Following on from Saturday's relatively successful outing, I decided that I would make an early start and try to get to Riverside Nature Park for around 0700 or so on Sunday, in the hope that I might find some migrant species passing through, such as Wheatear, or perhaps something at the Lochan, or in the bay. A Swallow or a Sand Martin would suffice. With it being Easter Sunday I knew the park was likely to get busy as the day progressed meaning an early start made sense. However, with colder temperatures and strong winds arriving later in the day there was a chance that at least some of the public would choose to stay at home, or go elsewhere.
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Yellowhammer
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The alarm got me out of bed before 0500 and I made it out into the pre-dawn chill around 0605. I do like getting out early, I just don't like having to get out of my bed to do so. Herring Gull, Jackdaw and Carrion Crow were all seen as soon as I stepped outside. An Oystercatcher was peering over the edge of the stadium roof at Tannadice as I passed by. Dunnock, Wren, Coal Tit, Magpie and House Sparrow were all noted as I headed for the Law. A Meadow Pipit flew westwards overhead. Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Chaffinch, Song Thrush and Bullfinch were added before I found the day's first Rabbits. A singing Chiffchaff preceded a Goldcrest sighting round the western side of the hill by a few seconds.
Siskin and Goldfinch were both heard as I walked on towards Balgay Hill where I hoped to add a few more species. My target for the day was 60 species in total, of which I hoped to get at least 50 at Riverside Nature Park. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard drumming somewhere near the observatory before a Buzzard flew out from a tall tree above the path. A Robin was singing and a Jay flew across in front of me to perch in a tree just inside the Royal Victoria Hospital grounds. Blue Tit and Stock Dove were both seen and a calling Nuthatch was another welcome addition. Greenfinch and Great Tit were noted near the pavilion and a Lesser Black Backed Gull circled round over the part of the cemetery that isn't on the hill.
A Sparrowhawk flew low eastwards over the trees on the cemetery hill, seconds before a surprise Peregrine went in the opposite direction. Starling and Blackcap were found in the grounds of Ninewells Hospital, and I stopped to photograph a Jay feeding on the ground just behind the Hospital's East Block entrance. Unfortunately while trying to delete the previous day's photos I managed to delete the Jay photos along with an earlier Peregrine photo, which was a bit frustrating. I finally reached the western end of the park at around 0725 and was able to note a selection of species almost immediately - Blackbird, Chiffchaff, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Robin, Dunnock, Chaffinch, Mallard, Goldfinch and Blackcap.
A young Great Black Backed Gull, Teal, Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose (and farmyard goose), Carrion Crow, Curlew and 2 drake Goosander were all seen in the bay, along with Herring Gull, Black Headed Gull and Common Gull. A single Knot and a pair of Turnstones were found among the Redshank and Dunlin flock but there were no Godwits of either species to be found or anything more exotic. I headed into the park quickly adding Skylark, Yellowhammer, Stock Dove, Blue Tit, Magpie and Reed Bunting. A further scan of the bay and river from near the picnic tables picked up a very distant Cormorant heading downriver.
A few Meadow Pipits passed over westbound and a Pied Wagtail flew over the hill. A small flock of Jackdaws were feeding near the path and were relatively tolerant of a close approach. More scanning from the hill added a trio of Shelduck and a pair of Mute Swans. Coal Tit and Starling as well as the first Rabbit in the park for the day were all noted as I headed for a quick check of the Lochan. Moorhen, Teal and Mallard were seen there as well as a few Oystercatchers. Greenfinch and Great Tit were in the hedge nearby. I headed back to the hide to check the bay once again. Song Thrush and Long Tailed Tit joined the list on the walk back. A few Rooks flew over the hide as I checked the birds in the bay again.
A welcome surprise was a single orange-stained Whooper Swan - a year-tick for me. Something unseen flushed the waders a couple of times, with Buzzard or Sparrowhawk being the main suspects, though I was hoping for an Osprey. I spent a bit of time trying to photograph the Chiffchaffs and trying to get a decent view of the singing Blackcap in the trees behind the hide. As I was doing this I spotted a raptor to the north. My initial view using the binoculars was of a very slim looking bird like a Harrier but I quickly realised that it was in fact a patch-tick, a Dundee-tick and a year-tick for me, in the shape of a completely unexpected Red Kite. One was already on the park-list courtesy of Philip Cohen's sighting, but it is not yet a regular sight so close to the city though the species range is expanding from the north and the west.
I watched it drift onwards towards Invergowrie pursued by a Jackdaw or two, then a Rook. A group of cyclists who had stopped for a breather asked what it was and we had a short chat about birds before they headed off again. Before they did so a small skein of Pink Footed Geese headed west. Another check from the hide added Grey Wagtail and Wren. During a short visit to the top of the hill a dog walker wandered up the side of the hill, passing the sign staying to stay on the paths and to keep dogs on a lead, to do so. He seemed surprised to find me there and wandered off eastwards thankfully on the path this time though with his dog still off its lead following on behind.
