Riverside Nature Park, Dundee. (2 Viewers)

[Stonefaction]

Visited the park yesterday for the first time in around a month. Not too much around in the trees and bushes on the bird front, but the bay was quite active, with wader numbers definitely up from my last visit. Best bird was a Ruff, down in front of the hide as the tide came in. A juvenile Little Egret was stood out on the pipe and the tide brought it much closer in 3 or 4 stages to the area just to the south of the hide. It was fairly intolerant of close approaches from the gulls, jabbing its beak at them when they got too close. A train eventually spooked it and it flew off towards the river. Another surprise was 2 Common Terns, as was a single Rook by the pipe.

Full list of birds seen was -
Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit (1), Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Sandpiper (6+), Common Tern (2), Cormorant (1 - possible Carbo), Curlew, Dunlin (20+), Goldfinch (10), Herring Gull, House Martin, Jackdaw, Lapwing (16), Lesser Black Backed Gull, Little Egret (1), Mallard, Mute Swan (2), Oystercatcher, Redshank, Feral Pigeon, Rook (1), Ruff (1), Sandwich Tern, Sparrowhawk (1 juvenile male), Stock Dove (1), Swallow, swift, Teal (2), Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.

Ian Ford also saw Common Gull and Grey Wagtail (1), and we both heard Chiffchaff but didn't see it.

As the birds weren't co-operating, myself and Ian Ford had a wee wander round searching for insects and succeeded in seeing 5 species of Butterfly, 4 species of Moth, 1 Plume Moth, at least 5 micro moths, 1 Common Blue Damselfly, 2 Froghopper species, 1 Grasshopper species, and 3 Ichneumon species. Also various flies, hoverflies, wasps and bumble bees.

 

[Stonefaction]

A rather belated catch-up. Popped down to the park for a few hours on Saturday to search again for insects, but with one eye on the birds. Unfortunately the sunshine disappeared and the wind increased a bit meaning that there weren't too many insects flying around. Best find was a species of fly I hadn't seen before - Trixa conspersa - right in the middle of the Park and Ride site. Searching online for its status, information was scant - with it being reported as present throughout Britain, though a map of sightings recorded only showed two in Scotland. Next best was Ancylis badiana - a colourful wee micro moth (seen on Monday too).
Bird-wise it was very quiet, with nothing unusual around.

Black Headed Gull, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Cormorant (1), Curlew, Dunlin, Goldfinch, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Mallard, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Feral Pigeon, Sandwich Tern, Stock Dove, Swallow, Woodpigeon.

 

[Stonefaction]

Popped down to the park last night after work, more in hope than expectation. Unfortunately I had timed the tides wrong and it was in and quite high when I got there. Thankfully I was still around when the tide was going back out and the waders were coming back in. No sign of any Ruff, but plenty Dunlin (70+), some Redshanks, a Spotted Redshank and a single Black Tailed Godwit. The rest of the park was pretty quiet with very few small birds around at all. Some Teal on the Lochan, though in eclipse plumage.

Blackbird (1), Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit (1), Carrion Crow, Chaffinch (3), Common Gull (1), Cormorant (1), Curlew (1), Dunlin (70+), Goldfinch, Herring Gull, Jackdaw (5), Lapwing (5), Lesser Black Backed Gull, Mallard, Mute Swan (2), Oystercatcher (1), Redshank, Feral Pigeon, Song Thrush (1), Spotted Redshank (1), Stock Dove (1), Swallow (3), Teal (8), Woodpigeon, Wren (1).

 

[kawwauser]

I visited the park just after five for a few hours today,i met gus Guthrie around at the hide area (nice to meet you gus)gus mentioned a curlew sandpiper which had been reported the previous night,unfortunatly the tide was in ,only a few black headed gulls /mallards and 2 mute swans were on the water,a grey wagtail landed on the wall and began feeding,it didn't hang around though,eventually the tide began to go out and the birds started to stream in, bh gulls were the first to land on the mud and there was a lot of them,carrion crows and jackdaws flew in and lesser black backed gulls with juvs swam up from the left,the wader numbers built up very quickly with redshanks landing first then some dunlin,every time I see dunlin here there seems to more birds,there was 1 curlew and a couple of oystercatchers feeding plus 2 common sandpipers and 2 teals just below the hide 20 odd sandwich terns were in among the waders ,with the large amount of birds in front of the hide I didn,t think the curlew sandpiper would be seen but gus picked it out and showed me it through his scope (a lifer for me)
this is two nights it has been feeding here so it might be worthwhile checking over the weekend,not much smaller birds about,1whitethroat/1willow warbler/chaffinches/goldfdinches/1 swallow

