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| Blue Tit |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Buzzard |
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| Mistle Thrush & Linnet |
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| Linnet |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Oystercatcher, Knot & Redshank |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Terns |
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| Terns |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Sanderling & Dunlin |
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| Dunlin |
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| White Wagtail |
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| Grayling |
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| Grasshopper |
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Wheatear |
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| White Tailed Eagle |
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| Ruff |
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| Common Sandpiper |
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| Spotted Redshank & Redshank |
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| Ruff & Redshank |
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| Ruff & Redshank |
As the year edges forwards towards Autumn it gets harder and harder to add new species to the year list until the lottery of migration deposits waifs and strays in hard to get to places (and hopefully some much easier ones too). There are always birds that have been easy to get one year that prove elusive the next. One of these for me this year has been the White Tailed Eagle. The 5 year east coast re-introduction programme ended two years ago with some birds meeting early ends in accidents and suspicious circumstances but with others dispersing in all directions. It was confirmed last year that White Tailed Eagles had successfully bred and fledged a youngster in Fife. However this young bird was sadly found dead in suspicious circumstances. Tentsmuir has been a good place to see these huge birds in the past few years so with White Tailed Eagle the target species I decided to catch a bus to Leuchars then walk out to Tentsmuir, along the beach for a bit then back, with probably a few hours in the hide at Guardbridge to round off the day's birding.
With the car park at Tentsmuir opening to the public around 9am I wanted to be at the beach before too many people (and dogs) arrived, hopefully increasing my chances of seeing an eagle if any were around. I headed out early to catch the 0805 bus to Leuchars. I managed to time my departure to mesh nicely with the bus into town. Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Herring Gull and Blackbird were all seen in the short walk from home to the bus stop. On the bus over the Tay bridge a Cormorant flew past. House Martins were swooping around above the grass by the roundabout at the end of the bridge while a Carrion Crow hopped around below them. Starlings were on the wires just past Pickletillum. Swallows were seen around St Michaels Inn.
Arriving in Leuchars, I popped into the Spar for some provisions and set off up the small hill to head for the road out of the village. Goldfinches flew over and a Jackdaw perched on a chimney pot. House Sparrows flew up from a puddle into the bushes nearby as I approached and a Rook scolded me loudly from the apex of a roof. Reaching the edge of the village I stopped to watch a Blue Tit and a Willow Warbler performing acrobatics as they foraged in the branches above me of a large tree in a garden. A Wren showed briefly nearby, and a Stock Dove flew off low across the fields.
Further on down the road a small group of Tree Sparrows flew ahead of me for a short distance until I again closed the gap and off they flew again. In addition to Swallows passing over, a few Sand Martins headed in a southwesterly direction low over the landscape. Woodpigeons clattered out of the stubble and away. A group of Curlews also took flight as I walked down the road. Rooks and Jackdaws flew up into the trees by the farm buildings. A male Yellowhammer perched atop an electricity pole and watched me pass. A few Common Gulls were in a ploughed field and a small flock of Linnets overflew. I spotted a Buzzard perched on a hay bale with another a bit further away on a fence post, so I took a photo that showed the two birds almost in alignment. More Swallows swept over. Meadow Pipits were in the stubble fields in small groups of 2s and 3s, sometimes perching on bales other times down on the ground, with others passing over calling as they went. Arriving at the T-junction towards the forest I spotted birds towards the rear of a ploughed field. The larger ones were clearly Mistle Thrush but it took a bit more effort to ID the others as Linnets.
I heard a calling bird approaching from the north east as I neared the edge of the forest. It was different call to the thin sounding calls of the Meadow Pipits, stronger and more strident. I recognised it as a Tree Pipit, a call I had heard earlier in the week as a bird overflew as I waited for my morning bus to work. I struggled to see the bird but finally managed to see it against the clouds as it flew away from me. A nice bird to get on the list. A short distance further on a Pied Wagtail flew up from the field and across the road. There weren't too many birds to see as I walked along the quiet road through the trees, a few Woodpigeons and Blue and Coal Tits. Reaching the barrier across the road there were Swallows and House Martins hawking over the horse fields with a few Woodpigeons waddling around on the ground. A Wren popped out into the open for a second or two calling loudly.
