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| Nuthatch |
The weather for Wednesday the 2nd of April was to be relatively warm and sunny. At this time of the year though that usually means it starts off somewhere around freezing and slowly gets warmer from there. You can either dress for the colder extremes or the warmer extremes. If you go for the former, you then have to carry the layers you've taken off around with you when it gets warmer, or just end up tired and a bit sweaty. If you dress for the warmer parts of the day you run the risk of being very cold and uncomfortable for a few hours which can be really off-putting during the part of the day when there is usually the most activity. Trying to find an acceptable compromise can be a struggle some days when the extremes are rather widely separated.
For my first birding outing in April, I decided on a trip out to Riverside Nature Park and was organised and ready for 0710. As expected it was a bit chilly to start with but I had chosen to dress more for that end of the spectrum of expected temperatures. The circulation in my hands isn't the best so gloves were being worn which can make a big difference to how cold I actually feel. Woodpigeon, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Feral Pigeon, Blackbird, Wren, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Starling, Carrion Crow, Common Gull (there's a pair lingering between the football stadiums), Goldfinch, Blue Tit and Jackdaw provided a mostly fairly typical selection as I wandered up past Tannadice and Dens.
As I wandered down Provost Road there was a spot of seasonal cross-over when both Meadow Pipit and Redwing overflew within seconds of each other, one species just arriving here and one departing. Coal Tit, Robin, Chiffchaff, Chaffinch were all noted as I wandered up to the back (north side) of the Law where although things were rather quiet I was still able to find Great Spotted Woodpecker, Song Thrush and Magpie. I continued on to Balgay Hill which was even less productive with Stock Dove and Nuthatch being added there. Ninewells Arboretum failed to provide anything new except Rook but just a little further on, between the Carseview Centre and the Technology Park, I stumbled upon a Mistle Thrush and more unusually a Jay mimicking Pink Footed Geese calls. Also in the vicinity were Great Tit and Grey Squirrel. Before reaching the western end of the Nature Park, Oystercatcher and Greenfinch were seen.
Sometimes there can be a lot to see all at once as soon as I reach the park but it was more of a trickle on this particular morning. A singing Chiffchaff with Blue Tit and Goldfinch nearby started things off. A pair of Teal, a Blackbird, a pair of Bullfinches, Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow and a singing Wren continued the slow flow of species. More scanning got me Common Gull, Redshank and Grey Heron down in the bay with Robin and Magpie in the bushes by the hide. Wandering on into the main body of the park added a singing Skylark and a pair of noisy overflying Oystercatchers. I met up with Keith on the walk along from the hide and we spent a bit of time scanning from the raised banking. Cormorant, Shelduck, Bar Tailed Godwit, some distant Red Breasted Mergansers, a hunting Peregrine (which eluded my camera's focus), Black Tailed Godwit, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Mallard, Pheasant, Jackdaw, Curlew, Dunlin and Herring Gull made for a reasonably busy half an hour or so there, before Keith headed off homewards and I made my way round to the Lochan.
A Meadow Pipit overflew on the way, and I was surprised to find a family of 4 Mute Swans on the Lochan along with the usual Moorhen, Teal and Mallard. More wandering added Reed Bunting, Linnet, Yellowhammer and Buzzard to the list. Another look at the river and the bay a bit later saw just Grey Seal and Great Black Backed Gull being found. With the tide well out and the bushes and trees largely rather quiet around the park I couldn't justify hanging around much longer, so I decided I would move on elsewhere. I found a Song Thrush and a few Rabbits as I headed for the eastern exit taking my list for the park to 41 species. I was undecided where to go but as I headed back along Riverside Avenue, word came through via WhatsApp that Lainy was having a fairly successful morning at the Botanic Gardens. With a £5 entry fee to get in, to a place I've always found underwhelming (though granted it has been over 10 years since I've visited) I decided against popping in.
Instead I decided to check out Western Cemetery where the council had removed the majority of the Ivy which had been well utilised by the nascent population of Holly Blues there. I was hoping that the relatively wide views of the sky above might provide opportunities for raptors (a Red Kite or an Osprey were my rather optimistic hopes) given the relatively warm sunshine by this time. I had to settle for a Sparrowhawk. A Siskin was heard around the northeastern corner but went unseen. Not unexpectedly there was no sign of any Holly Blues but persistence did get me a few butterflies though these were only Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell. The removal of so much Ivy (and other vegetation up at the northern end) has left the site feeling (pardon the pun) rather lifeless - though hopefully as the Spring and Summer progresses things might pick up a little as vegetation reappears (and hopefully doesn't just get cut back immediately to keep things unnaturally 'tidy').
I headed up to Balgay Hill next to check for any Speckled Wood butterflies. I did however get a bit distracted initially by a Peacock butterfly sunning itself on a slight grassy slope then a rather relaxed Buzzard which let me take lots of photos as it perched in a tree by the side of Royal Victoria Hospital. Treecreeper and Goldcrest were relatively easily spotted and a pair of Nuthatches coming down to food on the bridge gave me decent views. More wandering saw me find another showy Nuthatch - which was perched close to a previously unknown nest hole that was being cleared out by its partner. I was able to watch the unconcerned birds for a while. While I did so, I heard another 2 calling Nuthatches - 1 to the north and 1 to the south. Moving on again, I checked my Speckled Wood site but found no sign of any butterflies.
I did however find another new Nuthatch nest site, with a bird taking in bark to line the nest. I had decent views of Stock Doves and found a foraging Mistle Thrush before I decided to leave the hill. A Buzzard drifted over as I made my way down towards Pentland Avenue. Despite the rather weary uphill struggle I made to to the top of the Law where the main action was a female Sparrowhawk being intercepted and escorted away by a local Carrion Crow. A Small White butterfly was also found there before I finally trudged homewards. 37 species outwith the park was a reasonable haul and took the combined total for the day to 57 species of birds, 3 species of butterflies and 3 of mammals. Despite not adding anything to my #2025Dundee150 list it proved to be relatively productive in other ways.
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| Mute Swan |
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| Redshank & Mallard |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Coal Tit |
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| Peacock |
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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Grey Squirrel |
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| Treecreeper |
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| Robin |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Blue Tit |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Buzzard |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Mistle Thrush |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Carrion Crow & Sparrowhawk |
Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Treecreeper, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Small White.
Mammals (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Grey Squirrel.
Birds (at Riverside Nature Park) - Bar Tailed Godwit, Black Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow,
Chiffchaff, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pheasant, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Shelduck, Skylark, Song Thrush, Teal, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals (at Riverside Nature Park) - Grey Seal, Rabbit.
