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Herring Gull
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Having drawn a blank on the Greenshank found by Keith Edwards on Wednesday 27th of March, and being off work on holiday, I decided on a return visit the following day. Thankfully, the weather forecast was mostly dry, though rather than the heavy rain of Wednesday, there was a rather strong wind blowing. Gales are almost never beneficial when it comes to birding (the exceptions being when birds are blown into places they wouldn't ordinarily be, but birders are though this is not always beneficial for the birds themselves), with a lot of birds seeking shelter. However, waders will tend to still be out in the open unless the winds are really strong. I was hoping that the Greenshank would still be around in Invergowrie Bay.
I was able to get out roughly an hour earlier than the previous day. Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Feral Pigeon and Jackdaw got things underway in unspectacular fashion. Carrion Crow, Starling, Magpie, Great Tit, Goldfinch and Woodpigeon were added as I passed the football stadiums. Lesser Black Backed Gull, Blue Tit, Chaffinch and a flyover migrant Meadow Pipit were noted on Byron Street. Dunnock was next onto the list at Loon's Road. I changed my route to something resembling that of the day before. Blackbird was noted on Pentland Avenue, while Greenfinch, Wren and Long Tailed Tit were found as I crossed Victoria Park. Chiffchaff and a heard only Pied Wagtail were the final finds before I reached Riverside Nature Park.
Carrion Crow and Chaffinch were at the eastern end as I headed into the park. I found there were still at least 30 Meadow Pipits among the puddles in the sapling plantation. Jackdaw, Chiffchaff, Blue Tit, Magpie, Long Tailed Tit, Robin, Wren, Woodpigeon, Herring Gull and Oystercatcher were noted along with a few Rabbits as I headed into the top half of the park. A few Skylarks were singing above the hill, despite the windy conditions. I scanned out over the bay from the raised banking. Bar Tailed Godwits, Dunlin, Redshank, Shelduck, Teal, Mallard, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Common Gull, Black Headed Gull and Curlew were all spotted, despite the difficulty in keeping my scope steady.
As the tide still had a bit to go before the hide would allow me to see the majority of birds on the mud, I decided to check the Lochan before I headed there. A Grey Heron, Black Headed Gull and the nesting Mute Swan pair as well as Moorhen and Teal were added to the list. From the hide, a pair of Goosander could be seen sleeping on the pipe, with another pair on the burn. Goldfinch, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove and Pied Wagtail were seen from the hide along with 2 Black Tailed Godwits. There was no sign of any Greenshank though, nor either the Canada Goose or Lapwing from Wednesday's visit. The lack of Greenshank wasn't really a surprise, though it was still mildly disappointing.
Siskin and Song Thrush were found as I wandered round the park, though most of the smaller birds did seem to be sheltering out of the wind, as expected. Another check of the bay got me Red Breasted Merganser and Cormorant taking the park list for the day to 39 species - down 10 on the day before. I decided to walk along the river to City Quay rather than my usual route home. A pair of Mallards were by a wet patch on the opposite side of the road not far from the park. The only additions to the 'outwith the park' list were numerous distant Cormorants and a few Eiders which took me to 24 species and a combined total of just 44 species. Nothing new for the Dundee150 list was also quite disappointing given that there were a few potential migrants that might have been found - though there is still plenty of time to catch up with those.
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Meadow Pipit
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Meadow Pipit
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| Goosander |
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Redshank & Dunlin
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Common Gull
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Black Tailed Godwit
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Black Tailed Godwit & Redshank
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| Chiffchaff |
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Black Headed Gull
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Teal (& Mute Swan)
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| Teal |
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| Skylark |
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Red Breasted Merganser
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Stock Dove
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| Greenfinch |
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Meadow Pipit
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Meadow Pipit
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| Mallard |
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| Cormorant |
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| Cormorant |
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| Eider |
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| Eider |
Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion
Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Cormorant, Dunnock, Eider, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring
Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie,
Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Feral Pigeon, Starling,
Woodpigeon, Wren.
Birds
(at Riverside Nature Park) - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed
Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch,
Chiffchaff, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Goldfinch, Goosander, Greenfinch, Grey Heron,
Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long
Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan,
Oystercatcher,
Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Robin, Feral
Pigeon, Shelduck, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Stock Dove, Teal,
Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals (at Riverside Nature Park) - Rabbit.
