0782 : Back To Work Birds.

Other than my one trip to Trottick Ponds for my exercise walk when I managed to add Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat to my year-list, the only real birding highlight of my week and a half off work was a Buzzard being forced down into a tree behind my flat by the combined efforts of the local gulls and crows who were not happy at its presence in their airspace. It did eventually escape and made it onto my 'garden list' (which doesn't really exist as the 'garden' is really just a tiny communal drying green with a few small trees at the edges and 1 large one looming above  - and I have to practically lean out my window to see it). It was also the second Buzzard I'd seen over my street that morning - which has probably been the biggest surprise during the past few months while birding from home.

Long Tailed Tit

I was back at work on Monday the 18th and rather surprisingly managed to see a total of 24 species though the first Swifts on the commute list and a Bullfinch were as good as it got. Tuesday's total was only 20 species with Swallow and a Goldcrest the highlights. Collared Dove and the discovery of a Treecreeper's nest, when the bird flew past my face and into the tree (trunk - actually a hollow behind a bit of bark on a tall conifer) in Balgay Cemetery, were the main bright spots among the 22 species noted that day.

On Friday 22nd of May I only managed a mildly disappointing 20 species with Long Tailed Tit being the closest thing to a highlight. There were a few other species that were heard only but the greenery on the trees is now at full thickness so with limited time available in the mornings a few species aren't being seen (or noted) - usually Blackcap, Goldcrest and Chiffchaff being the main culprits. On Monday the 25th I only managed to see a disappointing total of 17 species but that was tempered by the unexpected addition of a pair of calling Common Crossbills as I walked round the western side of the Law to trek down the Law steps. An unexpected treat to see them passing low overhead southwards at around tree-top height at 0700 in the morning.

Tuesday the 26th's total was only 19 species of birds despite blue skies and sunshine. The numbers of butterflies was disappointingly low with only a probable Small Tortoiseshell seen in Balgay Cemetery on the first half of the walk home. A surprise later though was a Ruby Tiger moth which crash-landed on the pavement in front of me near the Hilltown end of Byron Street. I managed to scoop it up but it flew off before I could get a photo with my phone. Crossing Dens Road near the corner of Dens Park a butterfly flitted along the grass verge in front of me. I thought it would be one of the whites but as I stepped closer the bright orange of the wingtips showed it to be an unexpected Orange Tip male - my first of the year. A Green Veined White was another new year-tick for my shorter than usual Lepidoptera list.

Certainly not the most productive 6 days' worth of sightings but the Crossbills, the Ruby Tiger and the Orange Tip show that there is still potential for surprises on my work commute. Things will continue to get a bit quieter as the singing stops and young birds appear more and more. Only 30 species of bird listed in the time covered by this post along with 2 each of mammal and butterfly and 1 species of moth. All photos used here are from previous outings.

Magpie

Song Thrush

Common Crossbill

Woodpigeon

House Sparrow

Collared Dove

Dunnock

Blackbird

Robin

Blue Tit

Herring Gull

Swallow

Lesser Black Backed Gull

Great Tit

Bullfinch

Treecreeper

Oystercatcher

Goldfinch

Swift

Chaffinch

Starling

Jackdaw

The 30 species seen - Blackbird, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Crossbill, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Oystercatcher, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Song Thrush, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Treecreeper, Woodpigeon, Wren.

Butterflies seen - Green Veined White, Orange Tip.

Mammals seen - Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.

Moths seen - Ruby Tiger. 

0781 : Going Up (8/5/20)

I was a bit undecided where to go for my early morning walk on Friday. In fact I had actually turned off the alarm and gone back to sleep. However, I woke up not long after 0500 and decided I probably should go somewhere. I decided to visit Dundee's 2 hills and see what I could find with some time to search rather than my usual 'in passing' on my way to work. Although I wasn't overly hopeful of turning up something unusual, there is always a chance at this time of year of stumbling upon something good in less expected places.

Willow Warbler

I headed out before 0530. Despite being around an hour earlier than I normally am the birds were mostly the same species in mostly the same places - Blackbird, Feral Pigeon, Herring Gull, Woodpigeon, House Sparrow, Starling, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Magpie, Goldfinch and Carrion Crow all being noted. I also realised I was overdressed as it was warmer than expected. As it was only likely to get warmer as the morning progressed I decided I would concentrate my efforts on only 1 of the 2 planned hills. Reaching the lower slope of Dundee Law I took the camera and binoculars out of the bag and began exploring.

Dunnock and Blue Tit were first to be found and there seemed to be Rabbits everywhere. I finally managed to see one of the Blackcaps I could hear singing, though a nearby Willow Warbler proved to be much easier to see, as it sang from the very top of a small tree. A bit more searching added Chiffchaff, Great Tit, Robin and Song Thrush as well as plenty more Rabbits. I doubled back a little and got more photos of the Willow Warbler before I encountered a shifty-looking character. I decided to cut short my searching and retreat somewhere more public and headed down off the hill.

I cut along a number of previously unexplored (by me) back-streets on my way back home adding Chaffinch, Wren and a Swallow to the relatively short list for the morning's efforts. Not the most productive of walks but it does mean that I can rule Dundee Law out for future exercise trips if I'm hoping to add anything new. I suspect it could be good on a September morning for a spot of vis-mig, especially if it was a misty morning with the hill-top sitting above the mist, but late Spring/early Summer, not quite so much.

Magpie

Willow Warbler

Willow Warbler

Rabbit

Carrion Crow

Firth of Tay

Woodpigeon

Rabbit

Blue Tit

Rabbit

Rabbit

Rabbit

Blackbird

Rabbit

Robin

Song Thrush

Woodpigeon

Starling

Song Thrush

Herring Gull

Willow Warbler

Carrion Crow & Magpie

Dunnock

Species seen - Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Magpie, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Song Thrush, Starling, Swallow, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.

