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| Eider and King Eider |
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| Eider and King Eider |
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| Common Scoter |
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| Skylark |
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| Skylark |
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| Ring Billed Gull |
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| Ring Billed Gull |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Ring Billed Gull |
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| Shelduck |
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| Brent Geese |
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| Brent Geese |
Having yesterday's plans for a spot of twitching in Fife with my pal, Gus Guthrie, being postponed owing to me not feeling 100%, I wasn't sure where I was going to go today. However, it turned out that Gus hadn't managed to get out and about round Fife yesterday either, so plans were made to try today instead. Gus texted me to see if I could manage an earlier than planned departure owing to the weather forecast for mid-late afternoon showing heavy rain moving in. As I was almost ready to go my answer was "yes".
I arranged to meet Gus at Swannie Ponds so as to get a few birds on the day list that we possibly wouldn't get elsewhere. Leaving the house around 9am I decided on a different route from the usual, to see if it was any quicker. I could hear House Sparrows chirping loudly from a bush across the road and saw one perched on top getting the list off to a nice start. A few Herring Gulls drifted over, and a Blackbird shot across the path in front of me from a garden. Further on, I heard the distinctive chuckle of a Magpie and saw one fly from the Manhattan Works building roof. A Goldfinch was singing in the top of a tree near the police station and a Pied Wagtail was scurrying around on the footpath by a large puddle as I passed. Cutting up past Baxter Park, I could hear Blue Tits but didn't stop to look for them. A Woodpigeon was in the trees by the Morgan Academy and a Starling was calling from a rooftop. A Jackdaw was perched on a chimney in Pitkerro Road but there was no apparent sign of the Iceland Gull.
On the grass by the ponds were around 30 Black Headed Gulls. The usual birds were on the top pond - Moorhen, Mute Swans, Mallards, Tufted Ducks and the Goosanders. A Common Gull was perched on a roof near where the Iceland Gull usually hangs around. Walking around the top pond, I saw a Blackbird feeding on the path and a Dunnock in the bushes. A few Herring Gulls flew in and landed on the pond and a flock of Feral Pigeons swooped around above the houses opposite the north side of the park. Wandering back along the road to wait for Gus, I saw a Blue Tit fly in and land in the top of a small tree. I then stood and watched a Collared Dove displaying, flying up then descending in a large curve before doing the same again.
Gus arrived a minute or so later, so we set off towards Fife. Our first stop was to be Ruddon's Point at Largo Bay, not far from Elie where the female King Eider had been seen again over the past few days. A few Rooks, Woodpigeons, Black Headed Gulls and a flock of Mute Swans in a field near St Andrews was pretty much all we saw en route. Arriving at Elie Caravan park we found the gate in closed, so we had to park and walk to the point. This had its pluses as well as its minuses - pluses included seeing more birds, minuses included the distance.
The first bird spotted here was a Curlew over towards the caravans circling round. Next was a female Stonechat near the small water filled ditch. Always a welcome bird to get, though unusually there was no male bird around that we could see. A Magpie was next, hopping around on the grass. The tide appeared to be quite far out which meant that the sea ducks likely would be too. We cut through the gap in the trees at the north side of the caravan park and scanned along the beach opposite. A few Bar Tailed Godwits, a small flock of Sanderling, some Dunlin, a Curlew and three species of gulls - Common, Black Headed and Great Black Backed were strung out along the shoreline. Lots of Chaffinches sang in the trees with one male flying down onto the seaweed to forage. A small group of Oystercatchers were down on the beach below the rather eroded banking below the muddy path we were on. Just offshore were a few Eiders, the white on the drakes showing really well against the grey water. A couple of Skylarks could be heard singing, one rather distantly but another rose into the air from quite nearby giving us another day tick.
