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| Whitethroat |
With a trio of birds that I still need for my #2026Dundee150 list being found at Riverside Nature Park during the week by Mark while I was off work ill - Mediterranean Gull, Sanderling, and best of all, a Redstart, I decided to pay the park a visit on Saturday morning (the 25th of July), despite still feeling fairly rough. Having been stuck inside for 4 days, I really needed some fresh air and the opportunity to stretch my legs a bit. Unfortunately for my chances of finding the Redstart, it was forecast to be rather windy. My suspicion was that the bird would still be around as it had been windy on Friday and there had been a bit of rain overnight, though it might well be sticking to cover.
I headed out at 0750. Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Magpie, Swift, Coal Tit, Starling, Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Dunnock, House Sparrow and Jackdaw provided a relatively steady start. Wren, Goldcrest, Blackbird, Black-headed Gull and Blue Tit were noted as I passed through Balgay Park and Cemetery. At Riverside Avenue there were a few Rabbits on the grass and from the trees by the railway line I could hear a couple of young Sparrowhawks calling. A Grey Squirrel and a Chiffchaff were then found before I reached the Nature Park.
Woodpigeon, Wren, Goldfinch, Song Thrush, Carrion Crow, Robin, Chaffinch, Swallow, Herring Gull, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Blackcap, Feral Pigeon, Black-headed Gull, Magpie and Oystercatcher were all noted on my way to where Mark had found the Redstart. Unfortunately it was already very windy, and although there was a little shelter from the full force of the wind, the Buddleia bushes were swaying a lot. I had brought my thermal imager with me and managed twice to get onto a bird that looked fairly decent for being the Redstart. Unfortunately, it was impossible to see clearly due to the constant movement of the multiple branches. I spent around an hour trying and failing to see the hoped for Redstart, before checking the more sheltered side of the bushes, to no avail.
A bit more wandering got me Dunnock, Greenfinch, Buzzard, Willow Warbler, Blackbird, Stock Dove, and Swift, as well as Ringlet, Meadow Brown and Small White butterflies. I did my best to scan out over the bay, despite the wind, using only binoculars. Lesser Black-backed Gull, Mallard, Cormorant, Curlew, Sandwich Tern, Knot, Redshank, Dunlin and Common Gull were all added. A Whimbrel that had gone unnoticed was later picked out on my photos, so it goes on the list for the day, but I can't count it). More wandering had sightings of Speckled Wood butterfly and Common Carder Bee before a few young Moorhens were seen at the Lochan. A Whitethroat was nearby. I headed back round to try again for the Redstart, which once again proved fruitless. A young Peregrine and a Rook were spotted overhead.
Chiffchaff, distant Goosanders, Linnet, Jackdaw, Blue Tit, a calling Pheasant, a Peacock butterfly and eventually a few House Martins were all noted before I finally called it a day at the park, having managed to get a total of 44 species of birds, 1 of bees and 5 of butterflies there, though unfortunately no Redstart. The walk home added Holly Blue and Green-veined White butterflies on Perth Road as well as House Martin to take my 'outwith the park' list to 20 species of birds, 2 of butterflies and 2 of mammals. The combined totals were 49 species of birds, 1 of bees, 7 of butterflies and 2 of mammals. Not too bad considering the strong wind.
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| Buzzard |
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| Black-headed Gull, Sandwich Tern, Curlew, Lapwing, Redshank, Common Gull, Herring Gull |
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| Redshank & Knot |
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| Redshank & Dunlin |
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| Lapwing & Carrion Crow |
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| Lesser Black-backed Gull |
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| Herring Gull & Lesser Black-backed Gull |
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| Redshank, Dunlin, Oystercatcher, Stock Dove |
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| Redshank & Dunlin |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Whitethroat (& 7-spot Ladybird larvae) |
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| Peregrine |
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| Peregrine |
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| Buzzard |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Red Admiral |
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| Buzzard |
Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Magpie, Feral Pigeon, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swift, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Green-veined White, Holly Blue.
Mammals (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.
