Having woken up a good bit earlier than I wanted to, then found that I had too much on my mind to manage to fall back to sleep, I got out of bed early and got ready and organised for work. As I was still a good bit earlier than I wanted to be, I decided that as I had plenty of time that I would walk to work. It is over 3 miles from home to work, but I decided I could do a spot of birding on the way. With a bit of luck I might find something unexpected.
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| Whitethroat (heard only) |
I left at 0700, knowing that it takes me roughly 50 minutes or so to walk the distance to work. I didn't take a camera with me or binoculars relying instead on my eyes and ears to build my list. A Blackbird flew down the middle of the street as I stepped outside, while a pair of Herring Gulls were perched atop a chimney opposite. Round the corner, the first Starling of the walk glided over. House Sparrow was next with one flying past. A Woodpigeon was perched on a lamp post as I headed past Radio Tay. A pair of Swifts zipped around above. A Wren could be heard singing from the bushes at the primary school. Near Dens Park a Goldfinch flew over.
A Collared Dove called unseen from a tree and a Blue Tit landed in a tree beside the path. As I headed up to the top of the Hilltown where the multis used to be, I had my first surprise of the day. Above the noise of the traffic I could hear a Whitethroat calling from across the road in a slightly overgrown area. I didn't really have time to look for it, so made do with noting it from song alone. A short distance further on at the end of Byron Street, the second surprise was a pair of Swallows low overhead. House Martins would not have been unexpected but in such an urban location, Swallows were a surprise.
A Lesser Black Backed Gull foraged around on the pavement ahead of me before flying off. A pair of Blackbirds were feeding nearby. A Chaffinch sang from a tree but was hidden from view and a Carrion Crow flew across the street. A couple of rather dodgy looking teens appeared out of a side street and rather loudly passed comment at a young girl passing on a bike. I kept walking quickly and hoped that I'd outpace them soon enough. As things turned out I did, though the may well have disappeared into one of the buildings I'd passed. As I chose not to look back I've no idea. Surprisingly the first Feral Pigeons were seen as I walked along Byron Street. A singing Chiffchaff and a Blackcap were both heard near the Law.
There wasn't too much else seen or heard as I made my way down to Lochee and then up onto Ancrum Road. There were plenty of Starlings and a few Woodpigeons feeding on the football pitches but no gulls. A Dunnock sang from atop a TV aerial across the road. A Great Tit was heard calling on Glamis Road. As I headed into the grounds of the hospital I heard a singing Goldcrest and a short distance further on a Coal Tit flew into a tree as I passed underneath. I heard a distant Oystercatcher's distinctive call. Just as I was thinking I'd seen and heard all that I was going to before reaching work, I looked up and spotted a Sparrowhawk headed in my direction. A Pied Wagtail was mobbing it. Not a bad way to round off the short list.
A rather short list of only 25 species consisting of 16 species seen and 9 heard only. Surprisingly no Magpies were seen, or heard (though I did see one on Victoria Road and another on Dens Road on my way home later).
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Feral Pigeon |
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| House Sparrow |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Swallow |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Dunnock |
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| Blackcap (heard only) |
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| Blackbird |
Species heard only - Blackcap, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Goldcrest, Great Tit, Oystercatcher, Whitethroat, Wren.
Species seen - Blackbird, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Pied Wagtail, Feral Pigeon, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Woodpigeon.
All photos are from other days out.
