 |
| Nuthatch |
Saturday's search for fledged Nuthatches at Balgay Hill had been a success, though not completely, with two of the hoped for three distinct family groups found. There was however no sign of any activity either at, or near the third nest site. This either meant the birds had fledged but I had been unlucky in my search for them, or that the nest had failed. Although there was no way available for me to be able to prove the latter, if I could find a Nuthatch family in the area near the nest then that would complete the set of 3 families. Nuthatches are territorial all year round, so I would be unlikely to encounter either of the other 2 groups in the territory of the remaining family. With the weather forecast broadly similar to Saturday, albeit slightly cooler, I decided to go back to Balgay Hill for a second attempt at finding them.
I was a little later in heading out the door on Sunday morning, at around 0905. It was a broadly similar mix of species seen and heard on the walk to the hill, though I chose to take a broadly similar route to that most often used on my walk to work. Blackbird, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Carrion Crow, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Magpie, Woodpigeon, Jackdaw and Feral Pigeon were noted on the walk past the football stadiums. Starling, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Swift, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff and Wren were added on the walk from the top of the Hilltown to the football pitches at Lochee Park.
I'd messaged Lainy to see if she wanted to join me at the hill but she was out of town. Having an extra pair of eyes would have been helpful for keeping tabs on how many individual birds we were watching at any one time, but getting an accurate count of the number of fledged youngsters was a bonus, not the main objective. Proving that the third nest had been successful was my main reason for a return visit. Within a minute or so of arriving at the hill, I heard a calling Nuthatch and it didn't take long for me to actually see a few of the birds in one of the trees near the 'driveway' entrance. There were at least 2 youngsters but the geography of the area in question made it impossible to keep up with the birds as they headed into the trees further up the slope, which required a very circuitous route to be able to relocate them.
I added a pair of Stock Dove perched high in a tree as I tried to refind the Nuthatches. A Great Spotted Woodpecker flew into a tree-top that proved impossible to get a clear view of. I cut my losses with the third group and headed for the general area of the western nest site. Unlike the previous day, I failed to find any sign of the Nuthatches there. Coal Tit and Great Tit were seen though. After an hour or so of searching the general area I headed back to the eastern half of the hill. A Buzzard soared up above the observatory but again there seemed to be no trace of the previous day's Nuthatches. I did add Bullfinch and a Grey Squirrel to the list, and I was joined once again by the 'tame' Robin and one of the juveniles as I checked out the site where I'd watched the Nuthatches feeding in the sun the previous afternoon.
A Blackcap was heard singing nearby and a Goldcrest appeared in the tree above me. There was still no sign of any Nuthatches. I did manage to add a Treecreeper as one was seen ascending a tree trunk down by the path. Probably the same bird was seen a little later in a tree near where I was standing. A pair of Jays put in an appearance and a Woodpigeon decided that it wasn't going to waste any effort flying away from me, as I shooed it away from the food I'd put out to try to tempt in the Nuthatches. I suspect it was probably the same Woodpigeon I'd played the same 'game' with on a previous visit nearby. It would walk away then turn back when it thought I might not be watching and head back towards the food, only for me to walk towards it, and it to turn away again with no great sense of urgency.
I eventually left the food to the Woodpigeon (and Magpies, Carrion Crows and Jays) and made another effort to find some Nuthatches, preferably the third group. As I was walking along the path, I spotted a Nuthatch at the base of a mature tree. I then spent the next 20 minutes or so watching a minimum of 6 birds flitting around, with two adult birds each being pursued by a begging youngster. At one point a Treecreeper landed on a tree near me and I grabbed a photo. A Nuthatch then landed on the same tree trunk giving me an unusual photo opportunity of both species together, which is something I've only seen in artwork in older bird books and a search on google images failed to find a similar photo. I actually thought I'd missed the opportunity as I lost sight of the Treecreeper but checking the photos at home later, it was still there. A second Nuthatch joined the first, and the Treecreeper, making for an even more unusual photo.
I missed out on a photo of 3 youngsters together on a short branch as they settled for a split second before deserting the perch rapidly one after the other. I had a youngster land a metre or so in front of me and proceed to indulge in a spot of preening. Unfortunately the light was relatively poor but I was still pleased with the resultant photos. I spoke to a few passing walkers (and a runner) who asked what I was seeing, and gave out a few cards with the web address for this blog, so hopefully you're reading (and enjoying) this post if you were one of the recipients (though it is a little further delayed than expected). The birds disappeared quickly as I was chatting to a runner and failed to return again, so as the time neared 1600 I called it a day and headed for home, adding a few House Martins feeding above the tree-tops on the south side of the hill.
As with the previous day, it was another successful birding outing, with (eventually) plenty of photo opportunities too. The total number of species seen or heard was only 30, 4 down on the previous day's total, but building a large list wasn't the purpose of the day's trip. A conservative estimate of the total number of young Nuthatches seen is around 10 - made up of a 4 and 2 lots of 3. The real total may be higher however, as Nuthatches typically lay between 6 and 8 eggs apparently. Hopefully, when these youngsters disperse over the next few months they will establish territories in the likes of Camperdown Park, Caird Park and maybe even Baxter Park. Riverside Nature Park might even see one passing through. Fingers crossed that what has been a very successful couple of years for Nuthatches becoming established in Dundee continues over the next few and Nuthatches become almost as common a sight as the Magpies are now and I will get questions about what the small bird walking headfirst down a tree trunk was from colleagues at work, and interested walkers around the city.
 |
| Nuthatch |
 |
Stock Dove
|
 |
Carrion Crow
|
 |
| Bullfinch |
 |
| Robin |
 |
| Goldcrest |
 |
| Woodpigeon |
 |
Great Tit
|
 |
| Chiffchaff |
 |
| Wren |
 |
Coal Tit
|
 |
| Blackbird |
 |
| Treecreeper |
 |
Blue Tit
|
 |
| Jay |
 |
| Nuthatch |
 |
| Nuthatch |
 |
| Nuthatch |
 |
| Nuthatch |
 |
Treecreeper & Nuthatch
|
 |
| Nuthatch |
 |
Grey Squirrel
|
Birds - Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Magpie, Nuthatch, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Starling, Stock Dove, Swift, Treecreeper, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Grey Squirrel.
