Despite thinking that July would see a reduction in the quality and quantity of species being seen on my walk to and from work, it has probably thrown up as many surprises and good birds/sightings as any of the previous 4 months. The weather has continued to be relatively dry with the exception of a few light showers here and there, though as is to be expected the temperature on a few days has made the walk a bit more tiring than previously, especially having been on my feet practically all day while working.
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| Nuthatch |
On Thursday 9th July I was able to see 21 species with the best being a fledgling Jay being fed by an adult on a branch about 6 feet above me as I left work just after 1600. Peregrine, a close view of a juvenile Goldcrest and a Long Tailed Tit family were the best of the rest. Friday the 10th gave me 24 species with views of Collared Dove, and 2 Bullfinches feeding on the ground at Balgay Hill on my way to work. Earlier in the week I had heard a warbler singing loudly on my way home. I thought it was probably a Blackcap, though it was a bit too far away to be investigated.
On Friday however, the singing bird was much closer and I doubled back on myself a little to investigate. There was a slight hope that the bird might be a Garden Warbler rather than the expected Blackcap but seeing the bird clearly proved very tricky using the small binoculars I had with me. As I scanned upwards a bird appeared on the trunk of the tree above me. Not a Garden Warbler, nor even a Blackcap. Another Friday surprise bird - a Nuthatch! Not a year-tick, having seen one in January at Killiecrankie and another at Scone Palace, but a very good bird in Dundee. The species has been slowly spreading northwards but has gone up the west and centre of Scotland, with Fife starting to get birds showing up more often (Kirkcaldy and Glenrothes etc). In Angus and Dundee it is still quite a rare bird. I did catch a few glimpses of the Blackcap though I relied on recordings of the song for the ID.
Taking a slight break from my walk to work sightings for a few moments to mention another surprise sighting, this time from the relative comfort of my living room. Not nearly as rare a bird in Angus, or to a degree, Dundee as Nuthatch but a bird that I've been hoping to get on my walk to work list this year, and my home list since I moved in back in 2001. I was making a cup of tea on Sunday evening and heard the local Starling flock making a bit of a racket out the back. I went into my bedroom just in time to see the flock of around 20-30 fly off. I headed into the living room to check the flock as they circled round as I've been hoping that a Rose Coloured Starling might turn up amongst them, given the recent influx of that species.
Above the flock I noticed the likely reason for their swift exit. A
large raptor was drifting over slowly in a generally southeasterly direction. I
grabbed the binoculars to get a better view. It wasn't a Buzzard, but an
Osprey! I then grabbed a camera and fired off some (rather poor) photos through the
blinds and double glazing. Then I opened the window to hopefully get a
few clearer though distant record shots. The photos showed the bird had a
radio pack and aerial on its back. Blue YD, a male born at Balgavies in
2012 and which I photographed in 2016 back at the nest and which I've
seen in Fife since would seem to fit the description. It would be a nice
coincidence if it was that particular bird (though I'm unlikely to ever be able to
know for sure) given that my photo at the Balgavies nest site was featured in the local newspaper (as a result of the tracking device having failed and the bird being suspected of having been 'lost').
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
On Monday 13th, things were rather more back to normal though Blackcap, Bullfinch and more Siskins moving through were seen amongst the 25 species noted. On Tuesday the 14th I managed to see 23 species with a Grey Wagtail as well as Crossbills and Siskins seemingly on the move. A Sparrowhawk was a nice bonus bird, with the species having been relatively scarce of late. Things were a bit quieter on Thursday the 16th, with a Grey Wagtail passing over westwards within a minute of leaving for work and a Black Headed Gull low overhead as I left work at 1600.
On the 17th, the Friday surprise was another relatively unexpected sighting, though the species itself wasn't uncommon. As I headed past Balgay Hill in the morning I heard what sounded like a raptor calling from a little way up the hill. I decided to have a quick look and spotted a few birds moving among the trees. I thought it might be Jays at first but I took out the binoculars from my bag (a 'proper' set, having struggled with the smaller ones previously) and managed to see one of the birds perched a little further up the hill in a tree. A Sparrowhawk female. The others were youngsters, at least 2, possibly 3, all chasing and harassing mum for food. At one point, the youngsters flew round over my head giving me nice views.This was my first encounter with a Sparrowhawk family group.
A Buzzard was seen a little further on and after work the day's apparent raptor theme
continued with another Sparrowhawk circling overhead as I left for home. One
of the Cox's Stack Peregrines was seen circling round the chimney and
yet another Sparrowhawk, a male, was seen over Dens Park stadium as I
neared home. 24 species including a Jay and a Black Headed Gull were
also seen that day. The total number of species seen on the commute list over the 6 days
covered in this post was 39 species (Osprey makes 40 - year-tick in
bold) and the total number seen on my way to and from work is now 58
species. All photos used are older photos with the exception of the
Osprey photos above.
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| Common Crossbill |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Siskin |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Coal Tit |
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| Blackcap |
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| Blackbird |
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| Buzzard |
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| Grey Wagtail |
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| Swift |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Peregrine |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Dunnock |
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| Jay |
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| Robin |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Goldcrest |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Swallow |
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| Chaffinch |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Feral Pigeon |
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| House Sparrow |
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| Starling |
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| Magpie |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Greenfinch |
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| Great Tit |
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| Collared Dove |
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| Blue Tit |
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| Wren |
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| Lesser Black Backed Gull |
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| Long Tailed Tit |
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| Jackdaw |
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House Martin
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Species seen - Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Crossbill, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Nuthatch,
Osprey, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals seen - Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.
