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| Fieldfare |
It has been a few months since my last round-up of sightings on my walks to and from work. An unexpected but very welcome Hawfinch rounded off that particular post. However, with very little in the way of actual daylight between then and now, it will come as no surprise that there wasn't too much in the way of surprises over the (more or less) 3 months covered here. Robin, Blackbird, Herring Gull Magpie and Carrion Crow featured most days, even in the dark but some days there weren't too many more species to be seen or heard, especially when the weather was poor.
While there was still some daylight available in early(ish) November, the numbers of species were still quite decent with 17 on the 7th and 22 on the 8th of November. Bullfinch, Black Headed Gull, Common Gull and Pink Footed Geese were noted on both days. A Grey Heron on Thursday the 7th was a bit of a surprise. Long Tailed Tits, Redwing and Song Thrush were less of a surprise on the 8th. A Pipistrelle Bat was the main highlight on the 11th. Grey Wagtail was found on the 12th and a Pied Wagtail put in an appearance on the 15th. Pink Footed Geese were seen on 3 of the 4 days during that particular week. Redwings featured on all 4 days. A Treecreeper was found on the 15th. Later in the dates covered here, Treecreeper would become relatively frequent as I discovered a roosting 'hole' in the soft bark of a Redwood in Balgay Cemetery which showed up nicely with my new thermal imager. Long Tailed Tits were heard on the 14th and 15th.
Redwings were noted on all 4 days the following week, with Pink Footed Geese on 3 of the 4 days. Black Headed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Mistle Thrush and an unexpected Woodcock were the main interest on the 21st. Grey Wagtail and Treecreeper were the best of the bunch on the 22nd. With the amount of anything even approaching 'daylight' slipping away to almost zero, there wasn't much worthy of mention the following week - Pink Footed Geese on the 25th, Grey Wagtail and Long Tailed Tit on the 26th, Redwing on the 28th then Long Tailed Tit and Redwing on the 29th. December started with Redwing - which went on to show up on every single trip to or from work that month. Pink Footed Geese and Song Thrush put in appearances on the Tuesday and Thursday.
Pink Footed Geese passed overhead in the dark on the 9th, 10th and 13th of December. A Treecreeper was found roosting on the 10th and Long Tailed Tit and Sparrowhawk were seen on the 13th among the 15 species noted that day. Fieldfare, Common Gull and Long Tailed Tits were the 'interesting' birds on the 19th. Stock Dove, Song Thrush, Pink Footed Geese and Treecreeper once again showed on the 20th. Song Thrush joined Redwing on the 23rd while Christmas Eve produced Black Headed and Common Gulls at Lochee Park on my way home (early), with Treecreeper and Song Thrush noted in the morning. The 2 thrushes - Redwing and Song Thrush were the only things of interest on the 27th. The same 2 thrush species were the main avian high-spots on the 30th and a Fox was picked out using the thermal imager in Balgay Cemetery. Hogmanay's bird list featured Black Headed and Common Gulls again (courtesy of another early finish), as well as Song Thrush, Redwing and a Grey Wagtail.
January started off well before I went back to work, with my 2025 list getting off to a good start. Unfortunately things weren't as productive on the walks to and from work the following week. Redwings were the only things worthy of mention on 2 of the 4 days. A grotty day on the 9th produced no highlights at all among a very poor 8 species that day. My first Treecreeper of the year was noted on the 7th, along with Sparrowhawk and a Song Thrush. Only 6 species were noted on the 13th of January with Redwing the nearest thing to interesting. Long Tailed Tits were noted on both the 16th and 17th. Song Thrush was heard on the 16th while Bullfinch, Pied Wagtail and Pink Footed Geese made it onto the list on the 17th.
By the 20th, there was a bit more light at the end of the day which meant that numbers started to build slightly. Redwing, Song Thrush and Treecreeper were among 15 species on the 20th. Long Tailed Tit, Redwing and Song Thrush were noted on the 21st as was a Wood Mouse which bounced its way across the path and grass at Balgay Cemetery, which without the thermal imager would not have been seen. An Oystercatcher flew over as I neared work on the 23rd. The same 3 'highlights' from the 21st were also recorded on the 23rd too. The weather wasn't great on the 24th with 80 mph gusts of wind making things difficult for myself and the birds, though the early finish did mean I got both Black Headed and Common Gulls at Lochee Park on my way home.
Monday the 27th of January got me Common Gull, Redwing and Song Thrush. Oystercatcher was again noted on the 28th and 31st. Redwing and Song Thrush were noted on the 28th and 30th with Song Thrush the only one of the pair found on the 31st. February started with a reasonable selection and a very noticeable increase in the amount of daylight at both ends of the days. Buzzard, Sparrowhawk and Song Thrush as well as a brief Fox sighting via the thermal imager were the highlights on the 3rd. I had 2 sightings of Sparrowhawk on the walk home on Tuesday the 4th, with Common Gull and Black Headed Gulls at the football pitches on the walk home as well as a singing Song Thrush as I passed The Miley.
My total number of species for the period covered in this post was just 37 birds and 3 of mammals. Although there was nothing particularly unexpected, Woodcock, Mistle Thrush, Fieldfare and Grey Heron were all fairly uncommon species for my 'on-foot commute' though not surprisingly there was nothing new for that particular 'full list'. Wood Mouse and Pipistrelle Bat were very welcome finds too. With more daylight with each passing day, things should start to liven up now as February progresses....(fingers crossed!).
(All photos are from my 'archives' - though all from within the same time period as is covered here).
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| Blackbird |
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| Goldfinch |
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| House Sparrow |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Blue Tit |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Dunnock |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Mistle Thrush |
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| Treecreeper |
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| Buzzard |
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| Common Gull |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Long Tailed Tit |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Woodpigeon |
Birds - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mistle Thrush, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Treecreeper, Woodcock, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Fox, Pipistrelle Bat, Wood Mouse.
