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| Nuthatch |
I've been meaning to make a really early start recently, and having not been to Riverside Nature Park too often lately I decided I would combine the two on the 1st of April. I was hoping to catch some overnight migrants within the park, or maybe some early morning daylight migrants passing over. Whooper Swan, Wheatear, Sand Martin and Osprey were all on the list of possibilities and all were still required for my Dundee145 list. As the list was sitting at 99 species, anything I managed to add would be my 100th species of the year. With these prospective targets I had an incentive for the early start, so when the alarm went off I managed to get up and got organised to be out roughly an hour before sunrise.
It was still relatively dark when I headed outside at 0540 though Herring Gulls could be seen in the gloom while Blackbird, Oystercatcher and Robin were all heard in the half-light. I then added a singing Song Thrush after a few more minutes walking. Lesser Black Backed Gull, Dunnock, Blue Tit, Wren, Great Tit and Carrion Crow were seen before I reached the football pitches at Lochee Park where there were still a few Common Gulls around as well as a few Woodpigeons. Goldcrest, Chiffchaff and Skylark were heard before I made it to Riverside Nature Park, just under an hour after having left home.
With the sun just creeping over the horizon (though hidden behind cloud unfortunately) I headed into the park to see what I could find. Carrion Crow, Herring Gull, Chiffchaff, Wren, Oystercatcher, Blackbird, Goldcrest, Bullfinch, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Great Tit, Magpie, Robin and Skylark were all noted in the first 10 minutes of my visit. I wandered up and through the car park only to meet a very early dog walker just returning after a walk round. It seems that you really do need to be there very, very early to avoid the dog walkers. With the Skylark breeding signs now back in place and 'active' due to the date, it was refreshing to see her dog was actually on a lead.
Curlew, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Redshank, Shelduck and Pink Footed Goose were all spotted in the bay while a Pheasant called loudly, but unseen, from the area west of the airport runway. Song Thrush and Reed Bunting were singing from within the bushes as I headed round for a quick look at the Lochan. A single Moorhen was seen there as well as a couple of sleeping Mallard. Wandering back for another look at the bay, I added Goldfinch, Long Tailed Tit, Pied Wagtail and Linnet before I picked out a few Bar Tailed Godwits and Dunlin down on the mud. It wasn't overly warm and the regular dog walkers had started to appear by this time. I started to keep a mental note of how many dogs I saw, and how many were on a lead, as requested on the signs dotted around the upper half, and by all of the access routes into the top part of the park.
Out in the bay, I was able to add Cormorant, Common Gull, Black Headed Gull and Teal before going for another wander. By the time I had gone around again having only added Greenfinch, Yellowhammer, Blue Tit and Chaffinch to the list, Keith had arrived and I chatted to him as we both scanned the birds in the bay and further out. Keith managed to find a group of very distant Pintail. A single drake Goosander was picked out beyond the pipe and a pair of Red Breasted Merganser were further out in the river. I did a bit more wandering once Keith headed homewards which added Rook, Siskin, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Black Tailed Godwit and Stock Dove to the list before I finally called it a morning at around 1115.
By this time I was completely 'scunnered' by the sheer number of dog walkers ignoring the signs - including the only 2 I spoke to who both admitted they knew all about the signs and the Skylarks nesting. One bizarrely claimed that they were being ignored because they were all on the 'right hand side'. Given his direction of travel round the park, all the signs he'd passed were actually on his left hand side. As excuses go, it made little sense. The other who had launched a ball up the hill from the path for her dog which was also halfway up the hill, before she went to retrieve the ball herself seemed to think that being asked to stick to the paths was somehow trying to stop her from walking her dog. By the time I left the park, I had seen a total of 26 dogs in the upper half of the park of which only 5 had been on a lead, despite the numerous signs dotted around. Not a great start.
I headed for a look at Balgay Hill noting Long Tailed Tit, Greenfinch and Chaffinch on the walk up. Jay, Nuthatch, Coal Tit and Bullfinch were all seen on the hill, as were both Grey and Red Squirrel (my first Red of the year). The walk home from Balgay only added Feral Pigeon to the list taking my total for the day to a combined total of 52 species (25 outwith the park, and 49 at the park). Although I failed to see anything new on the bird front it was good to catch up with a Red Squirrel in the city. Unfortunately however, the day was largely spoilt by the ignorance/arrogance of so many dog walkers/owners at Riverside Nature Park. Until they are given a compelling (financial?) reason to comply they will (mostly) continue to ignore the signs and disturb the ground nesting birds in the park, something which is happening all over the UK (as a plethora of posts on social media shows) in practically all types of habitat, from the tops of mountains to island beaches.
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Song Thrush
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Reed Bunting
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Pied Wagtail
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Carrion Crow
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| Curlew |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Mallard |
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| Robin |
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Dunlin & Redshank
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Grey Heron
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Bar Tailed Godwit & Dunlin
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Dunlin (& Redshank)
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| Shelduck |
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Greylag Goose & Redshank
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| Jay |
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Great Tit
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| Nuthatch |
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| Blackbird |
Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, Jay, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Skylark, Song Thrush, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Grey Squirrel, Red Squirrel.
Birds (at Riverside Nature Park) - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Pintail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shelduck, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Stock Dove, Teal, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals (at Riverside Nature Park) - Rabbit.
