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| Velvet Scoter |
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| Kestrel |
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| Manx Shearwater |
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| Corn Bunting |
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| Collared Dove |
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| Juvenile Wren |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Juvenile Collared Dove |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Canada Geese |
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| Juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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| Roe Deer with kid |
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| Silver Y moth |
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| Buzzard |
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| Peacock butterfly |
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| Small Tortoiseshell butterfly |
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| Juvenile Carrion Crow |
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| Juvenile Pied Wagtail |
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| Pink Footed Geese |
With no real idea where I was going to go, but wanting to get out and about, and with reasonable weather forecast until around 4pm I had a choice between birding around Angus or birding around Fife. Fife won the toss. I decided to head for Guardbridge and then to St Andrews with Crail/Fife Ness keeping me hopefully ahead of the rain coming in from the southwest.
I headed out a bit later than normal, around 0930 to walk to the bus station. Starling and Swifts overhead were seen before I had gone very far, but only Herring Gull and Feral Pigeon were added before I reached the bus station. The bus journey to Guardbridge likewise wasn't overly productive. Cormorant flying over as we crossed the bridge, followed by a perched Buzzard near Pickletillum and a House Martin by the St Michael's Inn. A few Jackdaws were on the roofs in Leuchars and a Grey Heron and a few Mallards were added as the bus crossed the Motray.
Woodpigeons and Blackbird went on the list as I walked in towards the hide. It was very quiet outside, looking over the Eden estuary with only a few Redshanks along the opposite bank and a group of roosting Shelducks on the mud. A few Carrion Crows wandered around, and I was surprised to see a Pink Footed Goose over by the horses. A few Swallows twittered about above the water. I was joined by a birder I had met before but whose name I can't actually remember who was also a bit disappointed by the meagre amount of birds on show. We discussed our individual plans for the rest of the day with the upshot that he gave me the offer of joining him and heading for Crail and then playing things by ear after that.
As before very little was seen en route with only a Skylark near St Andrews and a few Woodpigeons and Swallows seen. We decided to try a spot of seawatching first, which suited me as Manx Shearwater and Skuas were a possibility. Between Crail and the Ness a Magpie flew across the road in front of us. Parking down by the shore having crossed the golf course we could see Gannets passing north offshore at various distances. A Sedge Warbler in the bushes and a Whitethroat singing in display flight provided a brief distraction before we headed out to the rocks in front of the hide.
The movement of birds was fairly steady with most birds headed north but some going in the opposite direction. Two Velvet Scoter males headed south, the white wing panel distinguishing them from Commons. A Common Gull drifted over our heads while a Fulmar glided effortlessly over the water, wings held straight out. A few Shags flapped rapidly past close in heading for the rocks off to the north. We could see auks well out but it was a few minutes before we had one in identifiable range. It turned out to be a Razorbill but we didn't have too long to wait for a Guillemot or three to head past as well. We spotted a male Kestrel hunting above the weedy slope by the old coastguard building and just south of the hide. It hovered and then dropped lower, hovered then dropped before disappearing into the vegetation. It lifted again with its talons empty before circling up to try again, drifting a bit further to the south to try his luck there.
Gannets were the most numerous birds out over the water with small mixed groups of auks running them a close second. A few Herring Gulls and Kittiwakes flew past before the first pair of Eiders sped by at low level. Great Black Backed Gull was next on the list and two Sandwich Terns called noisily before indulging in a spot of diving for fish. The next half hour was much more of the same. We decided to give it 5 more minutes as there wasn't too much heat reaching us as the sun was behind a layer of hazy cloud.
One of the things about seawatching is the different styles of flight different families of birds have. The Gannets flap slowly and constantly, the auks wings whir and Shearwaters shear. And shearing was just what the single black and white bird I picked up was doing. My first Manx Shearwater of 2014. Unfortunately my current camera doesn't have a great success rate with small distant birds against the sea, so the two photos I got were out of focus. Thankfully there was just enough to confirm the identity. An Oystercatcher flew past low just offshore before we headed back to the car. A Goldfinch sang from the wires and a few Linnets were feeding down on the rocky shore.