We scanned the bay from the raised area above the rocky shore at the north end of the point, but most birds were very distant except for more Eiders and a pair of Red Breasted Mergansers. We spotted a couple of birders with scopes looking out over the water so we headed down to ask if they'd had any luck. It turned out that they were two Fife Bird Club members - Cathy Evans and Kim Blasco, and that they had seen the King Eider and were now searching for the (semi-)resident Surf Scoter in Largo Bay. They pointed out roughly where the King Eider had been seen so we wandered down to the edge of the grass and Gus set up his tripod to scan through the Eider flocks offshore. The light was better than on my last visit but the birds were slightly further out and the water wasn't as calm, so using just binoculars and camera I struggled to make out the King Eider. A few Common Scoters and Oystercatchers flew by, as Gus worked through the Eiders. I managed to see a Long Tailed Duck flying east, and also a lone Fulmar just over the tip of the point.
Gus went to ask Cathy and Kim for some more clarification on where to look, so I took the opportunity to scan with the scope. This made things much easier and I soon found the elusive King Eider in with a group of Common Eiders. I beckoned Gus over and he got to see his first female King Eider. The bird is smaller than the Common Eiders and has a different shape overall with a much less prominent, and differently shaped, bill. The colouration is also more gingery than the dark brown of the female Eider. Seen side by side the differences are quite apparent. But only once you see it do you realise that it isn't quite what you were expecting. I spotted three Razorbills but they dived before Gus got onto them and we failed to relocate them amidst the waves. The wind was picking up and we decided to move on. A few more Skylarks showed well, as we stopped to chat to a few walkers who asked if there were any good birds around, landing on the path behind us. A little further on we had even better views when one descended and landed on a rock not too far away from us, where it proceeded to sing loudly from its perch. A Meadow Pipit flew past as we followed the path back through the grass. We scanned the rest of the bay but only saw three rather distant Mallards. Before we got back to the car, we saw a Buzzard briefly above the trees, and the female Stonechat flew down to near the ditch again. Gus also saw a male Reed Bunting here that I missed.
Next stop was to be Buckhaven to try and see Mediterranean Gull, with the grassy area near the shore the most reliable area in east central Scotland for the species. En route we saw plenty Woodpigeons, and Jackdaws and Rooks were in some of the fields. We stopped briefly at Leven waterfront where the river flows out into the Forth. A small group of Goldeneye were just offshore here. Starlings, Herring Gulls, Black Headed Gulls, Carrion Crows and Common Gulls were all seen from the car park. Feral Pigeons were on the roofs opposite and a Pied Wagtail was seen as we moved on.
Surprisingly when we reached Buckhaven there were very few gulls to be seen at all, with only a few Herring Gulls hanging in the wind above the houses. We drove along to the car park and scanned the water from here. A group of Eiders were just offshore with Common Scoters a little further out. A Shag dived among the waves a little further out and Oystercatchers probed the soft ground near the sea wall. A few Black Headed Gulls drifted past but no Mediterranean Gulls were seen. Gus scoped the river further round to the west and managed to pick up a couple of Slavonian Grebes. My first of the year. A pair of Red Throated Divers proved tricky to ID as they stubbornly refused to turn side on, leaving us to try and decide what they were with head-on views only. There were at least 20 or so Long Tailed Ducks strung out on the water with a few Velvet Scoters further out and a single drake Red Breasted Merganser visible closer in to shore further round to the west. Another two Red Throated Divers gave slightly better views a little closer to us, but nearer the shore to the northwest. Carrion Crow and more Black Headed Gulls plus Eiders and Common Scoters were all seen from the opposite end of Shore Road before we set off northwards to search the Tay for Ring Billed Gull.
Birds en route were once again in rather short supply with Woodpigeons, Rooks and Jackdaws again being the most obvious birds. A slight navigational error by me took us along the back of Rossie Bog where Gus spotted a Cormorant overflying southwards, and a couple of Buzzards in the trees. Nearing Newburgh we added Pheasant to the list when a car in front of us stopped to let the bird wander across the main road. Arriving in Newburgh we headed down to near where the gull had been seen yesterday, having been found by Newburgh resident and birder, Tommy Ross. Gulls were in short supply once again with two Herring Gulls perched on one navigation pylon out in the river and a single Great Black Backed Gull on another further towards Mugdrum Island. We moved the van further east along the waterfront. Out on the river were small groups of Goldeneye, but not much else. Small groups of Feral Pigeons were perched on rooftops behind us and Starlings sat noisily in some mature trees beyond the houses.
