Barry Farquharson's birding blog - birding (mostly) within Dundee, Scotland.
1072 : Three Months.
Starling
It has been 3 whole months since I posted a catch-up of sightings from my walks to and from work. In that time, daylight has been at a premium, with very little to none of it for most of that period. Naturally, that lack of daylight does mean that sightings are rather limited, but calls do help to ensure that I don't draw a complete blank at any time. Robins, Blackbirds, Carrion Crows and Herring Gulls have been recorded on most days with Redwings also relatively regular. Magpies have also featured fairly regularly in the gloom. My thermal imager has also helped to 'see' some things that would otherwise go unseen. Rather than do my usual day-by-day breakdown I'll just post the edited highlights below.
All the way back on the last day of October, both Grey Wagtail and Pied Wagtail were noted along with Jay and skeins of Pink Footed Geese leaving their overnight roost. Fieldfare was noted the following day as November got under way, along with Grey Wagtail and more Pink Footed Geese. On the 3rd of November, Treecreeper was the main highlight, with another on the 4th. Bullfinch, Grey Wagtail and more Pinkies made up the remainder of the interesting species. Fieldfare was noted again on Thursday the 10th, along with more Pinkfeet on the move. A Jay and a Tawny Owl were both noted on the 16th. The following day only 6 species were recorded. The thermal imager proved its worth with a trio of Roe Deer resting up below the trees in Balgay Cemetery that would otherwise have gone unseen on the 21st. Jay and Fieldfare were also around that same day.
On the 28th a Fox was seen in the morning, though a bigger surprise was a Pipistrelle(?) Bat flying around in the dark in Balgay Cemetery as I walked home. December began with a calling Tawny Owl on the 1st. A Blackcap was heard in Balgay Cemetery as I headed home on the 8th and the 12th. A Pied Wagtail was a slight highlight also on the 12th, with Fieldfare on the 15th. Walking along Byron Street on the 19th, I spotted a Wood(?) Mouse scurry across the road before it disappeared behind a cable box. I was able to lean over the top for a confirmatory look. Unfortunately, the pre-flash flash on my phone spooked the animal resulting in a blur on the resultant photo. Another Fox sighting on the 30th of December rounded off the year.
The first Fox for 2023 was picked up with the thermal imager on the 12th of January in Balgay Cemetery. However, the following day I had what was probably my best ever encounter with a wild Fox on Byron Street. A young Gull appeared to have been hit by a car and was lying on the pavement opposite the cottages towards the western end. As I approached I noticed a Fox showing some interest in it. The Fox seemed to spot me but rather nonchalantly wandered through the fence and into a garden. By this time, I had taken my phone out to try to get some video. The Fox sat down on the corner of the grass in the garden just a short distance from me as I stood directly in front of it, just 6 feet away. It did that 'submissive' dropped head, half closed eyes thing that Foxes seem to do at times but stayed put, seemingly unconcerned (I suspect someone local probably feeds the animal). I took a short video clip (see below) then left it to return to the gull corpse (though when I passed later in the day, it appeared no more 'eaten' than it had in the morning).
Monday the 16th of January provided a couple of year-ticks for my Dundee145 list with a 'kewick-ing' Tawny Owl in Balgay Cemetery in the morning and a 'tack-ing' Blackcap which was also seen flying from one tree to another around dusk also in the cemetery, in the same area I'd heard the bird twice in December. These 2 birds were my 82nd and 83rd species in 2023, and both very welcome. As January edged closer to the end of the month, I found Fieldfare and Treecreeper on the 20th, a calling Oystercatcher on the 26th and another (not quite so) close encounter with another Fox on Byron Street on the 30th. 36 species of birds and 5 of mammals were recorded in the 3 months covered in this post. There is a hint of usable daylight in the mornings now as I near work, and the walk home is increasingly bright, so numbers of species should start to pick up again as February progresses. It won't be 3 months until the next update either.... (Photos used here are from 2020).
House Sparrow
Robin
Goldcrest
Song Thrush
Bullfinch
Siskin
Sparrowhawk
Woodpigeon
Herring Gull
Goldfinch
Oystercatcher
Redwing
Long Tailed Tit
Blackbird
Black Headed Gull
Blue Tit
Treecreeper
Roe Deer
Pink Footed Goose
Jackdaw
Birds - Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Tawny Owl, Treecreeper, Woodpigeon, Wren.
