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| Ruff |
I decided on a visit to Riverside Nature Park on Wednesday 23rd of September. With high tide around 1330, I would be able to have a wander round the park first searching for migrants, then scan through the birds in the bay as the tide came in. With a Baird's Sandpiper having turned up near the mouth of the North Esk further up the coast and several others dotted around a bit further afield, I figured there was no harm in checking through the waders in Invergowrie Bay, just in case there was one hiding in amongst the Dunlin flock. Other possibilities included Spotted Redshank which isn't a particularly easy bird to catch up with here in Dundee. Although the likelihood of either of these 2 species being in the bay was fairly slim, you just never know what you might find checking through the assorted waders at this time of year.
I headed out at 0850. Robin, Herring Gull, Carrion Crow, Grey Wagtail and Feral Pigeon were noted almost immediately. Starling, Woodpigeon and House Sparrow were added near Dens Park. Magpie in Byron Street then Chaffinch and Wren near the foot of Loons Road extended the list a little. Goldcrest, Jackdaw and Chiffchaff were found in Balgay Cemetery, with a Jay and a Lesser Black-backed Gull on Glamis Road joining them before a Meadow Pipit overflew. I reached the eastern end of the Nature Park just before 1000. The very first bird I saw was the escaped Saker Falcon purposefully flying east, following the line of the road. Carrion Crow, Robin, Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Blackbird, Wren, Woodpigeon, Song Thrush, Long-tailed Tit, Blue Tit and Chiffchaff were all found before I headed a bit further into the park. Migrating Skylarks and more local Jackdaws overflew as I headed up into the upper half of the park.
Willow Warbler, Goldfinch, Curlew, the day's first Rabbit, Magpie, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Dunnock and Tree Sparrow were all noted as I wandered round the paths in a clock-wise direction. Down in the bay, the tide was already further in than I had expected it to be at this time. A quick scan picked up an unexpected pair of Ringed Plover, as well as a number of Redshanks, Teal and Grey Heron. Goosander, Cormorant, Mallard, Black-headed Gull and Black-tailed Godwit were next onto the list. Dunlin, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Common Gull, Swallow, Ruff, Bar-tailed Godwit, a distant Little Egret and a few overflying Meadow Pipits were noted over the course of the next 40 minutes. A Stock Dove was spotted in flight to the north. Having moved further along to the raised banking, I added Great Black-backed Gull and Curlew Sandpiper to the list before relocating round to the hide just after 1135.
From there I was able to get Knot and Greenshank but scanning through the waders failed to find anything more interesting. A Grey Wagtail flew past and a skein of Pink-footed Geese flew in from the north, but kept going. Having read up on how to ID Baird's Sandpipers before leaving the house, I saw a few interesting looking birds among the Dunlin, but they all turned out to be Dunlin, until I actually found one that wasn't. It was my first self-found Sanderling of the year, but that species was already on my #2026Dundee150 list, courtesy of one spotted by Mark recently. A second Ruff was spotted, smaller than the first and both birds were soon seen together just over the other side of the pipe.
Once the tide came all the way in, or at least as far as it was going to, and I had exhausted all the possibilities among the birds I could see (no Mediterranean Gulls in with the Black-headeds either), I decided to head along to the Lochan for a look there. This added Moorhen for the day. A Red Admiral butterfly was my final discovery at the park before I called it a day there and headed homewards. The walk home failed to add anything new for the day to the list. My final total for the day was 53 species of birds (49 species at Riverside Nature Park, 17 outwith), 1 of butterflies and 1 of mammals (both at the park).
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| Saker Falcon (escape) |
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| Blackbird & Song Thrush |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Robin |
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| Greenfinch |
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| Ringed Plover & Redshank |
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| Ringed Plover & Redshank |
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| Redshank & Ruff |
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| Little Egret |
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| Teal |
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| Curlew Sandpiper & Dunlin |
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| Dunlin & Sanderling |
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| Black-tailed Godwit & Redshank |
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| Dunlin, Curlew Sandpiper, Redshank & Black-headed Gull |
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| Sanderling, Dunlin & Redshank |
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| Ruff, Redshank, Dunlin & Sanderling |
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| Ruff, Redshank & Black-tailed Godwit |
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| Redshank & Ruff |
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| Ruff & Redshank |
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| Ruff & Redshank |
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| Redshank & Ruff |
Birds (outwith Riverside Nature Park) - Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Starling, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Birds (at Riverside Nature Park) - Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-headed Gull, Black-tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black-backed Gull, Greenfinch, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Knot, Lapwing, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Little Egret, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Oystercatcher, Pink-footed Goose, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Ruff, [Saker Falcon], Sanderling, Skylark, Song Thrush, Stock Dove, Swallow, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies (at Riverside Nature Park) - Red Admiral.
Mammals (at Riverside Nature Park) - Rabbit.
