0776 : Weekend Window.

Although the weather this weekend was forecast to be relatively decent there was no real point in visiting any of the nearby parks/ponds as they would be full of  'exercising' people understandably taking the opportunity to get outside into the fresh air. Also the vast majority of species I was likely to encounter, with the exception of the waterbirds at Swannie Ponds, I could just as easily see from home with a bit of time and effort taken. So, I chose the latter plan and tried to see as many species as I could over the course of the weekend from my front window.


Herring Gull

Saturday's main highlight was at least 3 different Starling nest locations (1 definite, 2 others I couldn't see exactly where the birds were going to, from my window but they were definitely taking material to 2 different sites). In addition, there were territorial disputes between pairs of Woodpigeons, Dunnocks and some of the local Herring Gulls. I was able to photograph some of the birds that frequented the higher perches but those below my window height went unphotographed owing to too many windows facing mine. A few Meadow Pipits flew over. I ended up with 13 species seen and a single 'heard only'.

Saturday species seen - Blackbird, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Feral Pigeon, Starling, Woodpigeon.
Heard only - House Sparrow.

Sunday proved to be more productive with more Meadow Pipits flying over, though they went mostly unseen, until I finally caught one in flight late in the session. There was no nest material being gathered by the Starlings. A Wren took the place of the Dunnocks and gave a few brief bursts of song, though Dunnocks did show later. A nice surprise was a pair of Greylag Geese overflying. Normally it is Pink Footed Geese that is the default species over here, so they were a pleasant addition. Another surprise was a single Buzzard seen rather distantly, being harassed by gulls - I had seen another (or possibly even the same) Buzzard on Wednesday from my window.

Another bird I had seen on Wednesday was a Sparrowhawk male with some missing primaries, so when the local Feral Pigeons took flight I wasn't surprised to see a Sparrowhawk overhead with missing feathers. It appears to have been the same bird. A second Sparrowhawk, also with missing feathers put in an appearance a little later, this time a female. A potential third bird which appeared to have undamaged wings initially, may be the female with primaries tucked away. Sunday's total was 18 species seen and 2 heard only.

Sunday species seen - Blackbird, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Feral Pigeon, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Heard only - Chaffinch, Pied Wagtail.

Woodpigeon

Woodpigeon

Jackdaw

Herring Gull

Herring Gull

Feral Pigeon

Woodpigeon & Starling

Starling

Jackdaw

Jackdaw

Magpie

Greylag Goose

Greylag Goose

Greylag Goose

Starling

Woodpigeon

Buzzard

Lesser Black Backed Gull & Buzzard

Carrion Crow

Carrion Crow

Sparrowhawk

Sparrowhawk

Sparrowhawk

Lesser Black Backed Gull

Feral Pigeon

Sparrowhawk

Sparrowhawk

Herring Gull & Sparrowhawk

Herring Gull & Sparrowhawk

Feral Pigeon


Sparrowhawk

Carrion Crow

Herring Gull

Herring Gull

Carrion Crow

Herring Gull

Herring Gull

Starling

Herring Gull

Herring Gull

Herring Gull

Herring Gull

Herring Gull

Herring Gull

Starling

Starling

Starling

In total between the 2 days I managed to see 18 species, with 2 heard only taking the total to a reasonable 20. Given the relatively poor available habitat visible from my window, that is not a bad return for a few hours watching. Photos are all from this weekend.