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| Buzzard |
On Wednesday the 18th of September, I was struggling to get motivated to get out birding. I didn't fancy a long walk anywhere which ruled out Riverside Nature Park, Balmossie, Clatto and even the Dighty Burn/Clearwater Park. Swannie Ponds didn't feel particularly inspiring, the carnival was at Caird Park, Spring Grove in Baxter Park is completely overgrown and it is still a bit too early for the winter thrushes at Eastern Cemetery. That left City Quay which is generally underwhelming, Balgay Hill which needs a lot of luck to make it worthwhile spending time there or the Law. The weather forecast was reasonably good so despite it being around 0850 before I was ready to get out, I chose the Law. Another reason in its favour was that there were 2 US Army (Special Forecs) Chinook helicopters operating in/out of Leuchars that I figured I might be able to see from the top of the hill if and when they took off.
Herring Gull, House Sparrow and Robin got the day's list underway followed quickly by Feral Pigeon and Woodpigeon. As is often the case with later starts, things were much quieter than earlier starts usually are. Magpie and Collared Dove were the only additions between Arklay Street and Law Road. The walk up to the top of the hill added Goldcrest, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit as well as a slightly unexpected Speckled Wood butterfly as I headed up the steps in below the trees. A Meadow Pipit was heard as I was getting organised, as was a Wren. The local Carrion Crows were very much in evidence, along with a few of the Magpies. Chiffchaff, Song Thrush and a flyover Jackdaw were all noted though things did seem rather quiet on the migration front, not surprisingly given the late start time.
It was very misty over the Tay, and there was a plane circling overhead waiting for the fog to burn off so it could land. It was joined by another 2 before the runway was usable again. This did give me something to watch while the birding was rather quiet. A bird flew over calling. It was a call that I half-recognised but couldn't quite place. The mystery was solved when another bird dropped into the conifers by the steps a minute or so later. Although it was against the light, I was able to see that it was actually a Yellowhammer, not a bird I've seen at the Law before (as far as I can remember). A Dunnock was heard before the first Buzzard sighting of the day, a bird out to the southwest being harassed by a Carrion Crow. A few minutes later what was likely the same bird flew past to the north of the hill, heading northeast.
A Sparrowhawk was seen distantly out to the southwest just after 1000. A couple of Meadow Pipits flew past before a male Sparrowhawk headed northeast around 1015. A Chaffinch flew past southwards and a Bullfinch was heard from the trees on the west side of the hill. A trio of Buzzards circled up to the east. A skein of Pink Footed Geese passed west up the river. A Grey Wagtail was heard passing by at 1030. A Buzzard was harassed by a Carrion Crow to the south of the hill. Around 10 minutes later, 3 Buzzards appeared over the hill, with one in particular giving very close views overhead. A Pied Wagtail was heard just before 1100. The 2 Chinooks I had been hoping to see took off from Leuchars around 1110 (and I heard them before I saw them, despite the distance of 8.5 miles) and headed out to the west before turning southwards.
Long Tailed Tits were heard from the trees as I was watching the Chinooks. A few more Meadow Pipits and another skein of Pink Footed Geese were noted between 1100 and 1150, when another Buzzard put in an appearance, albeit distantly out to the northeast. Just after noon, I was photographing a southbound Luftwaffe A400 transport aircraft when I heard the unmistakable sound of a Raven's 'pruk' call. I managed to get a few photos as it passed to the east of the hill. I had messaged Lainy before leaving the house to see if she fancied joining me but she had prior arrangements in place. She phoned me shortly after the Raven sighting to check if I was still at the hill and when I said I was, she said she'd be there soon.
Lainy joined me soon after and we spent the next hour chatting while nothing much happened birdwise. As a result we decided to head down the steps to check the trees and bushes around the sides. Needless to say, we got halfway down the stairs and a Sparrowhawk flew past looking like it might have landed in the trees on the north side. We headed back up, but drew a blank so we headed back down the hill again, though not before seeing the first passing Swallow of the day. While wandering round about 20 minutes later, I glimpsed a crow flying over, which then let out a 'pruk' call. It was (likely) the same Raven back again. We hurried out from below the greenery and managed to see it circle round above the trees on the east side of the hill. We contemplated going back up the hill again but decided to wait instead. The bird did come back again and we had decent views anway from the grassy area on the east side before it flew off to the northeast. It can only be a matter of time before I manage to get one on my 'house list'.
We eventually gave up at around 1500, though not before stopping to chat to one of the local Rangers for a while at the car park. While we were chatting a pair of Stock Doves flew past northwards and a Sparrowhawk was seen heading out to the east. Although the list for the day was only 30 species, it had been quite a successful, and enjoyable, day of lazy birding, with some bonus interesting aircraft movements too (which continued when I got home, with views of a pair of Spanish Army NH90 helicopters) meaning there was almost always something relatively interesting to keep my attention throughout my 6 hours or so at the hill. The sun shone for most of the time which did help too, making for a rather pleasant mid-September day.
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| Yellowhammer |
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Meadow Pipit
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
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Buzzard & Magpie
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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
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Pink Footed Goose
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Pink Footed Goose
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| Magpie |
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| Raven |
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| Raven |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Raven |
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| Raven |
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| Raven |
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| Raven |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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Stock Dove
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Birds - Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Great Tit, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Raven, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Stock Dove, Swallow, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Butterfly - Speckled Wood.
