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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Greenfinch |
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| Goldfinch |
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| juvenile Woodpigeon |
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| Dunnock |
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| Swallows and House Martins |
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| Golden Plover |
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| Stonechats |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Eider |
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| Bottlenose Dolphins |
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| Bottlenose Dolphins and Shags |
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| Stonechat |
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| Stonechat |
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| Stonechat |
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| Ruff, Greenshanks and Redshank |
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| Ruff |
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| Pintail |
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| Redshank, Little Egret, Lapwing & Curlew Sandpiper |
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| Rdshank, Lapwing & Curlew Sandpiper |
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| Eider |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Kingfisher |
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Redshank and Dunlin
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With Little Stints being seen at Out Head in St Andrews a few times during the week, there was only one place I was headed under my own steam on Saturday morning. Unfortunately the tide would be on its way back out and the beach was likely to be busy with early morning dog walkers and joggers no matter how early I managed to arrive. Still, the possibility of decent views of a year-tick made it worth the effort of the long walk out to the point. Depending on how things panned out and if I could time the bus I would then head on to Crail and the Fife Ness area.
I wanted to be over to St Andrews for around 0830, so I had just over 90 minutes to get to Out Head and back to catch a bus to Crail if the Little Stints weren't showing, so I left the house at just before 0745 to catch the bus into town. A Blackbird was in the bushes by the bus stop. From the bus into town I added Black Headed Gull, Herring Gull and Woodpigeon as well as Carrion Crow and Feral Pigeon near the Wellgate. A Pied Wagtail flew over the road and perched on top of one of the buildings as I walked along the Seagate.
Passing through Fife on the bus I managed to add a Lesser Black Backed Gull and a tarling nea the end of the roadbridge, plus Jackdaws and Rooks near St Michaels and a few Curlews on the playing fields as the bus reached St Andrews. Walking down to cross the golf course the sky was filled with Swallows and House Martins feeding with some perching atop the Rusack's Hotel roof. Linnets and Meadow Pipits were feeding on the golf course as I crossed. A few more Meadow Pipits were down by the burn along with a Pied Wagtail. There were a mix of gulls by the burn mouth, mostly Herring Gulls but also Black Headed and a few Common Gulls too. Oystercatcher and Curlew fed along the sand with a few Eider offshore.
I hurried out along the sand being careful to try not to spook any of the birds by the water, mostly gulls, including a few Great Black Backeds. When I reached the end of the beach at Out Head the tide was already receding and there was a lot of exposed sand. Unfortunately birds, especially small waders, were in very short supply, the dog walkers who were ahead of me possibly having played their part in ensuring this. Checking the time I realised that if I hurried there was a decent chance I could make the bus to Crail, so I headed up through the dunes, stopping to look at a Reed Bunting and a flock of Linnets on the long grass.
The rushed walk back to the bus station proved to be relatively good for close views of small birds. A few Meadow Pipits were around the sheep enclosure, and a Skylark lifted from below my feet a little further on. A Wren scolded me from the rose bushes halfway along the road back, and a Dunnock foraged in below the same bushes. A flock of Greenfinches was feeding on the rosehips with Linnets and Goldfinches in the dunes on the opposite side of the road. Cutting up a small cul-de-sac to meet the path up to the bus station, I found the first Robin of the day perched on a fence. I managed to catch the bus with around 7 minutes or so before it was due to depart.
There wasn't much to see en route except a few pigeons and crows. I got off the bus at my usual stop in Crail and walked along to the top end of Denburn Wood. A pair of Dunnocks were in the vegetation by the burn and a few House Sparrows were in the bushes by the graveyard. There wasn't too much to see in the wood itself although I did find Coal, Blue and Great Tits but nothing else apart from a Blackbird or two. Woodpigeon was added a little further on before I reached the end of the town. The walk out was surprisingly quiet with hardly anything to see or even hear. The first new bird was a Magpie just in the area at the end of the airfield industrial units.
