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Little Grebe
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With a run of 3 consecutive days with new additions to my Dundee150 list behind me, I was undecided what to do on Saturday. After giving it some thought, I settled on a trip to Riverside Nature Park. While I didn't actually have any particular target species in mind, there were a number of potential Dundee150 ticks that I might run into. My expectation levels were low, but as always, you just never really know how a day's birding is going to turn out. It was a rather grey and almost misty sort of day and colder than it should have been considering it was early May. My hope was that passing migrants might have dropped into the park overnight, to wait for the skies to clear so they could continue onwards towards their destinations.
Following the previous early start, it was a later departure on Saturday morning, with an 0730 start meaning that I wouldn't reach the Nature Park until after 0830. The downside of that was that there were likelier to be more dogs around, and more dogs equals more disturbance as the majority of dog walkers at the park either wilfully choose to ignore the signs or just never notice them in the first place. There are, of course, still some 'good' dog walkers who do take heed of the signs and who keep to the paths, keeping their dogs on a short lead. Other owners believe they are complying with the signs by choosing a lengthy strap which means the dog forages in below bushes while the owner wanders on ahead completely oblivious to the disturbance Fido may be causing to the multiple ground nesting species at the park.
I headed out to the sound of Blackbirds, Blue Tit, Herring Gulls, House Sparrows and Starlings. Round the corner, I added Carrion Crow, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Feral Pigeon and Jackdaw. A slightly unexpected pair of Common Gulls, Woodpigeon and Magpie were noted between the football stadiums. Chaffinch and Dunnock were both heard as I crossed Dens Road. Goldfinch was noted on Byron Street before I detoured up towards the Law. Great Tit, Wren, Song Thrush, Robin and Goldcrest were all found around the hill itself. A Blackcap was singing as I crossed Lochee Road at the foot of the Law Steps on the western side. Routing past Balgay Hill, Chiffchaff and Nuthatch made it onto the day's list.
A pair of Oystercatchers flew over as I crossed the grass between Elliot Road and Eton Street. Greenfinches were heard at Glamis Road along with Long Tailed Tits. A Grey Squirrel ran across the road at Vernonholme. I reached the Nature Park just before 0840. Robin, Willow Warbler, Blackbird and Chiffchaff got the day's list for the park underway. Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Woodpigeon, Oystercatcher, Herring Gull, Wren and Jackdaw soon followed. Skylark and Song Thrush added to the noise levels as I headed through the lower half of the park. There were plenty of Rabbits around - including one which appeared to have Myxomatosis, and also plenty of Magpies looking for the chance of an easy meal.
Mallard, Mute Swan and Moorhen were all easily found at the Lochan. A surprise there was a Little Grebe, a bird which often turns up in Autumn but which was rather more unexpected in early May. I continued on round to check the bay. Goldfinches flew over on the walk along, while down in the bay, Redshank, Dunlin, Cormorant, Shelduck, Lesser Black Backed Gull and Black Headed Gull were all noted. The bushes between me and the bay contained Greenfinch, Blackcap, Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat amongst other things. A few Swallows swept overhead. I bumped into Mark Wilkinson and his wife and we exchanged news of each other's sightings before continuing onwards in opposite directions.
I headed round to the hide as the incoming tide caused the water levels in the bay to rise. From the hide, I spotted Pied Wagtail, a flock of around 10 Knot and a larger group of around 60 Bar Tailed Godwits and a number of Common Gulls. Bullfinch, Dunnock, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit and Yellowhammer were in the trees and bushes by the hide, along with a quite confiding Chiffchaff. Back at the Lochan, a Grey Heron had dropped in and a Teal pair were on the water. A Reed Bunting was in the hedge nearby. A House Martin and a Sand Martin were hawking for insects over the hedge-line and a pair of Stock Dove landed up on the hill. Blue Tit and Feral Pigeon were added as I wandered round to scan from the top of the hill.
From the hill, I found Goosander down in the bay and a Buzzard on the airport fence. Rooks were seen to the north. A bit of a surprise was finally managing to see the noisy male Pheasant wandering around in the recycling area. By this time it was almost 1300 and I had decided I'd had enough. The light had never really improved and it was still rather cold, grey and dreich. My search for anything out of the ordinary had only produced a solitary Little Grebe, so it was time to head homewards. The walk back proved to be fruitless with nothing new noted at all. I finished the day's birding having noted a total of 55 species (made up of 26 species outwith the park, and 51 at the park). Although it was relatively disappointing to not add anything new to my Dundee150 list, my expectation for my break from work had been to add around 3 species which I had already done. Anything else would be a bonus, and I still had another 4 days of birding to go before going back to work....as long as the weather behaved....
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| Cormorant |
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| Greenfinch |
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| Mallard |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Redshank |
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| Bullfinch |
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Carrion Crow, Bar Tailed Godwit & Oystercatcher
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| Whitethroat |
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Common Gull, Bar Tailed Godwit, Black Headed Gull & Oystercatcher
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| Chiffchaff |
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Bar Tailed Godwit & Dunlin
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Reed Bunting
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Grey Heron
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Reed Bunting
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| Mallard |
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Sedge Warbler
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| Cormorant |
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| Robin |
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Sand Martin
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House Martin
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| Swallow |
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| Blackcap |
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| Buzzard |
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| Pheasant |
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Song Thrush
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Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch,
Chiffchaff, Common Gull, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull,
House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Song Thrush, Starling, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Grey Squirrel.
Birds (at Riverside Nature Park) - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit,
Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common Gull, Cormorant, Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Tit,
Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Martin, Jackdaw, Knot, Lesser
Black Backed Gull, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen,
Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Sedge Warbler, Shelduck, Skylark, Song
Thrush, Stock Dove, Swallow, Teal, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon,
Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals (at Riverside Nature Park) - Rabbit.
