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| Crossbill |
My last round-up of sightings on my walks to and from work took things up to the 27th of May, leaving just a couple more days remaining in May. June always feels just a bit too warm for me to do a lot of birding so my journeys to and from work give me an opportunity to actually squeeze some birding in. However, there is generally a lot less birdsong and a lot more foliage, so it does get a bit harder to find birds. On the plus side, the contact calls of family groups of recently fledged youngsters does provide some help in being able to find birds, though a lot of these young birds seem to sound a lot like every other recently fledged bird. This does mean you have to actually see the birds to get an ID for them. Overall, June is the first of the almost 2 months of summer 'lull' before things begin to pick up again as July begins to tail off and Autumn movements start to increase.
Monday the 30th of May saw 29 species on the day's list with Blackcap, Peregrine and Pied Wagtail among the better birds. May ended with 23 species on the Tuesday with only Chiffchaff and the Peregrine again worthy of note. Thursday, the 2nd of June mustered 25 species with Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Peregrine and Stock Dove the highlights. The Friday that week was a day off work for the Queen's jubilee but things seemed to pick up again on Monday the 6th with a total of 27 species. Bullfiinch, Chiffchaff, House Martin, Jay, Peregrine, Sparrowhawk, Stock Dove and Treecreeper provided a decent mix of birds. Tuesday the 7th proved even better with 30 noted that day. Blackcap, Bullfinch, Chiffchaff, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay, Nuthatch, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail and Stock Dove were an even better selection than the previous day's haul.
Thursday the 9th was a bit quieter with only 23 species recorded. Slightly disappointingly the closest things to highlights were Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Pied Wagtail. Two more species were noted on the Friday and there was a bit more variety with Blackcap, Bullfinch, Peregrine, Sparrowhawk and Stock Dove all seen or heard. The first two days of the following week proved quite productive with 29 species on Monday and 30 on the Tuesday. Blackcap, Bullfinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Nuthatch and a Peregrine tucking into a probable Pigeon on Cox's Stack were Monday's best. Tuesday produced Bullfinch, Chiffchaff, House Martin, Jay, Peregrine and Pied Wagtail. The Peregrine was seen eating some breakfast once again on Thursday morning and House Martin, Blackcap and Chiffchaff were the best of the rest of the 25 species noted that day. On Friday the 17th, I managed to find 26 species with Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Jay, Peregrine and Pied Wagtail the species of note.
By the time the 3rd full week of June came around I fully expected that things would be relatively quiet and a bit 'same-y'. However, June had some surprises up its summer sleeve. One of the Peregrine pair at Cox's Stack was once again seen eating something at 0700 in the morning. Of the 29 species noted, Blackcap, Great Spotted Woodpecker, House Martin, Jay, Pied Wagtail and Siskin were all nice birds to get but the best was seen as I headed for home at Balgay Cemetery. A rather slim looking raptor swung round ahead of me as I neared Glamis Road before vanishing behind the trees bordering the road. I didn't get much of a look and as there was a chance it might be a Hobby, given the time of year, I hurried to get across the road for a better look. Thankfully the bird was still in view. It was a Kestrel, rather than a Hobby, but it was only my 2nd of the species in the 2+ years of walking to and from work, following on from the 1st near the Law at the end of March. After a spot of hovering the bird flew off southwards and out of sight.
Tuesday proved to be even better. Despite there being 3 less species noted it was most definitely quality rather than quantity. As I walked down Loons Road I had a look for the Peregrines at Cox's Stack but there was no sign of either bird. However, there was a bird circling the chimney. Although it looked a bit gull-like, it didn't fly like one - a few quick and very rigid flaps of the wings followed by a spot of gliding. The realisation didn't take long to hit me. It was a totally unexpected Fulmar. It flew in my direction and I attempted to get some video on my phone but didn't connect properly with the record button until I was trying to stop the filming once the bird had disappeared over the tenement I was stood in front of. It was a new 'on foot commute' and Dundee 140 tick (115) and a very welcome one at that. Chiffchaff and House Martin were added as I headed into Balgay Cemetery.