 

[Stonefaction]

Visited the park after work tonight, hoping for a chance of Curlew Sandpiper, or maybe some exotic migrants. Unfortunately, by the time the tide was close enough in to view from the hide there were almost no waders, except a few Curlews, to see. A few small groups of Redshanks, and 2 Lapwings were spotted a bit earlier, and a single Common Sandpiper was rooting around on the seaweed on the pipe.

Not too much of anything around in general, except insects. Peacock butterflies on the Buddleia, and some White butterflies and lots of hoverflies around, plus a couple of dragonflies near the Lochan.

A few metal benches have been installed though, so it will be possible to sit for a while somewhere other than at the viewpoint, though the views from the benches is a bit limited, but the options for positioning them was limited to start with. Hopefully they won't encourage the "wrong" kind of visitors to linger....

Full list of birds -
Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Sandpiper (1), Curlew, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Martin (1), Lapwing (2), Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet (2), Mallard, Mute Swan (2), Oystercatcher, Redshank, Feral Pigeon, Sandwich Tern, Song Thrush (1), Swallow, Teal (3), Willow Warbler (2), Woodpigeon.

 

[Stonefaction]

Popped down to the park for a bit of a marathon visit. Arrived around 8.30 and didn't leave until 15.40. Most of the birds of interest were in the bay, with the best being a juvenile Curlew Sandpiper and 2 Ruff. There was also a single Bar Tailed Godwit and around a dozen lapwings in addition to the usual waders. Among the juvenile gulls, there was one that looked a bit smaller than the Herring gulls andLesser Black Backeds but also with clearer defined scalloping on the back. Shape-wise it looked like Common Gull, but markings reminded me more of the Mediterranean Gull I saw last year at the park. Will post it in the ID thread for expert advice. Probably be a Herring Gull....

Still a few butterflies on the wing, mostly Whites and Peacocks. A few Common Darters around and at least 6 species of Hoverflies making the most of the Ragwort still in flower.

Full list -
Bar tailed Godwit (1), Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit (1), Buzzard (3), Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff (2), Common Gull, Common Sandpiper (3), Cormorant (3), Curlew (2), Curlew Sandpiper (1), Dunlin, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull (1), Great Tit (1), Grey Heron (1), Herring Gull, House Martin (5), Jackdaw (4), Lapwing (c12), Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet (2), Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail (1), Redshank, Robin (1), Feral Pigeon, Ruff (2), Sandwich Tern (7+), Song Thrush (1), Sparrowhawk (2), Swallow (2), Teal, Whitethroat (2), Willow Warbler (1), Woodpigeon, Wren (1)

Edit: The Chiffchaff in picture 1, I ID'd from the emargination on the 6th primary... Willow Warbler having none on that feather apparently. It did a lot of tail flicking, so I was pretty certain that it was a Chiffchaff, and the wing stretch helped confirm. The first time I've resorted to that particular method.

 

[kawwauser]

there was a dunlin on the lochan today with the many teals,a buzzard which I haven,t seen for a while was circling and calling here,at the hide area the waders (mostly redshanks with some dunlin)were sheltering from the very strong winds resting on this side of the pipe,small flocks of meadow pipits seemed to be the only small birds braving the weather ,some halfwit has been drawing on the hide +sign, must get a lot of pleasure out of that,there was also similar writing on rocks along the railway line,there was a very decayed fox carcass lying next to the lochan path last week

 

[kawwauser]

put my dunlin pic on the lochan on the q&a forum turns out to be a curlew sandpiper :t:

 

[Stonefaction]

