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Little Grebe
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Having now passed the half-way point of 2023, I'm currently sitting on a total of 124 species for my Dundee145 list. I rather fortuitously managed to add an unexpected Wood Sandpiper heard flying over when I got up during the night early on Saturday the 24th of June. The call was easy to memorise (and recognisable as a wader species, though not one that was familiar to me - though I have heard them once or twice before) and a look at a French book I have with sonagrams pointed towards Wood Sandpiper. Listening to recordings on Xeno-Canto confirmed it. I still need to find 21 new species between now and December 31st - 3.5 per month. - of which roughly 10 should be 'gettable'. With that in mind, I decided to try Riverside Nature Park on Saturday, despite the weather forecast - relatively warm and windy (but with potential for showers).
I headed out at 0750. Woodpigeon, House Sparrow, Herring Gull, Magpie, Feral Pigeon and Carrion Crow were all noted in the first minute outdoors. Blackbird, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Jackdaw, Starling, Goldfinch, Swift, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Wren, Oystercatcher, Robin and Great Tit were all found before I reached Balgay Hill where I decided to check on one of the Nuthatch nest sites. There was a Nuthatch calling loudly, seemingly agitated about something. It soon became clear what that something was - a pair of young Great Spotted Woodpeckers were around but soon moved away. A second Nuthatch was spotted calling from atop a tree at the western corner of Royal Victoria Hospital grounds as I wandered down off the hill.
A House Martin overhead and a calling Stock Dove had also been noted as I had watched the woodpeckers. Continuing down to Ninewells Hospital grounds, a Grey Wagtail was calling from near the large chimney. Greenfinch, Tree Sparrow, Treecreeper, Blackcap and Dunnock were found as I passed through the Arboretum behind the hospital. A moth landed in front of me as I passed through the Technology Park - which might have been a Mottled Rustic - ID suggested via Twitter (thanks!). I reached the western end of the Nature Park at 0915. Carrion Crow, Blue Tit, Greenfinch, Swift, Herring Gull, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Oysteractcher, Woodpigeon, Mallard, Lapwing and Feral Pigeon were all seen or heard while I scanned the bay from the bridge (the only place it is possible to get a reasonable view these days of the burn outflow and the pipe - and even that is quite limited due to trees).
I wandered round to try from the hide. The path down to the actual hide screen was quite narrow due to the vegetation on both sides encroaching rapidly. A Speckled Wood butterfly was a pleasant surprise there - my first of the year, as it landed in front of me, allowing me to photograph it with my phone. My first Meadow Brown butterfly was a bit lower down among the vegetation. Blackbird, Chiffchaff and Great Tit were calling from the trees and a Whitethroat was active on the other side of the path. As the path was relatively sheltered from the strong wind there were plenty of bumblebees and a few butterflies as well as a few moths around. I headed round towards the picnic tables after half an hour or so to scan from there.
Skylark and Yellowhammer were visible on the walk along. Across the far side of the bay I was able to pick out Curlew, Sandwich Tern and what appeared to be some Bar Tailed Godwits. There was also what looked like it might be a Common Tern (or maybe just a partially hidden Sandwich Tern). As the tide still had a bit to go, I decided I might as well wander over to the Invergowrie side of the bay for a look from there (just in case it was actually a Common Tern). I added Jackdaw as I left the park and over the far side I confirmed that the waders I had seen were Bar Tailed Godwits. There was no sign of any Common Terns though. I headed back round having realised I'd lost the cover for the eyepiece of my small Svbony scope. I thought it might have fallen off at the station and sure enough, someone had found it and left it atop the fence (thanks, whoever you are!). A dead Shrew - the first I've seen in years, was on the path near the underpass and was identified as a Water Shrew when posted on Twitter (thanks!).
Back round at the bridge I was able to pick out Shelduck further out in the bay and a Song Thrush sang somewhere down beyond the fenceline. A brief stop by the hide path added a few Ringlet butterflies chasing each other around low to the ground. Heading back to the picnic tables again I spotted a Buzzard a bit to the north. A Red Admiral butterfly flew low over the slope in front of me as I checked the birds in the bay again from near the picnic tables. I picked out a trio of small waders which didn't look right for Dunlin but the photos were either blurry or from a bad angle. I suspected one of the trio of Sandpipers (Common/Green/Wood) but they vanished while I checked the photos. I eventually refound them further up the burn but trying to keep the scope steady in the wind was almost impossible. I decided to head back to the bridge to see if I could get a closer view from there.
