blocking most of the view. I did succeed in managing to see a flock of Redshanks which when spooked flew into the tunnel where the burn flows out from, below the railway line. This wasn't something I've seen before from any of the waders at the park. A Lesser Black Backed Gull was on the pipe along with a few Herring Gulls. The majority of Black Headeds and Common Gulls were across the far side of the bay. Scanning out across the mud from the bridge I found a few Curlews and some Shelduck but it was rather quiet.
I spotted a Skylark descending back down to the hill, the flight distinctive and the first Magpie of the day flew up to land atop a tree. I spotted a distant Pied Wagtail fly in to land at the Lochan. Heading back into the main body of the park I spent a few minutes trying to pinpoint a Yellowhammer which I did eventually. There was small number of Teal feeding along the mouth of the burn. A Linnet was seen near the recycling area. A few other bits and pieces were seen as I headed for the exit - 4 Magpies together, a Buzzard and a pair of Curlews, but nothing new, though Goldcrest was heard more than once.
Nothing else was seen as I headed back into town and then home until I got off the bus around the corner from home. A Blue Tit, a pair of Goldfinches, a Blackbird and a Carrion Crow harassing a Sparrowhawk high over home rounded out the list to a total of 35 species, but no Chiffchaff yet.
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| Chaffinch |
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| Greenfinch |
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| Blue Tit |
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| Redwing |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Snipe |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Long Tailed Tit |
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| Buzzard |
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| Oystercatcher & Redshank |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Starling |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Herring Gull & Lesser Black Backed Gull |
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| Redshank |
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| Redshank |
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| Magpie |
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| Teal |
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| Black Headed Gull & Common Gull |
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| Magpie |
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| Magpie |
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| Magpie |
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| Curlew |
Species seen (1 seen outside park only in brackets) - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Curlew, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Shelduck, Skylark, Snipe, Song Thrush, (Sparrowhawk), Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.
