The past 2 weeks haven't really thrown up anything too unexpected or overly exciting on my commute. With the departure of Swifts over the past week and a lack of birdsong and calls this has contributed to what feels like a bit of a dead period. Ordinarily at this time of year I'd be trying for a spot of seawatching at Fife Ness or checking out the Terns along the Angus coast but my continued reluctance to use public transport has meant both are more or less off-limits for now, so the walk to work is my birding just now.
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Siskin
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On Monday the 3rd of August the run of Tree Pipits continued with a small group of 4 seen over Balgay Cemetery in the morning. In addition, Sparrowhawk, Siskin and Stock Dove as well as a Buzzard were all noted among the 23 species recorded. Another Tree Pipit was seen on Tuesday the 4th, again over the cemetery, but this time heading back towards the hill ahead of incoming wet weather which soaked me later in the day as I headed home. Sparrowhawk and Stock Dove were the best of the rest among the 19 species seen, almost all of which were in the morning.
The weather was better on Thursday the 6th and I managed to record 22 species. Once again Tree Pipit was the best of the bunch, though this time heard only. A foraging group of Long Tailed Tits in company with Blue Tits, Coal Tits and Treecreeper were seen in Balgay Park as well as another large mixed feeding flock at the eastern end of Scott Street a little later. Swallow and Stock Dove were the closest thing to highlights among the remainder of species that day. On Friday the 7th I went one better with a total of 23 species. Another heard only Tree Pipit passed over westwards near the Law while another was heard over Balgay Hill. A Common Gull and more Long Tailed Tits were the other decent sightings.
There was a reasonable enough mix among the 21 species seen on Monday the 10th. A couple of lingering Swifts were a good start, with the majority of my local group usually departing around the 8th. Black Headed and Common Gull numbers are slowly creeping back up - though they haven't yet reappeared back at the football pitches where I saw them daily earlier in the year. Fingers crossed for a Mediterranean Gull putting in an appearance among them at some point. A Cox's Stack Peregrine, a Wren and a pair of Stock Doves were the best of the rest.
On Tuesday the 11th I lucked onto a flock of 6 Crossbills arriving from the north at Balgay Cemetery. A few Siskins were seen but a larger number were heard from the tree tops at the cemetery. Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and Peregrine were all noted in the morning with another Sparrowhawk being seen over Byron Street in the afternoon, returning a minute or so later with prey and landing in a large tree across the road from where I was passing. Unfortunately it was too high in the tree to see what it had caught but it didn't linger as I tried to get a better view, heading off instead towards the trees on the hill, where I've been hearing a begging youngster calling from this past week. A Tree Pipit was also heard in the morning making the 23 species noted on the 11th probably the best selection of the fortnight covered here.
The weather in the morning of Thursday the 13th was warm but rather misty and it did make things rather difficult with only a Stock Dove being of much interest, though with the mist having cleared in the afternoon a Buzzard, 2 late Swifts and a flock of around 30 Siskins on Balgay Hill did drag the total up to 19 species. Friday the 14th proved to be even worse with a morning of drizzly light rain contributing to a paltry total of only 13 species seen. Grey Skies and the decision to try a different route home only brought another 3 species of which the best was a Sparrowhawk over the Hilltown at the Alexander Street junction which upset the local Feral Pigeons, meaning a poor total of only 16 species for the day.
Only 35 species seen over the fortnight covered in this post, slightly down on recent times, but still a reasonably interesting mix of birds. Hopefully I will manage to add a few more migrants as the Autumn progresses though I do have a lot of planned holidays from work coming up - with the provisional plan to try and get out birding - over the next 2 months or so. Time will tell if that comes to pass. All photos in this post are older photos.
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Collared Dove
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Magpie
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Sparrowhawk
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Robin
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Blackbird
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House Sparrow
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House Martin
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Swallow
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Lesser Black Backed Gull
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Woodpigeon
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Black Headed Gull
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Herring Gull
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Green Veined White
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Stock Dove
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Buzzard
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Goldfinch
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Starling
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Peregrine
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Oystercatcher
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Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion
Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Crossbill, Common Gull,
Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Martin,
House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit,
Magpie, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin,
Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Tree Pipit,
Treecreeper, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies seen - Green Veined White.
Mammals seen - Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.
