 |
| Redwing |
As is so often the case with these round-up posts, it has been much longer since the last one than I had intended. During the time covered in this post, daylight disappeared from both ends of the day quite rapidly meaning that a large chunk of what birding was actually possible over the course of the past 3 months on my walks to and from work was done by ear. Thankfully, a lot of the birds that are active in the dark are also quite vocal (or maybe they aren't actually the only ones active after all - but being audible means they are known to be active). Carrying a thermal imager with me also helps.
My previous 'on foot commute' list took things up to the 19th of September and a week off work on holiday followed that. A total of 21 species on Thursday the 28th included Bullfinch, Grey Wagtail, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Pink Footed Goose and Treecreeper. Things were quieter the next day with the highlight being a skein of Pink Footed Geese. I was still only working 2 days per week as we entered October, though that spell of trying to catch up with Autumn migrants was quickly coming to an end. Bullfinch, Grey Wagtail, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Treecreeper and what was my last Meadow Pipit movement noted on my way to work, were the main birds of interest on Thursday the 5th. The final Lesser Black Backed Gulls (for the work walks at least) were noted on the 6th.
Redwings began to be noted as my holidays came to an end on the 12th. Grey Wagtail and Redwings were the best on the 13th. A Sparrowhawk was seen on Tuesday the 17th and due to a problem at home I had to swap my day off to wait in on Friday for a tradesman who didn't show. Sparrowhawk and Treecreeper were the pick of the bunch on Wednesday the 18th. The weather on the 19th was really bad as Storm Babet arrived and only 2 bird species were noted - Redwing and Robin. The storm did prove very productive though with some unusual birds turning up in the Tay. I took the Monday off on holiday but I was let down once again by the tradesman in question. I went birding again though.
Mistle Thrush, Siskin, Redwing and Sparrowhawk were all noted on the Tuesday while on the Thursday a Lesser Redpoll was an unexpected bonus along with Redwing and Treecreeper. Things were beginning to tail off greatly with usable light at a premium at both ends of the day as November approached. Redwings were the only species worthy of even a passing mention on the 27th, though the Halloween haul of 24 species was very good considering the time of year. Fieldfare, Jay, Pink Footed Geese, Redwing and Siskin were the stand-outs that day. November the 1st saw Pinkfeet and Redwings as the 'highlights', while the 20 species on the 2nd included Fieldfare and Siskin as well.
Monday the 6th of November proved to be surprisingly productive with 24 species noted including Fieldfare, Jay, Lesser Redpoll, Mistle Thrush, Pink Footed Geese, Redwing and Siskin. Treecreeper was noted the following day along with Redwing though the overall total had dropped by a third to 16. A new addition to the 'walk to work' list was spotted as I neared work, a Waxwing, heard first then seen in flight. A Redshank heard over the top of the Hilltown earlier in the journey was also very much unexpected and with previous sightings of the species being as a result of a detour via Riverside Nature Park, it is more or less a 'new' species too. 18 species on the 10th saw the final Grey Wagtail movement of the Autumn's walks to work and back. Redwings and Pink Footed Geese were the main birds of note over most of the remainder of the year bar a fairly sporadic selection of others.
A Tawny Owl at the Law and a Song Thrush fitted that category on Friday the 17th of November, and a Fox was seen using the thermal imager in Balgay Cemetery on the Monday morning of the following week. Another Fox was spotted on Byron Street on the 1st of December and a Peregrine silhouetted against the darkening sky after work were both welcome sightings. The 7th was wet and meant just 3 species were noted - Blackbird, Robin and Redwing. An Oystercatcher was heard calling as I headed along Ancrum Drive on the 15th but otherwise it was an either/or (though sometimes both) of Pinkfeet and Redwings for most of the rest of the time in December. The 2 final days of walking to and from work proved to be rather quite with Redwings being the main species of note.
During the mostly rather dark 3 month period covered in this post, I managed a total of 41 species of which 1 was completely new for the 'on foot commute' list (though given how prevalent the birds were around Dundee at the time, not exactly unexpected) - the Waxwing. Going into 2024, the intention to make these sorts of round-up posts more regular in 2024 is of course there, but if it doesn't actually come to pass, I won't be particularly surprised.... (Photos in the post are from 'the archives').
 |
| Sparrowhawk |
 |
Lesser Black Backed Gull
|
 |
| Dunnock |
 |
| Goldcrest |
 |
Black Headed Gull
|
 |
| Magpie |
 |
Carrion Crow
|
 |
| Jackdaw |
 |
| Oystercatcher |
 |
Pink Footed Goose
|
 |
Meadow Pipit
|
 |
Grey Wagtail
|
 |
| Jay |
 |
Grey Squirrel
|
 |
| Treecreeper |
 |
| Woodpigeon |
 |
Pied Wagtail
|
 |
Long Tailed Tit
|
 |
| Chaffinch |
 |
Great Tit
|
 |
House Sparrow
|
 |
| Blackbird |
 |
| Wren |
 |
| Bullfinch |
 |
| Robin |
Birds - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Lesser Redpoll, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Tawny Owl, Treecreeper, Waxwing, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Fox, Grey Squirrel.
