Week 8

19 – 25 February 2025

During my big year, I will update my blog most weeks. This is the eighth week's recap. The number next to the day indicates my year list at the end of that day. Birds written in italics indicate year ticks.

February 21 - Day 52: 119

Today, we stayed at home but got great views of a female Sparrowhawk, feeding on a Woodpigeon in our garden.

February 22 - Day 53: 122

Today, was an unexpectedly warm and sunny day, with temperatures reaching 13°C. We decided to go to Loch of Skene, since a Ring-necked Duck had been seen regularly while we were away. We decided to park on the West side of the loch since I was still missing Brambling, Treecreeper, Siskin and some other woodland species. When we arrived, we were amazed by the warmth and the number of singing birds. There were Coal tits, Blue tits, Great tits and Chaffinches. In some of the trees we also saw a Brambling, number 120. As we kept walking, we heard more of the same birds, as well as a Wren. We kept walking and saw a large group of Chaffinches. We decided to stick around in case any Bramblings were mixed in. After a little while, we found one male and one female Brambling. While we were watching the Bramblings, my sister, Maya, pointed out a Treecreeper. At last! We walked all the way to Policy Loch, spotting a couple of Buzzards and a Woodcock fly past us. Unfortunately, we didn't find the Ring-necked duck, despite a later visit to the East side of the loch, and we didn't see any Siskins either.

February 23 - Day 54: 123

A drastic change from yesterday's sun: cold, miserable and rainy for the whole day. After a sleep-over at a friend's house, my dad and I left to Loch of Skene once more, since the Ring-necked duck was seen on Saturday afternoon. We walked the short path through the woods, seeing many Coal tits, as well as two Crossbills and a Siskin feeding in the trees. We started scanning a large flock of Tufted ducks, picking out a few Goldeneyes, and a drake Pochard, but no Ring-necked duck. We kept scanning, with several false alarms, eventually calling it a day and giving up.

Day 21: https://ebird.org/checklist/S215422010

Day 22: https://ebird.org/checklist/S214817081

Day 23: https://ebird.org/checklist/S214999929