As I got closer to the path down to the hide on the way back I was distracted by my first Common Blue butterfly of this year. Given how strong the wind was I hadn't expected to see any butterflies but had already somehow managed to see 5 species of which 3 were new for the year. From the bridge I was able to finally see the Mute Swan pair which has been hanging around in the burn and I checked through the gulls in the hope of a Mediterranean Gull but unsurprisingly failed to find one. Magpie, Stock Dove and a pair of Teal appeared before I finally managed to see one of the small waders. It was a Common Sandpiper though unlike the earlier views this one was doing the bobbing motion the species often does. A Reed Bunting flew into one of the bushes in front of the hide and I had a brief view of a small yellow micro-moth which turned out to be a Yellow Spot Tortrix (Pseudargyrotoza conwagana - ID'd via Twitter - thanks folks!).
Having solved the sandpiper mystery I found a few more Common Blue butterflies down the path to the hide and spent a wee while photographing those and the other butterflies there. A heavy shower of rain passed over though I was able to find a few interesting insects at the hide while I took some shelter. Despite having been at the park (mostly) for 3 hours I had only really looked at the bay, and the hide path so far. I had messaged Keith earlier when I found the Speckled Wood but he was on his way out the other end of the park at the time. I hadn't realised that he'd messaged a bit later to ask if I'd seen the Little Grebes (plural!) at the Lochan. I replied that I hadn't even got that far yet. I headed in that direction but stopped almost immediately. A 6-Spot Burnet Moth was resting in some path-side vegetation. I managed to gently pick it up on my hand where it rested while I took a few photos before returning it to where I'd picked it up from.
At the Lochan there were indeed 2 Little Grebes - a probable adult and a youngster. There were also at least 5 Mallard ducklings (Charles Rough reported 7 on BirdForum on Monday) with a pair of adults and 4 young fluffy black Moorhen chicks with their parents too. A Swallow swept over the water catching insects as I photographed and filmed the grebes. I made another lap of the top half of the park adding Linnet, Wren and Dunnock to my day's list for the park. There were a few more 6-Spot Burnet Moths on the wing along the slope on the eastern side of the extended hill. Nearer the car park path junction there were a few white butterflies which I eventually managed to determine were Green Veined Whites. In the same general area there were a few more Meadow Browns and Ringlets.
I wandered down to the lower half of the park to check there. Out of the wind there were plenty of bumblebees of at least 3 or 4 species and a few hoverflies. There were also a few more Red Admirals around the paths at Buzzard Wood. Bird-wise I only managed to find Chaffinch, Bullfinch and Goldcrest before deciding to head for Balgay Hill and homewards. My total number of species at the park was 42 species of bird, 6 of butterfly and 2 of moth (with a few other probables that wouldn't settle). A Ringlet was seen near the Botanic Gardens and a Kestrel hovering near the toilet block at Balgay cemetery was an unexpected sight.
A Red Admiral and an unidentified briefly glimpsed dark butterfly were also noted in the cemetery. A Coal Tit was the only thing new added on the walk home. My list for 'outwith the park' was 31 species of bird, 2 of butterfly and 2 of moth for a combined total of 53 species of bird, 6 of butterfly and 4 of moth. Although I didn't manage to add anything new to the Dundee145 list it had ended up being quite a productive, and relatively interesting, visit to the park (although it did end up being a bit too warm for me, as is often the case at this time of year).
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Great Spotted Woodpecker
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Garden Grass Veneer(?)
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| Nuthatch |
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Carrion Crow
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Grey Wagtail
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Mottled Rustic(?)
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Meadow Brown
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Speckled Wood
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| Goldfinch |
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Water Shrew (deceased)
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Common Sandpiper
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| Pseudargyrotoza conwagana |
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Common Blue
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| Ringlet |
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| Grypocoris stysi |
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6-Spot Burnet
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| Swallow |
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Red Admiral
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Little Grebe
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Green Veined White
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Buzzard & Carrion Crow
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Buzzard & Carrion Crow
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| Kestrel |
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Xylota segnis
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Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Magpie, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Starling, Stock Dove, Swift, Tree Sparrow, Treecreeper, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Red Admiral, Ringlet.
Mammals (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Water Shrew (deceased).
Moths (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Garden Grass Veneer(?), Mottled Rustic(?).
Birds (at Riverside Nature Park) - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common Sandpiper, Curlew, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Grebe, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Reed Bunting, Feral Pigeon, Sandwich Tern, Shelduck, Skylark, Song Thrush, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Teal, Whitethroat, Woodpeigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Butterflies (at Riverside Nature Park) - Common Blue, Green Veined White, Meadow Brown, Red Admiral, Ringlet, Speckled Wood.
Moths (at Riverside Nature Park) - Pseudargyrotoza conwagana, 6-Spot Burnet.