I hunted around among the bushes and trees at the top end of Kilminning but a few Blue Tits and a Willow Warbler plus a few overflying Meadow Pipits and a Feral Pigeon or two was as good as it got. I wandered down the road seeing only a handful of Pied Wagtails and Goldfinches. The bottom end was quiet too with a few Whitethroats and some Chaffinches and Greenfinches in the rose bushes. I bumped into Willie and Anne Irvine who were also birding the area but finding very little as well. I got a lift from them back to the top end, stopping briefly on the way to watch a covey of Grey Partridges scurrying across the field, from where we wandered up to the walled garden at Balcomie. It was very quiet also. On the wires down by the cottages were a large group of mostly Swallows but with a few House Martins too. Linnets were further north on the wires and one or two Yellowhammers were also around. A Buzzard flew low over the field chased by Swallows before perching on the drystane dyke. A Song Thrush was seen as we passed the farm buildings on our way back down the track.
I said cheerio to Willie and Anne and wandered down past the golf course to Fife Ness for a spot of sea-watching. A flock of Golden Plover flew over before I reached the shore. Grey Heron and Shags were out on the rocks to the north with a few Oystercatchers and Great Black Backed Gulls also. A nice surprise was three Stonechats, two of which had a bit of a squabble which I managed to photograph. Gannets as usual passed offshore.
I sat in front of the hide where a birder I had bumped into earlier was watching from. He hadn't seen too much either. A few Eiders were offshore along with some of the local Shags. A pod of Bottlenose Dolphins headed north close in breaking he surface every few seconds. Another 5 or so of these small groups were seen over the next 5-10 minutes all heading northwards probably to the Tay. Always nice to see. A single Red Throated Diver passed over heading south. The Golden Plover flock again flew by also heading south. Apart from Gannets and Herring, Black Headed, Common and Great Black Backed Gulls there seemed to be very little movement although a few Fulmars and Kittiwakes put in an appearance, the former close in the latter further out. A couple of Turnstones landed on the rocks to forage among the seaweed. I headed off to wander back up across the golf course stopping to check out Stinky Pool where a Redshank and two of the three Stonechats showed relatively well.
I revisited Kilminning but it was even quieter than it had been earlier in the day before heading back along the road to Crail. I was offered a lift back by an elderly gentleman who was passing and gratefully accepted. This gave me time to grab a bag of chips from the chip shop to eat while I waited for the bus. A Collared Dove was on the chimneys opposite. The local Feral Pigeon with the nest by the burn popped in once or twice while I stood at the bus stop. The bus journey back to St Andrews was uneventful with very little seen on the way. The journey from St Andrews to my final stop at Guardbridge was equally quiet.
I arrived at the hide at Guardbridge around 1630, with the hide due to be locked up at around 1700. The hide was empty so I scanned around for what birds I could see. First up was Redshank of which there were plenty. A group of seven Greenshanks were opposite the hide with two further birds elsewhere. A Ruff was nearby feeding along the mud. Two ducks flew past climbing away from the river. These turned out to be Pintail, a nice catch. There were quite a few Lapwings dotted around. Canada Geese and Mallards were down towards the paper mill with a few Goosander in the same general area. A Grey Heron flew in and landed opposite. The gull flock was made up of mostly Herring and Black Headed Gulls though there were a few Common Gulls among the group.
With the tide coming in, there was a good bit of wader activity and Black Tailed Godwits and Dunlin joined the Redshanks as they all foraged along the muddy shore. Two teal flew in and landed on the river downstream from the hide. I found a second Ruff among the Redshank flock. Greenfinches and Blue Tits were at the feeders. Woodpigeons clattered out of the trees by the hide and off across the river. A bit more scanning found a Curlew Sandpiper among the wader throng. A female Eider surfaced with what looked like a mussel shell. The Kingfisher scooted by low, not stopping to perch. Two Little Egrets stopped in briefly opposite the centre before flying off to join a roosting pair and a pair of Grey Herons on the salt marsh near the 'goalposts'. The Egrets are now an expected bird on the Eden around August/September time. My very first Little Egret sighting was in May 2004 at the Eden on my very first visit to the hide. A small flock of Wigeon flew in, with all the birds in various stages of eclipse plumage. I decided to pack up and head for home and was lucky to catch the bus within about 20 seconds of having made it across the road.
All in all a good day out despite the lack of Stints (I received a text saying the birds had again been seen late afternoon at Out Head and did debate catching the bus back to St Andrews but the thought of another long hike out and back from Out Head put me off). 64 species seen in total.
Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Gannet, Golden Plover, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Grey Partridge, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kingfisher, Kittiwake, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pintail, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Ruff, Shag, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Stonechat, Swallow, Teal, Turnstone, Whitethroat, Wigeon, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.