Disappointing trip down to the park after work. Spent ages trying to get photos of a wader with its back to me sleeping at the Lochan. Eventually, I managed to get a few shots of it with its head up. A rather anti-social Dunlin - as there are a good couple of hundred in the bay. Teal and Mallard also on the Lochan, with Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow and Feral Pigeon around the edge. Goldfinch, Greenfinch and Chaffinch at Buzzard Wood. Three Meadow Pipits headed westwards as did a single Swallow. In the bay, there was still a couple of Lesser Black Backed Gulls, a Great Black Backed Gull, some Herring Gulls, a couple of Common Gulls and Black Headed Gulls. No sign of any terns and the only waders were 250+ Dunlin and 50+ Redshanks, although the sun made it difficult to check through the silhouetted birds, and my flock photos don't show anything too obviously different. A flock of Starlings were in the Rowan trees by the road at the eastern end of the park.
In addition to the graffiti at the hide, there was more spray-painted over the information board overlooking the bay, as well further graffiti on the dog poo bin nearby and on the concrete base of the bench. I've contacted the Council about the graffiti at the hide before finding the extra tonight.

 

[kawwauser]

looks like my curlew sandpiper was a mistaken id,first dunlin I have seen on the lochan,the bird spent most of the time sleeping when I seen it on Monday

 

[Stonefaction]

It spent ages sleeping with its back to me, and it was almost impossible to get a clear view side-on with the leaves on the bushes blowing about, but I did finally manage a decent view and got a couple of poor photos. I have seen a small flock of Dunlin at the Lochan a few years ago (before the park opened) with a nice mix of different sized birds (one appears a lot larger than the others but is clearly a Dunlin).

 

[kawwauser]

1 kingfisher in front of the hide at 10-45 am today,the kingfisher was perched on the rock nearest the tunnel,this is the first kingfisher I have seen in Dundee,3 grey wagtails were fighting at the enterance to the tunnel,1 looked like it had more yellow than the other 2,unfortunatly the only pic I managed was a blurry mid air shot of just 2 of the birds,another grey wagtail was feeding in the small pool of water at buzzard wood,9 pinkfoots flew over heading west and 2 dunnocks were sitting together (one singing) ,robins were also singing all over the park,only teals/mallards and one carrion crow on/near the lochan today,the tide was well out and the only waders visable were curlew/oystercatcher/redshank
the sign at the hide has had all the graffiti removed but the graffiti on the hide and the sign at earth viewing still remains,didn,t check under the bench as there was 2 pensioners enjoying it,looks like the tunnel area has also seen some recent spraying :C

 

[Stonefaction]

A rather grey day but as the tide time seemed to be decent for catching the waders grouped together as the tide came in, I decided to pop down after work to see what was around.

As I crossed the road towards the park I could hear a calling Great Spotted Woodpecker and managed to pick it up straight away hanging off the top of a fairly small tree. Headed for the bay along the fence line, with Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon and Chaffinch seen en route in addition to Herring and Black Headed Gull. The bay was full of birds with 99 Pink Footed Geese the most noticable, although once again there were hundreds of Dunlin on the mud. A few Bar Tailed Godwits, numerous Redshanks, a smattering of Oystercatchers and a couple of Curlews made up the rest of the wader species. Did see a few Lapwing later roosting down from the grass viewpoint on the shore. Mallards and Teal were in the burn outflow, and there were 5 species of gull present (1 Great Black Backed, a few Lesser Black Backed, plenty Herring Gulls, some Black Headed Gulls and a couple of Common Gulls), as well as a solitary Sandwich Tern perched out on a rock over the Invergowrie side of the bay. Feral Pigeon, Carrion Crow and Jackdaw made up the balance of birds in the bay.

While trying to get a better view of the Geese I unfortunately managed to spook them despite a cautious and circuitous approach and they flew off northwards. Thankfully the waders stayed put, so I headed back round to the hide, in the hope of better views as the tide funneled them into a corner in front of the hide. Unfortunately, something unseen put the vast majority of the waders up, and they flew off en masse as I watched from the hide, although the gulls stayed put as did a handful of Dunlin and a few Oystercatchers.

