Despite Woodcock being seen practically everywhere across the UK during the recent wintry weather I managed to miss out - though options for where to find one in Dundee are a wee bit limited. I suspected my best option might be an early morning visit to Templeton Woods and decided that I would make an effort to get there before sunrise at the weekend. However, despite setting the alarm for 0445 on Saturday I went back to sleep. Despite a rather late night I decided to try again on Sunday with maybe a trip to Riverside Nature Park afterwards. I did sleep in a little but still managed to get up just after 0500 and was ready to head out a little after 0615.
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Yellowhammer
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I took as direct a route as possible to get me to Templeton Woods for around 0700 in the hope that with it being Sunday the dog walkers would still be limited in number at that time. Oystercatcher, Redwing and Song Thrush were the 'best' birds seen on the walk there. I had a possible Fox at the end of The Miley in behind the bushes (picked out with thermal imager) but it scarpered when it realised I was there. A number of relatively unworried Roe Deer were seen in Templeton Woods but I failed to find any Woodcock. Mistle Thrush, Siskin and Great Spotted Woodpecker were the main highlights along with a single overflying Greylag Goose and a few skeins of Pink Footed Geese.
I reached the northern end of the woods around an hour later and decided to pop along to check Clatto Reservoir. A Grey Squirrel, female Bullfinch and a Treecreeper showed well in the trees at the northwestern corner. Goosander, Goldeneye, Tufted Duck, Mallard, a single drake Wigeon, Coot, Mute Swan, Moorhen, 2 Lesser Black Backed Gulls, Common Gull, Black Headed Gull and Herring Gull were all noted on the still mostly frozen water. I decided to do a spot of exploring and headed into the wood behind the reservoir. A Jay gave me good views. At the top corner of the small wood I decided to check out a nearby conifer plantation and spotted a gate in. There were lots of singing Yellowhammers there (a bird I thought I'd already seen this year, but actually hadn't).
I could hear Skylarks singing but failed to pick one out against the sky but as I'm counting 'heard only' birds this year it went on the list - giving me a second year-tick. When I discovered the rather large size of the plantation I headed back to the small wood and wandered along the top edge adding Long Tailed Tit to the day's birds. There was a large flock of mostly Carrion Crows in the field as well as a single Rook which called loudly as it took flight. Checking Google Maps on my phone I navigated my way back to the reservoir. A Pied Wagtail overflew. I headed back towards Templeton Wood to continue on to Camperdown Park. I managed to see a Skylark in flight and another make a short song flight as I passed the fields before the farm buildings. A distant Jay was seen in a field with Woodpigeons.
The walk to Camperdown failed to add anything new though once I reached the park I did succeed in getting the first Goldcrest of the day. A few Jackdaws were seen overhead as I headed for Gourdie Brae. I navigated my way through Menzieshill with Riverside Nature Park my next destination. Magpie was finally added on Perth Road just before I headed through the underpass to get to the park. With the sun shining and a relatively warm temperature the birds were singing and calling which allowed me to add a few species quite quickly to the park list for the day (which I keep separate from the main list).
I scanned through the birds in the bay - the usual mix of Redshanks, Dunlin and a few Oystercatcher, plus Teal, Mallard, and the normal trio of Gull species. In addition there was a single Lesser Black Backed Gull and a few small groups of Greylag Geese. A Bullfinch called from the trees next to the hide. A Grey Wagtail landed near the burn outflow. I made my way round to the Lochan for a look but it was a fairly typical mix there too. A few Skylarks were seen singing above the hill and having had a quick look at the Lochan I wandered back to check out the outer half of the bay, adding Shelduck, Mute Swan and Cormorant. A Siskin overflew and I picked up yet another high flying skein of Pink Footed Geese heading northwards.
The first Buzzard of the day was seen distantly before a pair of male Reed Buntings flew over as I wandered over the hill. Robin, Starling and Stock Dove were all noted as I chatted to the retired lady I'd spoken to on one of my previous visits. A Sparrowhawk was spotted being harassed by a Carrion Crow to the north of the park as I checked out the lower half of the park. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard but not seen as were a couple of Greenfinches. A Pied Wagtail flew past and as I took a drink a male Sparrowhawk passed quite close by. A pair of Buzzards also showed reasonably well. A Mistle Thrush was perched on a telegraph pole by the road as I headed for the exit around 1420.
