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Great White Egret
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Having been to Balmossie the previous day, I decided to head in the opposite direction out to Riverside Nature Park on Saturday the 28th of September. Expectation levels were relatively low despite the time of year, but you just never know what you might see or hear in Autumn. A bit of vis-migging from the hill had a decent chance of springing a surprise but it was still a bit early for the likes of Brambling or even Hawfinch. With the Pink Footed Geese numbers starting to build there was a chance of there being something interesting tagging along with them too.
I headed out later than intended, at around 0810. This meant that any worthwhile attempt at vis-migging was likely to be more or less gone by the time I reached the park with the peak movement usually lasting until around 0930 and then tailing off after that. House Sparrow, Feral Pigeon, Robin, Starling, Woodpigeon, Herring Gull, and Carrion Crow got things underway in a rather underwhelming fashion. A Jay flying over Densfield Court towards Sandeman Street was a surprise, potentially increasing my chances of getting one on the house list, despite a lack of greenery in the immediate vicinity. Magpie and Blackbird were spotted in the same general area. Chaffinch and Pink Footed Goose were heard as I continued on along Byron Street. Blue Tit, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Dunnock and Pied Wagtail were also added further on along the same street.
The football pitches at Lochee Park yielded Black Headed Gull and Common Gull. A Meadow Pipit overflew as I headed into the cemetery half of Balgay Hill. Bullfinch and Goldcrest were both heard further on. Song Thrush and Wren as well as a Grey Squirrel were found as I headed along Glamis Drive and down Hazel Avenue. I reached the Nature Park at 0910. Woodpigeon and Carrion Crow made for a rather slow start, though a few minutes later I did add Chaffinch, Wren, Pink Footed Goose, Magpie, Robin, Lapwing, Herring Gull, Blackbird, Sparrowhawk and Skylark to the list. A Common Gull flew over towards the bay and a couple of migrant Meadow Pipits headed westwards. At the Lochan there were a couple of young Pheasants as well as Little Grebe, Mallard, Moorhen and Teal.
Reed Bunting and Jackdaw were noted on the walk round towards the raised banking overlooking the bay. A small flock of Tree Sparrows, along with a couple of House Sparrows, flew up from the bushes and off to the north. Down in the bay Redshank, Grey Heron, Black Tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Knot, Curlew, Oystercatcher and Goosander were all seen as I scanned through everything in sight. There were a few Goldfinches, Linnets and Greenfinches flying around, though most likely some of the locals. A Lesser Black Backed Gull appeared on the pipe and the first of a few groups of Mistle Thrush passed overhead, with Song Thrushes and a couple of Swallows doing likewise. Blackcap and Chiffchaff were found feeding in the bushes below the banking.
More scanning of the bay produced Black Headed Gull, Bar Tailed Godwit, Little Egret, Cormorant and Great Black Backed Gull. A small flock of Starlings headed past towards Invergowrie and a Dunnock showed down by the fenceline. A flock of Feral Pigeons were seen to the north just before a small flock of vocal Siskins headed westwards. A small flock of Wigeon dropped in to the bay. I wandered back round the loop of the top half of the park noting Blue Tit, Yellowhammer, Great Tit and Pied Wagtail. Rook, Red Breasted Merganser, Long Tailed Tit and Bullfinch were added on a second circuit which included a visit to the hide. I found a Common Darter on the path near the Lochan a bit later and a Large White butterfly was seen at the car park. I found a few Nettle Tap moths flitting around in a few sunny spots.
I called it a day at the park around 1415 and headed for home having found a total of 59 species there. A King's Flight S-76 helicopter had been in and out at the airport and roundabout over the course of the day and a quick look on the Flightradar24 app showed that it appeared to be inbound to the airport again. I decided I might as well try for a few photos of it landing. I stopped off at the entrance to the restaurant car park to wait for its arrival. After a few minutes I happened to turn around and spotted a large Heron-shaped bird flying past over the railway line at around tree-top (at the top of the cliff) height. It looked white but wrong for Little Egret, regardless of the apparent size discrepancy, so I quickly raised the camera to grab a few photos. I pressed the shutter button and almost immediately I got the 'battery empty' icon.
Thankfully, I had managed to get 5 photos in a less than 1 second burst and once I'd replaced the battery I was happy to see that it had indeed been a Great White Egret, as I had suspected. I put word out on the local WhatsApp group and continued on homewards. Long Tailed Tits were spotted as I passed the entrance to the University playing fields. Unsurprisingly, Cormorant was seen out on the river and having cut up to the cycle path heading east from the bottom of Roseangle towards Seabraes, I added Goldfinch in the general area to the north of the flats which sit to the west of Tesco. These took my total number of species outwith the park to 27. Coupled with the earlier very respectable 59 species at the park, the combined total was 62. The Great White Egret in particular was very good to get, and one I could easily have missed (and almost did), removing any doubts as to whether or not I had seen the species already this year (given the distance away of the Kingoodie bird). All in all it was a fairly decent, though tiring, day's birding.
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Pheasant |
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Little Grebe
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Mistle Thrush
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Black Tailed Godwit
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| Chaffinch |
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Knot, Redshank & Great Black Backed Gull
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Nettle Tap
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Reed Bunting
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Linnet |
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Pink Footed Goose
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| Mallard |
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| Cormorant |
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Redshank & Teal
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Rook & Jackdaw
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Common Darter
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| Buzzard |
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Great White Egret
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| Cormorant |
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Pied Wagtail
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Pied Wagtail
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Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Black Headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion
Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Cormorant, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great White Egret, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jay,
Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Song Thrush, Starling, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Grey Squirrel.
Birds
(at Riverside Nature Park) - Bar Tailed Godwit, Black Headed Gull,
Black Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow,
Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew,
Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great
Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Knot,
Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Long
Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Oystercatcher,
Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Reed Bunting,
Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush,
Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swallow, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Butterflies (at Riverside Nature Park) - Large White.
Dragonflies (at Riverside Nature Park) - Common Darter.
Moths - Nettle Tap.