I headed along to the Lochan where a pair of Woodpigeons were the only birds present. A small group of Long tailed Tits were feeding along the hedge to the east, in company with at least one Blue Tit and a Great Tit. A Robin was singing from in the hedge too.

A few Meadow Pipits flew over and there was a group of 20 or so Swallows hawking high above the hill for a few minutes. As I walked towards the car park, a couple of Dunnocks flew low across the path and into the weeds, and a Blackbird skulked around in the undergrowth. Further round towards Buzzard Wood a couple of Grey Wagtails called as they flew over and a single Goldfinch was picked up by call. Chaffinches were the main bird in Buzzard Wood although there was a small mixed flock that I didn't manage to catch up with but appeared to be tits and finches. Heard a few Wrens but failed to see any. Headed for the bus around 10 to 6. 31 species in total seen.

Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit (1), Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Curlew (2), Dunlin (300+), Goldfinch (1), Great Black Backed Gull (1), Great Spotted Woodpecker (1), Great Tit (1), Grey Wagtail (1), Herring Gull, Jackdaw (2), Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Oystercatcher, Pink Footed Goose (99), Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sandwich Tern (1), Swallow (20+), Teal, Woodpigeon.

On a related note, I have finally finished the ebook I have been putting together about the park. It is called "Nature Park (Birding my patch - the first two years)" and a preview of the first third of it can be seen here...

http://www.blurb.com/ebooks/reader.html?e=400461#/spread/front

 

[Stonefaction]

An early morning visit yesterday in the hope that some of the interesting migrants had made it as far as the park. If they had, they were well hidden, a calling Chiffchaff being the closest to fitting the description. Arrived at the park around 0740. Not too much around in geneal, with the bay providing most of the interest. Pink Footed Geese were just offshore and left in two waves. There was a Curlew Sandpiper in with the Dunlin and Redshanks. The Jackdaws appeared to be having a bit of "fun" chasing waders for no obvious reason. They would spook a bird or two, then chase them for a few seconds before moving on to another bird. I think they were just being "wee devils" and annoying the waders, like Crows will sometimes torment another bird or animal by pulling its tail.
There were a few Bar Tailed Godwits around as well, and a possible Carbo race Cormorant on the pipe. My pal picked me up at 0940 and we headed to Guardbridge where there were 4 Little Egrets, a Kingfisher, a Ruff and a Skua (possibly Arctic - pics in ID section).

Full list - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Cormorant (2), Curlew, Curlew Sandpiper (1), Dunlin, Goldfinch (12+), Great Black Backed Gull (1), Grey Wagtail (2), Herring Gull, House Martin (1), Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Song Thrush (1), Starling, Teal, Woodpigeon



Full list -

 

[kawwauser]

that's a very nice ebook you have there barry, after opening it a first time im finding it wont open a second time,i keep getting a message about save and reload which doesn,t work,covering the park from day 1 is a bonus,on my walks I bump into couples who visited the park before it was a park and have returned to check it out, one couple told me there unexpected bird was a long eared owl,others tell me they used to see red squirrels +hares here,
I had a visit today and the only birds I could add to your sightings would be a single wigeon on the lochan and 1 long tailed tit with the chaffinches in buzzard wood

 

[Stonefaction]

Not sure what is happening with the ebook not working. Might be worth a shout to customer support at Blurb. They are pretty quick to answer (although there is a page comes up with suggestions before the query message actually goes through, you have to choose to continue with your query). Hope you get a happy outcome - I can let you in on a wee secret, you do get a few wee mentions.... ;-)
https://support.blurb.com/home

Although I haven't seen a Hare at the park, I have seen them on the grass at the airport in the past, so wouldn't be surprised if one did turn up. A Red Squirrel would be more of a surprise, but given the relative proximity of Camperdown Park, and a lot closer - the Botanic Gardens, it wouldn't be a massive surprise. I did actually have an "almost" mammal sighting on Sunday at the park, just being aware of something disappearing into the undergrowth near where the Shrike was earlier in the year, but not really seeing anything but being aware of movement in my peripheral vision. Weasel and/or Stoat should also be possible at the park, I suppose.

