The colder weather that had arrived on Monday afternoon continued into Tuesday. I wanted to get out birding somewhere but couldn't decide where to go. I eventually decided I would head for Riverside Nature Park for a chance at catching the incoming tide. I set myself a target of 40 species at the park, but having posted that figure on Twitter (@SFbirding....if you don't follow me on there yet) I started to have second thoughts as to whether it would actually be achievable. I suspected that around 36-38 would likely be the maximum figure I'd be able to reach. As usual though, time would tell....
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Chiffchaff
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It was just after 1100 or so that I headed out. Birds seemed to be in relatively short supply but although numbers of individual birds were low the number of common species seen were surprisingly varied. It only took me an hour to reach the park having by then seen 19 species and heard 1 other (Goldcrest). I was still of the opinion I'd set my target a bit too high. One plus however was that the colder weather did seem to be affecting the numbers of walkers out and about - which would hopefully work in my favour at the park, where disturbance at weekends and in good weather is a big issue when it comes to trying to see birds.
I took my time in the lower half of the park to ensure that I didn't miss anything, given my expectations of probably not being able to reach my target number of species, but hoping to get as close as I possibly could. Long Tailed Tits, a Lesser Black Backed Gull, Greenfinches, Oystercatcher and a Great Spotted Woodpecker which I heard calling and managed to pick out almost immediately despite how far away it actually was from where I was standing, were all noted. A male Bullfinch flew past me before I spotted a very distant Buzzard circling over Ninewells.
As I headed into the top half of the park I found a Buzzard stood atop a heap of soil in the recycling area, though it flew off when it spotted me. Some distance beyond it was a male Yellowhammer perched on a pile of cuttings. A Common Gull and a Skylark were seen as I wandered round to check the tide state at the bay. It was still quite far out though apparently coming in fast. Below me on the mud I was able to pick out Redshanks, Teal, a few Shelduck, some Mallard, the odd Curlew and Oystercatcher. Further scanning found a single male Goosander, a Cormorant and a flock of Dunlin. There were a few distant Grey Seals hauled out on a rapidly vanishing sandbank in the Tay.
A Song Thrush flew past me as I was searching the bay. I found a couple of flocks of geese off Kingoodie, the closest being Greylags (and a large white farmyard goose), the further away group being just too far to be certain of ID. A Cormorant appeared on the old outflow pipe, before I heard a Robin singing close by. A Goldcrest showed nicely as it picked around in a tree not far from the Lochan where Mute Swan and Moorhen were added after a bit of waiting to try and find the latter.
Moving on again, I headed for the hide to await the tide bringing the mass of birds out on the mud closer but not before having to ask a woman to retrieve her dog from beyond the fence down to the bay. She'd already flushed the Jackdaw flock on the hill by leaving the path, cutting up through the bushes and walking towards them, and having seen the birds in the bay all circling above the bay a short while before, I suspect her dog had been responsible for that too. Needless to say the dog didn't respond to her calls, but another passer-by helped her to see where it actually was. I left before I felt the need to say anything more.
A Stock Dove flew by and while I watched some smaller birds around the hide a Sparrowhawk shot through perching for less than a second on a branch of the partially fallen tree over the path before spotting me and zipping off again. I found a few Godwits among the other waders but disappointingly they were Bar Taileds rather than the hoped for Black Taileds. I realised that I had somehow actually managed to see 40 species - the Godwit being number 40. Movement behind the fence on the north side of the path tunred out to be a pair of Siskins, which were a nice surprise, and species number 41.
Better was to come however when another bird was picked out moving through the trees nearby. There was a lot of tail dipping and I was surprised to add a year-tick to the list for the park visit - a Chiffchaff. The bird proved difficult to get clear views and photos though I did manage a couple which showed a UK metal ring on 1 leg, though unfortunately I wasn't able to read many of the letters/numbers. A Grey Wagtail called from somewhere near the burn (number 43) before something spooked all the waders which took flight (that dog again?), most disappearing out of view leaving only a small group of Redshanks.
A few skeins of Pink Footed Geese were picked out distantly over the Tay as I wandered back towards the lower half of the park before a single Starling flew over taking my total for the park to an unexpected 45 species. I headed homewards earlier than I thought I would having successfully reached my target though the walk home via Balgay Park failed to add anything new for the day at all. As the afternoon's birding had been better than expected I could hardly be disappointed with the total of 47 species noted, including the unexpected bonus year-tick (in bold).
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Greenfinch
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Woodpigeon
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Great Tit
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Carrion Crow
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Great Spotted Woodpecker
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Bullfinch
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Buzzard
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Buzzard
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Buzzard
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Yellowhammer
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Teal
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Mallard
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Shelduck
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Song Thrush
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Greylag Goose, Oystercatcher & 'farmyard goose'
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Feral Pigeon
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Cormorant
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Song Thrush
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Robin
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Goldcrest
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Jackdaw
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Great Spotted Woodpecker
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Teal
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Mute Swan
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Teal
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Teal
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Moorhen
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Oystercatcher
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Cormorant
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Goosander
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Sparrowhawk
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Greylag Goose
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Robin
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Goosander
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Bar Tailed Godwit & Redshank
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Chiffchaff
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Redshank & Dunlin
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Herring Gull, Redshank, Dunlin, Oystercatcher & Black Headed Gull
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Bar Tailed Godwit
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Curlew
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Long Tailed Tit
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Long Tailed Tit
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Chiffchaff
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Herring Gull
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Herring Gull
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Pink Footed Goose
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Carrion Crow
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Carrion Crow
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Magpie
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Stock Dove
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Great Spotted Woodpecker
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Chaffinch
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Chaffinch
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Birds - Bar Tailed Godwit,
Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard,
Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin,
Dunnock,
Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit,
Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose,
Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit,
Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan,
Oystercatcher, Pink Footed Goose, Redshank,
Robin, Feral Pigeon, Shelduck,
Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk,
Starling, Stock Dove, Teal,
Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals - Grey Seal.
Outside park -
italics
Outside park only
- italics & underline
Year-tick
- bold
