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Mistle Thrush
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This Autumn I had hoped to make more regular visits than previously to the top of Dundee Law first thing in the morning to see what birds were passing by on their migration journeys. This has proven to be partially successful though quantities of birds passing by has been very variable. Past experience however had offered a tantalising glimpse of a better option - albeit much further away and requiring a much earlier departure from home to arrive there around sunrise. That location was the small hill at Riverside Nature Park, situated in the southwestern extremes of the city, nestled down by the river Tay. In the past I've seen thrushes, finches, tits, pipits, wagtails, Skylarks and hirundines passing through in higher numbers than on any of my visits to the top of the Law. I decided I would get up early enough on Saturday morning to reach the park in time for sunrise to see if, as expected, it would prove more productive than the top of the Law has been.
It was still dark when I headed out around 0620 so birds were in rather short supply with Robin, Blackbird, Herring Gull, Carrion Crow and Wren being noted as they tend to be in the pre-dawn gloom at this time of year. Song Thrush, Magpie, Black Headed Gull, Dunnock, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw, Goldcrest, Blue Tit and Great Tit completed the pre-park list for the morning. I headed immediately for the top of the hill as the sun was coming up above the horizon. The forecast was for lighter winds than most of the recent days, though again they were mostly coming from a generally westerly direction. I got organised - starting my audio recorder, setting up the camera for flight shots in the half-light of dawn and also preparing a page in a small notebook for what I hoped would follow.
Things started off relatively slowly with some Pied Wagtails, Meadow Pipits and a few Chaffinches during the first 10 minutes. This initial trickle of birds then started to build gradually with Tree Sparrows, Linnets and Mistle Thrushes joining more of the other species already seen. Lesser Redpoll and Brambling were very welcome sightings. Starlings, Bullfinches and Goldfinches were also added as more time passed. After around 20 minutes of watching intently the birds were coming through thick and fast and it was getting difficult to get photos of each group of birds, ID them then jot down the numbers and species before the next lot of birds came through. Greenfinches, Tree Sparrows, Siskins, Reed Buntings and Skylarks joined the mix of birds before a Grey Wagtail was noted. The first Yellowhammer of the morning passed over around an hour after I'd started my vis-mig session. Pink Footed Geese from out on the river passed over northwards in skeins of varying sizes, some relatively close to the hill, others further away.
A Sparrowhawk drifted over high above then continued out over the river. Although there were plenty of birds passing below, I suspect the Sparrowhawk itself was a migrant bird and it too was on the move. A few relatively large groups of Tree Sparrows, Chaffinches and Mistle Thrushes headed past. A few Redwings and Song Thrushes as well as a House Sparrow or two made it onto the ever growing list, though there was barely time to jot them down in my notebook and my BirdJournal list on my iPhone just didn't get a look in, until much later in the morning. The first few Skylarks of the morning dropped in to feed at around 0845, as did a relatively large flock of Mistle Thrushes shortly afterwards. A Swallow flashed past at 0915. A Collared Dove zipped through low as birds flooded through overhead at 0935. The first two hours had (pardon the pun!) flown past with barely a moment's respite. Although it was probably still a lot less hectic than some of the more well known migration hotspots, I was definitely finding it difficult to keep up with just what and how many birds were actually passing by.
Around 1000 things started to tail off slightly and I was joined by Keith for a short while. Dunnock and House Martin were both noted for the first time on the day. A single Rook flew past. The pace of the passage all around us gradually dropped off as the end of my 3rd hour of watching the skies approached. Keith headed for home and I spent another hour and a bit still adding to the already plentiful numbers. I eventually made it down off the hill at around 1140 though there were still a handful of birds going through west as I checked the rest of the park. I was finally able to have a decent look at the bay and the bushes for some non-migrants. Grey Heron, Bar Tailed Godwit, Curlew, Oystercatcher, Great Black Backed Gull, Cormorant, Black Tailed Godwit, Black Headed Gull, Common Gull, Stock Dove, Buzzard, Chiffchaff, Redshank, Teal, Blackbird and Wren were just a few of those non-migrant species seen.
As the tide came in further I was able to find some Dunlin in with the other waders. The wind had increased in speed as the morning had gone on and it wasn't particularly easy checking the bay. There were a handful of Wigeon in the bay. Eventually around 1315 I decided that I would head homewards, noting a quartet of Swallows flying by low and fast towards the car park as I passed Buzzard Wood. The walk home saw a few more Meadow Pipits go over. Buzzard, House Sparrow, Feral Pigeon and Starling were all added as I neared home after around 8 hours of mostly rather frenetic birding. It was certainly a lot livelier than the top of the Law.
Having taken almost 1500 photos in the morning, there was a lot of double-checking IDs and cross-checking against my notes which eventually gave me a list of sorts. I suspect that the numbers I've recorded are most likely on the low side, with some small groups erroneously noted as single birds because I barely had time to jot down what species they were before more birds went through. I will note the number of apparent migrants of each species in brackets after those species on the park list at the end of this post. I finished the day having seen or heard a total of 60 species with just over 20 of those being obvious migrants. A really memorable day's birding even if it failed to conjure up anything particularly unusual.
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Pied Wagtail
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| Brambling |
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| Linnet |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Yellowhammer |
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Pink Footed Goose
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Tree Sparrow
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Song Thrush
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| Redwing |
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| Greenfinch |
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| Chaffinch |
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Grey Wagtail
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| Siskin |
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House Martin
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| Skylark |
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Reed Bunting
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House Sparrow
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| Jackdaw |
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| Mallard |
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Buzzard & Carrion Crow
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Meadow Pipit
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| Sparrowhawk |
Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Great Tit, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Song Thrush, Starling, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Rabbit.
Birds (at Riverside Nature Park) - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Brambling (5), Bullfinch (3), Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch (355), Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove (1), Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock (2), Goldfinch (47), Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit (1), Greenfinch (20), Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail (2), Herring Gull, House Martin (7), House Sparrow (7), Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Lesser Redpoll (7), Linnet (35), Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit (113), Mistle Thrush (193), Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail (26), Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Redwing (19), Reed Bunting (19), Robin, Feral Pigeon (not counted), Rook, Siskin (75), Skylark (93), Song Thrush (11), Sparrowhawk (1), Starling (94), Stock Dove, Swallow (6), Teal, Tree Sparrow (273), Wigeon, Woodpigeon (not counted), Wren, Yellowhammer (6).
Mammals (at Riverside Nature Park) - Rabbit.
