St Andrews Park!

A dull and dismal afternoon but I was amazed at the number of finches in the park - a flock of at least 50 birds, mostly Goldfinches (but many Chaffinches among them) were flying around the tree-tops. Nearby, half a dozen Redwings and a couple of Blackbirds shared a tree while 3 Black-headed Gulls, 5 Herring Gulls and a Pied Wagtail were on the deck. House Sparrows were feeding busily nearby. Grey Squirrels were very actively stowing away their food for the winter.

Pied Wagtail

House Sparrow

Redwing

Black-headed Gull

Chaffinch

Grey Squirrel

St Andrews Park!

We did a winter walk in the park this morning and saw or heard the following birds:
Goldcrest
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Goldfinch
Redwing
Starling
Blackbird
Woodpigeon
Herring Gull
Black-headed Gull
Pied Wagtail
Dunnock
Robin
Jay
Feral Pigeon
Carrion Crow
Magpie

Pied Wagtail

Non-bird interest was provided by some nice Silverleaf fungus on a dead tree and another as yet unidentified fungus. There were also leafmines on Holm Oak leaves created by the moth Stigmella suberivora.  

Unidentified fungus

Stigmella suberivora

Silverleaf fungus

St Andrews Park!

What started as a quick walk through the park on the way to the shops ended up as an hour-long birdwatch despite the drizzle. I was delighted to see a couple of Redwings around - sightings of these winter visitors from Scandinavia are virtually guaranteed in the park these days. Also several Blackbirds, a couple of female Chaffinches, many Goldfinches, a Jay, about 8 Long-tailed Tits, a couple of Blue Tits, a Goldcrest, 4 or 5 Herring Gulls, lots of Woodpigeons, a couple of Robins and a calling Dunnock.

Chaffinch

Long-tailed Tit

Redwing

Woodpigeon

A spider in my kitchen looks like it's another Labulla thoracica which I had in the flat a few weeks ago. UPDATE: apparently the spider is probably one of the money spiders called Lepthyphantes.

Lepthyphantes