1306 : One September Sunday (22/9/24)

Long Tailed Tit

Having not gone birding on Saturday the 21st of September I decided to head to Riverside Nature Park early on Sunday the 22nd. I was hoping that I might find some migrants passing through the park, both in the air and also in the bushes and trees. I wanted to be at the park as early as I could be. However, as is often the case, I didn't quite make it out of my bed in time to make it to the park in time for sunrise. Thankfully the park is usually relatively quiet until closer to 0900 with usually only a few of the regular dog walkers in the park before then.

I headed out just before 0650 to the sound of a singing Robin, the first of many heard over the course of the next hour's walk. Herring Gull and Starling were next just around the corner. Jackdaw and Magpie were in their respective usual spots near the Dens Park football stadium and the first Woodpigeon of the morning was seen on Provost Road. Carrion Crow and a flyover Grey Wagtail along with a Feral Pigeon also seen in flight were noted along the first half of Byron Street. Blue Tit and an unexpected Grey Squirrel were both added in front of the tenements a bit further on along the same street. A Wren was heard from a garden at the top of Loons Road. A Meadow Pipit overflew and a Lesser Black Backed Gull was seen atop a streetlight. Dunnock and Great Tit were in the trees near the bottom of the road. 

Black Headed Gull and Common Gull were on the football pitches and a Buzzard was seen above the trees at the hill. House Sparrows were heard chirping from the gardens by the driveway up to the cemetery entrance. A skein of Pink Footed Goose passed overhead. As I entered the area in below the trees I was stopped by a police car which parked across my route and the 2 officers inside got out to talk to me. Apparently someone had been firing an air rifle around the hill of late, and had again been reported that morning. My monopod, despite not looking like a gun of any sort seemingly warranted their attention. After 5 minutes I was allowed to continue on my way, though now a bit more annoyed by the accusatory tone that accompanied a few of their questions, though overall it was probably not too bad. 

I added Treecreeper further on in the cemetery then followed that with a Goldcrest on Ninewells Avenue. Blackbird, Chiffchaff and Blackcap were my final additions on my way along behind Ninewells Hospital and the Carseview Centre. I finally reached the park just before 0800. Magpie, Carrion Crow, Herring Gull, Meadow Pipit, Mallard, Black Headed Gull, Woodpigeon, Robin and Wren got things underway . I headed up into the top half of the park where Greenfinch and Feral Pigeon were seen on the walk along to the Lochan. Teal and Moorhen were at the Lochan. Skylark, Swallow and Chaffinch were seen flying over before I reached the bay. Scanning from the raised banking I added Dunlin, Great Black Backed Gull, and Grey Heron. Linnet and Grey Wagtail flew over. A Rabbit was seen near the 'newt pool', and the bushes held Song Thrush, Blackbird and Blackcap. A few Siskins headed over westwards.

I headed back round to check the bay again. Curlew, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Bar Tailed Godwit and a Kingfisher were noted over the nest 10 minutes or so. Chiffchaff and Dunnock were in the bushes and a flock of Starlings flew past towards the airport. A Common Gull was seen down on the mud and a Pied Wagtail flew over. By this time the dog walkers seemed to have arrived en masse with dogs running into the bushes and flushing those birds that were there. More scanning found Goosander and Cormorant out on the river and a few Lesser Black Backed Gulls down on the pipe. A small flock of Lapwings were seen in flight and a skein of Pink Footed Geese, the first of a few, were seen. Jackdaw, Black Tailed Godwit and a few Knot were found as more birds arrived due to the rising tide. A Little Egret was seen across the western side of the bay.I had another look at the 'bowl' but more dogs running riot did nothing to help my mood. A small group of House Martins headed out over the bay.

With grey skies overhead and only common birds seemingly on the move I decided to see what else I could find in the rest of the park before heading homewards earlier than intended. I found Goldfinch, Blue Tit, Willow Warbler, Great Tit, Yellowhammer, Jay and Long Tailed Tit over the course of the next half hour but nothing at all over the following 40 minutes. I called it a day at 1135 having found a total of 52 species of birds and 1 mammal. The combination of weather, dogs and the earlier encounter with the police were all niggling away at me and I couldn't wait to get home. I saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker on Ninewells Avenue, added Long Tailed Tits opposite the botanic gardens then Coal Tit and Nuthatch on my walk through Balgay cemetery. My final addition for the day was a Sparrowhawk over Alpin Terrace. My total number of species for 'outwith the park' was 30 species, giving me a combined total of 60 species for the day. Overall however, it was a very frustrating outing and one that I was glad to see the back of.

Swallow

Greenfinch

Linnet

Great Black Backed Gull

Dunlin

Pink Footed Goose

Curlew, Redshank, Knot & Dunlin

Black Tailed Godwit, Dunlin & Oystercatcher

Curlew & Black Tailed Godwit

Lapwing

Redshank, Dunlin, Knot & Herring Gull

House Martin

Dunlin

Black Headed Gull & Little Egret

Starling

Yellowhammer

Jay

Skylark

Yellowhammer

Pink Footed Goose

Long Tailed Tit

Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Nuthatch, Pink Footed Goose, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Treecreeper, Woodpigeon, Wren.

Mammals (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Grey Squirrel.

Birds (at Riverside Nature Park) - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, Jackdaw, Jay, Knot, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Swallow, Teal, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.

