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Red Breasted Merganser
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Although the weather forecast for Sunday had been rather wet, by the time Sunday actually arrived it had improved slightly. The rain that was still forecast wasn't quite as heavy, and would arrive a bit later in the day than originally predicted. It would still be rather cold and windy though. This meant that I could still squeeze in some birding. I decided to head for Riverside Nature Park. However, I didn't want to get there too early for the incoming tide and have to kill some time in less than favourable conditions. My main focus would be on birds in the bay, with most of the smaller birds likely to be hidden away in cover somewhere. I was hoping for a possible Black Tailed Godwit or maybe a Pintail - both species seen by Mark Wilkinson across the river at Tayport over recent days.
I headed out at 1015. Rather than have to kill time at the park, I decided to do so en route, by heading first to City Quay to see if there might be some birds taking shelter there. I wasn't really expecting to find anything but you just never know. Herring Gull, Blue Tit and Woodpigeon were first onto the day's list soon followed by Carrion Crow, House Sparrow and Feral Pigeon with a Robin heard down on Dens Road. A Grey Wagtail flew over as I passed the Olympia Centre. Magpie and Pied Wagtail were added as I crossed the road and headed into City Quay. Things were very quiet there though I found a Lesser Black Backed Gull stood atop the Unicorn.
There were a pair of Oystercatchers hanging around in the outer section of the quay and a pair of drake Red Breasted Mergansers swam out from close in to the wall below the parked cars. Heading round to check the river I found a Black Headed Gull and a number of Cormorants. With more scanning I eventually found a pair of distant Eider before setting off along towards the V&A and on towards the railbridge and beyond. I found a few large rafts of Cormorants out on the river between the bridges with at least 20 counted in the second of these groups. Another pair of Lesser Black Backeds were perched on the office building opposite the eastern end of Tescos, and another Grey Wagtail was calling from somewhere unseen. There were Goldfinches in the trees by the railway line just past the flats.
There was a decent sized flock of Starlings and a smaller flock of Woodpigeons on the football pitches and a few Chaffinches were seen in flight. A Wren was found as I neared the airport where a Skylark could be heard singing from somewhere out towards the runway. There was a metal ringed Oystercatcher on the grass by the old flying club parking area but the light was too poor to read aqnything from it. The Oystercatcher was one of a pair and a Magpie and a Pied Wagtail made for an unusual "black and white" trio. A Curlew was seen in flight over the runway as I neared the Amazon warehouse and a Dunnock was in full song just before I reached the Nature Park at 1150. My plan was to more or less just do a 'once round' of the park with the incoming tide at the bay hopefully delivering something good. I would check the Lochan on the way there first but with a cold easterly wind blowing I didn't expect to find much else.
Carrion Crows and Magpies were breaking twigs off the trees at the eastern end for nesting material. Robin, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Blackbird and Wren were found in the bottom half of the park, though it did take 7 or 8 minutes to rustle these few birds up. A Curlew flew towards the bay, over by the airport. I added Blue Tits in the hedge before I reached the Lochan where a Black Headed Gull, the local Mute Swan pair, a few Mallards and a similar number of Teal were noted. Feral Pigeon and Woodpigeon were spotted in flight as I continued on towards the bay. A Yellowhammer pair was in the bushes at the northern end of the 'bowl'. I was surprised to see that the tide was already much further in than I had anticipated it would be.
Thankfully, it appeared that there were still quite a few birds around but I couldn't help thinking that I'd definitely already missed out on some of the waders. There was a flock of Greylag Geese across the opposite side of the bay. Checking through the waders added Dunlin, Redshank (and Curlew). I found a few Common Gulls with the Herring Gulls and Black Headed Gulls in the burn bathing pool. A Cormorant and a small group of Red Breasted Mergansers were picked out in the outer half of the bay along with 7 Shelduck. As I set off for the hide a Grey Wagtail flew past. A Greenfinch was heard a bit further on. From the hide I found a pair of Great Black Backed Gulls and a Lesser Black Backed Gull. I saw an interesting looking 'Herring Gull' with a Caspian Gull-looking bill, but in the end I decided it must just be another Herring Gull.
Among the Curlews I managed to spot a couple of Bar Tailed Godwits but disappointingly there were no Black Taileds around yet. A flock of Oystercatchers landed down on the mud with the other waders as the tide edged its way closer in. A Song Thrush was seen from the hide and a few Long Tailed Tits showed briefly in the bushes just to the left out in front. A couple of Jackdaws dropped down onto the pipe. A skein of Pink Footed Geese overflew heading northwest but with the majority of birds having departed for drier spots before the mud had even been completely covered, there didn't seem much point in hanging around any longer than I needed to. A pair of Stock Doves dropped down onto the hill as I headed for another look at the Lochan. This visit did get me a Moorhen across the far side that hadn't been seen earlier.
The bottom half of the park provided a few more species - Dunnock, Bullfinch and Goldfinch as well as a couple of Rabbits before I called it a day. I left the park having recorded a slightly better than expected 39 species, though nothing new for my Dundee150 list. The walk home was into the wind and I was wishing that I'd put on an extra layer of clothing below my coat. Balgay Cemetery turned up Great Tit and Blackbird, while Common Gull was spotted on the football pitches along with a few Black Headeds. A Coal Tit on Loons Road was the final addition to the day's birding, taking me to a figure of 27 species outwith the park, and a combined total of 45 species. Though nowhere near a classic day, with the birds mostly hidden or distant, it was still good to get out and about on a day I could easily have stayed at home.
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Lesser Black Backed Gull
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Red Breasted Merganser
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| Cormorant |
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Black Headed Gull
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| Starling |
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Magpie & Oystercatcher
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Mute Swan
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Redshank |
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| Shelduck |
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Oystercatcher, Redshank & Dunlin
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Curlew & Bar Tailed Godwit
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Common Gull & Redshank
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| Dunlin |
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| Curlew |
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Common Gull
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Greylag Goose
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Pink Footed Goose
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Herring Gull
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| Jackdaw |
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Stock Dove
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| Rabbit |
Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Eider, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Grey wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Magpie, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Skylark, Starling, Woodpigeon, Wren.
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 Black Backed Gull, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed
Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser,
Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Shelduck, Song Thrush, Stock Dove, Teal Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals (at Riverside Nature Park) - Rabbit.
