Month: March 2013

Been Hectic ā€“ very few birds been seen :(

Edinburgh Science festival is on and a couple of trips to Glasgow in the past 3 days have kept me busy, so the only birds I really got to see were

2 x long tailed tits ā€“ flying down the street where I live as I got into the car

on the M8 between Edinburgh and Glasgow, there were other birds but I couldnā€™t get a great ID.

  1. 3 x common buzzards
  2. 2 x Magpies

Edinburgh Garden bird list for 29th of March 2013

My list for my garden in Edinburgh for Friday 29th of March 2013:

  1. Blackbird x 2
  2. Blue Tit x 1
  3. Carrion crow x 20+ flying over at dusk
  4. Dunnock x 2 ā€“ think thereā€™s a fair few more as I can see movement in the hedge, hope theyā€™re building nests.
  5. Feral Pigeon x 1
  6. Long-tailed tit x 2
  7. Magpie x 2
  8. Woodpigeon x 3

Nice and sunny in Edinburgh today, birds were out enjoying it!

Had a good chance to be in the garden today, nice and sunny, although snow was on the ground to start it thawed very quickly and there was actually some warmth in the sun! Ā Flying high over head I could hear geese and got a short glimpse of 6, but not sure what type and once again a common buzzard being mobbed by gulls, I wish I could identify the gulls better as thereā€™s been a few overhead of late, look like herring, common or lesser black backed, but not 100% sure, the black-headed ones are thankfully easy to identify! Ā Will get my bins out soon to get a better view, Iā€™ve let my neighbours know that Iā€™m a keen birder in case they wonder what Iā€™m up to ;)

Hereā€™s my garden bird list for today:

  1. Blackbird x 2
  2. Blue Tit x 1
  3. Bullfinch x 1, male ā€“ hoping the femaleā€™s sitting on eggs somewhere!
  4. Carrion crow x 1 in garden ā€“ about 15 flying over.
  5. Common Buzzard x 1 ā€“ flying high!
  6. Dunnock x 2
  7. Long-tailed tit x 1 ā€“ pretty sure I could hear more flying past.
  8. Magpie x 1
  9. Starlings x 6
  10. Woodpigeon x 2

Another new bird for the year! More snow!

Woohoo finally saw a wren, Iā€™d been missing them for my year list and I know they visit my garden, but today finally in the snow I spotted one. Ā All my tits seem to haveĀ disappearedĀ though, really do wonder where theyā€™ve gone off to, that said I was working on the Saver Scene Australian financeĀ (now closed as I move into gardening as a profession) pages, although Iā€™m KiwiGav I was brought up in Australia and thatā€™s why I know more about Aussie deals, savings, bank accounts and credit cards than I do about NZ ones. Ā Iā€™ve actually spent more time in the UK now than the country I was born in! Ā All 3 places have fantastic birds, you just have to pay a little more attention to the UK ones to see their beauty!

Hereā€™s my garden bird list:

  1. Blackbird x 1
  2. Bullfinch x 2, 1xm, 1xf they were eating the buds of new growth on the trees.
  3. Carrion crow x 4 ā€“ flyovers
  4. Dunnock x 1
  5. Magpie x 1
  6. Woodpigeon x 2
  7. Wren x 1

I should say I kept an eye out for the gold crest but sadly no show today, it was the weather Iā€™d seen it in before, Iā€™ll try and get my 1 and only photo Iā€™ve ever managed to take of a goldcrest tomorrow.

Garden Birds, Walk in Corstorphine, Bus ride back from centre of Edinburgh

Not a great day today, a few different birds as I was out of the house again today, but my ankles are bad again and now will have to stay indoors for a few days. Ā Really enjoyed a few days of being able to walk! Ā Hereā€™s my Bird lists:

Garden Birds:

  1. Blackbird x 2
  2. Dunnock x 3
  3. Woodpigeon x 1

On a walk to St Margaretā€™s Park Corstorphine.

