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| Roe Deer |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Goosander |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Herring Gulls |
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| Goosander |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Gannet |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Shags |
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| Puffins |
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| Little Gull |
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| Juvenile Arctic Tern |
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| Kestrel |
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| Common Scoters |
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| Magpie |
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| Buzzard and Kingfisher |
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| Common Sandpiper |
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| Juvenile Blue Tit |
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| Great Crested Grebe |
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| Black Tailed Godwits |
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| Woodpigeon and Linnet |
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| Shelduck, Teal and Curlew |
Having both had a busy and rather tiring week at work, myself and my pal, Jacqui Herrington didn't really fancy anything too strenuous on the birding front for the Saturday. However, as a Bridled Tern had been seen a few days earlier in the Forth and was prone to a spot of long distance wandering from its summer home on the Farnes we decided a seat in the sunshine on the rocks at Fife Ness would give us possibilities of the Tern passing by as well as giving me a chance to get skuas, shearwaters and maybe something more exotic onto my year-list.
I arranged to meet Jacqui at Guardbridge around 10am, so headed out in the sunshine to catch the bus to Guardbridge. Herring Gulls glided over as I stepped outside, with chirping House Sparrows across the road. Swifts screamed over in a small group. I managed to catch a bus into town, adding Feral Pigeon to the list as I alighted from the bus at the top of the Wellgate. An Oystercatcher flew noisily over as I reached the bus station. The bus left a few minutes earlier than I thought. As always there wasn't a huge amount to see en route. A Song Thrush on the five roads roundabout was a surprise. Black Headed Gull, Woodpigeon and House Martin were seen before reaching Leuchars where Jackdaw, Rook, Collared Dove, Carrion Crow Starling and Blackbird were all added to the list.
Crossing the Motray, I managed to add Mute Swan, and a Lesser Black Backed Gull and Herring Gull were perched on the paper mill buildings as I waited for the bus to stop. Jacqui was already waiting with the top down on the car, so we decided against popping into the hide for a look. Swallows and Swifts were seen as we passed through St Andrews and the first Buzzard of the day was spotted as we drove out from Crail past Balcomie. We drove down over the golf course with an unseen Sedge Warbler singing loudly from the scrubby area at the top of the hill while allows chittered from the wires by the houses.
Jacqui spotted a Roe Deer feeding on the plants on the hill behind the pink cottage and we managed a few photos before it disappeared back into the gorse. A Whitethroat flitted around in front of the deer. A Grey Heron was prominent out on the rocks as were a small group of Great Black Backed Gulls. We wandered out to the rocks looking for a relatively comfortable area to sit with a decent view to north and south. Once we were settled we started to see what else was around. A large group of Eiders were in the water to the north, Gannets headed towards their feeding grounds in small groups and Shags stood on the rocks to the north. Three Pied Wagtails flew by in front of us. most likely a family group although they could also have been (very) early autumn migrants on the move. A Curlew flew low along the rocks just above the waves before landing slightly to the south. We spotted a Goosander just offshore, eventually finding another few a while later. Razorbill was the first of the auk species to shoot past though Guillemot and more surprisingly Puffin were also seen within a few minutes. The first Terns announced their presence loudly before we picked them up, an adult and juvenile Sandwich Tern - the first of many. Two Herring Gulls chased each other, one with food, the other with the urge to steal it.
A few Black Headed Gulls flew by, and a Swift headed out over the water before reversing its route and heading back inland. Surprisingly a Woodpigeon also headed out across the water, but it appeared to keep going eastwards. A single Common Scoter flew into the bay to land among the Eiders and Shags diving among the small wave crests. Kittiwakes have a quite distinctive flight style and I picked up a few heading north a bit further out over the sea. Two small waders darted south low across the water a bit further offshore than would be ideal for getting an ID. Checking the photos later they appeared to be Sanderling in summer plumage. Carrion Crow and Oystercatcher were spotted during another scan of the rocks avross the bay towards the golf course.