There were already a few cars in the car park when I reached there and any hope of peace and quiet had vanished with a few dogs already running around off the lead among the dunes. I could hear Long Tailed Tits in the trees by the edge of the forest and with a bit of patience I managed to see some of the family group making the noise as they fed. There was plenty activity in the smaller bushes below with a nice mixture of birds - Great Tit, Robin, a few young Willow Warblers, Blue Tit, Linnet and even a Whitethroat. I decided to head north in the direction of the large pools near the edge of the Tentsmuir Point nature reserve. Meadow Pipits and Swallows continued to pass over in small groups as I walked. A Skylark flew up and away from me as I wandered through an area that floods in winter and wet weather.
I could hear the loud calls of Sandwich Terns coming from offshore and stopped to scan from the top of the dunes. Along the edge of the beach I could also see Oystercatchers and a few Great Black Backed Gulls. Out on a sandy island I could see Terns and a few gulls, so I headed in the general direction for a better view. A small flock of Sanderling and Dunlin flew past low across the water. Common Terns called as they too flew by. A Curlew headed south. A Black Headed Gull was next to pass, with Cormorants and Gannets spotted much further out to sea. A small group of waders sped past, a mix of Knot, Oystercatcher and a Redshank. I scanned through the birds on the sandy island as the tide lapped around the edges. A mixture of Sandwich, Common and Arctic Terns plus a few Black Headed and Herring Gulls plus Kittiwakes. A Sanderling flew in and scurried along the edge before flying off again. As the tide enveloped the islet the birds dispersed mostly northwards allowing me plenty photo opportunities as they passed by.
I headed up across the beach towards the pools. As I reached a strand line with lots of shells scattered across the sands I could hear soft calls and realised that a short distance away was a small mixed flock of roosting waders - Ringed Plover, Dunlin and Sanderling. They eyed me suspiciously but only a few birds changed their position slightly. I knelt down and took a few photos before moving on, leaving the birds in peace to roost, although dog walkers approaching from the south suggested their peace was likely to be short-lived. At the large pool I spotted 3 birds at the south end and moved slowly in their general direction. These turned out to be Dunlin and I was able to walk close by, grab a few photos then continue on my way without them flying off.
A little further south I heard a Wagtail calling and watched as a bird flew past before swinging around and landed a short distance away. This was a rather nice White Wagtail, my second in 2 days, and this one showed even better than the bird at Arbroath before it moved on again. Making my way through the dunes I spooked a few Skylarks and Meadow Pipits before stumbling on a flock of about 15 Reed Buntings in Buckthorn bushes. As I neared the car park area again, I stopped to photograph a few butterflies as they landed. These turned out to be Grayling, not a species I see too often. A Grasshopper also showed really well in the sunshine.
I headed back through the forest being followed closely by a rather irritating large swarm of flies buzzing around behind me. Despite swiping at them with my cap more than a few times they only dispersed when I reached the open road again beyond the forest. Very annoying. On my way through the forest birds were in rather short supply with a few Woodpigeons and Blue Tits being the only birds seen except for the Swallows by the horses and a Great Spotted Woodpecker flying through the trees with a showy Wren nearer me.
As earlier and at the beach, Swallows and Meadow Pipits were still migrating through in reasonable numbers. I took the slightly safer option of walking through the stubble field to avoid running into a speeding car on the road where there wasn't much of an obvious roadside verge to take refuge on, only a steeply sloping bank on both sides. Meadow Pipits took flight from among the short broken stalks, flying up onto the bales. On reaching the road again, I spotted movement on a dung heap opposite. This turned out to be another migrant - a Wheatear this time. I managed a few photos then my eye caught movement closer, and I found a bunting within a few feet of me. It wasn't readily apparent whether it was a Yellowhammer or a Reed Bunting, but I later decided it was the latter having compared the photo with the illustrations in the bird books.
Having failed to see my target bird while at the beach, I decided to have one last scan over the forest, just in case. Although I was over a mile away from the forest I knew it was possible to identify a White Tailed Eagle at long distance, having seen them in the past from the Guardbridge hide with the bird a few miles away at least, the long parallel sided wings being key. I scanned southwards along the trees, and eventually picked up what looked like a raptor circling high above the trees. It looked good for an Eagle, rather than a Buzzard, but I wanted to be certain so I had the tricky task of attempting to find the bird through the camera viewfinder then get the camera to focus on such a small target and then hope that the photo was clear enough to show some sort of detail. Luckily I managed all three with the best photo showing a paler tail and the large squared wings. I had my White Tailed Eagle for my 2014 list. Result! I watched the bird for about 10 minutes as it circled higher and higher and got closer to where I was, passing to the north of me before disappearing off to the northwest.
