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Great Spotted Woodpecker
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Keith had messaged me on Friday morning to let me know he'd had an adult Mediterranean Gull in Invergowrie Bay from Riverside Nature Park. As I was at work it would have to wait and I would need to hope that it would stick around for another 24 hours or so. As the weather forecast for Saturday was relatively good (for a pleasant change) I decided on an early start - trying to get to the park before 0700 in the hope that would give me plenty of time to check the park for Chiffchaff and any other obvious migrants as well as checking through the gulls in the bay. I've been checking the Lochee Park early morning gulls in the hope of finding a Mediterranean Gull amongst them but have so far always drawn a blank.
It was just before 0545 when I stepped outside. The sky was clear and there was enough light to be able to see at least some of the birds that were around. Blackbird, Herring Gull, Wren, Dunnock, Carrion Crow, Robin and Black Headed Gull were first onto the list as I headed up past the football stadiums. Magpie was added on Byron Street with a Lesser Black Backed Gull towards the western end of the road. Woodpigeon was noted as I continued on down Loons Road with Goldcrest in the conifers at the start of Ancrum Road. There were a few Common Gulls and Black Headed Gulls on the football pitches but the numbers were still rather low.
I headed down under the bridge to the back of Royal Victoria Hospital in the hope that I might find a Chiffchaff at the same spot I've had them in recent years but I was out of luck. A pair of Sparrowhawks headed over with only a few seconds between the first and second bird. A Nuthatch then called from a tall tree by the former pavillion. Song Thrush, Treecreeper, Great Tit, Bullfinch and Blue Tit were all added to the list as I headed for Ninewells Avenue. Out to the west a skein of Pink Footed Geese were northward bound in the early morning light. An Oystercatcher headed towards the hospital and a Starling flew over the road and the trees on the eastern side. The Ninewells grounds added Chaffinch, Jackdaw, Feral Pigeon, Greenfinch, Rook, Stock Dove, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Siskin.
Having passed the Carseview Centre I continued on down to the driveway to the Gore building. The sound of a mewing Buzzard was coming from the trees but something sounded a little 'different' about it. The reason for this difference soon became obvious - it was actually a Jay mimicking the raptor's call. I took a bit of video of the Jay on my phone as another pair of Sparrowhawks flew over. I reached the Nature Park slightly later than intended, just before 0700. The tide was in but a quick look around got Blackbird, Carrion Crow, Robin and Woodpigeon in the trees and bushes, while down in the bay Mallard, Greylag Goose, Redshank, Teal, Black Headed Gull and Herring Gull were spotted.
I wandered along into the main body of the park from the hide - Feral Pigeon, Blue Tit, Siskin, Dunnock, Greenfinch and Skylark (plus a Rabbit) were noted on the way to the hill, (via the Lochan), where I planned to scan out over the bay from. A Pied Wagtail on the path gave me some very close views. Mute Swan, Mallard, Teal and Moorhen were on the Lochan. A few Jackdaws flew over and a Song Thrush was seen as I headed back round towards the bay and the path round to the hill. A Meadow Pipit called as it passed over towards Invergowrie. At the top of the hill, the air was filled with singing Skylarks and I saw someone with a parabolic dish and microphone recording the birds' song.
The Pheasant called from last year's 'usual spot' but as always went unseen. Magpie, Goldfinch, Shelduck, Yellowhammer, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Reed Bunting, Wren, Great Tit, Redwing, Cormorant, Starling, Buzzard, Dunlin, Linnet, Oystercatcher, Common Gull, Curlew, Great Black Backed Gull, Pink Footed Goose and Red Breasted Merganser all made for a relatively productive stint at the top of the hill. I eventually wandered down off the hill and round to the raised banking to scan from much closer to the water as the tide receded. Long Tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Bullfinch and a Grey Heron were next on the list. Out beyond Kingoodie I could see a large flock of around 40 Whooper Swans, and another 15 or so were picked out a bit later on, once the original flock had taken flight and headed north over the fields further west.
