0850 : Spring-ing Forward.

I'm more than a little bit overdue for a round-up of my birding on my walks to/from work. I keep falling behind with my photo-editing which then has a knock-on effect with my regular posts and I struggle to get caught up. However, if I leave things any longer it will take even longer to type up a round-up, so it is time to bite the bullet and let you know about the highlights of the last month's worth of my 'on foot commute' birding and other wildlife sightings.

Nuthatch

Way back on Monday the 22nd of March the main highlight of the 24 species noted was a Sparrowhawk. The same species was seen the following day when Bullfinch and a Lesser Redpoll provided slightly more interest among the 25 species recorded. On Thursday the 25th I managed to see Siskin but only heard the Balgay Park Nuthatch calling from somewhere on the hill. Only 25 species were noted that day, however the Friday I managed to reach 28 species with only a few Black Headed Gulls lingering at the football pitches along with a dwindling number of Common Gulls. Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Buzzard, Meadow Pipit and Siskin provided a decent amount of variety though.

The following week began on Monday the 29th of March when 28 species were recorded again. There were 2 Buzzards on the football pitches along with around 100 gulls of 4 species all spread out. Meadow Pipits were seen passing over. Bullfinch and Chiffchaff were also on the list for the day. Best of all however was a Red Squirrel around the same place as I saw one last year. This one was my first of 2021. On the 30th of March, I was able to note a total of 30 species with a Great Black Backed Gull joining the other gulls (including a lone Black Headed Gull and a few Common Gulls) at the football pitches. Chiffchaff, Siskin and a steady stream of Meadow Pipits were the best of the rest.

The 1st of April was quite unexpectedly productive with 33 species seen or heard. A trio of Common Crossbill overflew at the Law followed by an unexpected Cormorant heading inland as I reached the western end of Balgay Cemetery in the morning. A small flock of 4 Curlews a bit further on were also not on my radar for the day. A skein of Pink Footed Geese, as well as Black Headed Gull, Bullfinch, Chiffchaff, Great Spotted Woodpecker (drumming), more Meadow Pipits, Siskin and Sparrowhawk made for quite an exceptional day, at least with regards a trip to and from work. Friday the 2nd wasn't quite as productive though I did still get 29 species with the best being 3 Goosanders flying over from Invergowrie Bay. Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay, Nuthatch (heard only), Siskin, Bullfinch, Chiffchaff and Buzzard were all relatively good birds too.

An unwelcome return to very low temperatures the following week didn't translate to much of a lowering of the day totals, thankfully. The Monday was a public holiday and on Tuesday 6th of April there were only a few Common Gulls at the football pitches. Chiffchaff, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail and Siskin were the better birds among the 27 species for the day. Thursday the 8th of April proved to be quite good with 31 species noted. Although there was nothing too out of the ordinary, a Peregrine was seen at Cox's Stack and a couple of Common Gulls were the last lingering remnants of the larger gull flocks of the previous months. In addition, Bullfinch, Chiffchaff, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay, Meadow Pipit and Siskin made up the numbers.

On Friday the 9th, I once again saw or heard 31 species with slightly more 'interesting' species included than the day before. The Nuthatch was heard calling loudly once more. Bullfinch, Buzzard, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Grey Wagtail, Jay, Meadow Pipit and Siskin rounded off the week's lists. Thankfully, by Monday the 12th it wasn't quite as cold as the previous week for my morning walks into work. I managed 29 species on the Monday including Blackcap, Bullfinch, Chiffchaff, Jay, Siskin and Stock Dove. Once again, I had a brief view of the Red Squirrel at Balgay Cemetery.

Tuesday the 13th saw the first Swallow of the year zip over westwards as I left work. The 30 species noted that day included Blackcap again, Bullfinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Grey Wagtail, Jay, Nuthatch and Siskin. I had varied my route to take in the Law on the way to work in the hope of adding Willow Warbler there but there was no sign of any. It was a similar story on Thursday 15th with regards the lack of Willow Warblers but 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers showed well a few seconds after noting Nuthatch at Balgay Hill. Buzzard, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Stock Dove and Sparrowhawk completed the highlights package.

Friday the 16th of April provided a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly as well as Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Bullfinch, Collared Dove, Meadow Pipit, Nuthatch, Siskin and Stock Dove. During the 4 weeks covered in this post I recorded a total of 48 species including the vanguard of the summer visitors as they arrived as well as one or two slightly unexpected species passing overhead. 3 species of mammal and 1 of butterfly also made it onto the list. Things are now beginning to get slightly harder as the foliage reappears on the trees and birds begin breeding and noise levels begin to tail off, though as more species arrive from southern parts for the breeding season so the chances of something completely unexpected increases. Fingers crossed....

All photos are from 2021. Year-tick in bold.

Grey Squirrel

Common Crossbill

Magpie

Greenfinch

Chaffinch

Starling

Blackbird

Siskin

Lesser Black Backed Gull

Herring Gull

Curlew

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Feral Pigeon

Carrion Crow

Great Tit

Jay

Pied Wagtail

Greenfinch

Long Tailed Tit

Buzzard

Chiffchaff

Black Headed Gull

Song Thrush

Stock Dove

Cormorant

Oystercatcher

Wren

Goldfinch

Coal Tit

Chaffinch

Blue Tit

House Sparrow

Dunnock

Sparrowhawk

Bullfinch

Robin

Woodpigeon

Blackcap

Rabbit

Small Tortoiseshell

Meadow Pipit

Jackdaw

Goosander

Goldcrest

Birds - Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Crossbill, Common Gull, Cormorant, , Curlew, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Lesser Redpoll, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Stock Dove, Swallow, Woodpigeon, Wren.

Butterflies - Small Tortoiseshell.

Mammals - Grey Squirrel, Rabbit, Red Squirrel.