My plan was to head for Balgay Hill to try and add Nuthatch to the list for the day and I wandered along the road to the steps by the road over the railway. At the top of the stairs I found Lainy McCormack who had been at City Quay photographing Red Breasted Merganser and Guillemots. We were joined by Adam and chatted for a bit which allowed me to rest my by now rather tired legs. After some discussion and a few Greenfinches, Chaffinches and a Sparrowhawk I decided to change my plan for my route homewards. I would instead of going to Balgay Hill next go to City Quay where the chance of adding 3 or 4 new species for the day was more tempting than the potential Nuthatch and not much else but lots of people.
I said cheerio to Adam and Lainy just after 1500 and set off along the road before detouring slightly to follow the railway line instead. A Bullfinch pair showed well in trees just after the Roseangle car park but there were just too many people around to add anything else. I reached City Quay around 1600. There were a couple of Cormorants at Foxlake but nothing else except a Herring Gull trying to break into a Mussel. Continuing on, with increasingly heavy legs I found a distant Guillemot and Red Breasted Merganser near the clock tower flats. A Little Grebe and a Mallard were seen in the outer section of the Quay and a few more Red Breasted Merganser were seen out on the river.
With the light and my remaining energy starting to go I decided to head for home and trudged rather wearily uphill having been out for slightly less than 11 hours. Once home I used Google Earth to calculate how far I had walked and was rather shocked to see that I had managed a total of 18.4 miles - at least 5 miles more than my previous furthest measured walk. I finished the day having seen or heard a total of 59 species of bird including 2 year ticks (in bold) as well as 3 species of mammal. An enjoyable day out despite the distance covered. The temperature was probably just about right for it not to be too hot or cold and for a change I wasn't overdressed or trying to carry too much with me, all of which probably played their part in me managing to cover such a long distance.
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Goosander
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Lesser Black Backed Gull & Black Headed Gull
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Goosander
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Goosander
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Black Headed Gull
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Mute Swan
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Lesser Black Backed Gull, Common Gull & Herring Gull
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Lesser Black Backed Gull
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Goosander
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Wigeon
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Goosander
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Goosander
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Moorhen
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Moorhen
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Blue Tit
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Jay
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Jay
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Pink Footed Goose
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Song Thrush
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Yellowhammer
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Yellowhammer
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Yellowhammer
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Yellowhammer
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Mistle Thrush
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Great Tit
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Goosander
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Skylark
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Woodpigeon & Jay
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Great Spotted Woodpecker
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Herring Gull & Black Headed Gull
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Lesser Black Backed Gull, Black Headed Gull, Common Gull, Redshank & Dunlin
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Lesser Black Backed Gull, Common Gull, Black Headed Gull, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Dunlin & Teal
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Greylag Goose & Redshank
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Jackdaw
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Cormorant
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Shelduck
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Carrion Crow
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Jackdaw
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Skylark
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Mute Swan
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Skylark
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Oystercatcher
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Skylark
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Skylark
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Skylark
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Skylark
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Reed Bunting
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Teal & Mallard
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Black Headed Gull
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Blue Tit
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Buzzard
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Buzzard
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Carrion Crow & Sparrowhawk
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Buzzard
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Buzzard
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Mistle Thrush
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Sparrowhawk
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Sparrowhawk
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Carrion Crow
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Woodpigeon
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Greenfinch
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Bullfinch
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Bullfinch
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Herring Gull
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Mallard & Herring Gull
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Oystercatcher
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Oystercatcher
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Oystercatcher
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Guillemot
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Little Grebe
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Red Breasted Merganser
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Feral Pigeon
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Guillemot & Red Breasted Merganser
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Birds -
Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank,
Redwing,
Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shelduck, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals -
Grey Squirrel, Rabbit, Roe Deer. Bold = year-tick
Italics = outside Riverside Nature Park
Underline = Riverside Nature Park
