For my most recent midweek birding, I toyed with a trip outwith Dundee whilst staying within the 5 mile limit allowed. However, a later than planned start (sounds familiar!) meant a bit of a rethink. Still needing Black Tailed Godwit for the year-list, (which have begun to show up elsewhere as they migrate northwards), and with the possibility of adding Willow Warbler too, (which have also begun to arrive), I settled on another trip to Riverside Nature Park. With high tide around 1700 I knew the light would be against me for attempting to differentiate between Godwit species if the need should arise. Heading out around 1030, I would arrive at the park some time around 1130 or thereabouts giving me just slightly more than an afternoon's worth of hopefully productive birding.
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Chiffchaff
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I decided to set myself a target of 50 species at the park and was hoping for at least one year-tick. The later start did mean that things were a good bit quieter than when I'm walking to work, however I was still able to see or hear a variety of the relatively common species I normally see on my commute. Chiffchaff and Blackcap were noted around the Law, then Long Tailed Tits, a showy pair of Goldcrests, a calling Great Spotted Woodpecker, as well as Stock Dove and a Jay increased the interest levels at Balgay Hill and Cemetery. A Meadow Pipit flew over and a Bullfinch pair were added as I headed for the exit at Glamis Road.
Having spent a bit of time photographing the Jay and Goldcrests at Balgay meant it was just before noon when I reached the park. With around 3 hours before I needed to be at the bay end to catch the tide bringing the birds into decent viewing range, I knew I had plenty of time to play with, so I took my time. A Chiffchaff in the trees at the eastern entrance was the first 'good' bird noted, along with the more common Magpie, Woodpigeon, Oystercatcher, Herring Gull, Chaffinch, Jackdaw, Greenfinch, Blue Tit, Dunnock and Starling. A Meadow Pipit flew up from the fields. The first Lesser Black Backed Gull circled overhead as a Wren sang from among the brambles. A Green Veined White butterfly flitted around in the sunshine.
More slow wandering produced Song Thrush, Robin and Reed Bunting as well as Blackbird. The first Buzzard of the day was pursued at low level by a Carrion Crow and surprisingly I managed to keep the bird in focus and got a few decent photos despite the 'busy' background of trees. The first few Long Tailed Tits of several pairs I found throughout the afternoon flitted around in the hedge at the western end of Buzzard Wood. A Sparrowhawk circled up over the field being harassed briefly by a Pied Wagtail. Skylark and a flyover Stock Dove and a singing Goldfinch were then added to the list.
A Yellowhammer was seen feeding in below the hedge where the Long Tailed Tits had been and a male Greenfinch also showed quite well, though always in shadow. A Great Spotted Woodpecker called from somewhere in Buzzard Wood but I failed to locate it. Coal Tit, Feral Pigeon and a surprise skein of Pink Footed Geese arriving from the northeast joined the growing list before a Common Gull drifted over. A pair of Buzzards circled up over the road and railway line with a third Buzzard heading over below them to disappear into the trees within the park. As I checked a distant 'kettle' of Herring Gulls as they soared upwards on thermals to the north, I spotted an even more distant pair of Sparrowhawks beyond and even higher but they were impossible to find with the camera.
A Swallow sped over as I wandered up to the top half of the park. A Peacock butterfly was found as I wandered along to check the Lochan where a Moorhen, a pair of sleeping Mallard drakes, a single female Mallard and a pair of Mute Swans were joined by a Lesser Black Backed Gull. A Siskin flew over as I headed for the hide where a Blackcap was heard singing and another pair of Long Tailed Tits showed out in front. As the tide was still quite far out I continued round to the area by the picnic tables to scan through the birds in the bay from there. Plenty Redshanks and Dunlin and what turned out to be Bar Tailed Godwits were found along with some Teal, a few Curlews and some Oystercatchers.
A Cormorant was drying out on the pipe and a few distant Shelducks were seen across towards the far side of the bay. A Small Tortoiseshell butterfly settled briefly in front of me as I attempted to scope through the waders in the hope of turning up something out of the ordinary. As the tide rose higher I headed back to the hide again. Rustling from behind me eventually resulted in me having a look to see what was making the noise, which sounded a bit louder than the usual foraging Blackbird. To my surprise I found a rather impressive looking Brown Rat which retreated back beyond the stone wall when it realised I was there.
A Black Headed Gull was spotted on the water before a woman appeared on the pipe flushing all the waders from off the mud. She was joined by the rest of her family and with no chance of any more birds being seen from the hide I headed back into the park to see if I could add anything else to the list. Goldcrest and Great Tit as well as a Rabbit were the final additions to the list at the park. A Pied Wagtail on Riverside Avenue and a detour to track down the calling Nuthatch at Balgay Hill rounded things off for the day. I didn't quite make it to 50 species, recording only 48 in the park, and 30 outside, for a total of 52 species, with 4 species only seen outside the park. 3 species of butterfly and 2 of mammal (with the Brown rat being a new one for me at the park) were also seen.
One disappointing note was the almost total lack of adherence to the signs by the vast majority of dog owners at the park - with just 1 dog on a lead from around 30 in the top half encountered throughout the afternoon, (though a couple of others were briefly put on leads when other dogs were encountered). Most dogs were reasonably well behaved and walking alongside the owners, though one did pick up a dead Rabbit which led to the teenage girl walking the dog yelling loudly as she tried to get the dog to put it down. A situation that would not have arisen had the dog been on a lead. In addition, a used dog poo bag was left hanging on one of the signs. The signs are reasonably obvious and with fences marking the ends of the area involved there really should be no excuse for not being aware of them and not adhering to them, but as posts from all over the UK on social media show, ignorant/entitled dog walkers are not just a local problem. Something needs to change.
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Jay
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Goldcrest
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Goldcrest
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Goldcrest
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Goldcrest
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Chaffinch
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Chaffinch
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Bullfinch
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Carrion Crow
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Robin
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Reed Bunting
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Carrion Crow & Buzzard
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Buzzard
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Blue Tit
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Sparrowhawk
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Chiffchaff
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Long Tailed Tit
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Long Tailed Tit
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Buzzard & Carrion Crow
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Jackdaw
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Buzzard & Sparrowhawk
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Buzzard
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Pink Footed Goose
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Goldfinch
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Lesser Black Backed Gull
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Moorhen
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Shelduck, Common Gull, Dunlin, Redshank & Oystercatcher
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Small Tortoiseshell
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Goldfinch
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Common Gull
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Oystercatcher
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Bar Tailed Godwit, Dunlin & Redshank
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Long Tailed Tit
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Black Headed Gull
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Herring Gull
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Mute Swan
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Jackdaw
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Blackbird
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Rabbit
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Peacock
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Chaffinch
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Song Thrush
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Long Tailed Tit
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Chiffchaff
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Chiffchaff
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Blue Tit
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Pied Wagtail
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Nuthatch
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Nuthatch
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Nuthatch
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Nuthatch
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Birds -
Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch,
Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Sparrow,
Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Shelduck, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Teal, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.Butterflies -
Green Veined White, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell.
Mammals -
Brown Rat, Rabbit.
Riverside Nature Park - italics
Outside Park - underlineOutside Park only - normal text