 

[Stonefaction]

Another great find at the park from Ian Ford today in the shape of a Yellow Browed Warbler. Not totally unexpected, but a welcome addition to the list, and the first for a while. Also a Brambling with Redpolls at the car park, and Chiffchaff too.

132. Yellow Browed Warbler

 

[Stonefaction]

Spent 5 and a bit hours at the park today from 1110 until 1630. Eventually managed to see 41 species, with the 40th being summoned from the sky (2 Siskins), and the 41st (Song Thrush) as I was headed for the exit a few minutes later. Nothing too unusual around, except for a rather unwary Magpie (youngster?), and a couple of Ruff in the bay with the waders.

Lots of little flags - 200 were used, another 50 or so were required - around the path edges, planted yesterday by Ian Ford and some volunteers marking out just how bad the dog fouling problem is in the park. There were around 6 or 7 within a few feet of a dog poo bin. It's easy to see which paths are most walked by irresponsible dog owners, as they are well marked. Saw a few more folk with dog poo bags in their hands today than usual, but they may have been the responsible dog owners anyway. Still some around that don't clean up after their pets as there were a few fresh lumps left on and by the paths.

A few butterflies seen, but didn't get a decent view of any of them. Looked dark, so maybe Red Admirals or Small Tortoiseshells.

The grass on the hill was being mown today, which brought in a lot of Crows to feed, along with the Magpie.

Full list of birds - Bar Tailed Godwits (6), Blackbird (1), Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit (2), Carrion Crow (20+), Chaffinch, Coal Tit (2), Common Gull, Cormorant (2), Curlew, Dunlin, Goldfinch (10+), Great Black Backed Gull (2), Great Tit (1), Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Kestrel (1), Lesser Black Backed Gull (1), Linnet (1), Magpie (1), Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan (2), Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail (2), Pink Footed Goose (150+), Redshank, Reed Bunting (1), Robin, Feral Pigeon, Ruff (2), Siskin (2), Skylark, Song Thrush (1), Sparrowhawk (1), Starling (20+), Stock Dove (1), Teal, Wigeon (3), Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer (1).

Chiffchaff and Wren both heard.

 

[kawwauser]

cheers for pointing out the ruff and the 2 siskins barry, while checking my pics the ruff stood out instantly,picking it out with binos from the hide was a different story ,the siskins were a new bird here for me,there was 2 greenfinch at the bottom left of buzzard wood along with some blue tits and chaffinches,i couldn,t relocate the magpie but I seen that larger flock of pinkfoots plus a thrush flying over ,the dog poo situation got a mention in the press tonight,seeing all those flags plus a couple of fresh poos might make the dogwalker think twice

http://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/n...k-group-to-flag-up-dog-fouling-issue-1.138266

 

[ianford]

Goose count

I was in the park by 830am to count the roosting geese as part of the Tay Goose counts. I had already counted 450 Pinkfeet in Kingoodie Bay and 30 Canadas still on the water.
In Invergowrie Bay about 800 Pinkfeet flew over me mainly heading East and NE before I reached the viewpoint. I don`t think they returned but there were another 700 Pinks still in the bay as the tide went out. Most of them flew off in different directions at 932am though 150 landed further out in the bay.
Visible migration (vismig) was good though with one smart male White Wagtail, 20+ Tree Sparrows in 3s and 4s (3 landed in Buddleias briefly), 3 Mistle Thrushes,2 Song Thrushes, 4 House Martins, several Siskins, 80+ Meadow Pipits, 25+ Skylarks. All these birds flew west. One bird was possibly a Lapland Bunting but it only called once annoyingly!
In the bushes were several more Song Thrushes, loads of Blackbirds, 8 Reed Buntings, Yellowhammers, 2 Siskins and usual suspects. I couldn`t identify a warbler but probably a Chiffchaff and there was one Red Admiral.
I left about 1020am.
Further article about Dogfouling in today`s Telly.
I heard about a Mute Swan that was stuck in the hedge near the lochan last week and released by SSPCA and Dundee Council after call from a member of the public.

I am looking for VOLUNTEERS to help with Goose Counts in Invergowrie Bay, Kingoodie Bay and off Monorgan (1 mile west) early morning every 2 weeks Sept-Feb.