After such a long day's birding on Saturday with Ian, I was rather tired and with the loss of an hour through the clocks going forward it was around 1000 on Sunday when I woke up. Susan had messaged me about trying to see the Spotted Redshank at Riverside Nature Park and after a bit of discussion we arranged to meet up for a few hours birding with the Spotted Redshank the priority. With a 'low' high tide due around 1300 I thought the bird would remain down on the mud in Invergowrie Bay, rather than relocating to the Lochan as had happened last weekend. I arranged to meet Susan around 1110 and then to head down to the park.
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| European White Fronted Goose & Pink Footed Goose |
It was around 1100 when I left to meet Susan. Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, a Blue Tit, a singing Robin, a Starling in flight and a Carrion Crow were seen during the 10 minute walk. Woodpigeon was added along with Lesser Black Backed Gull on the drive to the Nature Park. Jackdaws and a Song Thrush were seen from the car park. Blackbird and a pair of Mistle Thrushes were next as we headed for the Lochan. Oystercatcher, Teal, Mallard and Moorhen were seen there. Skylark and Goldfinch were spotted as we continued on towards the hide overlooking the bay via a quick look over the outer part of the bay where a pair of Shelduck and some distant roosting Cormorants were seen.
A Yellowhammer was in the trees above the hide and a Chiffchaff could be heard singing somewhere nearby but wasn't seen. A pair of Mute Swans were in the burn with Redshanks strung out across the bay. Black Headed, Herring and Common Gulls were around in small numbers. There were a few Black Tailed Godwits and at least 3 Dunlin. Susan scanned with her new scope and I used binoculars and camera to see if I could find the Spotted Redshank. As conditions were rather calm the birds were in no hurry to move en masse into view. From the hide, and despite the recent 'gardening' in front, the view was still somewhat limited with bushes and trees to the left, in particular, blocking the view.
Long Tailed Tits and a Great Tit showed well in the trees around us, as did a single Blue Tit. A Stock Dove landed by the burn for a drink and a Wren popped up just a few feet in front of the hide. I eventually spotted a sleeping bird that looked like it might be the Spotted Redshank but we had to wait until it woke up to confirm that it was indeed Susan's hoped for year-tick. We watched it for a while so Susan could build up a strong mental picture for future reference. The walk back to the car added a pair of Reed Buntings, a Pied Wagtail and a Chaffinch. I had a quick chat to Kate from the RNP Friends group in the car park as things were being organised there for a tree planting event in the park.
With the Spotted Redshank 'in the bag' Susan and I decided to pop down to the Tay Reedbeds where there was a slim chance of seeing Bearded Tit and slightly more likely views of Marsh Harriers. The Beardies would be a year-tick for Susan, the Harriers a year-tick for us both. With both species being Schedule 1 birds we would only be scanning from the edges of the reedbed and any views likely distant. A Magpie pair were seen as we exited the park. We turned off the dual carriageway a little earlier than intended. A Buzzard was seen being harassed by Carrion Crows in a field and House Sparrows were seen in Grange as we followed the road round and then via Errol airfield towards the village.
The fields to the north of the airfield were full of geese, with some relatively close to the road. I suspect they may have been the same flock I'd seen from the train on Saturday morning. Susan stopped the car by the side of the road and we started scanning through them in the hope that the hundreds of Pink Footed Geese were harbouring something a little more exotic. The road was relatively busy and we probably irritated some of the drivers during our 5 minutes or so stopped there. Almost as soon as I started scanning through the flock I picked out a White Fronted Goose. Photos showed it to be a
European White Fronted Goose - a year-tick. Susan said out loud that she was hoping for a
Barnacle Goose, and..... promptly found one. Another year-tick for us both. A very productive flock and bonus birds for us both.
From the 'centre' of the village we headed downhill. A Small Tortoiseshell butterfly sunned itself at the top of Gas Brae. Skylarks were heard but not seen above the fields. Woodpigeons lounged in the trees by the path. We passed the barking dogs at the house down by the trees and found the highest point we could to scan east and west over the reeds. I found a
Marsh Harrier female very distantly quartering over the reeds to the east. I directed Susan onto the bird only to find that she was looking at a second female bird. An obvious adult male then put in an appearance and swooped down at one of the females which had chosen to perch in a small tree. As Susan was hoping to be home around 1530 or so we headed back up into the trees to head for the pools at Port Allen where we would scan from the eastern corner.
A few Chiffchaffs were heard and we managed to see a couple of them in the trees. A male Pheasant flew out over the reeds at the 'viewpoint' overlooking the reeds not far from the pools. The wind had strengthened a little and there was little movement to be seen among the reeds. We moved on again to check the pools. A Coot, some Tufted Ducks, a pair of Little Grebes, a Goldeneye, a pair of Mallards, a Mute Swan, 2 pairs of Great Crested Grebes and a Grey Heron were noted but there was no sign of any Bearded Tits. The only small bird seen over the reeds was a Blue Tit which flew up into the trees behind us.
As it was now 1430 we headed back towards Errol. A trio of Roe Deer were seen running along one of the open harvested areas among the reeds. A Treecreeper was added as we neared the path back up to the village and a Roe Deer buck with antlers still in velvet ran out across the field to the north. A Linnet flew over as we headed up hill towards Errol. A Coal Tit was in a tree in a garden in the village. A Collared Dove was seen near the geese flock before we stopped again for another look. More scanning and photos of the flock only confirmed the presence of the 2 scarcities we'd found earlier though there was a possible orange leg visible in one photo. Susan dropped me off at the railway station and we both headed for home after a rather successful spot of birding.
Despite only being out for slightly less than 5 hours we managed to see a total of 54 species including 3 year-ticks (in bold) for me and at least 1 more for Susan. The weather made it a pleasant wander in the sunshine though there was a slight chill to the wind. The 2 'new' geese species in particular were a welcome and unexpected bonus.
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| Spotted Redshank & Redshank |
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| Spotted Redshank & Redshank |
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| Spotted Redshank & Redshank |
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| Lesser Black Backed Gull & Carrion Crow |
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| Long Tailed Tit |
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| Long Tailed Tit |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Pink Footed Goose & Barnacle Goose |
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| Barnacle Goose & Pink Footed Goose |
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| Small Tortoiseshell |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Roe Deer |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Pink Footed Goose & European White Fronted Goose |
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| European White Fronted Goose & Pink Footed Goose |
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| European White Fronted Goose & Pink Footed Goose |
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| European White Fronted Goose & Pink Footed Goose |
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| Pink Footed Goose & Barnacle Goose |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
Species seen -
Barnacle Goose, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Dunlin, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Crested Grebe, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard,
Marsh Harrier, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oysteractcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Shelduck, Skylark, Song Thrush, Spotted Redshank, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck,
(European) White Fronted Goose, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Butterfly - Small Tortoiseshell.
Mammals - Roe Deer.
