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Riverside Nature Park, Dundee. (1 Viewer)

Sunday 24th Sept

Not RNP technically, but 2 Curlew Sands and 1 Little Stint in Invergowrie Bay, were all visible from the park boundary. Only 1 of the former made it over to the Dundee side, the Stint staying stubbornly on the Perthshire side of the divide
 

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http://stonefactionbirding2014.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/another-guided-walk-71017.html

Led a guided walk at the park on Saturday, though the turn-out was rather low, though the birds showed relatively well with 38 species seen on the walk and I managed another 15 afterwards to take the total to 53, though the wader flock flew off en masse before the tide pushed them in far enough to properly go through them from the hide.
 
A visit on Sunday 15th just as the tide started falling produced 1 Little Stint with approx 100 Dunlin in the bay. Only other wader of note was a single Black-tailed Godwit. Amongst the 200+ Teal was a single 1st winter drake Pintail; a new one for me there. Found all the Redshanks roosting on the north bank of the pool with a single juv Curlew Sandpiper and Dunlin keeping them company.
 
approx. 300 dunlin in front of the hide at the bay today at 4.30,i was in the process of counting them when something spooked them,only about 7 redshanks with them ,the numbers are usually the other way around,a couple of godwits also present,only 1 redwing encountered (heard)
 

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I had a walk about just as it was getting dark tonight,im still hoping to get an owl of some sort here,no owl seen but a woodcock flew above me at buzzard wood,this is the first woodcock I have seen anywhere in over 2 years,the only birds I could id in the near dark were 4 magpies in a tree together and a pied wagtail,at the weekend I had a tawny owl fly in front of my car in the ferry and a grey partridge cross the road just north of Dundee,another 2 birds I seldom see
 
i had a walk around the park this afternoon one of the first birds seen was a great spotted woodpecker at the car park trees ,not seen one here for a while,there were quite a few redwing flocks about the biggest was 27 birds this flock had a single mistle thrush with them,at the lochan 3 gadwalls had the water to themselves,a single godwit was feeding alongside 31 oystercatchers,several redshanks a black headed gull and 6 pied wagtails were feeding at the flooded area behind the car park,at the hide area the tide was out but I could make out 5 dunlins with the many redshanks,2 lesser black backed gulls were with the herring gulls near the pipe,first lssb gulls I have seen this year,magpies were all over the park

bird seen

heron/great spotted woodpecker/carrion crow/woodpigeon/redwing/mistle thrush/starling/goldfinch/greenfinch/chaffinch/black headed gull/pied wagtail/gadwall/godwit/oystercatcher/herring gull/lesser black backed gull/teal/redshank/cormorant/shelduck/robin/blackbird/blue tit/magpie
 

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Popped in for a wander round after a trip to the Tay reedbeds and got a bit of a surprise at the Lochan. A new park tick. Number 141 - a Coot. There was also a Moorhen in the trees to the north of the car park. 35 species seen and a few heard-onlys.

Species seen - Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Coot, Cormorant, Goldfinch, Grey Heron (with a Leech working its way up its neck), Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Shelduck, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swallow, Teal, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer. Heard only - Chiffchaff & Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Signs appeared to be having some effect with most dogs seen on leads in the upper part of the park. However, one family with 2 dogs on leads walked down the slope where the Skylarks are to the path from the top of the hill. Feels like 1 step forward, 2 steps back. At least 2 Skylarks lifted from the hill earlier and sang above the top.

Leading a guided walk at the park this Saturday coming from 8:30-10:30(ish). Meet at the car park.
 
coot is a surprise bird here,maybe it is struggling to find a territory ,the whitethroats seem to be running a little bit late this year
 
There's been a bit of range expansion for Coot in Dundee, with them now (more or less) firmly resident at Swannie Ponds - possibly Clatto-born birds initially? Possibly the RNP one is either a Swannie Ponds or Clatto youngster?
I predicted Coot (& Moorhen) in my ibook "Nature Park" a few years ago, as potential species for the park.

"On a more positive note, the next milestone will be reaching 140 bird species. Can it be reached within the next year? Or will it take two? Or more? Is 150 species achievable? How long will it take? 3 years? 5 years? What birds will put in an appearance?

Birds that have been seen before the park opened, or nearby, are probably most likely. Birds like Avocet, Merlin, Cuckoo, Barn Owl and Golden Plover. Over and above those, migrants passing through like Ring Ouzel, Hobby and Redstart are all possibilities. Rarer birds like Firecrest or Yellow Browed Warbler could potentially turn up. Lapland Bunting turns up at other migration watchpoints during Autumn, so it could just as easily show up at the Nature Park. Vis-migging could bring these or a Hawfinch through the airspace above the park.

