With the overnight conditions and early morning mist/drizzle coupled with decent arrivals on the Isle of May on Friday, Saturday morning looked to hold some decent promise for possibly adding something good to my year-list. This week for the first time this year my year-list total had fallen behind last year's at the same point. When I got up a little later than intended and looked out on a grey, gloomy morning, I crossed my fingers and got ready to head for the Crail/Fife Ness area.
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| Kestrel |
I headed out at around 0745 to walk into town. Starling, Feral Pigeon and Herring Gull were fairly typical first species onto the day's list, followed shortly after by Woodpigeon and Swift. Carrion Crow was added on Dens Road as I passed what seemed to be a heated 'domestic' argument being shouted from the street up towards a window in the block of flats opposite. I quickened my pace and avoided looking back. I did add a Blackbird soon after, but there was nothing else added until I was on the bus to St Andrews.
With a rather tight window between the bus arriving in St Andrews and the 2nd leaving for Crail I had to hope that the bus was on time. Thankfully it was. Despite the grey conditions I was able to add a few more species en route to St Andrews with Lesser Black Backed Gull (with Herring Gulls) following a tractor in a field. Rooks and Jackdaws around St Michaels and Leuchars. Mute Swan was seen on the Eden at Guardbridge followed by Collared Dove on the outskirts of the village. The journey to Crail was rather quieter with only House Martin and Swallow added as the bus sat at Kingsbarns.
Arriving in Crail, I found it to be slightly drizzly and a bit misty. Rather than heading straight to Denburn Wood I decided to check the edges of the large grassy area bordering the church by the bus stop and then into the graveyard at the other church by Denburn Wood. A Pied Wagtail scurried around on the grass. Rooks provided a constant soundtrack from the nearby rookery as I hunted around for any birds. It proved to be disappointingly quiet with only Chaffinch and Blue Tit added. A Robin was on the wall at the top end of the graveyard where it meets the end of the wood.
I did manage to see a few birds in Denburn with a Chiffchaff possibly the first evidence of migrants having arrived, though it could easily have been a bird which has been in for a few weeks. A Blackcap singing proved very elusive and I failed to see it. A Wren was slightly more showy, but only just. A Magpie perched briefly at the top of one of the still-unleafed trees behind the houses. High in a nearby tree one of the breeding Stock Doves peered down at me. Walking out of the village along the golf course road I added House Sparrow to the list.
A Corn Bunting flew down into the field on the south side of the road from its perch on the fence ahead of me and a pair of Skylarks chased each other round me in a wide circuit before landing again. Further on a Meadow Pipit took flight. A Yellowhammer was spotted among the collection of old machinery and vehicles opposite the airfield entrance. At Kilminning I searched around in the misty conditions for any sign of movement with water drops hitting leaves proving to be rather distracting. I did succeed in finding a few Whitethroats and a Dunnock, before the first Willow Warbler gave a short burst of song from a tree-top. A few Goldfinches were in the tree-tops.
Eventually I found my something relatively good, and a very likely new arrival overnight. A
Spotted Flycatcher, my first of 2017. A Song Thrush was next. I headed down towards the bottom end where a few Lesser Whitethroats and a Whinchat had been reported. On the way down I detoured along the track by the go-kart track. The mist was getting worse and it was difficult to see any colours on any birds I did find. Despite this I saw a few Skylarks, Meadow Pipits and a Grey Partridge. A Reed Bunting and a Sedge Warbler both sang from the edge of the golf course.
I wandered into the lower end area after first finding a second Spotted Flycatcher in the trees by the road, though I failed to get a photo. More searching around eventually found the first Lesser Whitethroat of the day but it was more of the same species - Whitethroats, Chiffchaffs, and Willow Warblers. I wandered round to the fence-line behind the green shed where the Whinchat had been seen. I found Willie Irvine here who said the bird had been showing from time to time on the fence. I waited for a while but failed to see it.
I did a bit of sea-watching from the raised position, which proved tricky given that visibility only extended a short distance offshore. I did manage to see Great Black backed Gull, Fulmar, Oystercatcher, Cormorant, Shag and Eider despite the limitations enforced by the weather. There were also Gannets passing by which were a little more obvious. I spotted 2 all dark birds low over the water which looked to be flying powerfully on, with little visible effort. They had to be Bonxies (
Great Skuas). I quickly grabbed a few photos, but with the camera having been set up for darker conditions among the vegetation, they looked very overexposed - though the grey water and mist made it difficult to see anything anyway. Darkening the RAW files later at home, confirmed my ID. My first Bonxies of the year. An unexpected bonus given the conditions.
A shower of rain passed through before Willie headed off. I hung around hoping for the Whinchat to show but after a while I decided to check the area again and then head back up towards the top end. A Curlew flew past headed inland, but I failed to add anything new, until I was near the top end of the bottom end (if that makes sense). A raptor appeared slightly to the north, long tailed and long, flappy winged. A Marsh Harrier. One had been reported earlier in the day from Balcomie so it was a nice surprise to see it. It circled round once and headed back westwards where I lost sight of it behind the trees.
