Having heard from Mark Wilkinson that he'd seen a flock of around 57 Black tailed Godwits at Riverside Nature Park on Tuesday I made my mind up that I would head down to the park to hopefully finally manage to get the species on my year-list the following day. There was also a possibility of other summer migrants fresh in. With 5 Avocets being seen in Lothian there was a slim chance of them appearing in Invergowrie Bay. Some of the summer Warbler species were also on the list of possibilities as well as Osprey, Wheatear and maybe even some of the birds I usually have to head inland to one of the Glens to see, such as Redstart, Cuckoo or Ring Ouzel.
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Black Tailed Godwit, Redshank & Black Headed Gull
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I decided on an early start and a different route. I would head down to Slessor Gardens which can be good for seeing Pied Wagtails in the hope that a Yellow Wagtail might just drop in there. I didn't think it was particularly likely but I knew I should take the chance to check - just in case. I headed out at around the same time as I go to work, meaning I should arrive at the park before 0800. A Grey Wagtail was heard as I stepped outside and a selection of the usual suspects were seen or heard as I walked down towards City Quay. Chiffchaff at Dens Brae was probably the best of the birds noted on that section of my journey.
A lady walking her dog at Slessor Gardens meant there was only a grand total of a single Pied Wagtail in the general area. Rather than my original plan of heading out along the river, I decided to take the cycle path which runs along to the north of and parallel to the railway line as there is some wasteground and some bushes and trees. A surprise was a pair of Mallards which flew out from the direction of the Science Centre towards City Quay. A Willow Warbler was noted a little further on, before a Greenfinch was added and a Meadow Pipit was heard overhead. Magdalen Green added Song Thrush and the University playing fields added Blackcap while an Oystercatcher was seen as I approached the airport where I found a pair of Linnets in the hedge by the car park at the flying club end. Nearing the Nature Park I added Long Tailed Tit and Wren.
I reached the park at 0745 and decided to head through the park to the bay end first to check the waders and gulls before winding my way back to the entrance over the course of a large chunk of the day. Blackbird, Blue Tit, Dunnock, Skylark, Carrion Crow, Mallard, Feral Pigeon, Chaffinch and Woodpigeon gave me a decent start to the day's park list. The first Rabbit was noted before Blackcap, Wren, Herring Gull, Teal, Stock Dove, Jackdaw, Willow Warbler and Reed Bunting were noted on my Bird Journal app. Moorhen at the Lochan, as well as Robin and Yellowhammer were next.
The bay proved to be relatively productive. There was a decent sized flock of Bar Tailed Gowits and another of Redshanks, but oddly no sign of any Dunlin. There was also a flock of around 55 Black Tailed Godwits all resplendent in their orange breeding plumage in contrast to the still winter plumaged Bar Tails nearby. Oystercatcher, a a pair of Mute Swans, Common Gull, Black Headed Gull, Herring Gull and Lesser Black Backed Gull were in the bay, some sleeping, some feeding. Goldfinch and Long Tailed Tit were in the trees and bushes in front of the hide. I watched the tide getting higher bringing more birds into my field of view from the hide including Curlew and Shelduck.
A single Knot was found in with the Redshank flock. A Pied Wagtail flew past while a Chiffchaff sang from the trees behind the hide. A Starling and a Buzzard both overflew the bay. With a relatively small high tide the waders never quite came close enough though I did manage to photograph a couple of Black Tailed Godwits with colour rings - one of which was possibly ringed in France (awaiting confirmation). I eventually decided to leave the birds in the bay and to go and spend some time checking out what else was around.
As I wandered up the path from the hide I noticed a lot of commotion from the gulls that had been lazing around in the bay. There was a good chance that the cause would be an Osprey, and sure enough it was. I managed to grab a couple of photos of my second year-tick of the day before it disappeared behind a tree before reappearing shortly after heading out into the river carrying a fish with a small mob of gulls in tow. Small Tortoiseshell butterflies flitted around in search of flowers to feed at. A Cormorant was seen well out over the river. From the top of the hill I added a Sparrowhawk to the north and a pair of Linnets which joined me briefly before flying off again.
