After Saturday's successful trip to Scone Palace I was rather undecided where to go on Sunday. It didn't help that I had a lie-in and then when I got up I found that visibility was rather poor with quite a lot of mist around, especially over the river. This did rather limit my options. I decided I would have a walk up to Swannie Ponds and have a look there and then head into town and decide where to go from there, with Balmossie and Riverside Nature Park the most likely destinations.
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| Robin |
It was almost 1300 when I headed out. The visibility had improved a bit and there was some patches of blue sky appearing above though things were decidedly hazy within a few miles in all directions. Starling, Herring Gull, Woodpigeon and Goldfinch started the list off though things did peter out somewhat after that with only Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow and Feral Pigeon seen before I reached Swannie Ponds. With the lower pond being used for the radio controlled sailing club's boats all the birds were concentrated at the top pond.
Black Headed Gulls, Herring Gulls, a couple of Common Gulls, Mallards, Tufted Ducks, Mute Swans and a few Coots were all noted while a pair of Magpies flew past. I managed to find a trio of colour ringed birds though all 3 were at least semi-regulars (yellow 2XLD ringed in Aberdeenshire, Green J63P and White J4U2 both ringed in Norway) and a single metal ringed bird of which I only managed to see that it was ringed in Norway and the first digit of the number. After around 30 minutes at the ponds I decided to move on again.
I caught a bus into town and then eventually managed to catch a bus out towards Riverside Nature Park, though I did add a Blue Tit in the trees by the side of the Overgate by the bus stops while I waited. A Blackbird was seen from the bus. It was around 1425 when I reached the park. Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow and Feral Pigeon started off the list for the site. Starling and Wren were next. The first of a number of Song Thrushes seen was in the trees by the car park, and a pair of Magpies were near the end of Buzzard Wood. The boggy area had almost completely dried out, which rarely happens so there were no Snipe to be seen.
A pair of Mistle Thrush, a Chaffinch and a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew from the car park trees to Buzzard Wood. I wandered over for a look and added Great Tit, Goldfinch and Blue Tit. A Jackdaw flew over and a Blackbird was seen as I headed for the Lochan area. Stock Dove and Herring Gull passed overhead as did a Black Headed Gull pair. Long Tailed Tits were seen in the bushes near the bend in the path and a Goldcrest was very active feeding near the Lochan screen. A Moorhen and a few Teal were on the water. A Robin was seen in a tree as I had a look over the bay. The tide was on its way in and the birds were spread out quite widely across the mud.
Dunlin, Redshank, Black Tailed Godwit, Oystercatcher, Curlew and the wintering Spotted Redshank were all found out on the mud. The gull bathing/roosting area held Herring Gull, Black Headed Gull, Common Gull and a couple of Lesser Black Backed Gulls. A Great Black Backed Gull was nearby on the pipe. There were a few Shelducks on the mud with a number of Teal on the water but no sign of any Mallards. I worked my way along the fence line being careful not to spook the birds and eventually made it to the hide where I found another birder already waiting for the tide to come in far enough for a better view. I chatted to the lady, Gillian, while we waited to see if the tide would bring the waders in close enough for a good look through them.
A pair of Lapwings appeared from somewhere unseen as did an unexpected pair of Greylag Geese. There were a few Mallard in the burn. A few Siskins were heard flying over but not seen and when I heard a Redwing calling I went looking for the source of the call and watched a pair fly off towards Invergowrie. A Pied Wagtail flew across the bay before a train caused the majority of waders to fly off to roost elsewhere. I headed off too soon after, stopping to check the Lochan just in time for a selection of waders to drop in. Not much else was seen as I headed back through the park on my way to catch the bus. I did add a couple of Rabbits near the eastern end of the park.
A reasonable enough afternoon's birding though not unexpectedly nothing new was added for the year-list. 38 species were seen in the park (in italics) and 15 outwith (in bold), though 12 of these were also seen in the park (in bold italics).
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| Black Headed Gull (J63P) |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Black Headed Gull (J4U2) |
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| Black Headed Gull & Herring Gull |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Common Gull, Black Headed Gull & Herring Gull |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Black Headed Gull (2XLD) |
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| Coot |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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| Jackdaw |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Mistle Thrush |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Long Tailed Tit |
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| Teal |
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| Goldcrest |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Dunlin |
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| Common Gull, Herring Gull, Oystercatcher, Lesser Black Backed Gull & Black Headed Gull |
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| Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Black Headed Gull, Redshank & Oystercatcher |
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| Great Black Backed Gull & Carrion Crow |
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| Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Shelduck, Teal, Black Tailed Godwit, Redshank, Curlew & Common Gull |
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| Redshank & Dunlin |
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| Greylag Goose & Oystercatcher |
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| Lapwing & Redshank |
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| Redshank & Dunlin |
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| Redshank, Dunlin & Herring Gull |
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| Moorhen |
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| Teal |
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| Black Tailed Godwit, Redshank & Dunlin |
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| Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Redshank & Dunlin |
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| Black Tailed Godwit, Redshank & Dunlin |
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| Black Tailed Godwit, Redshank & Dunlin |
Species seen -
Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Coot, Curlew, Dunlin, Goldcrest,
Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan,
Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Shelduck, Song Thrush, Spotted Redshank, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals seen -
Rabbit.
