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| Snipe |
Having spent a fair bit of time at Broughty Ferry and Balmossie over the previous couple of weeks, I decided I should really make the effort to visit Riverside Nature Park to see what I might be missing there. My suspicion was that I wasn't actually missing anything, as Keith and Mark both keep me in the picture if there's anything of note around at the park. However, a change of scenery was still very much required and there was always a chance that I might find myself in the right place at the right time to stumble upon something 'good' myself. All I needed was that little bit of luck....
I headed out at 0900 for the hour or so's walk to Riverside Nature Park. Robin, Herring Gull, House Sparrow and Carrion Crow were first onto the day's list. Starling, Black Headed Gull and Goldfinch were noted as I walked up past Tannadice Park. There were a couple of Magpies in the trees between the 2 football grounds and a Sparrowhawk landed up on the floodlights at Dens Park as I reached Dens Road. A Wren was heard calling from somewhere nearby. A Blackbird was noted on Canning Street, while Blue Tit and Pied Wagtail were both added when I reached Byron Street. I decided to try to see the hibernating Herald Moths in the World War 2 pillbox on the northern slopes of the Law but was disappointed to find it is inaccessible (likely for fairly obvious reasons, given the location). I did add Dunnock and Woodpigeon nearby however.
Bullfinch was heard from the trees in the large gardens at the Lochee Road end of the Law Steps. When I reached Balgay Hill, I was able to add Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit and Goldcrest, with a Grey Squirrel a bit further on. Chaffinch was heard from the trees and a Common Gull was spied on the grass to the south of the hill. Passing Royal Victoria Hospital, a Redwing flew over and a Nuthatch was heard calling from somewhere near the known Balgay Cemetery nest site. My final additions before reaching the Nature Park were Feral Pigeons at Glamis Road and a Buzzard which was perched in a small tree by the steps down from the bridge over the railway line. Unfortunately it spotted me before I managed to get my camera out of the bag to grab a photo, and flew off.
En route to the park, I had messaged Lainy to see if she fancied joining me, and it transpired that she had actually been considering visiting the park anyway, so we arranged to meet there. I was running a bit behind schedule but it turned out so was Lainy, which meant I still somehow got to the park first. Owing to the tide times, I headed for the bay to scan out over the river. On the way there, Woodpigeon, Chaffinch, Great Tit, Robin, Herring Gull, Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Carrion Crow, Greenfinch, Blackbird, Magpie, Skylark, Wren, Dunnock and Redwing were all seen, or in some cases, heard. As I scanned out over the bay while waiting for Lainy to join me I found Bar Tailed Godwit, Mallard, Cormorant, Oystercatcher, Snipe, Teal, Water Rail, Redshank, Dunlin, Black Tailed Godwit, Common Gull and Black Headed Gull. A Grey Wagtail flew over and a few flocks of Feral Pigeons were seen off to the north.
I was joined by Lainy and we added Grey Heron, Jackdaw, Goldfinch, Bullfinch and Reed Bunting before we wandered round to check the Lochan. Lainy was hoping that the recent spate of 'out in the open' Snipe sightings would continue, and she wasn't disappointed to find a couple of the birds showing nicely. In addition, there were a few Moorhens and Teal around. Continuing on towards the lower half of the park, we added a Buzzard as it flew in the direction of Ninewells with one of the local corvids harassing it. A raptor seen flying away from us was as we checked the much quieter eastern end of the park, turned out to be the escaped Saker Falcon. Mistle Thrush and a Rabbit were both noted before we wandered back for another look at the Lochan. This time we counted at least 4 individual Snipe.
Lainy had been feeling a bit under the weather and decided that she was going to head home at around 1245. I did a bit more wandering and more scanning out over the bay a bit later found a distant Goosander and a single lone Pink Footed Geese out on the river. A Pied Wagtail flew past and a Great Black Backed Gull was seen down on the outflow pipe. A group of 4 Greylag Geese had appeared across the far side of the bay but despite much scanning I failed to add anything new. A pair of Buzzards displayed and a Sparrowhawk put in a brief appearance. I had another look at the Lochan where the Snipe were still showing relatively well and my final addition at the park was a Stock Dove as I headed for the exit at around 1445. My total for the park visit was 44 species of bird and 1 of mammal.
The walk home proved to be relatively quiet as the light levels began to lessen, though I did succeed in getting a Grey Wagtail and a Great Spotted Woodpecker as I wandered rather wearily up Kilberry Street. There were no further additions before I made it home for around 1600. My list for outwith the park was 27 species of bird and 1 of mammal, for a combined total of 49 species of birds (plus the Saker) and 2 of mammals. It was good to catch up with Lainy for a longer spell (even if it was cut a bit short) than the recent encounters at Broughty Ferry. Unfortunately, I failed to add anything new for my #Dundee150 list, meaning I still need another 1 species to reach my target figure for the year of 150. With even shorter hours of daylight and unpredictable weather in December, it is still not inconceivable that I might fail to reach that target. Time will tell as always.....
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Reed Bunting
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Black Tailed Godwit
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| Dunlin |
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| Snipe |
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Carrion Crow & Buzzard
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Saker Falcon (escape)
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| Snipe |
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Moorhen & Snipe
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Snipe & Moorhen
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| Teal |
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| Teal |
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| Snipe |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Goosander |
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| Buzzard |
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Great Black Backed Gull
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| Jackdaw |
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Greylag Goose
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| Snipe |
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| Snipe |
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| Magpie |
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Stock Dove
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Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Black Headed Gull, Blackbird,
Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull,
House Sparrow, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Nuthatch, Pied Wagtail, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sparrowhawk, 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, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common
Gull, Cormorant, Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldfinch,
Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose, Herring
Gull, Jackdaw, Long
Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen,
Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose,
Redshank, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, [Saker Falcon], Skylark, Snipe, Sparrowhawk, Stock Dove, Teal, Water Rail, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals (at Riverside Nature Park) - Rabbit.