We headed up to Kilminning for a look around. Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon and Buzzard were seen as expected around the top. Driving slowly down the road, we managed to see 3 species of bunting - Corn, Reed and Yellowhammer. Chaffinch and Carrion Crow were also seen. We stopped for a few minutes at the bottom car park where we spotted a Meadow Pipit loitering on a fence post. A large flock of Starlings wheeled up from further along the fenceline then dropped back into the grass where they were feeding. Lots of brown youngsters amongst them. On our way back up the road we spotted a male Pheasant in the long grass on the airfield and as we slowed down for a better look heard a singing Corn Bunting. This turned out to be on the wire fence not too far in front of the car, so we stopped and took a few photos before edging forward and getting some more before the bid decided it didn't like the look of the car and flew off.
We decided to walk up to check out the walled garden at Balcomie. So having parked the car at the top of the track we crossed the road to walk up the track. A Song Thrush serenaded us from the trees by the entrance to Kilminning behind us. A Pied Wagtail landed in the ploughed field and watched us pass. A Dunnock sang from the orchard. A Collared Dove fed down on the ground below the trees by the house. As we passed a small bush it exploded with tiny birds. A family of Wrens shot in all directions with one youngster perching a very short distance away on the low wall. It was so close that I couldn't get the whole bird in focus. I eventually managed to get a nice sequence of photos by crouching down to the level of the wall. We headed into the garden but it was very quiet with only a Goldfinch to be seen.
In front of the farm buildings House Martins and Swallows swooped around. A juvenile Collared Dove was on the wires by the cottage garden. Greenfinches and Yellowhammer were seen here too. We headed back to the car to head back to Crail and a wee look in Denburn Wood. As usual it was fairly quiet with Great Tits, Blackbird, Chaffinch and Woodpigeon the sum total of species there, although we did spot a Robin on the wall opposite as we walked back to the car.
The sky was starting to cloud over but we decided to try and see the Tawny Owl at Kilrenny. A Grey Heron was in the small burn by the car park when we pulled up, although it flew off as soon as I sneaked my lens over the top of the wall. A nearby Carrion Crow chased it as it flew around behind the houses. A small skein of 10 Canada Geese flew south just to the east of the village which was a bit of a surprise but was possibly some of the birds that summer in Scotland. Swallows swooped around and we headed up into the woods, stopping to photograph a juvenile Great Spotted Woodecker which was showing very well around 20 feet up in a mature tree on the way. Unfortunately there was no sign of the Tawny Owl, though we did see a few Woodpigeons.Overall it was quiet while we were in the trees. We spotted a Roe Deer doe with her kid in the field to the north so we attempted to get a better view by sneaking along the tree line. However there was no sign when we got there, though a Buzzard did fly up from the trees and a Yellowhammer sang from a bush nearby.
We walked down the edge of the wood and the field margin. We heard a few Warblers including Willow and Chiffchaff but saw neither. We did see a few species of butterfly including two very tattered ones - a Peacock and a Small Tortoiseshell. A Coal Tit was an addition to the day list and as we walked back to the car we heard a call that sounded like a small child. This turned out to be a rather young Carrion Crow which was still lacking a lot of feathers, suggesting it wasn't yet at the fledging stage but had found itself on the ground. The long legs were particularly prominent making it look rather odd. A male Kestrel was spied distantly as it loitered near the nest box on the dead tree in the field.
We decided on one last stop before heading back to Guardbridge. We managed to see a covey of Grey Partridges in a roadside field en route. Kilconquhar Loch was very quiet with Tufted Ducks, Mallards and a Little Grebe but not much else, except a Great Tit. We could see the rain was now not too far away so we headed back northwards, again seeing little on the way. At Guardbridge I thanked my companion for the day for the lift and the day's birding (never did remember his name!) and popped into the hide for 20 minutes or so. An adult and a juvenile Pied Wagtail were on the grass. There wasn't too much different from the morning with Lesser Black Backed Gull, Black Headed Gull, Herring Gull, Shelduck and 2 Pink Footed Geese the only birds around. I headed for the bus home only adding Rook to the list on the way back to Dundee. The rain was just starting as I got off the bus but it had been an enjoyable day out.
62 species seen with one new (in bold) - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant, Corn Bunting, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, gannet, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Partridge, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kittiwake, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Grebe, Magpie, Mallard, Manx Shearwater, Meadow Pipit, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Razorbill, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sandwich Tern, Sedge Warbler, Shag, Shelduck, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Tufted Duck, Velvet Scoter, Whitethroat, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.