It has been quite a while since I last did a post on my wildlife sightings on my walk to and from work. As a result of the diminishing amount of daylight since around mid-November, the numbers of species has dwindled some days to as low as just 4 species of bird - the same 4 that I tend to see/hear every day in the darkness of morning - Blackbird, Robin, Herring Gull and Carrion Crow, though sometimes if the weather is bad then either the Robin or Blackbird is absent. In addition to the almost constant 4 species there are roughly another 5 species which are relatively regular - Wren, Redwing, Pink Footed Goose, Goldcrest and House Sparrow. Most days however, the numbers have been around 8 or so, though some higher and some lower.
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Tawny Owl
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Having tried out infra-red binoculars and found them relatively useful for 'seeing' wildlife in the morning gloom I bit the bullet and bought myself a small hand-held thermal imaging scope. This has proven to be rather handy for 'seeing' things I would otherwise be unaware of, or for getting 'confirmatory' views of species that would otherwise have been 'heard only' entries on the list. Perhaps not too surprisingly, Foxes have been the main bonus species seen while using the scope though the 2 Tawny Owls I've managed to view with it have been even more welcome, as it is a long time since I last saw the species in Dundee (I was a kid at the time!) and it was also a year-tick.
Although the highlights since mid-November have been relatively few, here's a brief round-up. On 8th of December while walking through Balgay Park at around 0710 I heard a very distant hooting Tawny Owl coming from the direction of the large houses on Blackness Road, giving me a welcome year-tick. On my first outing in the dark with the thermal imaging scope on the 10th December, a calling (ke-wick call) Tawny Owl was heard as I headed for the Law steps back down from the road caught my attention. The bird was quite close and with the scope in hand I was easily able to see the 'blob' of the bird in the viewfinder, perched in one of the conifers a short distance away. A coughing cyclist struggling up the road spooked the bird, (and me!), and when I turned back it had gone.
On the 15th of December I managed to find a Fox wandering through the bushes on the slope above me on the Law, and later on Pentland Avenue I used the scope to discover a Wood Mouse at the base of a tree that I could hear scuttling around in the grass. On the 18th as I reached the path at the top end of the allotments on the west side of the Law I noticed the rather strong scent of a Fox and decided to scan with the scope in case it was close by. It was stood around 20 metres away along the path, looking back at me. Probably the first time I've found any wildlife purely by scent!
On my walk home on the same day, I heard another calling (ke-wick, again) Tawny Owl on Balgay Hill. As there was still a slight paleness to the sky I headed in the direction of the bird, up towards the top of the hill. As I got closer I used the scope to find where the still calling bird was and was able to make out the shape with the naked eye perched on a bare branch, before the bird swooped past me and headed off down the hill. On the 22nd of December I was surprised to see a Fox casually trot round the corner of Provost Road and Sandeman Street before disappearing into the darkness of the car park behind the football stadium. I didn't need the scope to see that one.
As December petered out I found a calling Blackcap in Balgay Cemetery as I headed home, a nice surprise but unfortunately one I've yet to run into again in January which would give me a year-tick for 2021. As the days began to lengthen ever so slightly in January I noted Fieldfares at Ancrum Road on my way home on the 8th of January. My first Tawny Owl of 2021 was heard on the 12th at Balgay Hill near the entrance on the north side of the hill. Scanning on the off-chance of finding something as I wandered through Balgay Cemetery on the 18th paid dividends as I watched a Fox wander along the path a bit further up the hill from me. It stopped to look at me for a few seconds before trotting off again seemingly quite unconcerned.
As I headed down past the toilet block a Fox crossed from the garden of the 'janitor's house' and disappeared down the line of gravestones opposite. It might have been the same Fox as earlier though I didn't see it with the scope between my initial sighting and the short time of the second sighting. As I headed down Ninewells Avenue a few minutes later, what I thought initially was a Cat stood behind a parked car, turned out to be a Fox which crossed the road and disappeared into the bushes opposite at the end of Ericht Place. Again, this may or may not have been the same Fox as earlier, though if it was I'm not sure how it got ahead of me. Using the scope, the cemetery Fox was spotted again the following day trotting along the same path at roughly the same time of the morning.
On the 21st I took a half-day from work which meant I got out in actual daylight which did mean I saw a lot more than usual. Two Buzzards put up by a dog walker from the trees near the Pentland Avenue entrance and a few Bullfinches in the same area were the main highlights though a Sparrowhawk just before I reached home was also a welcome bonus bird. A Treecreeper was noted on the 22nd and with a bit more daylight courtesy of clear skies on the 25th of January I was able to see a Jay and Bullfinch at Balgay Cemetery as well as a hunting Sparrowhawk near Milton Street on Byron Street. During the period covered in this post I've seen/heard a total of 33 species of bird and 3 of mammals. All photos are record shots from previous years.
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Herring Gull
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Bullfinch
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Fox
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House Sparrow
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Woodpigeon
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Blue Tit
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Buzzard
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Goldcrest
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Carrion Crow
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Redwing
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Robin
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Long Tailed Tit
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Sparrowhawk
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Coal Tit
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Song Thrush
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Starling
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Jay
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Feral Pigeon
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Blackcap
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Magpie
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Rabbit
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Species seen/heard (year-tick in bold) - Blackbird, Blackcap, Black
Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal
Tit, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch,
Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Pink
Footed Goose, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Song Thrush,
Sparrowhawk, Starling,
Tawny Owl, Treecreeper, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Fox, Rabbit, Wood Mouse.
