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| Reed Bunting |
Having had a successful day's birding on Thursday I decided to head back to Riverside Nature Park on Friday the 18th of April. Once again, expectations were on the low side but with a few incoming migrants having been seen elsewhere over the previous few days, there was at least a slim chance of encountering something new. I decided on another early start, setting my alarm for around 0500 for the second day in a row. Too many of these early starts can really tire me out, especially if I find I'm not making it to bed until after midnight, so I try not to have too many of them back to back. However, an early start does mean there are fewer dog walkers around, and so less disturbance, which means the chances of finding something good are a bit better...
With this in mind, I headed out around 0610. Great Tit was a relatively unusual first species for the day - though there has been one heard fairly regularly of late from home, and close by. Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Blue Tit, Woodpigeon, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Goldfinch, Blackbird, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Chaffinch, Starling and Wren followed and were much more typical fayre. Lesser Black Backed Gull and Stock Dove were seen from Byron Street. Jackdaw, Bullfinch, Coal Tit and Chiffchaff were all found near the bottom of Loon's Road. A Common Gull was at the football pitches at Lochee Park while Nuthatch, Treecreeper, and Goldcrest were at Balgay Hill. A Greenfinch was singing on Glamis Road and a Sparrowhawk was seen displaying over the houses to the west. A Blackcap was singing on Perth Road and an Oystercatcher flew over Riverside Avenue.
I reached the Nature Park just before 0720. Robin, Blue Tit, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Chaffinch, Buzzard, Woodpigeon, Great Tit, Carrion Crow, Song Thrush and Stock Dove, as well as a few Rabbits were around the eastern end. Heading a bit further in, Magpie, Blackbird, Jackdaw, Willow Warbler, Goldfinch, Skylark and Lesser Black Backed Gull were the next set of finds as I made my way along to the Lochan for a look there. Mallard and Teal were both seen there and a Meadow Pipit overflew before a Moorhen finally put in an appearance. Long Tailed Tit, Rook and Reed Bunting were noted as I wandered along to the hide. From there, the rather limited view still provided Redshank, Dunlin, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit and Shelduck.
I added a couple of Common Gulls before noticing a Common Sandpiper (my first of the year) wandering along the base of the embankment. Thankfully it flew closer, though the views were rather intermittent as it wandered among the rocks in the burn outflow. I wandered along the path from the hide towards the main part of the park. As I neared the end of the long straight, a burst of song made me stop. It was a Whitethroat, another first for the year. It sang in short bursts from within the depths of a bush though with a bit of patience I did eventually manage to see enough of the bird to be able to get the camera to focus on it, allowing me to get a few record shots. The bird then flew across into the hedge and slowly worked its way through the bushes though remaining well hidden as it did so.
I moved round to check the view from the raised banking next. This added a pair of distant Red Breasted Mergansers well out on the river, as well as a Little Egret. Cormorant, Sand Martin, Herring Gull, Oystercatcher, Grey Heron, Knot, Curlew and Bar Tailed Godwits were added over the next 20 minutes or so, with Feral Pigeons headed over westwards and a pair of Bullfinches down in the trees in front of me. A Starling flew past towards Invergowrie. Wren and Dunnock were also around and very vocal. At around 0955 I picked up an approaching Osprey out to the west. It came in and managed to catch a large flatfish. Rather than fly off with it, it landed on one of the rocks across the far side of the bay. It drew some initial attention from crows and gulls before they got bored and left it in peace.
As I had the scope set up, I was able to let a few passers-by see the bird. A skein of Pink Footed Geese headed off northwards. A Greenfinch flew over. I had a few conversations with people about the Osprey, and this helped to pass the time. The Osprey caught a second fish having devoured the first but this time it flew off west with it. A Buzzard then drew some unwanted attention as it circled up and a bit further out, before I managed to pick out a Sparrowhawk. With the tide receding further and further back out, I decided to head away from the bay. This got me Pheasant, a confiding Linnet at the top of the hill and a Pied Wagtail before I left the park around 1300, having managed to get a total of 55 species there.
The walk home took me back through Balgay where a Jay was the only new bird found. I then headed up to the top of the Law where the resident Kestrel once again provided a few photo opportunities, and a Buzzard was noted circling a bit further away. A Willow Warbler was heard singing from down near the picnic tables, and there was a very brief but loud call from a Great Spotted Woodpecker before I finally headed homewards following another pretty successful day's birding. The total for the day was 63 species - made up of 33 species outwith the park, and 55 at the park. I did feel rather tired by the time I got home with the back to back early starts and plenty of walking But that didn't come as any surprise.
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| Black Headed Gull, Redshank, Dunlin |
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| Moorhen |
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| Redshank & Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Common Sandpiper |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| Shelduck |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Curlew |
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| Wren |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Osprey |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| Buzzard |
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| Linnet |
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| Carrion Crow & Buzzard |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Kestrel |
Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Magpie, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Treecreeper, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Birsd ( at Riverside Nature Park) - Bar Tailed Godwit, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow,
Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldfinch,
Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Knot, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Shelduck, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling,
Stock Dove, Teal, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals (at Riverside Nature Park) - Rabbit.
