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Black Headed Gull (white J1902)
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It has been much longer than I had intended since my last round-up post of sightings on my walks to and from work. Two whole months and a week have passed in that time. During that time daylight at both ends of the day became the 'norm' at long last and officially 'summertime' came along too. Over the same period, gull numbers have built up at the football pitches before the majority of the smaller gulls then moved on to their breeding grounds elsewhere where they'll remain for the next few months. There was some sign of summer migrants on the move too, though progress on that front has seemed painfully slow.
Going back to early February the highlights on Thursday the 2nd were Bullfinch and Treecreeper, with a Sparrowhawk the following day being the best of 16 species noted (2 fewer than the previous day). Redwings were noted on Monday the 6th and Tuesday the 7th, with Peregrine and Pink Footed Geese also noted on the Tuesday. Bullfinch and Stock Dove at Balgay Hill were the best of the 16 species on Thursday the 9th, while a Grey Wagtail provided some interest on Friday the 10th. Numbers of species began to creep up the following week as the amount of daylight available increased again. Monday the 13th and Tuesday the 14th produced 23 species each. Bullfinch and Redwing were noted on both days with a bonus Peregrine also spotted on the Monday. Using up a few holidays brought that week to an early close however.
A total of 23 species were amassed on the following Monday (20th) with Pink Footed Goose, Redwing and Rook the most noteworthy of the day's sightings. Bullfinch and more Pink Footed Geese were the best of 20 species on the Tuesday. Peregrine and Pinkfeet once more provided the pick of the bunch on Wednesday the 22nd, when I went in to work to help out, in exchange for a long weekend with Friday off instead. Thursday the 23rd saw 26 species on the list. Bullfinch, Peregrine, Pink Footed Goose and Redwing were the main highlights with a bonus Treecreeper into the bargain.
On Monday the 27th of February I somehow managed to reach a total of 30 species. The first of the returning Lesser Black Backed Gulls were back around the roofs near the south end of the Miley. Peregrine, Redwing, Pink Footed Goose, Treecreeper and Sparrowhawk were the best of the rest. February came to a close with another 26 species found on the 28th of which Lesser Black Backed Gull, Peregrine, Pink Footed Goose and Redwing were all decent enough finds. Thursday the 2nd of March was the 3rd anniversary of me walking to/from work on a daily basis and 28 species was a reasonably good total noted that day with Grey Wagtail and Pink Footed Geese being relatively notable. Friday the 3rd had Bullfinch, Lesser Black Backed Gulls and Treecreeper once again.
Things seemed to pick up a bit further during the 1st full week in March. Of 27 species on the list for Monday the 6th, Bullfinch, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redwing and Siskin were those most worthy of mention. The following day proved to be even better with a very surprising 34 species noted. There was plenty of variety including Bullfinch, Grey Wagtail, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Nuthatch, Peregrine, Pink Footed Goose, Pied Wagtail, Redwing, Sparrowhawk, Stock Dove and Treecreeper. Thursday the 9th had Nuthatch and Lesser Black Backed Gull as the best of 24 species. There was a good reason for the drop in numbers from Tuesday though. I went to Clatto Reservoir after work (courtesy of a lift from a colleague) to twich a couple of Gadwall found by Lainy the day before.
Friday the 10th of March saw 29 species noted with Bullfinch, Grey Wagtail, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Pink Footed Goose, Redwing, Siskin and Treecreeper the main 'goodies'. Monday the 13th's best were Lesser Black Backed Gull and Bullfinch. 29 species on the Tuesday included Buzzard, Grey Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redwing and Siskin while Thursday the 16th's haul brought in Jay, Bullfinch, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Redwing and Treecreeper among a decent total of 28 species. I used up another leftover day's annual leave on the Friday for a trip to Riverside Nature Park.
The following week produced totals of 27, 28, 28 and 29 over the four days. Meadow Pipits were finally on the move, being heard and seen on the Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Redwings were winging their way northwards on Monday, Thursday and Friday. Lesser Black Backed Gulls were by this time a regular sight every day. Monday's other highlights were Pied Wagtail and Treecreeper. Tuesday's included Nuthatch, Peregrine, Sparrowhawk and Treecreeper once again. Jay, Sparrowhawk and Treecreeper were Thursday's best of the rest while Friday's included Buzzard, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Siskin and Sparrowhawk.
The following week started with me finally using up the last few days of my annual leave meaning it was Thursday before I was next at work. 31 species on the Thursday was another fairly good total. Buzzard, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Stock Dove, Treecreeper and a total of 5 different Chiffchaffs along the route to work in the morning hinted at Spring creeping closer. There were Chiffchaffs around again on the final day of March as well as what may prove to be my last Pink Footed Geese of this part of the year (at least while walking to work). Bullfinch, Buzzard and Lesser Black Backed Gulls made up the rest of the good stuff that day.
A bank holiday on the first Monday in April meant no work until Tuesday. A pair of overflying Curlews were a bonus early in my walk on Tuesday. Chiffchaffs were vocal once again in a few spots. Nuthatch, Redwing, Peregrine and Sparrowhawk were also all part of another good total of 32 species. Thursday the 6th saw 25 species on the list of which Chiffchaff, Jay, Meadow Pipit and Pied Wagtail were the most interesting. Friday the 7th produced 29 species with Bullfinch, Chiffchaff, Jay, Meadow Pipit, Nuthatch, Peregrine, Sparrowhawk and Stock Dove once again providing plenty of variety.
Rather surprisingly during the peiod covered I managed to find 2 ringed birds in practically the same spot on the football pitches at Lochee Park. An Oystercatcher, one of a pair, White 6A5 which appears to be a Scottish bird proved to be the easier of the 2 birds to read the ring code off. The other was a Norwegian ringed Black Headed Gull - white J1902, which took a few attempts to read properly as the bird tended to run away quickly if anyone stopped by the wall. Thankfully, taking a camera to work solved that issue, freezing the action enough to make out the details.
During the period covered in this post I managed to record a total of 43 species. Hopefully, as things pick up speed and the trickle of summer migrants becomes more of a flow I'll get to the next round-up a bit quicker - though as I do have the equivalent of 2 full weeks off work between now and mid-May, it may end up being almost 2 months till the next round-up post regardless of my intentions. Hopefully, in that time there will be a few more surprises noted along the way. (All photos used in this post are from the time frame of the post).
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Oystercatcher (white 6A5)
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Long Tailed Tit
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| Treecreeper |
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Common Gull
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| Robin |
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| Bullfinch |
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Great Tit
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House Sparrow
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Blue Tit
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Stock Dove
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Herring Gull
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Pied Wagtail
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| Goldfinch |
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Dunnock
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Carrion Crow
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| Redwing |
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| Chaffinch |
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Coal Tit
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Peregrine |
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| Buzzard |
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Grey Wagtail
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Birds - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Curlew, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Treecreeper, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Grey Squirrel.