A Common Gull flew by, the large 'mirrors' on the wings ruling out Ring Billed Gull. As Gus walked on ahead I spotted a second gull that looked much more promising flying low over the river. I checked the 'mirrors' on this bird and called to get Gus's attention. The bird then flew up and landed on a green navigation bouy where the American visitor had been reported perching. It was then quite easy to see that it was indeed the Ring Billed Gull. My second year tick of the day. Despite the distance, the bird was easy to study through the scope and the photos I managed to get showed most of the distinctive features, especially the black 'ring' on the bill. A few Oystercatchers and Black Headed Gulls flew by, but we decided to head for Loch of Lindores. A couple of Collared Doves were seen as we left Newburgh.
We managed to miss the road for Lindores so decided to head for St Andrews and Out Head instead. Another Buzzard and Pheasant were seen before we reached Cupar, and again corvids in the fields were predominantly Rooks and Jackdaws. Gus wanted to see Brent Geese, so I mentioned the George Evans hide on the golf course and the possibility that the high tide would mean that the geese would be in the fields nearby. Gus didn't know about the hide so we decided to walk across the golf course, hopefully before the forecast rain arrived. As we drove along the Guardbridge to St Andrews road it looked like there were Brent Geese and Shelduck in one of the fields together. Mute Swans were in another, and Curlews and Shelducks in a third. Promising.
Parking up at the golf course, a few Rooks were chasing around in the treetops. Oystercatchers were dotted around on the golf course. A Grey Heron circled above the fields to the south and a few Carrion Crows hopped around on the fairways. We popped into the George Evans hide where we saw Wigeon out on the water. There wasn't anything particularly close in, so we walked along the raised banking to try for decent views of the Brent Geese. A Wren buzzed about among the vegetation in a small flooded area at the edge of the golf course. We could see the Brents through the bottom of the hedge separating the fields with Shelduck in the closer field. Some of the Shelduck flew out into Balgove Bay as we approached but a few stayed put. A Brown Hare that we hadn't noticed however sparked a bit of panic among some Curlews and Woodpigeons further over in the field as it ran off at speed (hared off in fact). Some of the Shelduck in the same field as the geese also took flight. Once we had a clear view of the geese we stopped and let the birds get used to us being there. At first they stood and looked at us for a bit before deciding we weren't a threat and going back to feeding. There were 16 of them, all pale bellied birds. The size of the wintering flock here seems to fluctuate, with 16 being around half of the total of some other years. Whether there have been larger groups seen here this winter, I don't know. Walking back towards the golf course we got our first Redshank of the day as one flew low across the bay calling noisily.
Time was wearing on so it was back to Dundee. A flock of Lapwings were in a field near Pickletillum, co-incidentally seen just after we'd been discussing the species in the van. When we reached Dundee we stopped at Swannie Ponds again in the hope of getting the Iceland Gull at least, onto the day list. However, there was still no sign and yet again, there were very few gulls of any description around. The usual suspects were out on the water - Mallards, Tufties, Goosanders and Mute Swans. Gus threw out some bread which brought the Goosanders closer in, with much quarreling and chasing among them as they squabbled over the pickings. This brought in a few gulls - Common, Black Headed and Herring Gulls, including a rather pale youngster, but still no Iceland. We did add a single Lesser Black Backed Gull though, and as we walked back a small bird flew over trilling as it went. A Lesser Redpoll, the first of the day, and a not too bad bird to finish the day's birding with. Gus headed up the road and I walked home. Carrion Crows and a few gulls being the only birds seen en route.
57 species seen (year ticks in bold)
Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Brent Goose, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, King Eider, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Lesser Redpoll, Long Tailed Duck, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Razorbill, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Ring Billed Gull, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sanderling, Shag, Shelduck, Skylark, Slavonian Grebe, Starling, Stonechat, Tufted Duck, Velvet Scoter, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren