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| Greenfinch |
Having spent most of the preceding week attempting to add Willow Warbler to my Dundee150 list, but only succeeding in finding Waxwings, I wanted to make sure that I finally managed to get the target bird on Saturday. I decided I would get out nice and early and hopefully finally succeed. I would head to Riverside Nature Park where I figured the bird should be almost guaranteed given Lainy had found the species at Clatto on Friday, and Steph had also managed to get one in Invergowrie on the same day. With the Nature Park offering a reasonable chance of adding something else for the list as well, I chose to head there rather than Clatto, which might have been more reliable.
I headed out just before 0640 for the walk to Riverside Nature Park. I had searched the length of The Miley on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to no avail, but an early morning visit seemed to suggest a better chance of finding a singing bird than a later visit might. Herring Gull, Starling, Jackdaw and House Sparrow greeted me as I stepped outside. Dunnock and a couple of overflying Meadow Pipits were noted as I wandered up Tannadice Street. A Lesser Black Backed Gull was on a roof at Densfield Court. Magpie, Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon, Blue Tit, Feral Pigeon, Robin, Blackbird, Goldfinch, Grey Wagtail and Chaffinch were found between there and Hospital Street. I hoped that I might find a Willow Warbler singing from within Kings Cross Hospital grounds but I was once again out of luck.
Wren, Chiffchaff and Blackcap were all noted on Clepington Road as I neared the northern end of The Miley. There was rather more activity than on my previous visits which had been later in the day, and a singing Song Thrush provided another new species for the day. A little further on, I heard, then saw, what I was hoping to find - my first Willow Warbler of the year. A second bird chased it off (either a Chiffchaff or another Willow Warbler) but my camera was still in my bag anyway, so it didn't matter too much. Goldcrest, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tits and Siskin were noted before I reached the Loons Road end of the reserve. I cut up towards Gibbs Lane in search of Waxwings but was unsurprised to find none - my first non-Waxwing day since the previous Saturday.
There were still a few Common Gulls on the football pitches at Lochee Park and Greenfinch, while Stock Dove and 2 calling Nuthatches were noted in Balgay Cemetery. A Sparrowhawk flew over before being accosted by a Carrion Crow as I cut down Oxford Street. On reaching Riverside Avenue a few minutes later, my view was blocked by trees as I heard a 'prukking' Raven which sounded like it was heading east. I finally reached the Nature Park's eastern entrance at 0750. Blackbird, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Woodpigeon and Magpie made for quite a slow start to the visit. A Mallard dropped in to a small pool in the tree plantation by the road. I added Song Thrush and Blackcap on the short stretch of path up to the top half.
A Skylark took to the air above the hill, while Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Dunnock, Great Tit, Robin and Jackdaw were all found within a minute or so in the upper section of the park. Feral Pigeon, another Willow Warbler and a Meadow Pipit were next onto the list as I set off for the Lochan. A few Rabbits ran across the path ahead of me. An Oystercatcher and a much higher Herring Gull flew over and a Moorhen flushed from the flooded shallow ditch at the start of the long straight towards the Lochan screen. At the Lochan, there were a few more Moorhens, the Mute Swan pair and a small group of Teal.
A look down over the bay was next on the agenda. A couple of Black Headed Gulls and Common Gulls were quickly noted while a Wren scolded loudly from the hedge behind me. Shelduck, Redshank, Cormorant and Lesser Black Backed Gull were all picked out in the bay. Goldfinch, Yellowhammer and Long Tailed Tit were in among the bushes between the path and the bay. Stock Dove and Starlings flew over before I headed round to the hide, where I found Keith. Grey Heron, Dunlin and Curlew were spotted before we headed back round towards the raised embankment after around 45 minutes of scanning repeatedly from the hide. As we did so, we heard the distinctive call of a Common Sandpiper, not once but twice. It was another new and welcome species for my Dundee150 list, my second of the morning.
Keith headed off homewards and I spent the next hour trying to add a few more species to the morning's list around the park. I managed to get both Bar Tailed and Black Tailed Godwits down in the bay as well as Pied Wagtail, Greenfinch, Linnet, Siskin, Sand Martin and Bullfinch taking my total at the park to 47 species. With more and more dog walkers beginning to arrive - and very few paying any attention to the signs, I decided it was time to move on elsewhere. Rather than head for home I decided to check out the feeders at Ninewells Community Garden. A Buzzard was noted high above the wood behind the hospital before I reached the garden, being harassed by gulls.
The feeders were relatively busy with Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Robin, Dunnock, Wren and Nuthatch coming and going. A Grey Squirrel, as well as a few Blackbirds and Woodpigeons were also noted as were Rooks, Jackdaws and Magpies. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard but not seen. Having spent around an hour watching the feeders I decided to head for Balgay Hill. Oystercatcher was noted as I left the hopsital grounds. I failed to add anything new at Balgay but continued on for a look at the Law. I did manage to add a Peacock butterfly there but birds were in short supply. A Pied Wagtail was the final addition before I made it home. The list outwith the park reached a fairly decent 37 species, for a combined total of 56 species, of which 2 (in bold) were new for my Dundee150 list taking me to 116, 12 ahead of the previous year at the same point in time.
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| Shelduck |
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| Wren |
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Common Gull
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Redshank & Black Headed Gull
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Dunlin & Redshank
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Black Tailed Godwit & gull sp.
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Meadow Pipit
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Sand Martin
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| Rabbit |
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Buzzard & Herring Gull
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| Dunnock |
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Coal Tit
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Coal Tit
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| Greenfinch |
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| Robin |
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| Chaffinch |
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House Fly?
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| Chaffinch |
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| Goldfinch |
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Carrion Crow
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Long Tailed Tit
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| Nuthatch |
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| Nuthatch |
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Grey Squirrel
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| Peacock |
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| Magpie |
Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Raven, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Peacock.
Mammals (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Grey Squirrel.
Birds (at Riverside Nature Park) - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit,
Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common Gull,
Common Sandpiper, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Tit,
Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Lesser
Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen,
Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sand Martin, Shelduck, Siskin, Skylark, Song
Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon,
Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals (at Riverside Nature Park) - Rabbit.
