Tuesday the 28th of December would be my final full day available for birding in 2021. I had agreed to go into work on my usual Wednesday off to allow others to get the time off (which I didn't want or need) so Tuesday would be my final attempt to add something to my Dundee 2021 list. The weather forecast was to be better than the previous few days which was definitely a plus. I had planned to try to get to the park as early as possible but a bit of a late night meant I needed a bit more sleep. However, I did still manage to be out the door around 15 minutes after sunrise.
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Long Tailed Tit
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Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Robin, Woodpigeon and Starling made for a fairly typical 'daylight' start to proceedings. They were soon followed by Black Headed Gull, Magpie, Jackdaw, Grey Wagtail, Goldfinch, House Sparrow, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Goldcrest, Greenfinch and Great Tit for an unexpectedly productive first 15 minutes birding. I cut along past the Law adding Wren, Buzzard and Dunnock. Not unexpectedly things quietened down a bit after the rather hectic start.
When I reached Balgay Hill I was able to add Oystercatcher, Redwing, Common Gull and Coal Tit with Long Tailed Tits added as I neared the Nature Park. Keith Edwards had just left the park and he let me know what he'd seen both that morning and on other recent visits. Woodcock was a bird I was hoping to find at the park this winter and Keith has ran into one around the park a few times already lately. Another potential new bird (and one that has been noted in previous years as a 'possible' for the park list but has never yet firmed up) was a possible Merlin but having not managed to get onto the bird with binoculars, Keith was reluctant to say that it was a 100% certain. Hopefully, it will be seen again and the ID confirmed.
After saying cheerio to Keith I headed into the park. Magpie was first onto the list for the park, then Carrion Crow, Greenfinch, Robin, Black Headed Gull, Siskin, Blue Tit, Yellowhammer and Wren were all noted around the eastern end of the park. Keith had told me that the tide was still quite high, so there was no real rush to get to the western end. Bullfinch, Feral Pigeon and Woodpigeon were noted as I wandered westwards. There were some Mallard and Teal at the expanded Lochan but no Moorhen. An Oystercatcher was seen near another pool and a Skylark dropped into the field further on.
A Goldcrest was seen in the hedge by the path along to the hide. Scanning over the bay from the hide, there were lots of Redshanks roosting along the railway banking. There was a flock of Greylag Geese across towards the Invergowrie side of the bay. A rather yellow-ish Goosander (which looked very similar to the bird I'd seen with Red Breasted Mergansers the previous day near the docks) was on the pipe as the tide started to recede further. Jackdaw, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Common Gull and Herring Gull were all seen from the hide. A few Blackbirds were on the path behind me and a Dunnock was also noted. I spotted a Buzzard perched in one of the trees to the right of the hide and decided to head up to the bridge for a closer view.
Having managed to get a few photos of the bird, being watched over by a Carrion Crow above it in the same tree, I wandered back into the park. A Sparrowhawk whizzed past me, low and fast, before cresting the top of the small fence and vanishing into the foliage. A Chaffinch flew over and I eventually succeeded in finding a few Dunlin with the Redshanks spread out across the bay. A Cormorant was seen fishing off the end of the pipe. I checked the gulls along the pipe but found nothing unusual. I wandered up to the top of the hill where I added a fly-past Pied Wagtail and also heard a few more single Skylarks passing over high westwards.
An odd looking Bunting caused me to try to get as many photos as possible, just in case it was something unusual. It was clearly not a Reed Bunting and my suspicion of a young Yellowhammer proved to be correct in the end*, though the details that clinched the ID weren't particularly easy to see even on the photos which were pretty good. *EDIT : My ID of this bird niggled away at me. I wasn't convinced I was correct, despite having some features that did match. Over a year later I posted the photos on Twitter and the ID came back as a Corn Bunting - a new bird for the park list and one that I don't usually struggle with. I suspect my subconscious ignored that possibility due mainly to the location and the winter light making it look a bit more colourful than Corn Bunting usually does. I then found evidence to support the Yellowhammer ID and went with that, erroneously. A lesson (re-)learned.
