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| Skylark |
Steph had messaged me during the week to see if I fancied a few hours birding on Sunday. As I have not been to Riverside Nature Park too often this year so far, and as Steph would need to be home around 1000, I suggested we meet at the park, sometime around sunrise (roughly 0700). This would mean a very early start for me, given that it takes me roughly 70 minutes to walk to the western end of the park, but there can be lots of activity first thing and not so much disturbance from dog walkers. Arrangements were finalised on Saturday evening for an 0715-ish meet at the western end of the park. The weather looked relatively decent, though not quite as warm as Saturday had turned out to be.
I was out the door roughly an hour before sunrise with only a hint of the forthcoming dawn on the eastern horizon. Blackbird, Herring Gull, Robin, Carrion Crow and Song Thrush were all birds I manage to see or hear regularly first thing in the morning on my way to work, so none of these were particularly a surprise. Neither were Magpie, Wren, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Common Gull, Chaffinch, Great Tit or Woodpigeon which were all noted along my usual route to work (which often doubles for my route to Riverside Nature Park for most of the way, at least). The small flock of Whooper Swans seen heading north at speed away from Balgay Cemetery were a nice surprise though. Starling, Feral Pigeon, House Sparrow, Bullfinch and Pied Wagtail were added as I headed down towards Ninewells.
There was plenty of activity around the nests at the rookery in the grounds with Rooks and nearby Jackdaws contribuing plenty of volume to overwhelm the quiet of a pre-sunrise Sunday morning. Long Tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Goldfinch, Greenfinch and a Black Headed Gull were noted before I reached the underpass at the Invergowrie end of the Nature Park. Grey Squirrel and Rabbit had also made it onto my BirdJournal log at the Arboretum and between Carseview and the Gore building. I had messaged Steph to let her know I was likely to be slightly earlier than my initial target time but that I would scan from the bridge until she arrived anyway, which is what I did.
Chaffinch, Robin, Song Thrush, Feral Pigeon, Goldfinch, Carrion Crow, Siskin and Blackbird were around either in the trees and bushes or flying overhead while down in the bay I could see Herring Gull, Curlew, Redshank, Shelduck, Teal, Bar Tailed Godwit, Greylag Goose and Oystercatcher. A Skylark could be heard singing from somewhere within the park. A Dunlin was spotted among the Redshanks on the pipe but it flew off to roost out of sight on the banking just as Steph arrived. I pointed out the birds I'd already found before we wandered round to the hide for a look from there. Wren, Long Tailed Tits and Greenfinch were heard from the trees while Steph spotted a Red Breasted Merganser on the pipe and a Grey Heron, while I found a single Knot and a second Dunlin with the Redshanks before we headed into the upper half of the park in the direction of the Lochan. There was also a colour ringed (and yellow flagged) Bar Tailed Godwit, but the photos didn't capture any detail - though it would appear to be a Dutch ringed bird - quite possibly the same one seen in midweek at Balmossie.
There were Blue Tits active in the hedge and a singing Yellowhammer was surprisingly hard to see despite being perched on a bare branch at the top of a small tree. A small flock of what I thought were finches turned out to be half a dozen Meadow Pipits, which was a surprise. We continued along to the Lochan. Woodpigeon, Magpie and Reed Bunting all showed (eventually) as we headed in that direction. On the Lochan was a single Black Headed Gull, a few Teal and Mallard, a pair of Mute Swans and a lone Moorhen. There was no sign of the recent Pheasant, so we continued on eastwards. Bullfinch, Great Tit and Dunnock were not unexpected additions to the park part of the morning's list. The lower half of the park didn't give us much of anything but returning to the top half again we headed round to check the tide state from the top of the hill. The Ninewells Rooks could be seen, albeit distantly, though not quite as distant as the single Cormorant out on the rocky islet off Kingoodie.
Steph spotted a skein of Pink Footed Geese heading inland out beyond Invergowrie. With time rapidly rushing towards our cut-off time of 1000 we were able to add a fly-over Pied Wagtail as well as Common Gull and a single Lesser Black Backed Gull down in the bay which took our list for the park to a relatively decent 43 species. As I wasn't expecting to add anything new at the park, I decided to check out the feeders at Ninewells Community Garden then have a look around Balgay Hill before heading back up the Law for hopefully more raptor activity. I said cheerio to Steph (who had added another 10 species to her 'Scottish yearlist') and wandered up towards the back of the hospital. Thankfully there was still some food in the feeders at the garden and I spent roughly an hour there as the sky slowly clouded over. Stock Dove, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Jay, Redwing and a large Brown Rat were all new for the day, though there were also Robin, Dunnock, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Wren, Woodpigeon and Magpie around. A pair of rather chunky looking Bullfinches also showed relatively well in the feeder tree.
A Great Spotted Woodpecker was seen and heard in the trees beside the rookery and from Balgay cemetery a single Buzzard glided overhead, though rather high in the air. I did hear and see a Nuthatch near last year's nest site but other than a Siskin on my way up to the Law (along with more Bullfinches) nothing new was added before I got home. I did spend some time at the top of the Law but there was no sign of the Kestrel or any other raptor bar a very distant Buzzard. I finished the day's birding around 1330 having managed to find a combined total of 55 species, made up of 43 species at Riverside Nature Park and 35 species outwith the park. The early start did mean I struggled to keep my eyes open at times during the afternoon at home but it had been worth the effort once again, to get out before sunrise - something I may try more often as Spring progresses, despite it meaning much earlier starts.
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| Knot |
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Curlew, Bar Tailed Godwit, Oystercatcher & Knot
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Curlew & Oystercatcher
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| Yellowhammer |
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Reed Bunting
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Long Tailed Tit
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Pink Footed Goose
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Mute Swan
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| Skylark |
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Great Tit
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| Dunnock |
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| Nuthatch |
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Brown Rat
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| Chaffinch |
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| Chaffinch |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Goldcrest |
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| Robin |
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Coal Tit
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Goldfinch
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Stock Dove
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Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Siskin, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Whooper Swan, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Brown Rat, Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.
Birds (at Riverside Nature Park) - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion
Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, Knot, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher,
Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shelduck, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Teal, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
