Monday felt like another long day and as I was still rather tired from Saturday I wasn't sure where to go on Tuesday, though I was determined to get out birding somewhere. I decided to try Riverside Nature Park as Charles Rough had found a Great Crested Grebe in the bay on Monday, a new species (number 143) for the park list, and there was a chance it would still be around, giving me the chance to add it to my own list for the park.
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| Black Tailed Godwit & Teal |
I headed out at around 1120, noting Feral Pigeon and Blackbird before catching the bus into town where I added Herring Gull to the list. A skein of Pink Footed Geese struggled into the strong westerly wind, seemingly travelling at right angles to where it appeared they wanted to be. Carrion Crow and Woodpigeon were also seen from the bus out to the park.
I arrived at the park at noon and a few Feral Pigeons started the park list for the day. I set myself a nominal target of between 35 and 40 species. Not impossible, but far from easy on a windy day, though with the tide on its way in there was a chance of adding a few less common wader species. A few Magpies were chasing around near the road to the dump and a Herring Gull glided over. A small party of Starlings headed for the airport and a Woodpigeon was seen in the small wooded area behind Buzzard Wood. A Carrion Crow wandered round on the grass and a pair of Robins chased each other through the bushes and trees.
The bushes that divide the fields and where I usually find any House Sparrows in the park held a number of Goldfinches and at least 1 Greenfinch. A Blackbird flew across to Buzzard Wood and a pair of Chaffinches dropped into a nearby bush. A Buzzard glided by as I neared the Lochan where I was hoping to get a bit of shelter from a shower of rain. Things were rather quiet with only a Moorhen and a Mute Swan on the water. A single Blue Tit and a party of Long Tailed Tits worked their way through the bushes and over where I was standing.
Once the rain abated I headed for the hide to see if there was anything to be seen from there. Only Jackdaws were added though the view is severely restricted owing to the height of the bushes in front. I wandered round towards the picnic tables stopping to scan out over the mud. Teal, Redshanks, Curlew, Oystercatchers, Black Tailed Godwit and Dunlin were all actively feeding. Across the bay Black Headed Gulls and Common Gulls were roosting along with at least 1 Lesser Black Backed Gull. A Cormorant flew over, struggling into the wind. A pair of unexpected Swallows swooped down into the bay and flew low over the mud, heading west. A Pied Wagtail also flew over towards Invergowrie. Pink Footed Geese could be seen out on the mud over by Kingoodie.
A Great Tit was seen at the Lochan during another circuit of the top half of the park. A small number of Black Tailed Godwits were already at the Lochan even though the tide still had a good bit to go before it was fully in. Back again at the bay a Grey Heron flew across from the reeds and landed on the pipe. A few Mallards were in the burn and as the tide brought the waders in closer I scanned through them though without much success. I did eventually find a single Bar Tailed Godwit and a pair of Knot before a passing train flushed the majority of the remaining waders from the bay.
I headed back to the Lochan where there were now around 500 Redshanks and at least 95 Black Tailed Godwits. Scanning through them slowly I eventually found at least 1 Dunlin and 1 Knot. There were also now 3 Moorhens showing - 2 adults and 1 youngster, and a number of Teal as wel as a few sleeping Mallards. A pair of Pink Footed Geese flew over during another rain shower. I spent quite a while checking and rechecking the flock and took plenty of photos before I decided to head for the bus at around 1610. A pair of Siskin and a Great Spotted Woodpecker were 2 slightly unexpected additions before I left the park. I also saw what might have been a Jay, but it was a fleeting glimpse of a bird vanishing behind trees.
I ended up with 37 species in the park (and 6 also outside - in italics) which was a decent return despite the lack of anything too unusual and allowing for the weather conditions which certainly didn't help.
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| Chaffinch |
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| Buzzard |
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| Moorhen |
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| Moorhen |
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| Redshank |
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| Teal |
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| Redshank & Dunlin |
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| Teal |
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| Mallard & Redshank |
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| Redshank & Dunlin |
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| Cormorant |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Blackbird |
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Redshank & Dunlin |
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| Bar Tailed Godwit & Redshank |
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| Redshank, Teal & Dunlin |
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| Redshank, Knot, Jackdaw, Teal & Mallard |
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| Mallard & Redshank |
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| Dunlin & Teal |
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| Redshank, Teal & Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Redshank & Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Redshank, Black Tailed Godwit & Teal |
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| Redshank & Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Redshank & Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Redshank & Mallard |
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| Redshank, Black Tailed Godwit & Teal |
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| Redshank, Dunlin & Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Mallard & Jackdaw |
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| Black Tailed Godwit & Redshank |
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| Teal |
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| Robin |
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Great Spotted Woodpecker
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Species seen - Bar Tailed Godwit,
Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard,
Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron,
Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Knot, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail,
Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Starling, Swallow, Teal,
Woodpigeon.