Mammals (at Riverside Nature Park) - Rabbit.

1305: The Big Bang Theory (20/9/24)

Kingfisher

Making what feels like the 'right' choice where to go on any particular day is a rather large consideration when deciding to get out birding. Obviously, you can just sort of meander aimlessly and see where you end up, but having a target figure of a particular number of species, I usually need to maximise my chances. The weather, especially wind direction/strength and whether or not it is likely to rain definitely come under scrutiny. The tide times are another, with the window of ebbing/flowing either side of high tide generally being 'best'. Having taken these things into consideration, and having been to the top of the Law and out to Riverside Nature Park in recent days, I decided to head for Balmossie and Broughty Ferry on Friday the 20th of September.

It was a later than usual departure time of 0900. This meant that I was likely to pick up fewer species on the initial part of my walk compared to my usual preferred timing of around sunrise. Blackbird, Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Robin, Carrion Crow, House Sparrow and Woodpigeon were all expected species as I headed in the direction of Swannie Ponds. Magpie was added on Clepington Road while at the ponds, Mallard, Mute Swan, Moorhen, Tufted Duck and Coot were noted. A surprise was a complete lack of Black Headed Gulls, bar one dead one on one the small rocky islets. I chose to walk down the Kingsway for a change and it seemed to take rather a long time and provided zero new birds for the day's list.

I did find a few Rabbits at the Stannergate before having a look at the 'migrant trap' area. It was rather quiet there though there were still birds around in small numbers - Blue Tit, Chiffchaff, Chaffinch, Song Thrush, Wren and Greenfinch, with a Grey Wagtail passing overhead. Down on the shore with the gulls I found a Redshank along with a few Turnstones and a pair of Oystercatchers. A single Lesser Black Backed Gull was in with the Herring Gulls. A Cormorant was stood out on the rocks and the first Grey Heron of the morning was seen down by the water's edge a bit further on. A Curlew and a Common Gull were feeding along the edge of the beach a bit more to the east.

From the gardens to the north of the railway line came the distinctive sound of a flock of Long Tailed Tits. I picked out a couple of Sandwich Terns stood atop a few of the buoys near the sailing club buildings. A Goosander was seen in the bay at Beach Crescent. Starlings were on the nearby roofs and a few Pied Wagtails were milling around by the castle. A few Black Headed Gulls were down on the mud and a Meadow Pipit called as it passed overhead on its way upriver. Things appeared rather quiet at the castle so I continued on out towards Balmossie. A Dunnock was seen in among the rock armour before a single Bar Tailed Godwit was spotted at the edge of a small pool on the beach. There were a few Linnets picking around on the rock armour and nearby vegetation. 

A Stock Dove was slightly more unexpected as it fed among the weedy growth next to the path as I neared the Dighty outflow. There was a flock of Rooks in behind the fence on the north side. I scanned through the numerous birds around the burn. This got me a few Great Black Backed Gulls, a small group of Ringed Plover, a few Dunlin, a decent number of Wigeon and a Grey Seal out on the river. Suddenly there was a very loud bang, reminiscent of an unexpected firework but much louder. It seemed like it came from behind me but there was no obvious source. All the birds took to the air and milled around for a few minutes before nervously settling back down on the shore, though some moved on elsewhere. There was some speculation online, and in the local press that the sound might have been a sonic boom caused by a fighter taking part in a large NATO exercise off the coast (with a Canadian Air Force Hornet looking the likely culprit) though this was never confirmed, at least to my knowledge.

Once things settled down again, I found a relatively unexpected Kingfisher in the channel, which did a spot of fishing from a rock not too far away. There were a few Jackdaws picking around among the seaweed and a few rather shabby looking Red Breasted Mergansers a little further out than the Goosanders and Wigeon. Scanning through the Redshanks I found a single Greenshank as well as the Icelandic flagged/ringed Redshank I had seen there recently. I checked through the remaining gulls and discovered a single not quite adult plumaged Kittiwake. Further out I was able to see a number of Eider and a very distant Gannet before deciding to call it a day and head back westwards. A Collared Dove picking around on the beach was a slight surprise, and a single Grey Squirrel was practically the only wildlife encountered in the local nature reserve except for a lone Goldcrest. The walk home was also fairly quiet with a Common Seal near the Stannergate, a few Goldfinches at Bingham Terrace and a lone House Martin at Clepington Primary School being the main 'highlights'. These took the number of species for the day to 55 of birds and 4 of mammals. It was an interesting enough day with just enough 'not quite common' species being seen to stop it from feeling a bit 'ordinary'.

Greenfinch

Redshank

Grey Heron

Oystercatcher

Sandwich Tern

Turnstone

Common Gull

Goosander

Pied Wagtail

Linnet

Stock Dove

Ringed Plover

Kingfisher

Kingfisher

Red Breasted Merganser & Wigeon

Greenshank & Redshank

Kittiwake & Common Gull

Greenshank

Redshank (Icelandic ringed)

Rook

Wigeon

Common Gull, Sandwich Tern and Black Headed Gull

Starling

Grey Heron & Herring Gull

Turnstone

Birds - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Gannet, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Greenfinch, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kingfisher, Kittiwake, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sandwich Tern, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.

Mammals - Common Seal, Grey Seal, Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.