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| Snipe |
Having been to Balmossie the previous day, it was a trip to the other end of the city that I had planned for Thursday the 3rd of October. I wanted to be at the park for sometime around sunrise. One of the good things about Autumn is that sunrise is nowhere near as early as during late Spring and Summer, which means that I don't have to get out of bed in the middle of the night to be able to head out for the hour's walk, when I'd usually still be sound asleep. Unfortunately, as Autumn progresses and changes to Winter this later start is offset by the earlier finish to the daylight hours, which means less time out in daylight and much longer hours of darkness, which coupled with often cold, wet and wild weather doesn't do much for my overall mood, and associated well-being.
I headed out into the pre-dawn darkness for the hour's walk to the park. Needless to say, birds were in short supply with just a lone Robin singing to start things off. A Magpie was added as I wandered up Canning Street. A Blackbird flew across the road at the start of Byron Street and the first couple of Herring Gulls glided over in the gloom a bit further on. Carrion Crows made their presence known near the Rosebank Bakery. With nothing much to be seen I changed my route to follow Law Crescent round the back of the hill. This got me Jackdaw, Wren and a Fox which disappeared through the bushes into a back garden just beyond the Campbell Street junction. A Dunnock was heard at Pentland Avenue and Woodpigeon was spotted as I headed out of Balgay Cemetery. Blue Tit, Goldcrest, House Sparrow and Coal Tit were the final finds before I reached the Nature Park at 0730.
Although the sun hadn't long cleared the horizon, there was plenty of activity with Robin, Wren, Carrion Crow, Song Thrush, Woodpigeon, Herring Gull, Magpie, Greenfinch, Blackbird, Pink Footed Goose and Great Tit all being noted in the first 5 minutes. A Raven flew east over the park as I headed for the hill, and a Rabbit ran across the path ahead of me. From the top of the hill I had a very quick scan of the bay. A pair of sleeping Mute Swans, as well as Redshank, Curlew and Common Gull were quickly found. A Reed Bunting was heard calling before Jackdaw, Black Headed Gull and Goosander joined the rapidly growing list. The first Meadow Pipits of the day headed over westwards. A Grey Heron landed down by the pipe. A mix of birds down in the bushes and trees as well as birds heading over the park got me Blue Tit, Pied Wagtail, Siskin, Mistle Thrush, Yellowhammer, Goldfinch and Starling. More scanning of the bay added a Lesser Black Backed Gull as well as the first Oystercatcher of the day's birding.
Chaffinch and a pair of Collared Doves flew westwards overhead. Dunlin and Mallard were picked out on the mud, albeit rather distantly. A flock of Feral Pigeon over the bay and the first of the day's Skylarks were seen. A Buzzard was heard calling before being seen gliding around near the hospital. Linnets and then a flock of Tree Sparrows with a couple of House Sparrows flew past while down in the bushes Bullfinch and Chiffchaff were spotted. More scanning over the bay produced Cormorant and Red Breasted Merganser, while a Rook overflew. I gave up at the top of the hill around 1030, noting a Kestrel hovering briefly as I wandered round the base of the hill near the picnic tables. A distant Little Egret was noted around noon after I'd had a fruitless wander round most of the top half.
At the Lochan a Stock Dove put in a very brief appearance while Little Grebe, Moorhen, Teal and an uncharacteristically showy Snipe were also noted there. I found a flock of feeding Long Tailed Tits and added the first butterflies of the day around lunchtime with both Large White and Red Admiral spotted. A Common Darter was seen on the path near the Lochan on another circuit of the top half. I found Goldcrest in the trees near the path up from the lower half. As I wandered back round past the picnic tables I spotted Mark scanning out over the bay and joined him for a while. This proved rather productive with Knot, Black Tailed Godwit, a small group of Tufted Duck, Bar Tailed Godwit, and a few Shelduck all being present. A Jay was my final find at the park taking my total to a very decent 61 species before I left the park around 1545.
The walk home added a number of species as a result of most of the morning's journey to the park having taken part in pre-dawn gloom. A Jay was seen as I walked up towards Perth Road with Long Tailed Tits in the trees just up from the Botanic Gardens. I added Chaffinch on Glamis Road then Feral Pigeon, Pink Footed Goose and Sparrowhawk as I wandered up through the cemetery. My final additions for the 'outwith the park' list were Starling and Goldfinch a few minutes from home, taking that part of the list to 21 species for a combined total of 64 species over the course of around 10 and a half hours of birding. An enjoyable day's birding even if I failed to add anything new to my Dundee150 list.
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| Raven |
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| Goosander |
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Collared Dove
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| Dunnock |
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Song Thrush
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Reed Bunting
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Feral Pigeon
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| Bullfinch |
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Mistle Thrush
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House Sparrow & Tree Sparrow
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| Blackbird |
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| Starling |
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| Skylark |
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Carrion Crow
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Black Headed Gull
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Meadow Pipit
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| Kestrel |
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| Snipe |
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| Teal |
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| Snipe |
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Hoverfly sp.
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Stock Dove
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Tufted Duck
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Mute Swan
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| Chaffinch |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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Pink footed Goose
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Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Blue Tit, Carrion
Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch,
Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay,
Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Pink Footed Goose, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sparrowhawk, Starling,
Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Fox.
Birds
(at Riverside Nature Park) - Bar Tailed Godwit, Black Headed Gull,
Black Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow,
Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew,
Dunlin, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great
Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Knot,
Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Long
Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher,
Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Raven, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Reed Bunting,
Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shelduck, Siskin, Skylark, Snipe, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Butterflies (at Riverside Nature Park) - Large White, Red Admiral.
Dragonflies (at Riverside Nature Park) - Common Darter.
Mammals (at Riverside Nature Park) - Rabbit.
