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| Swallow |
For the last day of my time off work at the end of April and start of May I decided to head back to Riverside Nature Park as that seemed to offer me the best chance of getting 'something' new for my Dundee145 list. Expectation levels were not high however, but an early start would give me a reasonable chance of catching up with anything that was around before too many dog walkers arrived. Or at least that was the hope. Having managed to amass a total of 11 new species for my Dundee145 list in the previous 11 days I was hoping to find just one more species to give me an average of 1 new species per day during my holiday. What that might be, I had no real idea.
I headed out at 0615 for the hour's walk to the Nature Park. Carrion Crow, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Dunnock, Blue Tit, Blackbird and Collared Dove were first onto the list for the morning. Jackdaw, Oystercatcher, Starling, Chaffinch and Goldfinch soon followed as I walked up past the football stadiums. Things calmed down slightly after that with Goldcrest, Great Tit, Bullfinch, Song Thrush and Magpie all found before I reached the end of Byron Street. A Peregrine was on Cox's Stack and a Chiffchaff was heard singing from the end of the Miley. Lesser Black Backed Gulls were on the roof of the Arnold Clark storage area.
At Balgay Hill the only additions were Robin, Blackcap and Wren. Greenfinch were noted on Glamis Road as I headed down the hill with birds singing from perches on both sides of the road. Long Tailed Tits were in the trees at Riverside Avenue and Skylarks could be heard from above the airport. I reached the Nature Park an hour after leaving the house at 0715. Song Thrush, Carrion Crow, Blackbird, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Oystercatcher, Jackdaw, Robin, Woodpigeon and Herring Gull got things underway at the park. There were numerous Rabbits around. Wandering on through the park added Whitethroat, Magpie, Yellowhammer, Wren, Skylark, Lesser Black Backed Gull and Blackcap.
I headed up into the top half of the park giving me a few more species - Feral Pigeons to the north, Dunnock and Goldcrest among the bushes, Mallard at the very quiet lochan and Blue Tit in the hedgerow along by the field. A Sedge Warbler was singing loudly at the end of the track along towards the hide. Despite it being relatively early, a Peacock butterfly fluttered past. Scanning out over the bay for the first time gave me Cormorant, Shelduck and Black Headed Gull. Goldfinch, Greenfinch and Linnet flew past as did the first Swallow of the day. A Common Gull was found among the Herring Gulls at the bathing pool.
A Willow Warbler was singing in the usual spot and a Great Tit foraged along the fenceline. The Mute Swan pair were in the burn and I found a couple of Teal. A small group of Bar Tailed Godwits were on the mud across the bay and a small flock of Dunlin landed near them. I was joined by Keith and the pair of us continued to scan through the birds we could see below us in the bay. A small group of Greylag Geese flew towards Kingoodie. Keith picked out a few Swifts (and House Martins I didn't see) over Invergowrie. A single Pink Footed Goose called as it headed northwards over the bay. A Grey Heron landed on the pipe and a Curlew wandered around just beyond. A Reed Bunting showed in the bushes in front of us before Keith headed off for home.
I picked out a male Goosander well out on the river. I then decided to wander round to check the Lochan again. As I wandered back along the path a bird flew over, an unexpected Mistle Thrush. The Pheasant which has been hanging around beyond the southwestern end of the park called from the bushes at the end of the area with the pools to the north of the toilet. A few House Martins circled overhead. I found a Moorhen at the Lochan and a Stock Dove dropped in for a drink. I then spotted a Buzzard approaching from the direction of Ninewells. More wandering added another couple of butterfles - Orange Tip and Small Tortoiseshell. A pair of Rooks flew towards the rookery at the back of the hospital. Checking out the lower half of the park gave me Long Tailed Tits and Starlings before I decided to head for home having managed to reach a total of 53 species at the park.
Heading home I spotted a Swallow over the trees at Balgay Hill and then a Jay in the trees near the Observatory. As I headed down Saggar Street I watched a Sparrowhawk circle up before disappearing off to the east. The sky was growing ever darker and looked like it might even turn thundery. I was going to spent some time at the top of the Law but as I reached Law Crescent it became apparent that heavy rain looked imminent. An Orange Tip butterfly was seen among the roadside flowers before I hurriedly headed home though the threatened rain never actually materialised. Outwith Riverside Nature Park I'd managed a total of 31 species for a combined total of 59. Although I failed to add anything new for the Dundee145 list on my day last off, it had been a productive holiday overall.
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| Swallow |
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| Shelduck |
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| Whitethroat |
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Black Headed Gull
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| Cormorant |
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Oystercatcher, Lesser Black Backed Gull & Bar Tailed Godwit
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Pink Footed Goose
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Mistle Thrush
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| Swift |
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| Yellowhammer |
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House Martin
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Buzzard & Carrion Crow
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| Dunnock |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Peacock |
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Small Tortoiseshell
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Bee sp.
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Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swallow, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Orange Tip.
Birds (at Riverside Nature Park) - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch,
Chiffchaff, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Tit,
Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Martin, Jackdaw, Lesser Black
Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pink Footed Goose, Reed Bunting, Robin,
Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sedge Warbler, Shelduck, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow,
Swift, Teal, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Butterflies (at Riverside Nature Park) - Orange Tip, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell.
Mammals (at Riverside Nature Park) - Rabbit.
