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Stock Dove
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I decided to head back down to Riverside Nature Park again on Saturday the 27th of July. The previous Monday afternoon's visit had been better than expected and having spent Wednesday at Broughty Ferry, it was Riverside Nature Park's turn once again for a visit. With Autumn passage already underway....though still rather light, there was a reasonable chance of getting something good, and with a bit more luck, possibly even a new addition to my Dundee150 list. I headed out the door at 0800. En route I decided to set myself a target of 50 species of bird and 5 of butterfly at the park which I thought should be quite reasonable target figures, though nowhere near guaranteed.
Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Magpie and Herring Gull made for a 'larger' than usual start, though the smaller stuff soon put in an appearance too, with House Sparrow and Swift. Lesser Black Backed Gull, Feral Pigeon and Jackdaw added to the 'big stuff' though Blue Tit, Goldfinch and Chaffinch were quickly noted as additions to the 'small stuff'. An Oystercatcher flew over as I headed along Byron Street. Dunnock, Coal Tit and Starling were noted on Loons Road. Blackbird, Robin, Great Tit, Wren and a few Black Headed Gulls made it onto the list as I continued along Ancrum Road.
Once into Balgay Cemetery I was able to find Nuthatch, Stock Dove and Long Tailed Tit. I decided to cut through Ninewells Hospital grounds to reach the western end of the Nature Park. I found a Great Spotted Woodpecker high in a tree before I reached the Arboretum. Goldcrest and Chiffchaff were both heard as I passed the Community Garden. My final find before reaching Riverside Nature Park was a Greenfinch by the Perth Road. Bullfinch, Woodpigeon, Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Mute Swan, Mallard and Carrion Crow got things underway around the western end of the park. Goldfinch and Blue Tit were next along with the day's first butterfly - a Green Veined White.
Heading into the main part of the park, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Reed Bunting, Wren, Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat, as well as a rather tame Rabbit which slowly hopped into cover as I got closer, were all noted. I wandered along to have a look at the Lochan. Yellowhammer, Linnet and Jackdaw joined the other species on the list as I slowly walked along the track to get there. I had thought I heard Tree Sparrow on the walk along but wasn't 100% certain. However, just after arriving at the Lochan, I heard what sounded like Tree Sparrows and stepped back onto the path, just as a small flock of birds flew over. They were indeed Tree Sparrows, not a particularly common bird at the park.
Moorhen, Feral Pigeon and Swift were spotted at the Lochan before I moved on again. At the bay, a Cormorant was seen in flight, a couple of Swallows headed out over towards Invergowrie, Black Headed Gulls and Sandwich Terns were picked out across the bay along with Curlew, Lapwing and Oystercatcher. There were a few Meadow Brown butterflies and a Common Carpet moth seen along the raised banking. A Greenfinch called unseen from the Buddleia behind me. Well out on the river I spotted a small group of Goosander. There were another couple of ducks that a mix of heat shimmer and not being able to keep the scope steady made ID-ing conclusively rather tricky.
The few photos that showed any sort of detail reasonably well didn't help, at the time, due to glare making viewing the screen difficult. I suspected Tufted Duck but the photos once viewed at home suggested a pair of Scaup. However, the wing pattern of the more convincing 'drake Scaup' didn't make sense and neither did the other apparent markings if the bird was indeed a Scaup. The other less obvious 'female Scaup'-like bird did actually have a Scaup wing pattern. Posting my puzzlement online provided a solution. I hadn't considered a Goldeneye, despite the wing pattern, as in none of the photos did it look like a Goldeneye to me. Mark Wilkinson pointed out that the bird was in eclipse plumage - not something I see often, but relatively obvious with hindsight. I'm considering buying a monopod with 'feet' to steady the scope a bit better, without adding too much extra weight to my bag, which should help at least a bit for viewing distant birds.
A Pied Wagtail pair and an unexpected Meadow Pipit flew over within a few minutes of each other. I found a few Common Gulls in with the Black Headeds. Around 10 minutes later, the first Osprey of the day arrived over the bay. There were a number of Common Sandpipers down in the bay. A Great Black Backed Gull headed downriver. I added Great Tit, Stock Dove, Sparrowhawk and Magpie. I found a couple of Little Egrets across the bay with the other 'white birds'. More scanning as the tide came in added Redshank, Dunlin, Grey Heron, Black Tailed Godwit and Bar Tailed Godwit. A Grey Wagtail overflew. As I wandered round to look out over the surrounding area from the top of the hill, a Kestrel briefly hunted over the recycling area. It took a while before I managed to add anything new from the hill-top. Starling and Buzzard were eventually seen before a pair of Sand Martins headed out over the bay together. I found Robin and Chiffchaff as well as Six Spot Burnet moth on a slow wander anti-clockwise around the top half of the park on my way back to the Lochan.
My first Common Darter dragonfly of 2024 was spotted in the reeds by the water and a young Pheasant surprisingly appeared across the far side. With a few small black and fuzzy Moorhen chicks around, it was chased off by the youngsters older, though still rather brown, siblings. I noticed very regular flocks of Woodpigeons passing over heading towards the southwest, and realised that I had actually been seeing them all day, though without having really paid them much attention. I counted a few minutes worth of passage to get an idea of just how many birds may have been involved and came up with an estimate of over 5000 individual birds. Where they were all coming from and where they were going to, however, was a mystery. I finally added Chaffinch in the lower half of the park before managing to see the day's first Ringlet and a settled Small White near the exit. I left the park having found a total of 58 species of bird, though only 4 of butterflies (and also 1 of dragonfly, 1 of mammal and 2 of moths).
The rather weary and unhurried walk home got me Grey Squirrel at Balgay Hill, near the Observatory, as well as a Green Veined White a little further on. Continuing up towards the Law added a circling Sparrowhawk over Rankine Street and the local Kestrel was spotted just before I reached Law Crescent. Having seen both the Kestrel and Sparrowhawk I decided not to continue the tiring journey up the steps to the top and instead headed for home. Outwith the park I managed a total of 30 species of bird, 1 of butterfly and 1 of mammal for a combined total of 65 species of bird, 4 of butterfly, 2 of moths, 1 of dragonfly and 2 of mammals. All in all, a fairly decent day's birding, with a good selection of wildlife overall.
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Great Spotted Woodpecker
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| Whitethroat |
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Tree Sparrow
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Mute Swan
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Scaup and Goldeneye
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Scaup and Goldeneye
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Common Carpet
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| Greenfinch |
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| Linnet |
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Grey Wagtail
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Black Tailed Godwit, Redshank & Black Headed Gull
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| Osprey |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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Sand Martin
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Moorhen |
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Six Spot Burnet moth
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| Whitethroat |
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Swift and Sparrowhawk
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| Woodpigeon |
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Grey Squirrel
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Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swift, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Green Veined White.
Mammals (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Grey Squirrel.
Birds (at Riverside Nature Park) - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Bullfinch,
Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common
Gull, Common Sandpiper, Cormorant, Curlew,
Dunlin, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lapwing, Lesser
Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher,
Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon,
Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Scaup, Sedge Warbler, Song Thrush,
Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Tree Sparrow, Whitethroat, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Butterflies (at Riverside Nature Park) - Green Veined White, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Small White.
Dragonflies (at Riverside Nature Park) - Common Darter.
Mammals (at Riverside Nature Park) - Rabbit.
Moths (at Riverside Nature Park) - Common Carpet, Six Spot Burnet.
