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Canada Goose
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A number of factors have ensured that this is really the first opportunity I've had to do a round-up post of my bird sightings on my walks to and from work since the end of June. Despite good intentions I managed to fall behind with both posts and photo editing resulting in a situation where there wasn't quite enough time to go birding, work and catch up with the 'admin' side at home. Procrastination also played its part but it is definitely harder to get motivated to catch up with a back-log the longer that back-log gets. So, at long last, here goes....
Going back to the beginning of July the first week saw Collared Dove appearing regularly. A Curlew over on the 3rd was a bit of a welcome surprise. Bullfinch was noted on the 6th and 7th (as well as the following Monday and Tuesday). The Peregrines were visible on the Stack on the 6th, 7th and again on the 10th. A Song Thrush was seen on Thursday the 6th. Friday the 7th also had a Great Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch and Swallow. Swallows were also seen on the 10th, 11th and 13th around the football pitches at Lochee Park and nearby streets. Sparrowhawks were noted hunting on the 10th, 13th and 14th - most likely recent fledged birds and adults from Balgay Hill. Grey Wagtail was another highlight on the 11th and again on the 13th, with Song Thrush on the 13th and 14th.
The first gull back at the football pitches was a Common Gull on Monday the 17th, though Black Headed Gulls found their way back on the 20th and were seen almost every day from then on with numbers increasing over time and Herring Gulls (and the odd Lesser Black Backed) also joining the early morning flock before the dog walkers arrived en masse to keep them moving around. Grey Wagtail was again found on the 17th with both Peregrine and Sparrowhawk again also spotted. Peregrine was also seen on the 20th, while the following day there was another Sparrowhawk sighting. There were a couple of Swallows around again that week on the 17th and 20th at the football pitches. My first Tree Pipit of the year was heard from Balgay Cemetery on the 18th and a Siskin was heard at Balgay Hill on the 18th. A Song Thrush was singing there on the 21st.
Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay, Nuthatch, Siskin and Song Thrush made for a productive haul on Tuesday the 25th following the holiday Monday. Song Thrush was noted again on the 27th while Great Spotted Woodpecker and Nuthatch were recorded on the 28th along with Bullfinch and Swallow. Monday the 31st rounded off the month with a decent selection including Bullfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch and Song Thrush. Another Great Spotted Woodpecker sighting kicked off August along with a Jay, and there was another sighting in the same area near Byron Crescent on the 3rd. Sparrowhawk and Treecreeper were also seen on the 3rd elsewhere. There were Tree Pipits passing over the following week though in general things seemed a good bit quieter with the exception of Thursday the 10th. Bullfinch was around on the 8th and 10th. On the 10th there were also Common Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch and Treecreeper as well as one of the last Swift sightings of this year. Great Spotted Woodpecker, Stock Dove and Grey Wagtail were the best birds around on Friday the 11th.
A small skein of Canada Geese heading north over Tannadice Stadium early on Monday the 14th were surprisingly a new species for my 'on-foot commute' list. Sparrowhawk, Swift, Tree Pipit and Treecreeper were a decent 'best of the rest' that particular day. Grey Wagtail and Tree Pipit were moving through again on the 15th. Both Tree Pipit and Meadow Pipits were moving on the 21st and a Willow Warbler was heard singing in Balgay Cemetery, where a Treecreeper was also noted. Buzzard, Grey Wagtail, Nuthatch, another late Swift and a Treecreeper were the stand-out species on Tuesday the 22nd. Grey Wagtail and Meadow Pipits were passing through on the 24th with the latter also noted on Friday the 25th. Bullfinch and Siskin were also on the list that day.
My half week Autumn migration holidays began the following week as August came to a close. Bullfinch, Common Gull, Meadow Pipit and Swallow were all noted on Monday the 28th while the following day the less common birds noted included Sand Martin (which was another new species for the 'on-foot commute list), Collared Dove, Common Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Meadow Pipit and Siskin. The following Monday saw Buzzard, Grey Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Siskin and Tree Pipit as well as Red Admiral butterflies as the temperature reached unseasonal heights more akin to July. There were a few more Red Admirals around on the 5th of September along with Bullfinch, Meadow Pipit, Nuthatch and Siskin. Monday the 11th was slightly less productive with Bullfinch, Grey Wagtail and Meadow Pipits the main species of note. The latter pair were also noted the following day.
Bullfinch and Grey Wagtail were the only species of note on Tuesday the 19th though with sunrise only happening around 0700 there were fewer species noted than in previous weeks, though less than ideal weather conditions didn't help. During the period covered in this post I managed to record a total of 49 species of bird (including a year-tick - in bold), as well as 2 of butterflies and 1 mammal. There were a few trips to Riverside Nature Park during my lunchbreak and after work to try to catch up with migrants passing through which will be covered in a separate post to be published soon (1156 : Waders After Work) as those species noted there aren't counted on the list covered here. Hopefully, it won't take quite so long to get to the next round-up, but it seems I say that after each of these catch-up posts. Time will, as always, tell though...
(All photos here are from 2022).
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Meadow Pipit
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| Swift |
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House Sparrow
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| Wren |
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| Swallow |
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Stock Dove
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| Jackdaw |
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| Starling |
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| Bullfinch |
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Hering Gull
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| Sparrowhawk |
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Blue Tit
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Magpie |
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| Blackbird |
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| Goldfinch |
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Long Tailed Tit
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Carrion Crow
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Black Headed Gull
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Grey Wagtail
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| Jay |
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Great Spotted Woodpecker
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| Buzzard |
Birds - Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Curlew, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Hering Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Nuthatch, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sand Martin, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Tree Pipit, Treecreeper, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies - Red Admiral, Small White.
Mammals - Grey Squirrel.
