With a period of holidays from work coming up coinciding with a reduction in the amount of daylight available in the morning the amount of birds I'm expecting to see over the next 6 weeks or so while walking to and from work is likely to be reduced from the low 20s of early summer to between 15 and 20 species a day - as long as the weather isn't too wet or windy when it will be even lower. I'm already noticing a drop-off in numbers even when the weather isn't stormy like my rather wet and windy walk from work on Tuesday the 25th of August where only a few gulls and crows on a sodden football pitch was more or less all I saw. Having said all that, the birds haven't been too bad over the last week and a half.
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| Jay |
On Monday the 17th I managed a total of 22 species with a Jay and a pair of late Swifts the main highlights. A Grey Squirrel was lucky to survive being hit by the front wheel of a van as it scampered across Tullideph Road but after a few seconds of shocked stillness it ran off apparently unharmed. On Tuesday the 18th the figure dropped to just 20 species but did include Peregrine and Sparrowhawk as well as a late Willow Warbler at the Law and a number of Siskins at Balgay Hill. A total of 22 species were again seen on Thursday the 20th with a pair of Jays at Balgay Cemetery giving good views in the afternoon. Also nearby was the Siskin flock of 20 to 30 birds all noisily congregated at the top of a tall tree. A single Swift was lingering with a decent sized House Martin flock feeding above the tree-tops. Best of the rest that day were a family group of Long Tailed Tits and a Stock Dove.
Friday the 21st was rather disappointing with only the Siskin flock of note among the 18 species encountered. Things weren't much better on Monday the 24th with a few Goldcrests and a flock of probably at least 50 House Martins feeding above the trees at the football pitches at Balgay Hill as rain threatened, though no Swifts this time around. In total I only managed 17 species. The forecast for Tuesday the 25th was fairly horrendous and turned out to be as forecast as the day progressed. However, the walk to work in the moring did provide the spectacle of a young Sparrowhawk chasing, but failing to catch, a Goldfinch above the Law allotments on the south side. Stock Doves and the first 2 Meadow Pipits of the Autumn dragged the total up to another 17.
All in all, things are noticeably quieter than even the previous fortnight and as the weather turns more autumnal that trend is likely to continue though vis-mig may increase a little - I'll need to brush up on flight calls, just in case. Over the 6 days covered here I managed a total of just 32 species. Photos used here are all older photos.
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| Starling |
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| House Sparrow |
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| Peregrine |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Greenfinch |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Jackdaw |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Magpie |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Coal Tit |
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| Long Tailed Tit |
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| Collared Dove |
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| Swift |
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| Blue Tit |
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| Goldcrest |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| House Martin |
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| Siskin |
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| Herring Gull |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Peregrine, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swift, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals seen - Greay Squirrel, Rabbit.