Later at the Lochan I walked out to find a large pitbull type dog stood looking at me with no owner nearby. A cyclist just about to disappear out of sight seemed likely to be the owner. Thankfully the dog trotted past though it did stand and watch me for 10 seconds or so before wandering off along the path, with still no sign of any owner - (clearly not the sort who cleans up behind their dog either given that they were unconcerned where it was, or what it was doing while out of their sight). Most of the other dog owners I encountered after the initial couple did have their dogs on leads - though with extending leads they were sometimes in areas close to the path where birds have nested either on the ground or low in bushes. Time will tell whether or not the majority will adhere to the signs or not.
When I finally got round to checking the lower half of the park I noticed a bike at the car park and suspected I knew who the owner was. Sure enough I found Kate Treharne and Ian Ford from the Friends group planting trees and I stopped for a chat and a catch-up. Buzzard and Bullfinch were noted and a very distant Sparrowhawk was also seen well to the north as we talked. Ian and I heard a short burst of what sounded like Whitethroat song but as it only called once we weren't 100% sure, so I decided not to count it. I then bumped into local birder Graham Smith who was trying to see a butterfly that he thought had been a Comma (Ian confirmed they have been seen in the park already this Spring) and we had a chat and a brief wander round the outside of Buzzard Wood.
Ian and Kate had moved on to the area behind the Wood where they were planting more shrubbery and a calling Great Spotted Woodpecker finally showed itself taking my total number of species for the park to an unexpected 55 of which 2 were year-ticks. Having been at the park for 6.5 hours and on my feet for an hour longer than even that I decided to head for home via Balgay Hill again. A Pied Wagtail was added as I wandered along Riverside Avenue and a Coal Tit posed nicely for photos just behind the hedge near the footsteps by the roadbridge over the railway near the Botanic Gardens and a Buzzard was spotted being harassed by gulls over Glamis Road. I failed to see too much in the cemetery other than a single Jay and a few Woodpigeons.
As I stopped to put my camera away just north of the footbridge between the two halves of the hill I heard a Nuthatch call from a tree above me. Out came the camera again and I set off up the hill for an attempt to see the bird and if possible to get some photos. It took a lot of effort and patience to finally locate the bird perched in the very top branches of a tree which was partially obscured behind the branches from another. Somehow I managed to get some photos despite the lack of a clear line of sight. A couple of women crossing the footbridge asked what I was photographing and I was able to point out where the bird was and the distinctive call which was also audible. I also explained that the bird is still very uncommon in Dundee but hopefully they are beginning to colonise the city's mature woodland.
Long Tailed Tit and Collared Dove were the final additions to the day's list as I slowly and rather wearily traipsed homewards with the early start and relatively little sleep overnight increasingly taking its toll. However, it had been another successful day's birding with both targets exceeded - 4 more than the target within the park and 2 extra overall. In addition, despite failing to get any newly arrived Spring migrants for my year-list I had still managed to add 2 species (in bold), neither of which was particulary expected. The Red Kite in particular was very welcome and was my 5th species of raptor within the city for the weekend and hopefully another sign of things to come.
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Magpie
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Magpie
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Chiffchaff
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Great Black Backed Gull
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Oystercatcher & Redshank
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Knot & Redshank
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Chiffchaff
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Curlew
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Goosander
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Chiffchaff
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Chiffchaff
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Stock Dove
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Feral Pigeon
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Dunnock
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Goldfinch
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Robin
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Blackbird
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Reed Bunting
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Reed Bunting
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Yellowhammer
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Dunnock
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Shelduck
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Meadow Pipit
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Skylark
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Mute Swan
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Skylark
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Skylark
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Skylark
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Blackbird
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Meadow Pipit
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Oystercatcher
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Reed Bunting
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Reed Bunting
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Great Tit
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Jackdaw
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Greenfinch
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Teal
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Teal
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Dunlin, Redshank & Turnstone
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Greylag Goose
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Redshank, Dunlin & Turnstone
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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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Black Headed Gull
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Black Headed Gull & Common Gull
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Whooper Swan
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Lesser Black Backed Gull
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Herring Gull
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Jackdaw & Red Kite
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Red Kite & Jackdaw
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Red Kite
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Rook & Red Kite
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Pink Footed Goose
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Skylark
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Yellowhammer
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Cormorant
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Oystercatcher
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Moorhen
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Jackdaw
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Goldfinch
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Carrion Crow
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Buzzard
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Magpie
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Pied Wagtail
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Chaffinch
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Woodpigeon
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Greenfinch
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Curlew
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Coal Tit (Ater ssp.?)
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Coal Tit (Ater ssp.?)
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Coal Tit (Ater ssp.?)
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Buzzard
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Nuthatch
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Nuthatch
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Nuthatch
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Birds -
Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove,
Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay,
Knot, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan,
Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Kite, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shelduck, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Turnstone, Whooper Swan, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals -
Rabbit.Riverside Nature Park - italics
Outside park - underline
Year tick - Bold
