Annotated garden bird list for Banchory, Kincardineshire

This is a list of the species seen in, and flying over, a small garden on Woodside Road, Banchory, Kincardineshire, Scotland (map). Banchory has about 5000 inhabitants and is situated in the Dee valley, about 20 miles from the coast. The garden is located not far from the edge of the town, about half a mile from surrounding conifer plantations and open countryside.

The percentage of weeks that the regular visitors were recorded during 1985-1987 is included in brackets following the species name as an indicative measure of each species abundance; species which were only seen overhead are marked with an asterisk *.

1. Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) (6%) * - occasionally seen passing overhead, mainly in summer
2. Pinkfoot (Anser brachyrhynchus) (5%) * - occasionally seen passing overhead on passage and rarely in winter
3. Greylag Goose (Anser anser) (7%) * - occasionally seen passing overhead on passage and rarely in winter
4. Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) (3%) * - occasionally seen passing overhead
5. Goosander (Mergus merganser) * - single record of a pair over in September 1988
6. Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) * - occasionally seen passing overhead - numbers vary markedly from year to year
7. Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) (11%) * - occasional spring/summer visitor
8. Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) * - very scarce visitor
9. Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) - single record of a female walking down road behind house, some distance from open country, in March 1986
10. Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) (48%) * - observed (and heard) overhead daily throughout spring/summer (Feb-Aug)
11. Golden Plover (Pluvialis apricaria) * - once heard passing overhead at night
12. Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) * - observed passing overhead rarely
13. Curlew (Numenius arquata) (2%) * - observed passing south overhead in post-breeding disperal
14. Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus) (63%) - common spring/summer visitor rarely seen in autumn/winter
15. Common Gull (Larus canus) (45%) - regular winter visitor, not seen in spring and early summer
16. Lesser Blackback (Larus fuscus) - very rare summer visitor
17. Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) (93%) - present throughout the year with hundreds or thousands passing overhead every day of the year to and from feeding grounds at local rubbish dump and roost lochs or the coast (18 miles E)
18. Great Blackback (Larus marinus) (7%) - very small numbers regularly seen overhead with Herring Gulls which it accompanies to same feeding and roosting areas, mainly in winter
19. Feral Pigeon (Columba livia) (81%) - common local resident
20. Wood Pigeon (Columba palumbus) (33%) - irregular visitor throughout the year
21. Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) (38%) - irregular visitor throughout the year
22. Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) - seen once in late June 1986
23. Tawny Owl (Strix aluco) - heard at night very rarely
24. Common Swift (Apus apus) (29%) - common summer visitor (May to August)
25. Swallow (Hirundo rustica) (30%) - common summer visitor (mid-April to mid-October)
26. House Martin (Delichon urbica) (25%) - common summer visitor (May to mid-October)
27. Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) - regular overhead passage migrant in autumn
28. Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba yarrelli) (38%) - irregular visitor throughout the year, less common in mid-winter
29. Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) (5%) - regular winter visitor, observed in small numbers nearly annually
30. Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) (25%) - irregular visitor throughout the year, less common in summer
31. Dunnock (Prunella modularis) (92%) - common resident, present in small numbers throughout the year
32. Robin (Erithacus rubecula) (72%) - common resident, absent between early May and early August
33. Blackbird (Turdus merula) (99%) - common resident present daily with numbers sometimes swelling to several dozen at end of breeding season
34. Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris) (10%) - uncommon winter visitor; observed coming to bread in hard weather
35. Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) (45%) - regular visitor, but rarely observed in autumn and mid-winter numbers tend to be lower
36. Redwing (Turdus iliacus) (1%) - uncommon winter visitor, normally only present during very hard weather, when has been seen coming to bread at bird table
37. Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus) (35%) - irregular visitor throughout the year, sometimes breeding
38. Common Whitethroat (Sylvia communis) (3%) - scarce post-breeding migrant
39. Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) (3%) - scarce winter visitor
40. Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus) (19%) - uncommon summer visitor
41. Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) (12%) - variable numbers occur from year to year, with breeding in 1987
42. Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata) - very scarce migrant during autumn passage (e.g. September 1990)
43. Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) (3%) - uncommon visitor during very hard weather
44. Coal Tit (Parus ater) (72%) - regular visitor throughout the year, but lower numbers in some years
45. Blue Tit (Parus caeruleus) (94%) - common visitor in small numbers throughout the year
46. Great Tit (Parus major) (88%) - common visitor in small numbers throughout the year though does not always breed locally
47. Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris) (8%) - irregular winter visitor
48. Magpie (Pica pica) - formerly very rare visitor only observed in mid-winter, but now increasingly frequent in winter
49. Jackdaw (Corvus monedula) (89%) - regularly observed, often passing overhead with Rooks, throughout the year
50. Rook (Corvus frugilegus) (95%) - regular visitor throughout the year, also often observed passing overhead, sometimes in huge numbers (thousands) between feeding grounds and local roost sites
51. Carrion Crow (Corvus corone) (29%) - uncommon visitor throughout the year, though somewhat irregular in winter
52. Hooded Crow (Corvus corvix) - very rare mid-winter visitor, perhaps from nearby Crow's Nest amenity site; hybrid not excluded
53. Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) (88%) - common visitor throughout the year though normally absent in mid-summer
54. House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) (100%) - common resident and local breeder observed daily in numbers of up to 20 by the end of the breeding season
55. Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) (98%) - common resident observed throughout the year and breeding locally
56. Brambling (Fringilla montifringilla) - observed once in spring (March 1988)
57. Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris) (85%) - regular visitor throughout the year though rather scarce in autumn; breeds locally
58. Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) (9%) - uncommon breeding season visitor
59. Siskin (Carduelis spinus) (85%) - common resident throughout the year, breeding locally
60. Redpoll (Carduelis flammea) - uncommon visitor spring to autumn
61. Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) (11%) - uncommon visitor mainly in spring and mid-winter
62. Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) - observed once in spring (May 1987)
63. Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus) - 3 birds present for a few days in March-April 1989