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| Canada/Greylag(?) hybrids |
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| Large White butterfly |
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| Blue Tailed Damselfly |
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| Common Blue Damselfly |
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| Emerald Damselfly |
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| Otter |
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| Otter |
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| Great Crested Grebe |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Brown China Mark moth |
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| Common Darter |
I left the house at around 0940 to walk down to catch the bus. As is usually the case in July, Swifts were screaming around. Woodpigeon and Herring Gull followed them onto the day list. Nothing else was added until I reached the bus station when more Herring Gulls plus Lesser Black Backed Gulls were added. Carrion Crow was spotted from the bus as we reached the Fife end of the roadbridge. Sand Martins were seen at St Michaels golf course, with both House Martin and House Sparrow seen as the bus passed through Leuchars.
At Guardbridge, I tried in vain to get into the hide, frustratingly finding it locked up. I scanned from outside instead, Canada Geese, Greenshank, Grey Heron, more Herring Gulls and Curlew being the most obvious birds to start with. A Great Tit was seen near the feeders. Some more scanning with binoculars added Lapwing, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher and Redshank before I headed back to the car park to wait for Jacqui.
Feral Pigeons over the paper mill went on the list before we set off for Letham Pools (actually just two flooded fields). Jacqui spotted a few Swallows before I managed to see one, the small side windows on her car making it tricky for her to point out birds that were passing in the opposite direction to the one we were going in. A Blackbird was seen as we headed through Cupar. A little down the road to the Pools, we came across a few Pied Wagtails.
As is usually the case, there was plenty to see at Letham Pools, Gadwall and Common Sandpiper at the main road end with Greylag Geese and a few Canada/Greylag Geese hybrids (possibly some other combination but definitely Canada in the mix and with them in with Greylags that seemed the most obvious, but I might be wrong). There were quite a few Coot out on the water, with Mallards sleeping around the edges. A group of birds roosting was mostly Mallards and Lapwings with a few Black Headed Gulls among them, but I found three Dunlin in the middle, almost hidden by the other birds. The Little Egret was eventually found by Jacqui, almost completely hidden on the 'island' which was covered with vegetation. A year tick for me, the second of the weekend. A drake Pochard was a nice find. Sand Martins and Swallows passed over low. A few Teal were seen at the other pool, before we noticed a photographer trying to sneak up on three Snipe by the southern end of the main pool.
We decided to head round to Mountcastle Quarry next. A small Froghopper type insect made an appearance on Jacqui's tripod leg and I got a few photos before we moved on. It was rather quiet round at Mountcastle with only a few Great Crested Grebes and a few Mallards dotted about. We decided to hunt for insects instead knowing that the site can be good for damselflies in particular. It didn't take too long to find Common Blue Damselflies, plus a few Blue Tailed Damselflies. Small White and Meadow Brown Butterflies were abundant also. An Emerald Damselfly was an unexpected find here. There were plenty micro-moths about, plus a couple of Shaded Broad Bars and even a Yellow Shell moth.
Having spent about an hour searching for insects we stopped to scan the other large pool, finding a Little Grebe near the Great Crested Grebes with their young. I spotted something in the water down the far end, but a bit of heat shimmer was making it difficult to be sure what it was. It didn't stay on the surface for long, nor could I see any sign of a bird's head. It had to be an Otter. I decided to try and get closer, stopping to crouch behind big boulders when it was on the surface, and moving closer when it was under. I eventually got close enough to get a sequence of photos confirming that it was indeed an Otter. Unfortunately, it then must have spotted me as it vanished completely, so I headed back to Jacqui. I did manage to find our first Common Darter dragonfly on my way back too. We added Reed Bunting to the list before we got back to the car to move on to Angle Park.
A Peacock butterfly and a Common Blue Damselfly were near the water behind the pig sty and goat enclosure. Out on the water it was mostly Coots, with a few Little Grebes, Mallards and Tufted Ducks. A Stock Dove flew over, catching us by surprise slightly. We headed through the trees to the other pools where Emerald Damselflies are usually easy to see. Two adult Mute Swans with a cygnet were on the water, one of teh adults hissing at us as we passed. A Moorhen wandered along the far bank and two Buzzards lifted from the tree tops opposite mewing as they set off over the trees to the south.
As expected there were plenty Emerald Damselflies around, but we also managed to find Small Copper, Large White and Peacock Butterflies as well as Common Darter Dragonflies and a slightly less expected Common Blue Damselfly. A moth on vegetation at the waters edge reminded me of those seen recently at Port Allen but was different. It turned out to be a new species for me, a Brown China Mark moth. Three Shield Bugs on a thistle seemed to be a family. We headed off to Rossie Bog, though it looks less and less like a bog and there were no birds around at what used to be an excellent site for waders and waterfowl.
We headed back to Guardbridge, passing through a rather heavy downpour en route and catching up with another. I decided to head into the hide when Jacqui dropped me off, but unfortunately it was still locked up. It was just possible to avoid the worst of the rain by sheltering in below the roof edge. Myself and another disappointed birder scanned out across the river as we sheltered. A Blackbird was seen in the trees nearby. Buzzard and Carrion Crow were across the far side of the river. Sandwich Terns and Herring Gulls flitted around, with a few Mallards on the river. Curlew were on the saltmarsh, and a few Black Tailed Godwits flew in. I decided to head out to catch the bus for home.
42 species seen including 1 year tick (in bold), though insects took up a lot of our time and the Otter was a very nice bonus.
Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Common Sandpiper, Coot, Curlew, Dunlin, Gadwall, Great Crested Grebe, Great Tit, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Mallard, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pochard, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Feral Pigeon, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Snipe, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Teal, Tufted Duck, Woodpigeon