Near the end of the path around the western edge of the hill, I watched a young Oystercatcher run across the path ahead of me. A young Black Labrador suddenly rushed out from behind one of the gravestones and accelerated after the bird which although it managed to get airborne, didn't really have anywhere to go. I yelled at the dog which had closed the gap between it and the bird to around 6 inches but it made no difference. I rushed forward and managed to cut off the dog from the bird which thankfully, allowed it to escape. There followed a bit of an argument with the dog's owner before we both continued on in the direction we were headed. I heard the Oystercatcher calling again as the owner attempted to call the dog back to no avail but it sounded like the bird had thankfully managed to make good its escape the second time around without any need for intervention. As I headed down the hill, I heard a Crossbill calling and looked up to see the bird flying over the houses. A second good bird for the morning.
Tuesday was still not finished with its surprises however. As I headed home after work I needed to make a detour to Tescos at the top of the Hilltown. I could hear a gull calling from somewhere high in the sky but paid it little attention. However, as I wandered down Milton Street I looked up to see two dots high in the sky, one being the gull I could hear. I could just make out a raptor call, so out came the small set of binoculars I carry with me. It wasn't a Buzzard, nor a Sparrowhawk or a Peregrine that was being harassed by the gull, it was a bird I had been hoping to get on my 'on foot commute' list but which had eluded me. It was an Osprey. My 3rd really good bird of what was a bit of an epic day, given that I wasn't 'really' birding. Thursday proved to be a good bit quieter birdwise though both Peregrine and Sparrowhawk were seen as well as Pied Wagtail and Siskin among the 25 species noted.
On Friday the 24th, there were only 24 species noted with Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Siskin and Sparrowhawk the highlights. More significantly, I was able to make my peace with the dog owner whose dog had chased the Oystercatcher (and we now say 'Morning' to each other as we pass by). After work, it was rather warm and sunny and what appeared to be a Speckled Wood butterfly was very briefly seen in flight near the western end of the hill, just up the hill from the toilet block, on the northern fork of the upper path through the cemetery. A Meadow Brown butterfly was nearby and further on, I had good views of a Red Admiral on the eastern half of the hill, with another seen by the allotments on the western side of the Law. A Small Tortoiseshell added a 4th butterfly species at Gussie Park.
The last week of June couldn't match the week that proceeded it but still managed to be pretty decent. Monday the 27th gave me a list of 30 species, of which the main highlights were a Great Spotted Woodpecker on Ancrum Road, as well as Blackcap, Bullfinch, Chiffchaff, House Martin and Swallow. Tuesday the 28th's list was a bit shorter, with only 25 species noted. Blackcap, Bullfinch, Chiffchaff, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay and a calling Nuthatch proving to be the pick of the bunch. The Nuthatch was heard again on Thursday the 30th and a Peregrine was seen in flight carrying prey in the direction of Cox's Stack as I passed the end of The Miley. Oddly there was no sign of the bird on the chimney when I was finally able to get a clear view. Other highlights were Siskin, Chiffchaff and House Martin. July got off to a good start with a very good 32 species on Friday the 1st. Blackcap, Bullfinch, Chiffchaff, Great Spotted Woodpecker, House Martin, Nuthatch, Peregrine, Siskin and Swallow were the day's star birds.
During the period covered in this post from 30th of May to the 1st of July, I recorded a total of 44 species of which 2 were completely new for my 'on foot commute' list (numbers 78 and 79), 1 of which was new for my Dundee 140 list (number 115) and another bird was new for my 'on foot commute' 2022 list (number 59). The Speckled Wood butterfly (which I'm about 95% certain of the ID despite the brevity of the view) was also a new species for the walk to work and quite a significant sighting - being at the other end of the city from where I found Dundee's first record in late April, at Broughty Ferry local nature reserve. So much for the summer 'lull'..... All photos here are from previous birding outings, mostly though not all from 2022.
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Carrion Crow
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Great Tit
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Chaffinch |
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| Treecreeper |
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| Nuthatch |
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Grey Squirrel
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| Fulmar |
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| Osprey |
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| Swallow |
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| Dunnock |
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Coal Tit
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| Magpie |
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| Blackcap |
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| Robin |
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| Buzzard |
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House Martin
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| Kestrel |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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Pied Wagtail
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Song Thrush
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| Goldcrest |
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Stock Dove
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| Swift |
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Blue Tit
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House Sparrow
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| Goldfinch |
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| Jay |
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Collared Dove
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Birds - Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Crossbill, Dunnock, Fulmar, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Nuthatch, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Treecreeper, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies - Meadow Brown, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, (Speckled Wood).
