It has been 4 weeks since my last "on foot commute" round-up, so it is time for another one, perhaps even a little overdue. Spring hasn't really been too much in evidence with lower than normal temperatures meaning that it feels like the expected migrants have been a bit slow in arriving - with Swifts and House Martins noticeably absent in the period covered in this blog-post. On the other hand, as I'm counting heard-only records this year, Blackcap has been heard singing on every single day covered by this blog, and Chiffchaff hasn't been far behind, only missing on 1 day (29th April). Siskin has also been surprisingly regular as has Bullfinch.
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Whitethroat
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On Monday 19th of April, I managed to see or hear 30 species with Bullfinch, Collared Dove, Jay, Stock Dove and Treecreeper the best birds noted. A Peacock butterfly was also seen. The following day's total was only 27, though a Meadow Pipit on migration and a Stock Dove did brighten things a little. Thursday the 22nd's total was also 27 though the mix of species was a bit more interesting with Bullfinch, Goldcrest, Jay, Stock Dove and Willow Warbler and also another Peacock butterfly sighting. Rounding off the week, Friday the 23rd's total was down a bit with just 25 species on the day's list. Sparrowhawk and Willow Warbler were the main highlights.
The followng week started with 28 recorded on Monday the 26th of which Bullfinch, Goldcrest, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail and Willow Warbler were the most significant. On Tuesday the 27th of April, Nuthatch, Goldcrest, Bullfinch and Stock Dove were the best among the 26 species noted. Although only 25 species were seen or heard on Thursday the 29th, Linnet and Treecreeper were both good birds to get. Friday brought April to a close with another 27 species of which Bullfinch, Goldcrest, Jay, Pied Wagtail and Stock Dove were notable. With Monday being a bank holiday I chose to take the Tuesday as annual leave meaning the workingweek was a shorter than usual one for me.
Thursday the 6th of May was relatively poor, numbers-wise with only 23 species noted of which Linnet (again) and Willow Warbler were the relative highlights. On Friday the 7th, things picked up a lot with 31 species recorded. Although there was nothing too out of the ordinary, Pied Wagtail, Sparrowhawk and Collared Dove are not overly regular on my walks to and from work. In addition, Bullfinch (again), Goldcrest and Willow Warbler took the list beyond the 30 mark to 31. Mistle Thrush was the main highlight, in Balgay cemetery on Monday the 10th of May. Also noted that day were Bullfinch, Collared Dove, Goldcrest and Sparrowhawk. Despite the variety the total for the day was only 25.
On Tuesday the 11th, the day total made it to 28 species. Balgay Cemetery and Hill provided the main highlights with an unexpected sighting of the local Nuthatch, plus a Great Spotted Woodpecker, Goldcrest and a nice male Bullfinch which flew out of a tree in front of me, flew a few feet ay eye level and returned to the same tree again. The only highlight on Thursday the 13th was a Pied Wagtail among the 26 species recorded. The final day in this post was Friday the 14th of May and somehow I managed to reach the heights of 32 species of which the best was a new bird for the 'commute list' (though if I'd been counting heard only last year, it would've been on there already). The bird in question was a Whitethroat which was singing and displaying above the small car park at the Law, just down the steps from the summit. Swallow, Willow Warbler, Bullfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Goldcrest and Collared Dove made up the remainder of the highlights.
All in all a fairly mixed bag in the 4 weeks covered here with the weather being the determining factor. I still managed to record a total of 41 species, a few of which such as Linnet and Mistle Thrush I haven't ran into too often on my walk to or from work. The one new addition to the overall list which now stands at 72 species was the Whitethroat. All photos used in this post are older photos (except for the Whitethroat, which is a new one).
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Rabbit
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Blackbird
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Stock Dove
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Swallow
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Lesser Black Backed Gull
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Blue Tit
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Song Thrush
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Magpie
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Greenfinch
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Chaffinch
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Blackcap
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Woodpigeon
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House Sparrow
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Wren
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Carrion Crow
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Great Tit
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Goldfinch
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Dunnock
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Pied Wagtail
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Chiffchaff
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Long Tailed Tit
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Jackdaw
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Meadow Pipit
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Robin
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Oystercatcher
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Nuthatch
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Herring Gull
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Bullfinch
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Sparrowhawk
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Linnet
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Great Spotted Woodpecker
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Goldcrest
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Jay
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Starling
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Treecreeper
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Birds - Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, 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, Linnet,
Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Nuthatch,
Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Song Thrush,
Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Treecreeper, Whitethroat,
Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies - Peacock.
Mammals - Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.