Mammals seen - Rabbit.

P.S. A Common Gull and the small group of local Swifts were seen later in the morning from home.

0780 : The Early Birder (7/5/20)

For weeks now on my days off I've been contemplating a very early rise and a walk to a few spots where I might see some birds, but getting up over an hour earlier than I do for work makes it easier to just roll over and go back to sleep, if I even set my alarm in the first place. By the time I do then get out of bed, those places are so much busier with dog-walkers and families out exercising, so to reduce my chances of catching anything I stay at home. However, I'm now on holiday for a week and a half so I still need exercise, so when I woke up around 0430 on Thursday morning, I decided after some thought, to get up and go.

Coot

I headed out around 0500, roughly 10 minutes before sunrise. Things were unsurprisingly relatively quiet with Feral Pigeon first onto the list soon followed with singles of Herring Gull, Carrion Crow, Blackbird and Woodpigeon. A trio of Starlings and a singing Dunnock were next. A Goldfinch was singing in a tree on Graham Street. Heading into Caird Park I added Blue Tit to the list and a Lesser Black Backed Gull was with a flock of Herring Gulls on a fairway at the golf course. I managed to photograph a Roe Deer nearby without spooking it before I stopped again to try to see a singing Blackcap which proved difficult. I was distracted by a Jay in a tree much closer which despite the poor light I did manage a few photos of. The Blackcap and a Chiffchaff eventually popped out into the open.

Song Thrush, Long Tailed Tit and Wren were noted as I wandered along to the ponds where a Robin joined the list. Two drake Mallards were on the water and a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew over as I reached the road through the park. I then followed the Dighty Burn along to Trottick Ponds noting Great Tit and another Blackcap male singing along the way as well as a Song Thrush. A ringed Dipper (Black over Silver/Blue over Lime) was seen below the road and foot bridges before I reached the small local reserve. Another birder (well, he was carrying binoculars) was seen heading across the road into Caird Park. Another unringed Dipper was seen as I crossed into the reserve itself. I could hear a singing Sedge Warbler so headed towards the song and there was my first year-tick of the day, singing away in front of me.

A Mute Swan nest was half-way along the track between the two ponds with another bird on the water. I could hear a Whitethroat singing from cover but failed to see it as I wandered a little further along the path by the Dighty Burn. A Pheasant and a Peacock(!) were heard from somewhere up the hill and a possible Garden Warbler flew off before I got a definite look at it. Another Blackcap did show quite well and a quartet of Dunnocks looked to be indulging in some avian 'swinging'. Thankfully the previously furtive Whitethroat chose to perch up in a tall tree where it sang for a few seconds before flying off singing as it went. Another welcome year-tick.

Heading back past the ponds a (possibly ringed) Kingfisher flew in and landed on a branch at the end of the island, - a nice bonus bird. A Grey Wagtail then gave me close views at the corner of the pond. A Chaffinch was next onto the list. A couple of joggers and a dog walker arrived at the park just as I was leaving though another ringed Dipper (Orange over Silver/Blue over Black) and a Long Tailed Tit delayed me for a few extra minutes. I then headed up over the golf courses in Caird Park adding only Greenfinch and a pair of Oystercatchers to the list in the park, along with another (or possibly the same) Roe Deer.

Collared Dove and Magpie were seen as I headed for Swannie Ponds where a family of Coots (6 youngsters and 2 adults) gave nice close views. There were already a few walkers and a cyclist out and about so I didn't linger there, though I did get some photos of the Mute Swan pairs brood of 6 cygnets before a single Swallow flew over. A Pied Wagtail was spotted on my way to Baxter Park when I stopped to investigate a pair of Mallards who were loitering around a raised flower bed. A moth flew over me at the gates to Baxter Park, and thankfully it was probably the only moth identifiable from below in flight - a Cinnabar Moth.

Another Long Tailed Tit and an unexpected Mallard Pair were at the Spring site along with a Blackbird. A House Sparrow was seen as I exited the park (which already had low double figures of walkers despite the early hour) to head for home. House Martins were seen over the Dura Street car park area, and I realised that they actually nest at the primary school, and a few houses nearby. A quartet of Swifts were seen overhead as I headed along Dundonald Street and I even heard a very brief 'scream' to announce that summer was now indeed here.

A surprisingly productive early morning wander with 37 species seen including 2 year-ticks (in bold) as well as one of each of mammal and moth. I will try to vary my routes a bit to see if I can turn up anything new when I go out for my daily exercise allocation but I'm not overly confident there will be much to be added given where I can walk to and still be home before the masses break cover. Time will tell though and with birding, you just never know.....

Roe Deer

Roe Deer

Jay

Jay

Jay

Blackcap

Blackcap

Wren

Mallard

Dipper

Sedge Warbler

Sedge Warbler

Mute Swan & Mallard

Blue Tit

Mallard

Great Tit

Feral Pigeon

Willow Warbler

Whitethroat

Whitethroat

Robin

Kingfisher

Kingfisher

Woodpigeon

Grey Wagtail

Grey Wagtail

Dipper

Dipper

Long Tailed Tit

Long Tailed Tit

Coot

Coot

Coot

Coot

Coot

Coot

Coot

Coot

Mallard

Mallard

Mute Swan

Mute Swan & Mallard

Mute Swan & Mallard

Mallard

Swallow

Mallard

Mallard

Mallard

Mallard

House Martin

House Martin

Swift

Species seen - Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Coot, Dipper, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jay, Kingfisher, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sedge Warbler, Song Thrush, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Whitethroat, Woodpigeon, Wren.

Mammals seen - Roe Deer.

Moths seen - Cinnabar Moth.