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| Peregrine |
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| Dunnock |
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| Buzzard |
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| Tawny Owl |
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| Tawny Owl |
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| Carrion Crow & Buzzard |
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| Sedge Warbler |
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| Common Scoter |
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| Turnstone |
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| Eider |
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| Gannet |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Collared Dove |
Day 2 of the holiday week off work and sunshine was the forecast for a large chunk of the day. I decided that with migration underway I should probably attempt to visit Fife Ness at least once during my break in the hope of something interesting passing through as well as squeezing in a spot of sea-watching. So I was up early to leave the house at about 8am to catch the bus to St Andrews then onto Crail for around 10am.
A Starling got Tuesday's list off to a start, soon followed by a Herring Gull or two as I waited for the bus into town. Feral Pigeon joined them on the list soon after as the bus pulled up. Lesser Black Backed Gull, along with Herring Gulls were seen at the bus station. At the Fife end of the Tay bridge a Blackbird fed on the roundabout, a Swallow hawked above the grass by the side of the road and a Woodpigeon was perched on overhead wires watching the world go by. A Lapwing was in a field near Pickletillum and as always the Rooks at St Michaels were seen around the roadside rookery. Jackdaw, House Martin and House Sparrow were all seen as the bus passed through Leuchars. Mallard, Mute Swan and Carrion Crow were added passing through Guardbridge.
I got off the bus early to wander down to check out St Andrews Bay. It was very quiet although there were plenty Eiders among the rocks just offshore. A Cormorant flew in to join them and a Grey Heron flew over from the castle area. The Fulmars were in their usual large numbers on the cliffs, their nests dotted along the face. An Oystercatcher was spotted out on the rocks and a Goldfinch flew over. I headed up towards the bus station to wait for the Crail bus arriving. A Blue Tit was in the trees just to the north and I soon spotted the resident St Andrews Peregrine as it circled above in the blue sky gaining height with every effortless circuit on the thermals generated from the concrete below. A few Swifts dashed around as well, and the odd Woodpigeon flew between the trees on either side of the road through the car park.
There wasn't too much to see from the upstairs of the bus as we headed off towards Crail slightly later than timetabled. A Buzzard near Boarhills and a Yellowhammer near Kingsbarns being almost the sum total of sightings en route. The sun was shining in Crail although there was a bit of cloud around too. A Chaffinch was seen almost immediately as I stepped off the bus. Woodpigeon, House Sparrow and Starling were all seen as I wandered along the pot-holed track to Denburn Wood. One of the common birds that we had failed to see the day before was Dunnock but they were easier to find in Crail than they had been further north and west, with one singing from a bush at the end of the graveyard. Great Tit and Blackbird were both added in Denburn Wood though overall it was very quiet.
I could hear Greenfinch in the trees at the road end but couldn't find the bird among the leaves, although I didn't tr too hard. I headed out along the road to Balcomie Golf Course soon picking up a Magpie as it flew over the cereal field to the north, with a Meadow Pipit displaying seconds later. A Skylark ascended into the blue sky from among the crops and Swallows passed through. A singing Yellowhammer was spotted as I neared Kilminning.
I had a look around at the top end of Kilminning scaring off numerous Woodpigeons as I wandered into the open area of concrete to the west of the access road. The Buzzard flew out from her tree and mewing loudly circled upwards on a thermal watching me all the time. A Robin hopped around on the ground below the trees and a few Swallows called from the sky above. I decided to check the small copse of trees where I have seen Yellow Browed Warbler and Red Breasted Flycatcher in the past few years (Autumn sightings they may have been, but if you don't look you don't find). The treetops were empty and there was no birdsong. I suddenly became aware of a dark shape about 10 feet in front of me at head height. Just as I noticed it, it flew out of the trees and swung round to the tall trees behind the old toilet block. I realised quickly that what I had seen was an owl, and hoped that it would be a Long Eared Owl. I tentatively entered the wooded area behind the old building but before I could even lift my binoculars the owl flew out of a nearby tree again, this time I saw roughly where it had ended up. Slowly moving through the trees as quietly as I could I soon came to where I could look up into the tree where the bird had landed. It wasn't a Long Eared Owl but I wasn't particularly disappointed to find that it was a Tawny Owl and that there weren't too many branches between the camera and the bird. I took a few photos and left the bird to roost again.
