The wind from Storm Malik on Saturday eventually calmed down with Sunday forecast to be mostly a lot calmer - at least during most of the available birding time. The wind was due to pick up again and another named storm was due to arrive from around 2000 - Storm Corrie. There was actually some rain forecast from around 1600, but I wanted to get out again with Riverside Nature Park my planned destination this time. I was hoping to add one or two species to my Dundee 2020 list with Shelduck seemingly the likeliest addition.
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White Tailed Eagle
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I headed out just after sunrise at about 0815. Feral Pigeon, Herring Gull, Magpie, House Sparrow and Blue Tit were first onto the day's list. Heading up past the football grounds gave me Starling, Jackdaw, Carrion Crow and Oystercatcher. I then cut up past the Law which added Goldfinch, Robin, Woodpigeon, Great Tit and Bullfinch to the list. Wren, Coal Tit, Goldcrest and a Grey Squirrel were noted as I headed down the Law Steps. I wandered up Saggar Street onto the eastern slopes of Balgay Hill spooking a Jay near the start of the muddy track.
I then added Chaffinch before hearing a Nuthatch calling nearby which I managed to track down to the top of a tall tree. I managed to get a few photos but deleted them when I realised I hadn't formatted the memory card from the day before. Moving on again, I found a second Nuthatch near the Yews on the south side of the path near the Mills Observatory and a few Redwings. There was a spot of call and response between the two Nuthatches with both sides of the conversation audible. A Stock Dove called as I headed for the Cemetery side of the hill, where Siskin was found. I added a calling Greenfinch on Glamis Road and a Sparrowhawk flew off pursued by a Carrion Crow just past the Botanic Gardens. Out on the river I spied a single Red Breasted Merganser.
I reached the Nature Park at 0955, which was a bit later than intended. I had chosen to take my thermal imager with me to see if I could find anything that I would otherwise likely miss. I found a few Redwings with it in the trees at the eastern end. A skein of Pink Footed Geese could be seen over the river. Robin, Carrion Crow, Blackbird, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Yellowhammer and Magpie were all noted around the area behind Buzzard Wood. More hunting added Woodpigeon, Wren and Herring Gull though there were no Snipe in the former 'boggy area'. As I was searching towards the south-western end of Buzzard Wood using the thermal imager, I spooked a Woodcock from just a few feet beyond the fenceline, which was a lot closer than I happened to be scoping.
An Oystercatcher flew east over the airfield calling loudly. Song Thrush and Long Tailed Tit were both noted as I wandered round to check the tide state at the bay. A Cormorant was stood on the submerged end of the pipe, and there were lots of Teal and some Mallard on the water. Redshank, Curlew and Dunlin could be seen on the mud and a Great Black Backed Gull was half-hidden behind the pipe. There were some Black Headed Gulls and Common Gulls over the far side of the bay. A Blue Tit was seen in the bushes behind me. Across the far side of the bay were a number of Greylag Geese.
I happened to look up and saw what I initially thought was a Grey Heron as it flapped with strong, heavy wingbeats but in a split-second I realised that it was actually my first sighting of a
White Tailed Eagle in 2022. There were a couple of walkers near the toilet block and I shouted to them to draw their attention to the bird as it continued on over the bay, upsetting everything below its flight path. My photos showed the bird still has 2 wing tags - which makes it the female from Fife (turquoise Z) as the male (turquoise 1) only has 1 still attached. Looking back over other photos I've taken of the Eagles over Dundee it appears that most of my sightings have involved the female, which is surprising, given the male's dalliance with a female in the Angus Glens.
I added a Bullfinch and a Rabbit to the list before I checked the Lochan where a Mute Swan, a few Oystercatchers and a Black Headed Gull were seen. I added Jackdaw and Feral Pigeon from the hide as I checked the bay while waiting for the tide to push the birds in closer. A Pied Wagtail appeared on the pipe and I found a single Black Tailed Godwit among the Redshanks. A drake Goosander put in a brief appearance in the channel between the pipe and the shore before swimming out of view again. I found a Goldcrest in the hedge near the hide and a flyover Siskin joined it on the list for the park visit as I wandered back into the main part of the park again.
I headed up onto the hill where a pair of Buzzards were spied being harassed by the local Carrion Crows and Herring Gulls off to the north. A pair of Stock Doves flew over just before I spotted a heat spot among the grass on the upper reaches of the hill using the thermal imager. I couldn't see anything with the binoculars as I moved slowly around it. I suspected it was a bird but didn't want to get too close so I attempted to get an alternative view from around 90 degrees further round. As I moved in that direction a Skylark burst skywards from the grass, giving me my second Dundee tick of the day.
Using the thermal imager I checked the bushes nearby and found them full of Redwings, Blackbirds, Chaffinches, Goldfinches and Bullfinches. I then continued on to check the lower half of the park where a distant Sparrowhawk was noted being chased by 2 Jackdaws. I heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker call and a few seconds later saw it fly westwards and out of sight. A small flock of Starlings flew towards the airport and I watched a few Stock Doves drop down into the grass by the eastern edge of the park. The sky had by this time grown a bit darker and I suspected that the forecast rain was likely to arrive a bit earlier than forecast. I decided to head homewards.
I contemplated popping into Ninewells Community Garden but my legs were rather weary so I headed for Balgay Cemetery instead. The downside of routing home via Balgay Park is that it is a long uphill stretch to get there from Riverside Drive and I chose to take a breather on a bench in the cemetery when I got there. As I could see the Ninewells chimney from my seat, I thought I might as well have a look in case there was a Peregrine visible. I wasn't expecting there to be, but checked anyway. I could see a bird through the binoculars and took a couple of photos. There were two birds visible on the photo - one was a Peregrine and the other appeared a bit smaller. Then I realised that it was actually a pair of Peregrines with the smaller of the birds, the male.
Although it was going to add almost an extra mile to my journey home, the chance to get a few photos of the birds on the chimney was too good to pass up, so I headed down towards the hospital. Although the light wasn't particularly great and the chimney rather tall (as far as I can tell it is around 180 feet tall - though the birds weren't right at the top, so likely around 160 feet up) I managed to get a few reasonable photos before resuming my journey homewards again. I didn't add anything else on the walk home but did manage to get a bit wet when the rain arrived earlier than forecast. A good day out nonetheless with a total of 51 species of bird recorded, 1 of which was new for the year (in bold) and 2 more (Skylark and Peregrine) were Dundee ticks for my 2022 list.
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| Redwing |
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Great Tit
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Great Tit
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| Redwing |
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| Nuthatch |
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Pink Footed Goose
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Coal Tit
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Song Thrush
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| Teal |
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Curlew & Herring Gull
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Greylag Goose
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White Tailed Eagle
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White Tailed Eagle
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| Bullfinch |
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| Curlew |
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Long Tailed Tit
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Black Headed Gull, Redshank & Dunlin
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Carrion Crow
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Redshank & Pied Wagtail
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| Goldcrest |
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| Skylark |
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Buzzard & Carrion Crow
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| Buzzard |
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| Greenfinch |
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| Greenfinch |
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| Siskin |
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Great Spotted Woodpecker
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Yellowhammer |
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Stock Dove
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Stock Dove
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Stock Dove
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Stock Dove
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| Redwing |
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| Peregrine |
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| Peregrine |
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| Peregrine |
Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Magpie, Nuthatch, Oysrtcatcher, Peregrine, Red Breasted Merganser, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals (outwith RNP) - Grey Squirrel.
Birds (Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Goldcrest, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal,
White Tailed Eagle, Woodcock, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals (RNP) - Rabbit.