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| Knot and Gulls |
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| Mixed flock |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Cormorant |
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| Greenshank |
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| Red Admiral |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Whimbrel |
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| Wheatear |
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| Knot |
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| Redshank |
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| Greenshank |
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| Greenshank |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Canada Goose |
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| Little Egret |
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| Common Sandpiper |
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| Grey Heron |
Since discovering last year how accessible Fife Ness is from Dundee by bus (bus to St Andrews then bus to Crail and walk from there) and with a really good list of species seen, I have tried to get there fairly regularly. I enjoy sea-watching and anything can, and sometimes does, turn up in that area. In addition to getting there by bus I have made a few visits this year with my birding pal, Jacqui Herrington. With sea-watching high on the list of priorities in August, I arranged to meet Jacqui at Guardbridge so we could head down to the Ness for a while, stopping in at Kingsbarns in case the Roseate Terns from the previous weekend were still around.
I left the house at around 0840 to the sight of a Herring Gull gliding over but little else around. Walking down Dens Road gave me a Collared Dove and Woodpigeon for the list with Carrion Crow, Blue Tit and Feral Pigeon all seen before reached the bus station. A Buzzard near St Michaels and House and Sand Martins nearby were the only birds seen before I reached Guardbridge. Mute Swan was seen as the bus crossed the Motray by the old papermill. Jacqui had a spot of shopping to do, so she said she would meet me in the hide once she had done that.
The sight that greeted me when I looked out from the hide took me back to the 'good old days' of the middle years of the last decade when I was a far more regular visitor to the hide, with lots of birds out on the mud opposite - waders, waterfowl and gulls mostly but a few Carrion Crows for good measure. I opened the window and started slowly working my way through the throng. Black Headed Gulls were in the river just in front of the hide, an adult and a youngster. A small group of Knot, around 20 birds or so, was a relative surprise so far upstream. Redshanks were numerous and Lapwings were also present in good numbers.
A flock of Canada Geese swam upriver near the papermill with Goosander and Mallard in smaller number nearby. Lots of Herring Gulls and a few Lesser Black Backed Gulls roosted near the bend in the river where it meets the Motray. The two Pink Footed Geese waddled down to the river. A pair of Swallows swept low above the water. The first sight of a Little Egret came soon after with a bird flying past the hide and out of sight. This was repeated a further twice, suggesting either 3 single birds or 1 somehow flying in circles behind the hide for part of its journey. The former seemed most likely, especially as last year there were 4 birds together at the site and recently 11 have been seen together at Aberlady in Lothian, a Scottish record I believe.
A Kingfisher flew in and landed on the post in front of the hide. I managed a few photos before it flew off. A few minutes later it was back again. Except it wasn't. This time it was a different bird as comparing the photos later showed. One was a male, the other female (with red on the lower mandible). Always a pleasure to see, and even better when it perches long enough for a few photos. Curlew and Black Tailed Godwit were next on the list, followed by Greenfinch on the feeders and a pair of Teal sleeping close into shore.
Jacqui arrived and I pointed out what was still around and told her all the good stuff already seen. We decided to spend another 30 minutes or so in the hope that the good luck would continue. Great Tit and House Sparrow both appeared at the feeders and a Grey Heron croaked loudly as it flew upriver. A Greenshank was another decent find and at last an Oystercatcher showed up. A Cormorant attempted, and failed, to swallow a rather large flatfish it had caught. Robin and Blackbird were next below the feeders before we headed out to drive down the coast to Kingsbarns.
When we arrived there were no Terns at all around with the whole area very quiet compared to the weekend before. Eider and Gannet could be seen offshore but numbers of both were rather low. A pair of Linnets foraged among the seaweed covered rocks and a bit of scanning turned up a Turnstone. Heading back to the car we spooked a Pied Wagtail from the beach and Jacqui commented on a particular bush as it being a good place for Whitethroat, just as a bird showed as if on cue. It was a Whitethroat. We headed back up the hill to the main road and headed for Crail a few miles down the road. A flock of Jackdaws and Rooks were in the fields opposite the old airfield.
It was a familiar scene when we parked the car and wandered round to sit behind the old world war 2 defensive pillbox (built by Polish Army soldiers in 1940) out of the wind. Gannets streamed by, a Fulmar glided on stiff wings and a few Great Black Backed Gulls wee out on the rocks. A few minutes later the first Sandwich Terns flapped their way by, an adult and a juvenile as is so often the case at this time of year. Shag and Herring Gull's paths crossed not far offshore, one heading out to sea, one returning. We were joined by Fife birder, Tommy Ross and we chatted away as Tommy's two dogs and Jacqui's wee dog explored round about, with holes being dug enthusiastically in search of who knows what. Jacqui spotted a female Sparrowhawk perched on the rocks just off to our left just as it decided it wasn't sticking around. I took a sequence of photos with only the later ones being in focus.
We were then joined by local birder/photoghrapher, John Anderson and the four of us chatted and watched the birds passing offshore. Common and Arctic Terns shared airspace with the Gannets and gulls. A Whimbrel flew south at speed. A Black Headed Gull came by closer in than most. A Common Scoter headed north low above the waves. A Cormorant flew south as did a small group of 3 Knot, one still showing some orange from breeding plumage.A small flock of Dunlin followed the same route past the rocks and a few minutes later the first Kittiwake of the day was spotted. John and Tommy headed off to try a few other places.
Using Jacqui's scope I finally managed to pick up a pair of Manx Shearwaters shearing well out towards the horizon. A flock of Ringed Plovers around 16 strong headed south low over the water. We decided to move on at around 1415 but before we did Jacqui spotted a Wheatear on the rocks near where the earlier Sparrowhawk had been. Not a bad way to round up the visit to the Ness. We headed back to the car. The weather wasn't looking overly promising with rain looking likely, grey clouds looming ominously off to the west. We decided to head back to Guardbridge via St Monans in the hope of Corn Buntings and then to Kilconquhar (pronounced Kinnuccir).
Unfortunately we drew a blank on the Corn Buntings with birds of any sort being in very short supply. Arriving at Kilconquhar we found most of the birds quite well out on the water. A combination of scanning with binoculars and checking flock photos produced a few new species for the day - Great Crested Grebe, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Little Grebe, Coot as well as Mallard, Mute Swan and Black Headed Gulls. Woodpigeons and Carrion Crows were seen on the way back to Guardbridge where Jacqui dropped me off and I headed back into the hide to see if I could add anything new to the list for the day.
Most of the species seen earlier in the day were still around, some showing better than before such as a Greenshank which fed along the mud below the hide. A Common Gull which flew past was the first new species. A small flock of Starlings flew up from the field with the horses in before settling back down again. A Chaffinch popped in to the feeders, and a Grey Heron flew by. One of the Little Egrets dropped in opposite the hide for a few seconds before changing its mind and moving on again. A Common Sandpiper landed on the wall by the Kingfisher post and bobbed up and down in characteristic fashion allowing me a series of photos. Not long after I decided to pack up and head for home after a relatively productive day.
65 species seen in total - Arctic Tern, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Common Scoter, Common Tern, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Fulmar, Gannet, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kingfisher, Kittiwake, Knot, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Mallard, Manx Shearwater, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Pochard, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Shag, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swallow, Teal, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Wheatear, Whimbrel, Whitethroat, Woodpigeon.