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| Yellowhammer |
It had been a while since I last visited Riverside Nature Park and with Tree Sparrow added on Saturday I decided I might as well try there in search of a Lesser Black Backed Gull or a Mediterranean Gull. The former was slightly more likely than the latter but neither was impossible. Having treated myself to a new Svbony travelscope during the week I was hoping to give it more of a work-out than it had at Clatto the previous day. Although the tide times weren't in my favour, scanning through distant waders and gulls would hopefully let me see what it was capable of.
I headed out just after 0905 for the hour or so walk to the Nature Park. House Sparrow, Starling, Jackdaw, Robin, Herring Gull, Magpie, Woodpigeon and Blackbird provided the initial flurry of species. Carrion Crow, Pied Wagtail, Feral Pigeon, Goldcrest, Blue Tit and Chaffinch soon followed. A Peregrine was seen at Cox's Stack and Great Tits were heard near the southern end of the Miley nature reserve. I added Goldfinch on Ancrum Road and there were a number of Black Headed and Common Gulls on the football pitches at Lochee Park. Cutting through Balgay Cemetery produced a few extra species - Long Tailed Tit, Stock Dove, Bullfinch, Wren, Song Thrush, Redwing and Coal Tit. A Grey Squirrel was also seen jumping from tree to tree to take it into the grounds of Royal Victoria Hospital. There were a few Greenfinches in the trees on the lower part of Glamis Road.
I reached the park around 1015. Since my last visit, 100s of trees have been planted to create an orchard in the field between the eastern entrance and the "House Sparrow hedge". What effect that will have in the short term I'm not sure and in the longer term, will probably mean missing out on a few birds in the trees if that area remains inaccessible. Blue Tit, Great Tit, Woodpigeon, Wren, Carrion Crow, Song Thrush, Redwing, Chaffinch, Herring Gull, Robin and Magpie all provided a relatively productive start to the list for the day's park visit. Jackdaw, Goldfinch, Blackbird, Bullfinch, Feral Pigeon, Yellowhammer and Long Tailed Tit added to that list as I made my way round to the southwestern corner to scan out over the bay and the river beyond.
Redshank and Teal made up the majority of the closest birds down by the edge of the exposed mud and along the course of the burn. There were Black Headed Gulls dotted around too. Behind me a Skylark hovered over the hill, singing loudly. A Sparrowhawk passed high overhead. Out came the scope to try to ascertain what the more distant birds were. Oystercatcher, Grey Heron, Curlew, Mallard, Common Gull, Great Black Backed Gull and Greylag Goose were all found. A skein of Pink Footed Geese flew over. A Grey Wagtail flew past and a Reed Bunting was heard calling nearby. Quite distantly I managed to pick out what appeared to be a lone
Shelduck preening. Helpfully, it flapped its wings and confirmed my suspicions. Species number 92 for my Dundee145 list. A small flock of Dunlin were noted before I wandered round to have a look at the Lochan.
A single Moorhen was wandering around the far side of the water and a Grey Heron was in the same general area. A surprise was the appearance of a Kestrel hunting between the railway line and the fields. It eventually flew low over the top of the hill in the direction of the airport. When the park opened in 2011, Kestrel was a regular sight for the first few years but since then sightings at the park have been fairly sporadic. It would be good to have Kestrel rejoin the mix of raptors we see regularly at the park (Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Peregrine, Osprey and increasingly Marsh Harrier). A small flock of Greenfinch were seen near the car park and a Dunnock was heard nearby.
A Buzzard was spotted off to the north and a Goldcrest was heard in the trees behind the car park. I wandered back round to check the bay again which did get me a Goosander for the list. The police helicopter and a search team were checking the bay for a missing person which meant that most of the birds moved further away. Things didn't improve much even after the helicopter landed at the airport though the tide was on its way back in by then. Unfortunately, it felt a bit colder than had been forecast and I couldn't muster the enthusiasm to spend another hour or so at the park to wait and see if anything else would come in on the tide. I decided to head for home around 1315 and managed to add a pair of Stock Doves and a flyover Starling before I left. I'd set myself a target of 48 species but only managed 44.
The walk back home wasn't particularly fruitful though I did get a Sparrowhawk hanging in the wind over the large house halfway up Glamis Road, in the same manner as a Buzzard does. I was able to get plenty of photos but that proved to be the final highlight of the day's birding. I did manage a total of 48 species for the day when the outwith the park list (28 species) and the park list (44 species) were combined. The main highlight for the day was of course the Dundee145/year tick (in bold). Shelducks don't seem to be quite as numerous in the bay as they once were. A few birds do seem to still breed there, with a few ducklings to be seen in the latter part of summer, so it was good to get one so early in the year. The new scope performed relatively well, and was probably the main reason I managed to find the Shelduck. The scope didn't cost too much (relatively speaking) and the small size is a definite bonus, as it fits in my bag along with my camera and binoculars without adding too much extra weight, which increases my chances of identifying more distant birds than if I only had binoculars. Hopefully, it will prove its worth many more times this year as I try to reach my target of 145 species.
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Peregrine
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Herring Gull
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| Redwing |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Chaffinch |
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Grey Wagtail
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| Skylark |
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Pink Footed Goose
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Shelduck & Curlew
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| Grey Heron |
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| Yellowhammer |
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Greylag Goose
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Long Tailed Tit
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| Teal |
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| Teal |
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| Yellowhammer |
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Stock Dove
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Magpie |
Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Grey Squirrel.
Birds (at Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Oystercatcher, Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon,
Shelduck, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
