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| Raven |
Vis-migging is almost always busier at Riverside Nature Park but what the top of the Law lacks in numbers of birds passing by/over, it makes up in convenience. It is only roughly a 15 minute walk from home, which means I don't have to get up in the middle of the night to be there for sunrise. Following on from Wednesday's success at Riverside Nature Park I decided I would head up the Law to see what migrants were passing over, as I've been seeing and hearing Pipits and Wagtails on my walks to work recently. As is so often the case, I couldn't get out of bed for a proper early start. Although I knew a later start would mean even fewer birds than an earlier one might've produced, I decided I might as well give it a go regardless.
I headed out at 0820. Herring Gull, Robin, Blue Tit, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, House Sparrow, Feral Pigeon, Starling and Lesser Black Backed Gull were all noted on the walk up towards the hill. There were a few migrants passing over - a Pied Wagtail and a group of 5 Meadow Pipits. A Red Admiral was already on the wing as I neared the lower slopes of the hill. Great Tit, Jackdaw, Blackbird, Goldfinch and Wren were added before I reached the top of the hill. A small flock of Siskins were heard going over as were another 3 pairs of Meadow Pipits, and also a single bird. I got organised at the top of the hill, setting my recorder going.
To the south a skein of Pink Footed Geese headed east down the river. More Meadow Pipits passed over before the first Swallow of the morning was seen. More Siskins were heard and a Pied Wagtail headed east. The first Tree Pipit of the morning was heard but I failed to pick it out against the blue sky. A few more Tree Pipits, as well as more Meadow Pipits, were noted before I heard Tree Sparrow. A group of House Martins cicled above the hill. Magpies landed on the top of the shed to drink from some of the very shallow puddles. Goldcrest and Coal Tits called from the trees on the side of the hill.
There was relatively steady passage of birds though it was mostly Meadow Pipits, Tree Pipits and Swallows with a few groups of Siskins. A couple of Black Headed Gulls headed south towards the river. A quartet of young Bullfinches shared the top of a tree and a Sand Martin was found among the House Martins and Swallows above. Chiffchaff, Chaffinch and a Great Spotted Woodpecker were next onto the list for the morning. The sun was very warm by this time and I was glad I hadn't walked any distance. A Sparrowhawk flew past over the trees giving very good views in the sunshine. The number of migrants began to noticeably fizzle out around 1030 though there were still the odd few Meadow Pipits or small flock of Siskins.
Around 1130 I spotted a bird perched on Cox's Stack. It appeared too white to be a Peregrine and checking with the scope confirmed my suspicion that it was the escaped Saker Falcon. I decided that I might as well wander over for a closer look and to finally get some photos of the bird perched. A Dunnock was heard in the trees as I wandered down the steps. As I headed round the front of the hill, I heard the distinctive 'pruk' of a Raven. Keith had messaged me the previous day to say he'd had 4 Ravens at the Law, acting as if they were resident there. I could just make out one of the birds as it flew low above the trees but hurried round to the picnic tables just in time to see one of them fly over a little above tree-top height. It circled round to the south where a second Raven was also seen. One of them headed off southwards and the other departed to the north.
I kept checking to make sure the Saker was still perched on the ledge at the Stack as I made my way over to Balfield Road. It was still there when I arrived and I took some photos and video. It suddenly took flight and headed off to the north. I wandered back to the Law, stopping to photograph a 10-Spot Ladybird on the final set of steps back up to the top of the hill, and missing out on photographing a flock of around 25 Siskins which flew off as I headed back down the stairs to get a decent angle. I spent another hour or so at the top of the hill, though with the exception of a couple more Meadow Pipits and a Swallow things were very quiet. A couple of very distant raptors were probably Buzzards but were just a bit too far away. Long Tailed Tits and a Small White butterfly finished off the day's list with a reasonable 36 species seen, or heard (plus the Saker), and a decent amount of migration too, despite the later start.
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Pink Footed Goose
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| Magpie |
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| Woodpigeon |
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Meadow Pipit
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House Martin
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Herring Gull
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| Swallow |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Siskin |
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| Siskin |
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Saker Falcon (escaped)
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| Raven |
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| Raven |
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Saker Falcon (escape)
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Saker Falcon (escape)
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Saker Falcon (escape)
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Saker Falcon (escape)
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Saker Falcon (escape)
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10-Spot Ladybird
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| Bullfinch |
Birds - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Raven, Robin, Feral Pigeon, [Saker Falcon], Sand Martin, Siskin, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swallow, Tree Pipit, Tree Sparrow, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies - Red Admiral, Small White.