Keith had mentioned that he'd had a Pheasant that morning and I spooked the bird as I wandered along the fenceline to the south of the top of the hill. Having failed to find any Curlew in the bay, I was happy to see there was a small flock picking around in the grass by the runway at the airport. I had another look at the Lochan where 3 Stock Doves dropped in and just as quickly left again but all the ducks had disappeared towards the bay earlier. I moved into the lower half of the park where I heard Redwing calling in Buzzard Wood but couldn't see the birds - though I did eventually manage to see one in flight. Coal Tit was noted near the car park and I could hear House Sparrows through the trees towards the recycling skips. As there was some surface water dotted around and I had failed to find any sign of Woodcock I decided I might as well skirt around the former 'boggy area' in front of Buzzard Wood.
I was quite surprised to find a solitary Snipe in there, (the first one I've seen actually in the park this year - my previous birds being over by the reedbed in the bay), as they were always quite regular in winter in that area. Unfortunately, the area has largely dried out, likely as a result of the increasing amount of vegetation soaking up much of the water. There was no sign of any Woodcock. A small flock of Starlings flew over from the airport and a Great Tit was in the trees behind Buzzard Wood. A male Sparrowhawk caught the sunlight nicely as it glided past me. I admitted defeat on adding anything new at the park and decided to head for home, though rather than going via Balgay again I decided I would check the wooded areas bordering the railway line to the east of the airport, in case there were any Woodcock hiding in there.
The Buzzard I'd seen a few weeks ago in the overflow parking area to the east of the airport had found a lower perch atop a CCTV camera pole and although the sun was behind the bird, I managed to get a few photos over the top of the hedge from the other side of the road. Needless to say I drew a blank on Woodcock but did add Great Spotted Woodpecker, Redwing, Bullfinch, Goldfinch and Mistle Thrush in the tall trees at the western end of Magdalen Green from across the railway line. I didn't have the energy to check out City Quay when I reached the city centre though I did route up through the University, then along to previous Waxwing spots at the Howff and the Willison Street car park, just in case (guess what....No Waxwings) before I got there. There was one final addition for the day as I neared home, a Collared Dove on Dens Road.
Although slightly disappointing that I'd failed to add anything new - especially Woodcock which were around - I still managed a total of 47 species. 43 of these were at Riverside Nature Park which is a pretty decent total for a late December visit, especially as there were still a few species I didn't see that I could easily have ran into. I also noted 30 species outwith the park. The weather was rather mild for the time of year and I was probably slightly overdressed for the conditions which did make it a bit more tiring than it probably needed to be. All in all though, a decent enough day out, to finish off 2021.
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| Greenfinch |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Goldcrest |
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Grey Heron
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| Redshank |
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| Goosander |
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Buzzard & Carrion Crow
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| Buzzard |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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Greylag Goose & Redshank
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| Blackbird |
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Redshank & Dunlin
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| Teal |
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Corn Bunting
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Corn Bunting
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Corn Bunting
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Corn Bunting
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Pied Wagtail
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| Cormorant |
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| Skylark |
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| Magpie |
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| Curlew |
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| Chaffinch |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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Stock Dove
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Stock Dove
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Stock Dove
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| Siskin |
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Blue Tit
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Stock Dove
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| Starling |
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| Greenfinch |
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Carrion Crow
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| Greenfinch |
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| Siskin |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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Carrion Crow
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| Magpie |
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| Magpie |
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| Blackbird |
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| Magpie |
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| Buzzard |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Redwing |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Redwing |
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Common Gull (& Herring Gull)
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Long Tailed Tit
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Long Tailed Tit
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Long Tailed Tit
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Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mistle Thrush, Oystercatcher, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Starling, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Birds (at Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull,
Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Cormorant, Corn Bunting, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander,
Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow,
Jackdaw, Magpie, Mallard, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Redwing,
Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Skylark, Snipe, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Woodpigeon, Wren.