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| Goldfinch |
The weather for my most recent mid-week day off work thankfully wasn't too hot for me, though it was still t-shirt weather. There was a bit of a breeze which helped to keep the temperature bearable. Having neglected Riverside Nature Park for a while I decided I should really make an effort to get there. My target species for the day would be Lapwing and I hoped that with high tide around 1430 that a visit to the bay around 1330 would allow me to scan through the waders in the bay at leisure in the hope of a bonus Greenshank or maybe even something better. Rain was forecast for first thing but with high tide around mid-afternoon it wasn't really necessary to have an early start.
I headed out at 0950 when the rain stopped, for the walk to the park. A Swallow was slightly unexpected as I turned the corner from my street shortly after leaving the house. Otherwise it was a fairly run-of-the-mill selection of species noted on the way to Balgay Hill. Although things were relatively quiet I did manage to get Jay, Treecreeper, Goldcrest and Stock Dove as well as a Meadow Brown butterfly there. With the Open Golf championship due to start the following day at St Andrews I decided to detour via the airport for a quick look. This did add Pied Wagtail and Greenfinch to the list, though there weren't too many visiting aircraft, though I did rather fortuitisly time things right for a few arrivals.
It was around 1145 by the time I finally reached the park. A Black Headed Gull flew past and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard calling. There seemed to be Meadow Brown butterflies everywhere. A Blackcap was heard singing but refused to show. Another slight surprise was a small group of House Sparrows. I spotted a pair of Buzzards and a Sparrowhawk with prey off to the north before a Stock Dove flew past. High above were a number of Swifts. I finally managed to find a few Ringlet butterflies keeping a lower profile than the larger Meadow Browns. Swallows, Skylark and Pied Wagtail were all noted as I headed for the top half of the park. I'd messaged Lainy to see if she fancied joining me but she decided against it though she did say there had been lots of Six Spot Burnet Moths around a few days earlier. I found they were still rather conspicuous and plentiful though seemingly reluctant to land anywhere close to the paths.
I eventually wandered round to the bay via the Lochan, where there were at least 4 young Moorhens and a single Teal, and found that the tide was already much further in than expected. A Curlew was noted in flight and there were some gulls on the pipe. I added Yellowhammer and Song Thrush on the walk round to the hide. Unfortunately, there were no waders at all to be seen when I got there. A few distant Black Headed Gulls and a Sandwich Tern or two across the far side along with a Grey Heron by the edge of the reeds, some Herring Gulls and Lesser Black Backed Gulls on the pipe, a Mallard or two in the burn with Jackdaw and Feral Pigeons on the pipe and along the edge of the burn were all noted. A small group of five Black Tailed Godwits circled round but didn't land.
I decided to give up on the bay and set off for the main body of the park. However, the Godwits appeared again so I turned about and headed back to the hide to see if they had landed but there was no sign of them. A flock of around one hundred Redshanks suddenly landed on the remaining mud and an Oystercatcher called as it flew over. I waited to see if anything else would drop in but as the tide pushed the birds further in, a train passed by and they all flew off again. I decided to head back into the main part of the park once more. A Collared Dove flew past me as I wandered back along the path. When I reached the area round by the picnic tables there was a bit of a commotion along the shoreline hidden by the bushes and suddenly lots of previously unseen waders all took flight. There were lots of Redshanks and Curlews as well as some Oystercatchers. I tried to see what had caused them all to take flight but there was nothing obvious. Among the waders wheeling around in front of me I suddenly spotted the distinctive dark rounded wings of Lapwings. I struggled to get the camera to focus but eventually succeeded in getting a few record shots of my 116th species for my Dundee 140 list this year.
I then added Whitethroat and Willow Warbler before wandering back along the path for another look at the Six Spotted Burnet moths. I managed to add Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral, Green Veined White and Large White to the day's butterflies list. Sand Martin and Cormorant werre both seen in flight. A party of Long Tailed Tits were near the entrance at the eastern end and as I watched them, there was a burst of activity from the gull roost on the roofs in the industrial units to the east of the park. Black Headed Gulls, Oystercatchers and Sandwich Terns milled around before settling back down again behind the trees. I decided to try to see how many Sandwich Terns there were using the roof given that some of the breeding sites have been decimated by Avian Influenza this summer. I wandered along the road and found a spot where it was possible to look out over the airfield to the south and to be able to check the shed roofs to the north. Surprisingly, I found a pair of Ringed Plover and a Common Gull on the airport runway with a mixed group of pigeons on the grass, and a handful of gulls further back.
Up on the roofs there were a number of Sandwich Terns and Black Headed Gulls, mostly roosting with their heads partially tucked under a wing, as well as a surprisingly large flock of Oystercatchers. I watched a Sandwich Tern land behind the main group on the other side of the roof. I remembered that it was possible to see the roof through the trees by the main road and set off to see how many extra birds were there. I was able to see that between both sides of the roof there were at least a dozen young Sandwich Terns as well as many more adults. This was a better than expected total. I added a Sparrowhawk over the football pitches at Lochee Park on the walk home with a second seen later and a Grey Wagtail noted as I neared home.
I ended the day with a total of 56 species of bird having been seen or heard, (45 at the park, 33 outwith) as well as 6 of butterfly and 1 species of moth. The obvious highlight was finally catching up with Lapwing in Dundee which leaves me still trying to add another 24 species between now and the end of the year to be able to reach my target figure of 140, which is 5 more than last year. I've made a list of possibilities and although it is still possible, it may well end up being closer to last year's 135. With the numbers of seabirds being hit by Avian Inflluenza there is a chance that Guillemot, Razorbill and Great Skua may all prove to be very elusive this year, in contrast to last year. Time will ultimately tell though...
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| Swallow |
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Small Tortoiseshell
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| Teal |
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| Redshank |
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Black Headed Gull
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Black Tailed Godwit
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Herring Gull
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Collared Dove
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| Lapwing |
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| Curlew |
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Sand Martin
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Six-Spot Burnet Moth
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Six-Spot Burnet Moth
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Meadow Brown
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Green Veined White
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Large White
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| Goldfinch |
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House Sparrow
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| Whitethroat |
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Sandwich Tern
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Cinnabar Moth caterpillar
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Sandwich Tern & Black Headed Gull
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| Oystercatcher |
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Common Gull & Ringed Plover
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Sandwich Tern & Black Headed Gull
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| Sparrowhawk |
Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Pied Wagtail, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sandwich Tern, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Treecreeper, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Meadow Brown.
Birds (at Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Feral Pigeon, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Teal, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Butterflies (at Riverside Nature Park) - Green Veined White, Large White, Meadow Brown, Red Admiral, Ringlet, Small Tortoiseshell.
Moths (at Riverside Nature Park) - Six-Spot Burnet Moth.
