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| Kingfisher |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Little Egrets |
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| Redshank |
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| Little Egret |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Greenshank |
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Spotted Flycatcher |
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| Spotted Flycatcher |
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| Fieldfare |
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| Moth |
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| Golden Plover |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Purple Sandpiper & Redshanks |
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| Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Shags |
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| Great Black Backed Gulls |
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| Golden Plover, Redshanks & Dunlin |
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| Magpie |
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| Peregrine |
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| Redshank & Dunlin |
Days out with my pal, Steph, have been in short supply this year but we managed another one on Saturday 20th September. With migrants possible, I suggested the Fife Ness area. Although it can be a bit hit-or-miss, when it is good it can be very good and having seen Yellow Browed Warbler and Spotted Flycatcher a few days before, there was a chance we might get something decent.
Steph picked me up a wee while after 9am and we headed for Fife. Blackbird, Carrion Crow and Woodpigeon were seen en route to our first stop at Guardbridge. Feral Pigeons were on the paper mill buildings and as we parked the car, I spotted a small skein of geese to the north (the first of the year). I suspect they were most likely to be Pink Footed Geese but they were very distant so it was impossible to tell. We headed into the hide. Black Headed Gull was the first addition to the list from inside, with Grey Heron and a very brief visit from the Kingfisher plus a Greenshank within a fairly short length of time. When things calmed down a bit I scanned around adding four Little Egrets in the conifers plus Redshanks along the shore opposite. Buzzard was next, with four Goosanders flying upriver and two Magpies calling from further up in the conifers.
Coal Tit, Greenfinch, Chaffinch and Robin all appeared at the feeders. Curlew and Lapwings roosted up on the central part of the mud opposite. A pair of Mallards splashed down in the river near some of the Redshanks. A small flock of Linnets flew around above the saltmarsh. A wave of around thirty Swallows appeared out over the mud passing over the river on their way south to warmer climes. Herring Gulls and Common Gulls were in their usual spot near the bend in the river, some roosting onshore, others in the water.
A Stock Dove landed on the mud off to the left of the hide allowing me to grab two quick photos. I heard Skylark overhead, and pointed out a few birds as they passed above the hide, giving us more evidence that their was some migration to see which hopefully would bode well for later at Fife Ness. A Dunnock fed in below the feeders. Well out on the mud I spotted a few Oystercatchers strung out along the shore with a party of Wigeons nearby. Steph spotted a pair of Black Tailed Godwits picking through the mud below the hide and we both snapped away at them, despite the poor lighting conditions. More scanning found a few Teal near the gulls and the semi-resident Pink Footed Geese waddled out through the mud in the direction of the river. Mute Swan was added before we packed up to move on to Crail and surrounding areas.
House Martin was seen as we passed through St Andrews, with House Sparrows near Boarhills. Collared Dove was seen as we headed out of Crail towards Kilminning. A flock of House Sparrows overflew as we got out of the car at the top end of Kilminning and a Kestrel glided over surprising us. A few Meadow Pipits were heard, and seen, as they passed over following the coast southwest. Goldfinches were next to overfly, and a Blue Tit was spotted in the bushes. A single Starling headed in the direction of the golf course.
Steph found the Spotted Flycatcher in the trees in the southwest corner of the top square and we both got a few photos despite the gloomy conditions. I wandered up and round through the bushes to see if there was anything else around in the same area. Great Tit, Wren, more Blue Tits, Goldcrest and Robin were all found before a male Pheasant exploded out from beneath my feet. A Willow Warbler fed along by the bushes at the fence. We headed down to the bottom end to see if there was any more variety there. We spoke to a birder who said there had been a Red Breasted Flycatcher seen earlier as well as Yellow Browed Warbler.
We hunted around a bit finding a Common Whitethroat and a Yellowhammer but nothing much else. Sam Taylor who had found a Barred Warbler the day before at St Andrews stopped by and we had a short chat and searched for the Red Breasted Flycatcher. A Song Thrush put in an appearance and I eventually managed to spot the
Red Breasted Flycatcher through a gap in the trees. Unfortunately it moved off before I got a photo, but I wandered round to the back of the bushes to see if I could get a better view. Unfortunately with the sun coming out, the light was against me, but I did briefly see the bird again in the tree tops flitting around and then indulging in a spot of flycatching further along before I lost it again.
We hung around hoping for a better view. Steph found a very fresh looking Fieldfare feeding on berries, and a Blackcap showed for a second or two a little later. we had another distant view of the Kestrel and a Buzzard glided over to the north a few minutes later. Scanning over the sea from the fenceline I could see Eiders on the water and a Shag flying by. A Grey Wagtail flew by. We decided to head down to the coast to attempt a spot of sea-watching though we weren't overly hopeful. A Pied Wagtail was on the golf course as we drove down.
A flock of around a hundred Golden Plovers were circling round above the rocks where the Shags and Great Black Backed Gulls were roosting. We headed up towards the hide but chose to st outisde by the pillbox. A pair of Rooks flew behind us. Unusual to see them here. We were joined for five minutes by Will Cresswell who managed to pick up a very distant Bonxie through his scope but despite his directions I failed to see it. Gannets streamed past, a Guillemot was offshore diving for fish and four Common Scoters flew north. Kittiwake was added and a Common Gull flew over close in. A Carrion Crow landed on the rocks in front of us. Oystercatchers flew by just offshore. A few Redshanks were on the rocks and a couple of other birders with scopes managed to find a Purple Sandpiper next to them.
We wandered off to check out the Great Black Backeds and Shags. One of the adult gulls was ringed. A yellow ring coded 4K9B. There were a few Cormorants among the Shags and a Turnstone wandered around in front of the gulls. A Fulmar skimmed past and we found a single Rock Pipit before we headed back to the car to head back to Guardbridge in the hope of decent Kingfisher views for Steph.
The hide was quite busy but we managed to squeeze in at the windows thanks to a couple of the birders who were in place when we arrived. In addition to the Redshanks opposite the hide I found two Golden Plover and a few Dunlin. A rather distant Shelduck was also added to the day list. The Magpies appeared on the fence along from the hide but the light was very poor at this point with the sun having disappeared behind a cloud. I checked the paper mill for the Peregrine and found it perched on the metal rail. Herring Gull, Black Headed Gull, Common Gull, Curlew, Carrion Crow and Lapwing were dotted around. Mallards swam upriver towards us. A Greenshank dropped in briefly in front of the hide but didn't hang around. A Grey Heron flew in but there was no sign of the Kingfisher so with the time edging towards 6pm we headed back to Dundee.
A good day out with a year-tick (in bold) among the 72 species seen although photo opportunities were rather limited.
Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Fieldfare, Fulmar, Gannet, Goldcrest, Golden Plover, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Kittiwake, Lapwing, Linnet, Little Egret, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Purple Sandpiper,
Red Breasted Flycatcher, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Shag, Shelduck, Skylark, Song Thrush, Spotted Flycatcher, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Teal, Turnstone, Whitethroat, Wigeon, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.