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| Osprey |
My last visit to Riverside Nature Park was over a month ago, on the 12th of June. There are a number of reasons for me not having visited lately, including feeling 'under the weather', lack of motivation and the likelihood of not seeing very much in mid-summer. However as things should be starting to 'pick up' now, with returning waders and gulls/terns on the move, I decided to make the effort and to head for the park on my mid-week day off. With high tide being a 'small' one, around lunch time there was no great rush to get to the park but I was still organised and ready to go around 0745. The weather forecast was relatively good, with not too much wind, little chance of rain and warm temperatures (though edging up towards a being a bit too hot for my liking, later in the day).
First on the day's list were some of the local House Sparrows chirping away noisily. Magpie, Woodpigeon, Blue Tit, Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon and Dunnock quickly followed. Jackdaw, Blackbird, Swift and Goldfinch were noted around Dens Park stadium and the first Lesser Black Backed Gull of the day was perched atop the new block of flats opposite the top end of Canning Street. Carrion Crow and House Martin were both found as I headed along Byron Street. A trio of Starlings overflew as I wandered down Loons Road. At Balgay Cemetery I found Wren, Robin, Chaffinch and Chiffchaff. Cutting through Ninewells grounds added Greenfinch, Coal Tit, Oystercatcher and Goldcrest.
I reached the western end of Riverside Nature Park at around 0855. Herring Gull, Carrion Crow, Mallard, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Woodpigeon, Goldfinch and Dunnock were all seen from the area around the hide. The view was very restricted due to the height of the vegetation in front of the slats. Heading into the park proper I noted a single Rabbit by the track, while a singing Sedge Warbler was heard from somewhere towards the bay. Reed Bunting, Whitethroat and a male Bullfinch were seen in the hedge line. With a better look out over the bay from the raised banking I was able to add Lapwing, Redshank, Dunlin, 2 Knot, a number of Sandwich Terns, Common Gull, a single Bar Tailed Godwit, Black Headed Gull and Lesser Black Backed Gull. In addition, a Pied Wagtail flew over. I was slightly surprised to find a Little Egret in with the gulls and terns across the bay. A bigger surprise was a lone drake Tufted Duck close in to the bank a little to the south of where I was standing.
The first of at least 3 Tree Pipits flew over and an Osprey arrived over the bay, where it circled for a minute or two before successfully catching a large flatfish. A Lesser Black Backed Gull gave chase as the Osprey gained height before flying off with its catch. A second Osprey sighting happened not long after, though the bird didn't linger, drifting off to the northeast rather than hunting over the bay. Magpie, Blue Tit, Shelduck, Mute Swan and Linnet were all spotted over the next 20 minutes or so. As well as looking up, I was also looking downwards at the butterflies and moths that were around in good numbers. Ringlet and Meadow Brown were down among the grass, with Green Veined White and Small White also flitting around a little higher. There were lots of Six Spot Burnet moths around too.
A Cormorant showed up on the outflow pipe down in the bay. A Common Carpet moth was seen by the path and both Grey Heron and Collared Dove were seen in flight before I wandered round to check over the Lochan. A young Moorhen and a juvenile Little Grebe were on what was left of the water, while a number of Swifts were seen overhead. Heading back towards the bay, I got into conversation with a guy from Aberdeen, Ron, who was touring in a camper van and was pleasantly surprised with what he'd seen of Dundee. We spent much of the next hour chatting and wandering round the western end of the park. Greenfinch, Yellowhammer, Long Tailed Tit, Grey Wagtail and Buzzard were all added to the list. I headed up to the top of the hill while Ron headed back towards the car park.
My stay at the top of the hill was rather short with the tide pushing in quite quickly. As I could see waders on the remaining mud I decided to head back along to the hide to check through the birds, just in case. A Kestrel was seen hunting over the recycling area, from the wooden gate, and a pair of Jackdaws overflew. Other birds found included Blackbird, Stock Dove, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, a single Skylark, Starlings and Feral Pigeons. I failed to find anything among the Redshanks and Lapwings in front of the hide, nor amongst the gulls. A moth at the hide turned out to be a July Highflyer, though it proved quite tricky to get a decent photo for ID due to the lack of light where it had settled.
I slowly wandered round the upper half of the park over the course of the next few hours, stopping to scan out over the bay, or to photograph the birds and insects I chanced upon. As the tide receded, I counted at least a dozen Common Sandpipers down by the pipe. A Sand Martin headed out over the bay, and a Swallow did similar an hour or so later. Chaffinch and Siskin were both noted before I stumbled upon my first Comma butterfly of the year, though it flew off before I could get the camera to focus. I had a chat to a lady with binoculars who recognised me from my guided walks at the park in years gone by. I was able to show her the Little Egret and Common Sandpipers amongst other things.
Moving on again, with the intention of heading homewards I stopped to chat to a lady, Jillian, who was photographing insects. I ended up showing Jillian where to find the Six Spot Burnet moths out of the wind and we spent a while chatting about insect (and wildlife) photography as we found more insects to photograph. Jillian had only recently bought her camera but was enjoying trying to photograph the insects she was finding. After half an hour or so, I headed off again. I spotted a moth low down by the track and called Jillian over to get a photo of it. This moth turned out to be a Snout (ID'd via social media), although it wasn't the easiest of insects to get a clear photo of, due to it hiding in below the vegetation.
I added Robin and House Martin from the lower half of the park as I headed for the exit and homewards, which took my total at the park to a fairly decent 59 species - which was much better than I had anticipated. The rather weary walk home added a Treecreeper and an unexpected Giant Wood Wasp whizzing around at Balgay Hill. I had somehow managed to get a blister on the underside of both of my heels which made for a rather uncomfortable, and slow, walk back home from the hill. My total number of bird species outwith the park was 24, for a combined total of 64 for the day. In addition, I saw 1 species of mammal, 6 of butterfly and 4 of moth (not including 'grass moths'). All in all, a surprisingly good day out, with some good conversation thrown in too.
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Curlew, Black Headed Gull & Bar Tailed Godwit
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Knot & Dunlin
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Tufted Duck
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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Sandwich Tern
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| Osprey |
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| Curlew |
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| Ringlet |
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Grey Heron
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Little Grebe
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July Highflyer
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| Mallard |
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| Lapwing |
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| Kestrel |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Moorhen |
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Meadow Brown
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Speckled Wood
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Mute Swan
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Six-Spot Burnet Moth
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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Common Sandpiper
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Hoverfly sp.
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| Snout |
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Zebra Spider
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Cinnabar moth caterpillar
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Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Hering Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Magpie, Oystercatcher, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Starling, Swift, Treecreeper, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Insects (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Giant Wood Wasp.
Birds (at Riverside Nature Park) - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Cormorant, Curlew,
Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Knot, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher,
Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Sedge Warbler, Shelduck, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Tree Pipit, Tufted Duck, Whitethroat, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.
Butterflies (at Riverside Nature Park) - Comma, Green Veined White, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Small White, Speckled Wood.
Mammals (at Riverside Nature Park) - Rabbit.
Moths (at Riverside Nature Park) - (Cinnibar moth caterpillar), Common Carpet, July Highflyer, Six-Spot Burnet, Snout.
