I live in the pleasant and chocolatey south Birmingham suburb of Bournville, and commute on foot to my workplace at the University of Birmingham. The walk is about 2 miles so takes 40 minutes, I always enjoy it as it's a good way to get exercise and the route is very nice - I go through the back streets of Bournville, along a bit of main road through Selly Oak, then onto the canal all the rest of the way to the University. I normally see and hear a fair few birds, but much as I love birds, I also love listening to music and podcasts while commuting, so I don't usually give the birds my full attention! However today I did, and here's everything I saw/heard:
Robin
Mallard
Chiffchaff
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Goldfinch
Starling
Chaffinch
Magpie
House Sparrow
Blackbird
Woodpigeon
Dunnock
Wren
Carrion Crow
Goldcrest
Nuthatch
Long-tailed Tit
Blackcap
Greenfinch
Moorhen
Canada Goose
Feral Pigeon
Pied Wagtail
Lesser Black-backed Gull
25 species, not too shabby for a 40-minute walk through suburban Birmingham. South Birmingham is known for its leafy environs, and while this is a pretty good representation of what I see around my neighbourhood, there are a fair few nice species missing that I have seen on my commutes during the course of the nearly a year that we've lived in Bournville - such as Song and Mistle Thrush, House Martin, Swift, Jay, Swallow, Green and Great-spotted Woodpecker, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Black-headed Gull, Grey Wagtail, Redwing, Buzzard, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Peregrine......
Here is my commute in pictures! As you can see there are plenty of mature trees and lovely gardens, it gets a bit more urban in Selly Oak before you hit the canal. I think making a conscious effort to focus on looking and listening out for birds made my commute slightly more relaxing than usual, although it's not as though it's usually a stressful journey anyway! And I wasn't even that much more late for work than I normally am.....
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| Bournville. |
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| Bournville. |
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| Bournville. |
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| Bournville. |
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| Nooooo! Hope they find him. |
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| Bournville. |
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| Bournville. |
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| Bournville. |
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| Selly Oak. |
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| Selly Oak. |
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| Entrance to the canal - this always makes me smile. |
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| The canal. |
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| The canal. |
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| She's been sitting on that nest for weeks now, may be too much disturbance for her to successfully hatch eggs - that's the A38 going over the bridge right next to the nest! |
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| The canal. |
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| The canal. |
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| The canal. |
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| This grassy bank between the canal and railway is great for wildflowers and butterflies in summer. |
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| Looking towards the University of Birmingham. |
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| The canal. |
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| The bridge at University railway station, where I head up to the campus. |
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