A Carrion Crow had spotted the Buzzard above the road and flapped furiously up to join it, hoping to chase it off. There was a few minutes of activity before the Buzzard put a bit of effort into shaking the crow off and gaining some more height. Once again the road down and the trees and fields on either side were rather quiet with Woodpigeons and a few Goldfinches all I had to show for the walk down to the coastal path. A small group of Eiders were just offshore along with a group of mostly Herring Gulls a little further along the rocky shore. A Great Black Backed Gull flew by and further out over the sea the first of many Gannets was spotted. Walking along the path towards the rocks at the Ness, added a few Whitethroats and Sedge Warblers, the scratchy songs of both providing an almost constant backing track in conjunction with the sound of the waves. A few Linnets and a very vocal Wren went onto the list and a Song Thrush flew low along the path before disappearing into the gorse.
On reaching the rocks at Fife Ness I scanned the sea to check if there was anything close in to shore before I found myself a spot to watch the passing birds offshore. There were 3 drake Common Scoters not far offshore and they spent a considerable amount of time drifting in this area, sometimes diving together to hunt. Gannets and Great Black Backed Gulls were the most numerous birds passing through with the occasional Eider going by. A Shag flew out a few hundred metres before splashing down to fish. I then spotted some movement down on the rocks by the incoming waves. This turned out to be around 9 summer plumaged Turnstones ferreting around among the seaweed and rocks. A Common Gull drifted south and a distant group of auks turned out to be a small mixed group of Razorbill and Guillemots. A Puffin sped by a good distance out. Small numbers of Kittiwakes could be seen going north a bit higher than most of the other species. I heard the call of Sandwich Tern and spotted a pair circling not too far out, sometimes swooping down or diving into the water to fish. A Fulmar did a passable shearwater impression, gliding on straight wings low over the waves before arcing upwards and then back down again. Herring Gulls passed close in to the rocks and a Cormorant went north low over the water. I spotted a distant Diver species to the south but I failed to re-find it through the camera and it went unidentified.
I was checking out and photographing most movements I saw, and a distant tern turned out not to be a Sandwich Tern but my first Arctic Tern of the year. An Oystercatcher flew past and three Swallows flew low over the rocks behind me. The sky to the north was growing darker and rather threatening so as things were rather quiet I decided to head back to Crail to catch the bus home rather than get a soaking. A Pied Wagtail flew down onto the rocks as I was leaving to walk back towards the golf course. I bumped into Willie Irvine who was photographing Whitethroats from his 4x4 as they popped in and out of cover. We had a short chat
and got a few more photos. A Grey Heron was stood in the middle of Stinky Pool. Willie offered to drop me off as he had to head off, so I decided to accept the offer and to pop back into Kilminning to see if the owl was still around. It wasn't, so I walked back to catch the bus back to St Andrews before the darkening sky deposited its contents. On reaching Crail I spotted a Collared Dove on a lamp post and got a few photos. The Greenfinches were still calling from the trees at the bottom of Denburn Wood but once again I failed to see them. From the bus stop, a Feral Pigeon and some high flying Swifts feeding ahead of the weather front were seen.
It turned out that Dundee was experiencing a torrential downpour and thunderstorm and the sky certainly had a stormy look. I did try for some photos from the bus but the large windows reflecting the lights and passengers inside made it very tricky. There were several areas of cloud which had an almost prospective tornado look about them and it was these I tried to photograph (just in case). On reaching St Andrews, I was surprised to find that it was still dry there. I caught a bus to Dundee, the tide being in at Guardbridge changing my mind as to whether or not to stop there for a while. On reaching Dundee I found that I had managed to miss the rain there as well. Rather lucky.
I managed to see 53 species ( 1 year tick in bold) and finally got a few decent Tawny Owl photos.
Arctic Tern, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Cormorant, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Gannet, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kittiwake, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Puffin, Razorbill, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sandwich Tern, Sedge Warbler, Shag, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Tawny Owl, Turnstone, Whitethroat, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.