Bad weather can play a part in bringing new species to the park. Guillemots have been blown in, with Slavonian Grebes and Red Throated Diver showing up relatively nearby at City Quay, so birds like Kittiwake, Gannet and Razorbill, Puffin and Little Auk might arrive after a period of strong easterlies in Autumn or Winter. Skuas are known to make overland flights while on migration so watching the skies at the right times of year might prove productive.

Waterfowl like Gadwall, Pochard, Barnacle Geese, White Fronted Geese or maybe Great Crested Grebe, or a Coot or Moorhen could appear in the bay, or possibly on the Lochan. As could one of the rarer waders, maybe Pectoral Sandpiper or Little Stint or something more exotic. A white-winged gull, or possibly an American gull such as Ring Billed, or maybe a Black Tern.

Before the park opened I mentioned to someone that it looked like a good place for Shrikes - I didn't expect Red Backed, but a wintering Great Grey Shrike. It would be good to get one on the list."
 
Well, was leading a guided walk at the park this morning but was going to be a bit too early so routed in via the western gate to check the tide state and on the way to the car park I found yet another new bird for the park, the second in less than a week, number 142, a male Whinchat. Also 3 Wheatear found later at the hill. Other goodies seen - 2 Goosander, 1 Sparrowhawk, 11 Bar Tailed Godwit, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, House Martin, Kestrel, Linnet, Sand Martin, Willow Warbler & Whitethroat.

Pics - last week's Coot (still there along with 2 Moorhens), Whinchat, 2 Wheatears.

141. Coot
142. Whinchat
 

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well done on 2 new species to the park list in one week barry,whincat is a species that never crossed my mind,the coot was still on the lochan at tea time a new species for me it was calling and spending time with one of the moorhens,they were the only birds on the water but a few birds landed at the edge for a drink,starling goldfinch and 2 yellowhammers all landed together,2 stock dove also had a drink,yellowhammers seem to be doing well in the park and were seen at most areas,i seen my first osprey of the year circling the bay area, it was chased off by crows and headed east,there was a lot of frog spawn in the water at buzzard wood a few weeks ago but I couldn't see any young frogs there is probably a fat heron nearby ,the godwits are still out in the bay
 

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nice find,i was there this afternoon hoping the stormy weather would bring in some sheltering waders but only 20 odd redshanks were on the lochan,the view from the hide at the bay area has been really poor for a while wonder what other visitors we are missing out on
 
At this time of year there will likely be a Ruff or two, possibly Spotted Redshank, and probably more than 1 Curlew Sandpiper around. Little Stint a possibility. Can be worth wandering up onto the bridge to look down into bay from Invergowrie end, by top of the slope up. Probably the most complete view that doesn't involve popping round to the railway station. There were 38 Redshanks initially but the larger flock chose not to linger and headed off somewhere else (probably round by airport), most likely where they'd been up to that point.
 
47 godwits on the lochan this afternoon all sheltering with aprox 300 redshanks,there was 1 smaller wader with them,first pic below,looks like a dunlin to me,the view from the hide is still obscured so I decided to check the area behind the tunnel,1 kingfisher perched on the metal fencing just 15 feet from me,it took off as soon as I raised my camera,(second time this has happened here)the kingfisher flew upstream a short distance turned around and flew out into the bay,rather than try and see it from the hide I walked around to invergowrie station and looked back ,I noticed some gulls in the bay and an odd bird sleeping among them,i took some record shots and the bird turned out to be a juv great crested grebe,this is a new bird for me here and unless I have been forgetting to add entrys to my records maybe a new park bird ,other than that there was not a lot about,gsw woodpecker/teal/mallard/goldfinch/magpie/woodpigeon/carrion crow/buzzard/dunnock/blackbird plus 3 groups of long tailed tits,pinkfoots heard but not seen
 

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Your wee wader is a Dunlin. Great Crested Grebe is indeed a new bird for the park list. Well done. Given the conditions, a Gannet youngster is a distinct possibility too.

143. Great Crested Grebe
 
cheers when I first spotted the grebe I was hoping for an early slav grebe :t:
 

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Great Crested Grebe was on my list of predictions. Surprised we still haven't got a Golden Plover. That's way overdue.
 
there were 2 grey squirrels chasing each other in the car park trees today,looks like we will have a family of greys moving in
 

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