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| Waxwing |
Keith Edwards is really on a roll this year at Riverside Nature Park finding a lot of scarcities and quite a few actual rarities as well. On Tuesday the 14th of November, Keith messaged me to let me know he'd found a Snow Goose in the Tay off Invergowrie while scanning from the park. Snow Goose isn't just a good new bird for the park, it is a good bird for Dundee as well. Keith's message had said the bird had flown off westwards so I figured my best bet would be to try for it on my day off the following day. Unfortunately, the weather forecast was for rain until around 1030, meaning it would be around 1130 before I reached the park if I waited for the rain to stop and as geese usually leave the river within the first few hours of daylight, my chances of success were probably relatively limited anyway, but I had to at least give it a go.
It was still raining when I headed out at 0950. Feral Pigeon was noted before I realised I had the wrong hat on and had to go back home to get my cap - which at least keeps some rain off my glasses. Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon and Magpie were noted as I headed for Dens Road and down to Victoria Road. I had decided to check The Howff and the nearby car park, as well as the University campus for Waxwings (as all three are usually fairly reliable spots for the species when they are around). I added the first Herring Gull of the day on Victoria Road. I stopped at the eastern end of the museum to see a trio of Grey Wagtails feeding in behind the trees and hedge as it continued to rain.
In The Howff I found a small flock of around 25 Waxwings perched in a tree in the middle of the cemetery. Some had just flown in from the west but when I reached the car park, there were plenty of berries on the trees but no Waxwings, other than those still visible behind me in The Howff. I continued on through the University campus where Waxwings but found none there, though Blue Tit, Robin and a skein of Pink Footed Geese overhead were added. The rain had finally stopped by this time and I continued on down to Seabraes and walked out along the path by the railway line noting Blackbird, Song Thrush and Chaffinch. At Magdalen Green, a larger flock of Waxwings circled round before settling in a tall tree in front of the Servite building.
Wren, House Sparrow, Goldfinch and Mistle Thrush were all noted before I finally made it to the Nature Park, just a minute or two after 1100. Magpie, Herring Gull, Chaffinch, Wren, Carrion Crow, Blackbird and Feral Pigeon were all noted around the eastern end before I checked the rather wetter than normal (formerly rather) 'boggy area' in front of Buzzard Wood for Snipe, Jack Snipe or even Woodcock, but I found no sign of any of these. Instead I had to make do with Blue Tit, Robin, Bullfinch, Woodpigeon and Song Thrush. A Skylark was heard calling from somewhere high overhead but I couldn't see it.
I checked the rather wet grassy area north of the car park for the same trio of waders as earlier but also drew a blank there. Dunnock and Redwing were found and a few Pink Footed Geese flew over. I headed into the top half of the park where Teal and Moorhen were spotted at the Lochan which was a good bit larger than usual. Goldcrest was seen feeding within the hedge before I wandered round to scan out over the bay and river. Redshank, Cormorant, Mallard, Black Headed Gull, and Dunlin were the additions before I wandered up to the top of the hill for a look out over the river beyond the airport. A small flock of Waxwings flew past and both Goldfinch and Linnet were seen shortly after.
I spent a while at the top of the hill which gave me a few more species - Grey Wagtail, Siskin, Oystercatcher, Bar Tailed Godwit, Common Gull and Pied Wagtail. A young Peregrine upset the waders down on the mud as it flew a circuit around the bay before disappearing somewhere over by the airport. Having only added Whooper Swan to my Dundee145 list the previous weekend, I managed far better views of a single bird which circled twice above the hill before heading off to the west. A flock of Long Tailed Tits worked their way through the bushes down by the path. A lone Shelduck which landed just behind the pipe was a bit of a surprise as it has been a while since I last saw one there. Another slight surprise was a single Lesser Black Backed Gull across the far side of the bay - not a common bird in winter locally (yet).
With no geese at all seen out on the river, let alone a Snow Goose, there didn't seem much point in lingering so I decided to head back towards the city centre via Magdalen Green with the intention of stopping to photograph the Waxwings seen earlier. Long Tailed Tits were found just outside the park on both sides of the road. Dunnock was noted as I passed the Riverside Inn. However, there was no sign of the Magdalen Green flock and a Pied Wagtail was scant consolation. It was a similar story at the Howff. I continued on up Victoria Road and a couple of birds in the top of a tree in one of the streets near the top end turned out to be Waxwings. A bit further on towards Alexander Street, I spotted a slightly larger group circling over the junction before a couple of them settled in the tall trees to the east of the zebra crossing.
I detoured through the housing scheme there just in case there were more of the birds feeding in Rowans there but I drew a blank. However, this detour was to prove to be a wise choice. As I headed up Court Street a flock of around 50 Waxwings flew overhead just above rooftop height and appeared to settle. As I turned the corner into Tanadice Street, the birds took flight from a small Rowan and circled round a few times trilling almost continuously asthey did so. They settled again and I sat on the small garden wall near the tree and watched them feeding on the berries. I decided to take a few photos - though I would usually keep my camera out of sight so close to home, and was lucky enough to get my best Waxwing photo of this year's influx (so far, at least) before the flock took flight again and flew off towards the trees in the grounds of the DISC.
I headed home and was able to see the flock circling round a few times from my living room window. I ended the day's birding having managed to find a combined total of just 40 species - 21 outwith Riverside Nature Park and 38 at the park. Although it wasn't an overly productive visit to Riverside Nature Park, Shelduck, Waxwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull and Whooper Swan were all reasonably decent birds for the time of year there. I was also quite pleased that I had managed to find 6 different lots of Waxwings despite the influx having appeared to be past its peak locally. All in all, I've definitely had less interesting day's birding, in November in Dundee.
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| Bullfinch |
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| Robin |
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| Dunlin |
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Dunlin & Teal
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| Waxwing |
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Bar Tailed Godwit
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Whooper Swan
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Whooper Swan
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Peregrine |
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| Peregrine |
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Dunlin & Peregrine
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| Shelduck |
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Lesser Black Backed Gull
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| Redwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
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| Waxwing |
Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mistle Thrush, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Song Thrush, Waxwing, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Birds (at Riverside Nature Park) - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Cormorant, Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Shelduck, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Teal, Waxwing, Whoooper Swan, Woodpigeon, Wren.