Near the top end a Mallard flew over headed for the coast. A pair of Great Tits picked around in the trees. With the time around 1400 I decided to head down to Fife Ness to check the Patch and maybe squeeze in some sea-watching. A Kestrel hovered high above the top end as I walked out along the road headed for the golf course car park and down to check Balcomie Bay. The tide was far enough in that there were no waders on the sand, which was disappointing. I headed along the coastal path to Stinky Pool where I met John Anderson. I told him I was headed up to check out the Patch and then do some sea-watching. He decided to come with me to check for migrants. John's hearing isn't great, so he was pleased to have the opportunity to have a working set of ears (mine) when searching for birds among the bushes.
We found a few warblers among the trees and bushes - mostly Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs but also a few Lesser Whitethroats. Another Spotted Flycatcher gave brief but decent views. Disappointingly there was no biggie to be found though the burst of song I got from a tiny white throated warbler which disappeared back into cover didn't sound like Lesser Whitethroat, but from the brief views I'd had there was nothing else that fitted. Maybe one that got away? By now the sun had come out and blue sky replaced the grey. I headed for the rocks at Fife Ness and John headed for Balcomie Bay.
Just as I was getting settled on the rocks, a Whimbrel flew past close by. Not a bad start. In addition to the Eiders, Shags, Fulmars, gulls and Cormorants seen earlier I added Kittiwakes in good numbers, some Sandwich Terns, Guillemots and Razorbills and a Red Throated Diver. Common Gull was another addition before I spotted a Tern quite far out. It looked quite dark on the underside, almost giving the impression of a Black Tern at the distance involved. Photos showed it to be my first
Arctic Tern of the year, my third year-tick of the day. With the time around 1545 I decided to head back along the coastal path to Crail to catch the 1655 bus back to St Andrews.
There wasn't too much to see on the way back except a few Meadow and Rock Pipits. I tried for the Whinchat again but drew a blank. Walking through the caravan park I found a male Kestrel hovereing at about 15 feet up not far back from the road. Another photographer was taking photos of it from the front. I had no option but to try and not disturb the bird as I passed. Thankfully, the bird ignored me and I got a few photos of it from behind and in front before continuing on. Near the entrance to the caravan park the bird hurtled past and round into Roome Bay.
When I made it to the small grassy slope overlooking the path I found a man watching the Kestrel hovering very close to a woman and young girl who he was shouting down to. The bird seemed oblivious to them, just as the Red Footed Falcon in Aberdeen a few years ago had been to me, Nat and Jimmy Mair. I decided to see if I could get some more photos given the opportunity. I headed down the slope until the bird was at eye level and took some photos. The bird comtinued hunting, so I walked down to the path. As I got closer the bird dropped as if it had spotted prey on the beach. It disappeared out of sight, but from the path I could see it was actually hovering just a few feet away roughly level with the top of the bank above the beach.
I took a number of photos. The bird looked in my direction once or twice as it hung suspended in the wind, but mostly focused on looking for food. I spent a few minutes enjoying the proximity of such a confiding bird before a couple of dog walkers came along the path with a small black Spaniel. Unfortunately, the dog decided to run along and down onto the stairs by which the Kestrel had been hovering. At this the Kestrel gave up on hovering and let the wind whip it back along the path and away. Pleased with what I knew I had I headed for the bus stop. John spotted me as he was headed for home and stopped to chat until the bus arrived. I told him about the Kestrel and showed him some of the shots I had on the back of the camera. So now he has another local target bird to photograph though I suspect his lens might be a bit too big to fit the whole bird in (I had to zoom in to roughly halfway on my lens to keep the whole bird in frame). Nothing else was added on the way home.
A good and productive day out, even if it didn't quite deliver on the promise it had offered, though having managed to still add 3 year-ticks (in bold) among the 60 species seen and the Kestrel photo opportunities I certainly can't, and won't, complain.
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| Robin |
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| Corn Bunting |
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| Magpie |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Skylark |
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| Grey Partridge |
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| Great Skua |
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| Linnet |
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Sedge Warbler |
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| Dunnock |
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| Spotted Flycatcher |
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| Lesser Whitethroat |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Mallard |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Swallow |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Spotted Flycatcher |
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| Whimbrel |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Gannet |
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| Arctic Tern |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Whimbrel |
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| Gannet |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Guillemot & Razorbill |
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| Eider |
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| Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
Species seen -
Arctic Tern, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant, Corn Bunting, Curlew, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Gannet, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull,
Great Skua, Great Tit, Grey Partridge, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kittiwake, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Lesser Whitethroat, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Razorbill, Red Throated Diver, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sandwich Tern, Sedge Warbler, Shag, Skylark, Song Thrush,
Spotted Flycatcher, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Whimbrel, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