I found a Knot feeding on its own near the gull bathing pool on the burn. A Rook overflew and a small party of Bar Tailed Godwits flew into the bay to join the other waders. There were very few gulls about though I did find a very 'blue'-backed Herring Gull type gull but with pink legs rather than the pale yellow that a Yellow Legged Gull would have, which I think was likely an 'Argentatus' race bird. There was no sign of any Mediterranean Gull however, and very few Black Headed Gulls too. With the number of dog walkers seemingly increasing by the minute I decided to head for the Law to watch for raptors displaying, as the conditions seemed almost perfect (albeit a little colder than ideal). I added Buzzard and Goldcrest as I headed through the lower half on my way to the exit from the park.
A Buzzard was seen high above Balgay Hill and I managed to find a Nuthatch near one of last year's nest site and also heard another 2 single birds calling elsewhere on the hill. A Stock Dove also showed rather well in the same tree as the first Nuthatch. I then stumbled upon a flock of Siskins which appeared to be eating some fresh moss growth on an old tree branch in one of the mature trees. A Jay and a drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker were seen before I headed down off the hill towards Saggar Street. A pair of Buzzards had just taken flight and were circling low over the track down as I exited from below the trees out into the open of the slope where the saplings were al planted last year.
While on the hill, a message from Fife had come through that a Red Kite had been seen heading east from Newburgh. I figured that if I had stayed at the park a bit longer I might have been able to pick out the bird's distinctive flight style despite the distance involved. I even considered scanning from one of the few more open spots in the cemetery but decided it was unlikely to be successful. As I reached Lochee Road a Sparrowhawk was seen displaying high above the junction and having not packed the camera away earlier, I was able to get a few photos. As I headed up the Law Steps towards the allotments and Law Crescent I spotted another high flying raptor gliding over the hill, heading in a southwesterly direction. It wasn't a Sparrowhawk or Buzzard, nor a Peregrine or the escaped Saker Falcon. It was a Red Kite. My first sighting of 2 last year was within a few days of the date, so it wasn't a complete surprise - though it was a surprise to get one quite so centrally over the city.
I quickly messaged Keith, as there was a chance he would see the bird from his house but it turned out he wasn't actually at home, and also put word out on the ADBC grapevine. Another Sparrowhawk was seen further on and a Buzzard was noted distantly from the top of the hill. Things proved to be a bit quieter at the top with only a few distant Buzzards noted for most of my time there, though a female Sparrowhawk did make a brief appearance not long before I called it a day. The local Kestrel more than made up for the lack of displaying/soaring raptors however, giving me some very nice photo opportunities in mostly very nice light. A Skylark heading north past the hill was a bit of a surprise and as I neared home a little after 1500 a Meadow Pipit passed overhead taking my total outwith the park to 38 species. This combined with 52 at the park gave me a total for the day of 61 species with the obvious highlight (in bold) being my 105th species of the year from within Dundee. With the Kestrel photos in particular and a few other nice bits and pieces, it had been well worth the very early start, even if I had 'dipped' on Med Gull, Chiffchaff and Black Tailed Godwit - all of which I though I might have had a decent chance of seeing. There's still plenty of time however...
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Pied Wagtail
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Reed Bunting
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| Greenfinch |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Skylark |
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| Linnet |
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| Mallard |
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Red Breasted Merganser
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Mute Swan
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Herring Gull (Argentatus)
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Grey Heron & Redshank
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Whooper Swan & Greylag Goose(?)
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| Magpie |
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Redshank & Knot
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Meadow Pipit
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| Nuthatch |
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Stock Dove
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| Siskin |
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| Jay |
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| Robin |
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| Buzzard |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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Red Kite
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Red Kite
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Red Kite
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Buzzard |
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| Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
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Hoverfly sp.
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| Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Pink Footed Goose, Red Kite, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Treecreeper, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Birds (at Riverside Nature Park) - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion
Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Knot, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shelduck, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Teal, Whooper Swan, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals (at Riverside Nature Park) - Rabbit.
