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Tree Pipit
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July is the beginning of the race to the finish line that is December 31st. Migrant species are starting to move back south again - waders and seabirds in particular. Unfortunately, these species don't feature very often on my walks to/from work, bar the local breeding Oystercatchers and the occasional Curlew. There was also the single Fulmar representing the seabird side of things in June. There are still some young birds around within family groups and even some second broods still being reared in nests but overall July is more of a 'calm before the storm' period - the 'storm' being the Autumn months and their migration movements. Things generally start to noticeably pick up pace in August with the Swifts disappearing around the 2nd week and warblers, pipits and hirundines soon streaming over following suit. But that is for another round-up. This one is mostly about July (and the very start of August).
July 4th or American Independence Day prroduced a total of 29 species for me of which Bullfinch, House Martin, Peregrine, Rook and Siskin were the best of the bunch. Tuesday the 5th of July reached 27 species with Black Headed Gull, Buzzard, Collared Dove and Swallow the main highlights. A Ringlet butterfly provided some non-avian interest. Thursday the 7th saw House Martin, Pied Wagtail and Siskin again among the 29 species noted. There was 1 species less on Friday the 8th when Buzzard, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay, Nuthatch, Peregrine and Siskin provided some nice variety.
27 species were noted on Monday the 11th - Black Headed Gull, House Martin and Siskin being most noteworthy. Butterflies were unusually noticeable with Meadow Brown, Ringlet and Green Veined White all being seen. I managed 28 species on Tuesday the 12th with a likely migrant Grey Wagtail near the Law and a surprise Mistle Thrush in a conifer near my work. House Martins, Nuthatch, Peregrine, Siskin, Sparrowhawk and Stock Dove also added to the variety. Green Veined White and Red Admiral butterflies were around too. Things quietened down a little on the Thursday when only 25 species were noted of which Bullfinch, House Martin, Peregrine and Pied Wagtail were the most interesting.The following day saw another 25 species found of which Nuthatch, Siskin, Sparrowhawk and Swallow proved to be the best.
The temperatures in the third week of this round-up reached the 'bit too uncomfortable level' for me especially in the afternoon on Monday and Tuesday when I varied my route homewards to find some shade to try to cool down a little. The heat seemed to keep the birds in the shade and numbers were down across the whole week. Monday the 18th I only managed 25 with Black Headed Gull, House Martin, Jay and Peregrine venturing into the slightly cooler morning sunshine. I somehow managed to not collapse with the heat on both Monday and Tuesday when stepping outside after work felt like opening an oven door. A slightly better 26 species were noted on the Tuesday. Black Headed Gull numbers were starting to build up at the football pitches in the morning. One of the local Buzzards was spotted, a Peregrine was at Cox's Stack and Pied Wagtail and Swallow were on the hunt for insects. A Green Veined White provided some butterfly action.
Temperatures dropped a little as the week progressed though once again on the Thursday only 25 species were recorded including Black Headed Gull, Bullfinch, Buzzard and Siskin. Friday proved to be relatively disappointing with only 23 species either seen or heard. Of these House Martin, a flyover Linnet and a Nuthatch at Balgay Cemetery were the pick of the relatively poor crop. The following Monday was a local holiday and a day off work. Tuesday saw similar numbers to the previous week with 25 species noted including Bullfinch, House Martin, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail and Sparrowhawk. Thursday the 28th saw a close encounter with a Fox as I passed the gate at Arnold Clark's on Loons Road, though it trotted off before I managed to get my phone out for a photo or a video. In addition, Black Headed Gull numbers continued to edge upwards at the pitches, a Nuthatch called at Balgay Hill and a Peregrine was once again visible on Cox's Stack. A Swallow hunted over the football pitches as I headed home later.
Over the preceding week or so I had heard what sounded like a Tree Sparrow at a particular spot in Balgay Cemetery but I talked myself out of it possibly being one. On the 29th of July I decided to stop when I heard it calling. I was recording the birds on the Merlin app which provided me with a sonagram as well as the recording so I could rule out other species. Although I failed to get a proper look at the bird, I did see it fly out of the tree and off over the houses. It was definitely a Sparrow and when I checked the sonagram and recording they confirmed that it was indeed a Tree Sparrow - and a new species for the walk to/from work list. This was the 80th species noted since March 2nd 2020. Other highlights on the 29th were Black Headed Gull, House Martin, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Siskin and Sparrowhawk.
The first week in August turned out to be a bit more of a mixed bag. The 1st saw 26 species noted with Bullfinch, Black Headed Gull, House Martin, Peregrine and Pied Wagtail being the 'good stuff'. The following day the number of species noted dropped right back down to just 20 species of which Black Headed Gull and a flypast by the Peregrine over Loons Road were the meagre highlights. Things picked up in both numbers and quality on the 4th though. 27 species were recorded including Black Headed Gull, Bullfinch, House Martin, Stock Dove, Swallow, Sparrowhawk, Grey Wagtail and Buzzard. There were also surprises on both legs of the journey to and from work. The first migrant Tree Pipit of the Autumn (and a new bird for my Dundee 140 list - number 117) was heard over Tannadice Street in the morning, and rather less expectedly a hooting Tawny Owl was heard at Balgay Hill around 1620, on my walk home.
Friday the 5th saw a very decent total of 30 species noted just on the walk to work in the morning. The best of these were 2 sightings of Tree Pipits, with a single flying low towards the Law over Kinghorne Road and a pair over Balgay Hill later as well as heard only calls around both hills. Additional high points were a young Black Headed Gull, a mewing Buzzard youngster, Collared Dove, Grey Wagtail, a flock of House Martins over Fingask Street (I suspect these were the families from the nests on the house of a dog walker I spoke to at the Law earlier in the Spring who said she had a few nests under her eaves each year), Siskins and a calling Willow Warbler. Although I failed to add anything else on the walk home it wasn't a bad haul to round off this latest round-up. During the period covered I've seen or heard a total of 48 species of bird, 4 of butterfly and 2 of mammals. I've added a new bird to the 'on foot commute' list and also a new one for my Dundee 140 list, so all in all it hasn't been as quiet as it might've been. Photos are all from my archives and show some of the less common species encountered this 'month'.
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| Siskin |
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Black Headed Gull
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| Swallow |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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Willow Warbler
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Great Spotted Woodpecker
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Tawny Owl
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| Blackcap |
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Mistle Thrush
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| Jay |
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| Linnet |
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| Peregrine |
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Tree Sparrow
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House Martin
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Buzzard |
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Pied Wagtail
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Grey Wagtail
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Stock Dove
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| Swift |
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| Nuthatch |
Birds - Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mistle Thrush, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Tawny Owl, Tree Pipit, Tree Sparrow, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies - Green Veined White, Meadow Brown, Red Admiral, Ringlet.
Mammals - Fox, Grey Squirrel.
