As October slipped into November the amount of daylight available for birding on my walk to and from work diminished further. Thankfully even in the pre-dawn darkness there were birds around to be heard, and some seen in the gloom, though being able to identify the calls and songs is a major help. At the other end of the day there was less birding by ear to be done as the birds had by then mostly gone to roost by the time I was leaving work. It was still been possible to identify some of the birds still around before it got too dark but not surprisingly the birds being noted tended to be broadly similar from day to day though with the odd surprise or two thrown in. This post is likely to be the last general round-up account till after the new year.
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Peregrine
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On Monday 2nd November the total for the day was 22 species with Collared Dove and Song Thrush both noted along with a surprise Common Crossbill duo at Balgay Hill, seen in flight at the western end over the cemetery. Pink Footed Geese were added on the way home. Tuesday the 3rd could only scrape together 17 species. Black Headed and Common Gulls were seen in the gloom at the football pitches. Most days the first birds seen or heard were Blackbirds and Robins, with Carrion Crows, Herring Gulls, Wrens and Redwings also noted before there was enough light to be able to identify other species and the 3rd was no exception. Also most days Pink Footed Geese were noted in varying sized skeins arriving from the north as darkness descended though there were a few days where a few birds were seen in the morning.
A Peregrine low over Pentland Avenue just after 0700 was a surprise on Thursday 5th, with one of the Cox's Stack birds seen on the way home. Bullfinch and Siskin were both heard in the morning and a flock of Long Tailed Tits were spotted. Surprisingly I managed to record a total of 23 species, though 9 were heard only. Friday the 6th surpassed that total number of species noted with 24. Grey Wagtail, Bullfinch and Long Tailed Tit were all visible on my way to work and Siskin was once again heard. On Monday the 9th, a Lesser Black Backed Gull as I reached work was a surprise. Two fire alarms during the working day meant some extra time outside in daylight adding Dunnock, Magpie, Grey Wagtail and Chaffinch to the list. A Jay on the way home took the day's total to a respectable 23 given the reduction in daylight even from a few days earlier.
Wet weather on Tuesday the 10th meant even fewer species noted with only 15 for the day. A heard only Bullfinch and a few Redwings was really as good as it got. Thursday the 12th's best among a very disappointing total of just 12 species was a Sparrowhawk being chased by a Carrion Crow after work. Rain in the morning had meant a Redwing sighting was the best I could manage. A slightly better haul of 16 species was noted on Friday the 13th with a small flock of Bramblings over my work and a lone Grey Wagtail seconds later as I headed for home. Both species were very welcome - the Bramblings in particular, as they were new for the 'commute' list.
In total over the two weeks covered in this post I've managed to see or hear 34 species with Crossbill, Brambling and Peregrine probably the best though the Lesser Black Backed Gull was notable for being so late in the year. I've just purchased a relatively cheap pair of "night vision" binoculars which might mean I try to find a few owls on my way home at some point soon. Reviews of these binoculars are quite favourable so this might actually turn out to be achievable - and as Barn Owl has recently been noted (in the dark) at Riverside Nature Park and I've seen Tawny Owl once after dark at work, there is no real reason why it shouldn't be. All photos featured here are older photos.
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Bullfinch
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Redwing
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Blackbird
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Coal Tit
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Long Tailed Tit
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Starling
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Collared Dove
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Blue Tit
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Magpie
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Common Gull
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Woodpigeon
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Grey Wagtail
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Wren
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Goldcrest
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House Sparrow
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Common Crossbill
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Jay
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Bullfinch
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Black Headed Gull
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Carrion Crow
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Magpie
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Sparrowhawk
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Herring Gull
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Chaffinch
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Robin
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Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Brambling, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Crossbill, Common Gull, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Peregrine, Pink Footed Goose, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Rabbit.