A single Sand Martin was seen feeding above the earth piles to the south of the park boundaries. A Grey Heron caught a newt (sp.) at the Lochan though things were rather quiet there with just 3 Mallards and a Moorhen before a few Jackdaws dropped in. The bottom half of the park proved to be a bit quieter. As the clock ticked into the afternoon I watched 2 Sparrowhawks tussling with 2 Carrion Crows (I think) as well as each other distantly to the north. Green Veined White and Peacock butterflies flitted around and I managed to catch a pair of Bullfinches in flight before also noting Siskin.
I had set myself a target of 50 species at the park but was looking like coming up a little short as I headed towards the exit at around 1410. However, having taken the decision to check the trees between Buzzard Wood and the fields I managed to get one of the species I was still missing - Coal Tit and as I headed out towards the road a quick check of the trees produced a pair of Great Tits taking me to 51 species for the park list, including the very welcome 2 year-ticks (in bold). On the walk back home I added a surprise male Orange Tip butterfly flying across the road near the Botanic Gardens as well as Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies around the cemetery.
Stock Dove and Nuthatch were added to the 'outside the park' list as I wandered slowly back homewards through Balgay Cemetery and along the paths at the hill itself. One final addition before I made it home around 1640, after 9 hours birding was Jackdaw, near Dens Park football stadium. A pretty decent day's birding, with a total of 55 species recorded, with 29 of 33 species seen outwith the park also being seen at Riverside Nature Park and 22 of the species noted at the park not being seen elsewhere. The 2 year-ticks were as always very welcome, taking my Dundee list to 105 for 2021. I only need another 20 to reach my target of 125 - though it gets a lot harder to add anything new after I reach about 110.
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Blackcap
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Skylark
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Stock Dove
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Chiffchaff
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Reed Bunting
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Reed Bunting
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Wren
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Yellowhammer
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Black Tailed Godwit & Bar Tailed Godwit
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Common Gull
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Teal
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Mute Swan
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Blue Tit
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Dunnock
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Song Thrush
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Mute Swan
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Long Tailed Tit
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Curlew
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Long Tailed Tit
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Long Tailed Tit
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Reed Bunting
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Reed Bunting
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Shelduck
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Skylark
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Mallard
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Black Tailed Godwit
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Common Gull
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Shelduck & Mallard
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Black Headed Gull
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Lesser Black Backed Gull
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Herring Gull
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Shelduck
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Black Tailed Godwit
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Lesser Black Backed Gull, Black Headed Gull, Herring Gull & Common Gull
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Black Tailed Godwit & Bar Tailed Godwit
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Bar Tailed Godwit, Black Headed Gull, Common Gull & Redshank
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Redshank, Black Tailed Godwit & Common Gull
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Buzzard
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Black Tailed Godwit
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Blackcap
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Redshank & Black Tailed Godwit
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Black Tailed Godwit
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Black Tailed Godwit, Black Headed Gull, Bar Tailed Godwit & Knot
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Osprey
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Reed Bunting
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Chaffinch
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Starling
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Black Headed Gull
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Blackcap
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Buzzard
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Sparrowhawk
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Sparrowhawk & Carrion Crow(?)
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Sand Martin
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Linnet
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Curlew
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Meadow Pipit
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Blackbird
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Blackbird
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Sparrowhawk
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Sparrowhawk
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Grey Heron
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Grey Heron
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Grey Heron
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Stock Dove
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Grey Heron & Newt sp.
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Lesser Black Backed Gull
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Jackdaw
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Blackcap
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Blackcap
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Magpie
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Carrion Crow
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Pied Wagtail
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Greenfinch
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Goldfinch
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Green Veined White
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Bullfinch
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Blackcap
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Blackcap
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Blackcap
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Green Veined White
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Peacock
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Carrion Crow
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Oystercatcher
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Chiffchaff
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Nuthatch
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Birds - Bar Tailed Godwit,
Blackbird,
Blackcap, Black Headed Gull,
Black Tailed Godwit,
Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard,
Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew,
Dunnock,
Goldcrest,
Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch,
Grey Wagtail, Grey Heron,
Herring Gull,
House Sparrow,
Jackdaw, Knot,
Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan,
Nuthatch, Osprey,
Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Reed Bunting,
Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sand Martin, Shelduck,
Siskin, Skylark,
Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk,
Starling, Stock Dove, Teal,
Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Butterflies - Green Veined White,
Orange Tip, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell.
Mammals -
Rabbit.
Normal text - Riverside Nature Park only.
Normal Text & underlined - Riverside Nature Park & Outside Park.
Bold - Year-tick.
Italic - Outside Park only.