  1. Dunnock x 1
  2. Pied Wagtail x 1
  3. House Sparrows x 6

On the Bus from centre of Edinburgh

  1. Mallard Ducks x 4 ā€“ all males on water of Leith

New birds for the year and the cold takes itā€™s toll.

As I looked out the window this morning I saw that a poor wood pigeon hadnā€™t made it through the night, a real shame. Ā Iā€™d put out a fair bit of fat and apple cores to try and help the birds through the cold snap.Ā  Sadly the weather was just too much for this poor bird. Ā I hope it wasnā€™t one that was mating yesterday, be a real shame to loose a partner so early in the breeding season!

In other news added two new birds to my year list, mallards and goosanders that were on the water of Lieth when I was out of the house for a bit.

Garden:

  1. Blackbird x 2
  2. Blue Tit x 1
  3. Carrion crow x 3 ā€“ flyovers
  4. Coal Tit x 1
  5. Dunnock x 3
  6. Magpie x 1
  7. Woodpigeon x 1, and sadly one dead in the tree.

Water of Leith:

  1. Mallard x 5, 3 male, 2 female
  2. Goosander x 5, 4 male, 1 female.

The Goosanders were beautiful it was on slow dark water with sun hitting their white breasts and wow they were vibrant and reflected off the dark water!

It was of course Monday; there were many updates for the finance pages and donā€™t forget if you havenā€™t used your ISA limit for the year over on Saver Scene Iā€™ve got the latest best interest rates.

Spring finally on the way in Edinburgh?

The Long-tailed tits were so close to me today, it was fantastic! Ā Maybe less than a foot away, great views for a few seconds, then they were on their way again. Ā The Magpie I did see was once again collecting nesting material, this time it looked like moss so maybe close to finishing their nest. Ā 2 of the woodpigeons were mating, another great sign of spring, weā€™ve missed most of the snow, hope for a few fine days soon! Ā My garden bird list and 1 feral pigeon that I spotted from the car:

  1. Black-headed Gull x 3 ā€“ flyovers.
  2. Bullfinch x 2, 1xm, 1xf
  3. Dunnock x 2
  4. Feral Pigeon x 1 ā€“ not in my garden, on Ballgreen Road.
  5. Long-tailed tit x 2
  6. Magpie x 1
  7. Starlings x 9
  8. Woodpigeon x 3

Woodpigeons mobbing magpies & Long-tailed tit back!

The magpies are still building their nest in the monkey puzzle tree opposite, however I noticed that the woodpigeons are mobbing the magpies, anyone else seen this behaviour?

  1. Blackbird x 1
  2. Blue Tit x 1
  3. Carrion crow x 2 ā€“ fly over
  4. Coal Tit x 1
  5. Dunnock x 2
  6. Long-tailed tit x 1
  7. Magpie x 2
  8. Woodpigeon x 3 ā€“ I noticed one of these was mobbing the magpies as they were making their nest. Anyone know if this is normal? Iā€™ve seen it in song birds before but not woodpigeons.

Sunny with a few snow flakes in Edinburgh today. Garden Bird List.

Had another busy day getting the finance pages updated for the Australian website, Aussies often have to pay for standard bank accounts but they can get a bank account for free (I did the whole time I was living there) if they just look around such as: best Australian bank accounts, no fees (now closed as I move into gardening as a profession). Ā The reason I mention this is because I was so busy doing that and the savings account updates I didnā€™t get a great bird list today, not even coal tits! Ā However here is the list from the garden andĀ skiesĀ above during a pretty clear and sunny day in Edinburgh:

  1. Blackbird x 2
  2. Blue Tit x 1
  3. Carrion crow x 20+ fly over
  4. Collared Dove x 2
  5. Dunnock x 3
  6. Magpie x 2 ā€“ my parents were surprised by the colours and striking look of magpies in the UK, and were also pleasantly surprised to hear they donā€™t swoop you during breeding season, Iā€™ve had my ear lobe ripped open by an Aussie one – Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen) Not a Corvid like European Magpies. Ā My hand has been hit pretty hard by a Tern here in the UK, but nothing like the Aussie magpies!
  7. Starlings x 15 fly over
  8. Woodpigeon x 3