It isn't quite a month since my last 'on foot commute' round-up post but it will be by next week. The week following on from the end of my last post I was on holiday from work for a week, which proved ultimately to be a bit of a disappointment with wet weather curtailing most of my plans. The weather stayed a bit unseasonal following on from that and overall things have been mostly rather uneventful, though there are still birds singing, nest-building and displaying. Although it is almost the Summer equinox it seems like Spring is still ongoing, though temperatures this last week have made it feel a lot more Summer-like.
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Nuthatch
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On Monday the 24th of May it was back to work for me with Blackcap and Bullfinch the closest things to highlights of the 25 species noted. Unfortunately I was ill the following day so it was Thursday the 27th before I was able to attempt to add something interesting to the 'commute list'. The best I could muster among the 25 species on the day was a Jay. Although the following day was another 25 species total I did manage to see both Sparrowhawk and Peregrine, which are always welcome (unless of course you are a smaller bird). Things picked up slightly on Monday the 31st with 29 species recorded though Great Spotted Woodpecker was as good as things got.
June kicked off with 29 species noted for the second day in a row. Once again Great Spotted Woodpecker was noted as was Sparrowhawk. Best of all was a sighting of Nuthatch which is proving much trickier to see with the foliage back on the trees. On Thursday the 3rd of June Great Spotted Woodpecker, Swallow and Peregrine made it onto the list. The best bird however was one that got away. As I headed into Balgay Cemetery in the morning from the north, I spotted a flash of white. A large brown raptor with a white rump patch was crossing an open area between the trees. The white patch yelled out 'Harrier' to me, as did the flight style. It did not 'feel' like a Buzzard at all but as the sighting was a matter of seconds in duration I could not be sure at all.
Interestingly, there was a juvenile Pallid Harrier reported in Aberdeenshire (somewhere) the previous evening. Harriers are not known for roosting in woodland though given the flock of Carrion Crows in that area it would not be impossible for a passing raptor to be forced down and then move on once the Crows had lost interest. There is a chance that the bird was a Harrier but the circumstantial evidence suggests otherwise. Either way, I'm never going to know for sure (unless the bird was wearing a radio tracker) so it has to go down as just another 'one that got away'. Friday the 4th of June I once again managed a total of 29 species with Collared Dove, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Stock Dove. Carrion Crows were seen harassing a Buzzard which was carrying prey, as it attempted to reach Balgay Hill from the direction of the Law in the afternoon.
The sun finally pushed the temperature upwards as the second week of June arrived though the number of species dropped back a little to 25 species. Another Buzzard being harassed - this time over the eastern end of Byron Street before it disappeared out of sight behind the school to the north, as I headed home. A rather vocal Great Spotted Woodpecker at Balgay Hill, a Peregrine at Cox's Stack and a Swallow were the other highlight. Tuesday the 8th's main highlight was a Great Spotted Woodpecker once more. It was a similar story on the 10th though I did also see a Pied Wagtail despite the total for the day only reaching 23. A Sparrowhawk over Balgay Hill on Friday the 11th was the best I could manage to conjure up among the 26 species noted. A quick check of the Balgay woodpecker nest suggest that the youngsters have now fledged.
Overall, the three weeks worth of birds covered in this post have been a little disappointing with nothing too out of the ordinary to speak of. In addition to the above there were still Chiffchaff and Blackcaps singing in various places while Siskins seemed to be almost everywhere, Woodpigeons were seen collecting nest material latterly and a pair of Carrion Crows were seen attacking a young Jackdaw at the football pitches, which not unexpectedly was found dead later in the day. 38 species of birds, 1 of mammal and 1 of butterfly were recorded during the 3 weeks covered here. All photos are from this year but not taken during walks to and from work.
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Jackdaw
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Woodpigeon
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Magpie
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Lesser Black Backed Gull
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Swift
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Carrion Crow & Buzzard
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Great Spotted Woodpecker
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Blue Tit
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Coal Tit
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Greenfinch
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Siskin
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Jay
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Blackbird
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Song Thrush
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Robin
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Goldfinch
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House Sparrow
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Great Tit
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Dunnock
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Pied Wagtail
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Carrion Crow
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Swallow
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Oystercatcher
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Herring Gull
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Starling
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Collared Dove
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Chaffinch
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Goldcrest
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Blackcap
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Sparrowhawk
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Birds - Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Grey Squirrel.
Butterflies - Green Veined White.