Birds (at Riverside Nature Park) - Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common Gull, Cormorant, Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Martin, Jackdaw, Knot, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Linnet, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pheasant, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sandwich Tern, Song Thrush, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, [Whimbrel], Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Bees (at Riverside Nature Park) - Common Carder Bee.
Butterflies (at Riverside Nature Park) - Meadow Brown, Peacock, Ringlet, Small White, Speckled Wood.
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Rohan suggested a wee trip to Auchmithie on Saturday evening to try for Quail, (which would be a lifer for me, given my lack of luck in trying to find one around the edges of Dundee). With a Mandarin Duck having been seen at Keptie Pond in Arbroath in the preceding days, we would also be able to try for that en route to the fields around Auchmithie. Thankfully the wind of earlier in the day had calmed down considerably as the day had progressed, making for quite a pleasant evening to be out birding. Rohan arranged to pick me up at 1800.
Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, House Martin and Woodpigeon were all seen as I waited for Rohan to arrive, which she did, right on time. Black-headed Gull and Carrion Crow were the only additions on the road out to Arbroath. My memory of exactly where Keptie Pond was, turned out to be a little bit 'off' though thankfully it is well sign-posted and we found it easily. We had a slow wander round the pond in search of the Mandarin Duck which proved to be rather elusive, despite much scanning. We did manage to see plenty of other wildlife with Mallard, Moorhen, Coot, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Tufted Duck and Grey Heron out on the pond, along with Mute Swan and the 'slightly odd' resident Pintail, which appears to have had a Mallard somewhere in its family history.
Round the edges of the pond we chanced upon a couple of Brown Rats and Rabbits as well as Jackdaw, Stock Dove, Magpie, Blackbird, Long-tailed Tits, House Sparrows and Starlings. We left Keptie Pond around 1930 for the short journey to Auchmithie. I had scouted around on Google Earth/streetview and had chosen to follow the path up from where we'd watched the Puffins previously. Scanning from the end of the village we were able to see Gannets, Razorbill, Guillemot, Kittiwake and Cormorant. We headed up the sloped path at the back of the village noting Linnet, Sand Martin, Swallow and House Martin as well as a few Swifts.
My original plan had been to go to the right but the fields that way didn't look too promising for Quail, given their apparent preference for cereal fields, so we turned left. As we walked along the path, I thought I heard the distant sound of a Quail calling. When we reached the next field, we were able to confirm that it was indeed a Quail. I managed to get a recording via Merlin (which didn't register the bird - likely as a result of the location - which can be a frustrating feature of the app, given that birds can, and do, turn up where they 'shouldn't be'). The Quail still seemed to be a bit ahead of us though when I finally got level with it, I heard a second bird respond to it, back towards where the two fields met. I had my 'lifer', even if I didn't get to see it (which was to be expected, given the size, and skulking nature of these small birds).
Rook, Tree Sparrow, Pied Wagtail, Corn Bunting, Greenfinch and Yellowhammer were all spotted around the farm buildings and on the subsequent walk back to the car. We attempted to see Badgers where one of Rohan's colleagues had seen them a few nights before, on our way back to Dundee, before detouring along the route to the 'back' of Fintry to listen for Quail. We were out of luck there too, though I suspect walking might be better than in a car - though hi-viz/reflective clothing would probably be required given some drivers need to speed along country roads. A Fox was a nice way to round off the evening's birding, as we passed the Black Watch monument. We finished the evening's birding with a total of 38 species of birds (1 lifer) and 3 of mammals.
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| Grey Heron |
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| Pintail (hybrid?), Herring Gull |
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| Pintail (hybrid?), Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull |
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| Tufted Duck |
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| Guillemot |
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| Guillemot & Razorbill |
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| Razorbill & Guillemot |
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| Oystercatcher & Kittiwake |
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| Tree Sparrow |
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| Tree Sparrow & House Martin |
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| Corn Bunting |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Swallow |
Birds - Black-headed Gull, Blackbird, Carrion Crow, Coot, Cormorant, Corn Bunting, Gannet, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow,
Jackdaw, Kittiwake, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Linnet, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pied Wagtail, Pintail (hybrid?), Quail, Razorbill, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Skylark, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Tree Sparrow, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.
Mammals - Brown Rat, Fox, Rabbit.
