I still wasn't feeling particularly enthused about heading out birding on Saturday, with very little of interest around within reasonable travel distance. I decided after getting up late that I would make some effort and head to Riverside Nature Park to do some insect macro photography instead. The weather forecast was reasonably promising with relatively light winds and mostly sunshine. I packed my binoculars into my bag along with my macro lens fitted camera. Birds would be very much a secondary consideration with much smaller targets the main focus.
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| Osprey |
As I wasn't intending on recording the birds I hadn't bothered with a
list on the way to the park, though a Sparrowhawk over Arklay Street
earlier in the day had been the first sighting of the species for a
while locally. I reached the park at around 1350. A male Kestrel being mobbed
by a Carrion Crow changed my mind about keeping a note of the birds I
encountered. Swifts, Herring Gull and Black Headed Gull were also seen
in flight. A female Blackbird flew into the bushes. A few Swallows swept
overhead and a Goldfinch flew into a nearby tree. Despite the
conditions insect life seemed to be keeping a very low profile given
the amount of apparently suitable vegetation for pollinators in
particular.
At the end of Buzzard Wood I bumped into
Lainy McCormack and we chatted about the lack of insects and the birds
that we were hearing/seeing. Sandwich Terns over towards Brakes building
were picked up by their calls before a pair were spotted. Woodpigeon
and Whitethroat were next onto the list though a singing Reed Bunting
remained elusive. A few Sand Martins and the male Kestrel once again were seen over the car park where I
said cheerio to Lainy as she and Adam were headed off elsewhere. I
eventually managed to find a few butterflies with the first Meadow
Browns and Green Veined White flitting around in the lee of the trees to
the north of the car park.
A pair of Skylarks dropped
in on the hill and a single Linnet overflew. A family group of Long
Tailed Tits were heard among the bushes further on and I succeeded in
seeing one of the group through a gap in the greenery. A similarly small window
further round provided enough space to add a wary Song Thrush to the list. At
the Lochan at least 5 Moorhen chicks and an adult were seen along with a
female Mallard and 6 ducklings. Insects life was still proving
difficult to find much variety with bees the most obvious though not in great numbers. Hardly any
hoverflies, butterflies or even micro-moths were to be found despite the
favourable conditions.
A trio of Oystercatchers flew
into the bay as I neared the hide. The path down to the hide was very
overgrown with brambles encroaching and a damaged branch
doing likewise. Views were as usual rather limited fromn the hide though
Lesser Black Backed and Common Gull were added to the list. There were
plenty of Black Headed Gulls out on the mud but only having binoculars
with me and a 90mm lens meant finding a potential Mediterranean Gull or anything else of note was
impossible. A Willow Warbler showed above the path. A few Feral Pigeons
were down by the burn and a few Jackdaws dropped in briefly.
A
Dunnock showed among the bushes as I headed back into the park. A
Ringlet butterfly provided slight distraction but refused to settle
within photo range. A young Rabbit popped out onto the path briefly but
retreated quickly as two joggers approached. Scanning the outer bay I
found a pair of Mute Swans by the pipe and I heard a Common Sandpiper
(which might have been the small "bump" I could just see on the pipe). A
number of Curlews were seen in flight and a Small Tortoiseshell
butterfly showed nicely on the Buddleia near the composting toilet. Some distant
Redshanks were visible beyond the pipe.
Near the car
park I watched a number of birds among the trees - Chaffinches, Willow
Warblers and a smart male Blackcap while a Magpie landed atop a tree
nearby before flying off again. The Kestrel male put in another
appearance and a rather faded Painted Lady butterfly landed high
in a bush. I headed down into the lower half of the park, slowly making
my way towards the exit. Something made me look up and I found a large
raptor gliding over. A quick check confirmed it was an Osprey, which
then circled back around losing height slightly before drifting off
eastwards again before eventually disappearing out over the river. A
nice surprise.
A few House Martins were spotted as I
watched the Osprey's progress east. A Pied Wagtail flitted over and I
eventually managed to see the Reed Bunting I'd heard earlier. Checking
the times of the next bus I realised I should probably leave the park if
I didn't want to have to wait another 30 minutes or so for the next
one. A Small Copper butterfly was noted as I hurried out and a small
flock of Starlings were seen over the Perth Road area rounding off the
day's bird sightings.
Despite not being a birding
outing I managed to see 37 species of bird which felt like more variety
than I managed of insects. Looking at photos later at home from around
the same time of year at the park the lack of variety and numbers of
invertebrates seen was really hammered home. In some ways it felt like
my recent stint of macro photography on the small wasteground area
behind Groucho's was more productive despite the more urban location and
far smaller site size. I took very few bird photos because of the
limitations of the 90mm lens I had with me.
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| Bumblebee sp. |
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| Leafhopper sp. |
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| Fly sp. |
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| Bug sp. |
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| Bee sp. |
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| Bee sp. |
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| Bee sp. |
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| Fly sp. |
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| Ichneumon sp. |
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| Kestrel |
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| Micro Moth sp. |
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| Hoverfly sp. |
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| Bee sp. |
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| Fly sp. |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Fly sp. |
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| Ichneumon sp. |
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| Bee sp. |
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| Bee sp. |
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| Bee sp. |
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| Cranefly sp. |
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| Cranefly sp. |
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| Meadow Brown |
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| Bumblebee sp. |
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| Fly sp. |
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| Rhagonycha fulva (Soldier beetle) |
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| Fly sp. |
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| Micro Moth sp. |
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| Hoverfly sp. |
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| Wasp sp. |
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| Wasp sp. & Fly sp. |
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| Wasp sp. & Fly sp. |
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| Wasp sp. & Fly sp. |
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| Rhagonycha fulva (Soldier Beetle) |
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| Bumblebee sp. |
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| Leafhopper sp. |
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| Moth sp. |
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| Moorhen & Mallard |
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| Hoverfly sp. |
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| Hoverfly sp. |
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| Wasp sp. |
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| 7-Spot Ladybird |
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| Fly sp. |
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| Small Tortoiseshell |
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| Small Tortoiseshell |
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| Meadow Brown |
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| Bumblebee sp. |
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| Harvestman sp. |
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| Fly sp. |
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| Fly sp. |
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| Kestrel |
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| Painted Lady |
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| Moth sp. |
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| Bee sp. |
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| Fly sp. |
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| Beetle sp. |
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| Beetle sp. |
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| Beetle sp. |
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| Fly sp. |
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| Fly sp. |
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| Osprey |
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| Cinnabar moth caterpillar |
Species seen - Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Curlew, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Herring Gull, House Martin, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Feral Pigeon, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon.
Butterflies seen - Green Veined White, Meadow Brown, Painted Lady, Ringlet, Small Copper, Small Tortoiseshell.
Mammals seen - Rabbit.