It was quite relaxing sitting in the warm sun, with the rather calm sea in front of us and good visiblity with surprisingly very little heat haze to make life difficult for spotting and identifying distant birds. We were joined by Willie Irvine and the three of us chatted away about birds as we slowly added more species to the day list. A Fulmar glided past and a Red Throated Diver powered its way north low above the water. Common Gull and then Common Tern were the next two additions, both out over the sea. A black hooded Little Gull flew over almost directly above us and was a nice bird to get. Gannets, auks, terns and gulls continued to stream past holding our interest as we hoped that a skua or a shearwater, or the Bridled Tern might show for us.
The next addition to the list was indeed a tern, though not the Bridled. A juvenile Arctic Tern flew in and landed on the rocks in front of us for a minute before flying off. A male Kestrel landed on the mast behind the former coastguard station. A small group of Common Scoters flew north low over the waves. Having spent around three hours sea-watching and with the sky beginning to cloud over we decided to head for the hide at Guardbridge. A Rock Pipit landed on the rocks near us as we wandered back towards the car. Driving up across the golf course we had superb close views of a Magpie which posed long enough for me to get my best ever photos of this usually evasive species. Woodpigeons, Carrion Crows and a Yellowhammer were seen as we headed back towards St Andrews but overall it was quiet.
We arrived at the hide at Guardbridge around 1450 and realised that the tide was in, which is never the best time for seeing much at the site. Undaunted we opened the windows and pulled up a couple of seats. As I opened the window an unnoticed Kingfisher flew off from its perch on a post in front of the hide and across the river where it landed on a fence post not too far from a Buzzard, allowing me to get an unusual photo. Blue Tits were on the feeders by the side of the hide. Scanning through the birds out on the water, I found a small group of six Canada Geese. A Tree Sparrow visited the feeder to our left. Herring Gull and Lesser Black Backed circled round. A family group of Great Tits joined the Blue Tit family on the feeders. Two geese swam out from behind the salt marsh. These were Pink Footed Geese, likely to be injured stragglers from the winter flocks wounded by wild-fowlers. Swallows darted low above the river feeding on insects.
Jacqui spotted a Common Sandpiper as it walked along the top of the wall down from the hide, with water lapping at its feet. Carrion Crows flew by the hide upriver and over the trees. A Shelduck creche was visible offshore with an Eider creche further towards the airfield. A Blackbird popped in below the feeders briefly and an Oystercatcher flew upriver. I heard distant Sandwich Terns but it took a while to find the birds making the noise. Three swept round in an arc before heading back towards the sea. Two Jackdaws headed over the hide. More scanning found the first Mallards of the day and some distant Mute Swans were well out in the river. A few Curlews could be seen along the far edge of the saltmarsh area.
Goldfinches flew in to the trees next to the hide, their calls alerting us that they were on their way. Another goose swam out into the river. This time it was a Greylag - the third goose species of the day. We watched a few Swifts zip around above the hide, and a Dunnock sneaked in and out again below the feeders. A female Chaffinch fed on the peanuts above. Another uncommon bird for the Eden was found next in the shape of a Great Crested Grebe. The next addition was three Black Tailed Godwits which flew in to join the Curlews on the saltmarsh as the tide began to recede. All three birds appeared quite orange. A Cormorant flew upriver from the direction of St Andrews Bay. Feral Pigeons headed up over the hotel from the direction of the paper mill. A Woodpigeon on the fence on the opposite bank was joined by a male Linnet. A small flock of Starlings wheeled around above the horse field. Jacqui left to attend to household chores but I decided to hang around and try to see a 60th species for the day list.
A few Black Headed Gulls dropped in near the Shelducks and waders. More surprising was the Little Gull that I was watching when a flock of ducks flew through my viewfinder. These turned out to be mostly Teal but with three Shovelers also. Fortunately I managed to get the Little Gull in one of the photos of the ducks as it landed confirming the ID for me. A Sand Martin darted around above the pools in company with a few Swallows. A Buzzard with prey lifted from the fence and headed into the conifers. A Grey Heron flew down from the direction of the bridge. A small group of Lapwings dropped in just before I decided to pack up and head for home.
66 species without too much effort expended.
Species seen - Arctic Tern, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Common Scoter, Common Tern, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Gannet, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Kittiwake, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Gull, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Puffin, Razorbill, Red Throated Diver, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sand Martin, Sanderling, Sandwich Tern, Shag, Shelduck, Shoveler, Song Thrush, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Whitethroat, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.