I headed back past the Rooks and Jackdaws at the farm reaching the edge of the village a few minutes later. I caught a glimpse of a smallish falcon shaped bird as it flew behind a large tree and managed a quick photo as it re-appeared at the other side. It turned out just to be a Kestrel, but that was a first for the day, so was still a welcome sight. I wandered up through the village, passing the Rook on the roof and a few jackdaws on the grass as well as a pair of Collared Doves in a conifer and a Woodpigeon or two. I popped into the Spar for a roll and managed to miss a bus to Guardbridge. I didn't have to wait too long for another to show, and I attempted, and failed to cram as much of the roll into my mouth as I could before getting on the bus. This wasn't a good move and I almost choked. Thankfully the bus driver didn't just drive off but I was in a bit of discomfort for the journey down the road despite having managed to rid myself of the offending large chunk of cheese and tomato roll. Lesson learned.
I headed into the hide at around ten minutes to two and got as comfortable as I could, although I still wasn't feeling too great. There were Chaffinches at the feeders and Canada Geese and Eiders on the river. The gull roost on the mud held Black Headed, Common, Lesser Black Backed and Herring Gulls. Redshanks were spread along the bank opposite, some roosting, some feeding. Blue Tits came to the feeders, and Carrion Crows landed out on the mud. A bit of scanning added Mute Swans to the list and it was the turn of Greenfinches on the feeders next. Swallows swept up and down the river catching insects and grabbing a quick drink. A Grey Heron flew in. I found a Goosander stood below the paper mill, its orange legs standing out even at the distance involved. A Woodpigeon flew down onto the fence outside by the feeders.
I spotted an Osprey hovering well out over the river and watched it for a few minutes. I pointed it out to a couple of visitors who were pleased to see it. A large flock of Lapwings flew in to join the other waders. A Greylag was in with the Canada Geese and the two Pink Footed Geese also put in an appearance. A Common Sandpiper flew by calling loudly. A Song Thrush showed up on the fence to the left of the hide. One of the Kingfishers flew in to land on the posts but changed its mind and flew off across the river to perch on a fencepost instead. I finally found time to scan through the Redshanks, finding a few Dunlin then a rather orange Ruff. I then realised that there was a second paler buff coloured bird. A very white wader landed a bit further away and a very quick glance had me thinking Greenshank but I was distracted by something spooking the Redshanks and when I looked back the bird had moved.
Another target species for the day was Spotted Redshank which given the number of Redshanks around and me only having binoculars to hand wasn't going to be easy. A few times I found good candidates only to lose the bird again when I changed from binoculars to camera to try to get a photo. One of these times coincided with a mass launch of Redshanks from a little further along the shore. Checking the photos later confirmed that I had indeed managed to find the Spotted Redshank and that it too had taken flight with the other birds. My second year-tick of the day.
A bit more scanning refound the white fronted wader that I had glanced at earlier. Rather than the expected Greenshank it turned out to be a rather contrasty adult male Ruff. Having never seen one like this previously I took the opportunity to get a few photos and especially when it happened to be in the same view as either or both of the other Ruffs. It was a very striking bird, being taller than the other two and very clean looking compared to the greyer Redshanks. Looking once again through the waders saw me find another species among the flocks. Two Knot were feeding among the Redshanks and Ruffs. A group of Black Tailed Godwits flew in to join the other waders on the mud. An actual Greenshank also paid a visit to the shoreline opposite the hide. The first Mallards of the day flew upstream, and in the river below the hide a young Goosander fed.
With the time approaching 5pm and closing time for the hide I decided to pack up and head for home after what had been a very good day out. I had managed to see 74 species under my own steam. Probably something of a personal record and in one of the less 'birdy' months too, with the added bonus of two year-ticks.
Species seen (year-ticks in bold). - Arctic Tern, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Common Tern, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Gannet, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Kittiwake, Knot, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redshank Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Ruff, Sand Martin, Sanderling, Sandwich Tern, Skylark, Song Thrush, Spotted Redshank, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Tree Pipit, Tree Sparrow, Wheatear, White Tailed Eagle, White Wagtail, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.