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| Stonechat |
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| Sanderling |
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| Ringed Plover & Dunlin |
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| Dunlin |
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| Sanderling & Ringed Plover |
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| Ringed Plover, Sanderling & Dunlin |
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| Pied wagtail |
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| Sanderling |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Buzzard & Curlew |
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| Roe Deer |
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| Blackcap |
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| Yellow Browed Warbler |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Buzzard |
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| Spotted Flycatcher |
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| Woodpigeon |
With three days off work around the date of September 18th - the Scottish independence referendum, I had half-planned to try and squeeze in some birding with the Wednesday the most likely day to do so. With the tide times looking more favourable than the weekend, I decided another shot at the Little Stints at St Andrews would be sensible (despite them having not been reported since the Saturday). After that I would try to catch a bus to Crail and wander out to Fife Ness again.
It was a rather grey morning as I headed out at my usual time but instead of catching the bus to work, I headed into town to catch the bus to St Andrews instead. Herring Gull and Feral Pigeon were the only birds seen from the bus stop, which is unusual as I usually manage around half a dozen or more species as I wait with overflying Meadow Pipits being common at this time of year as they pass over the city on migration.
From the bus to St Andrews I picked up a Woodpigeon near the end of the Tay roadbridge and Rook at Leuchars. I added House Sparrows by the bus stop in St Andrews with House Martins and Swallows around the rooftops by the golf course once again. Pied Wagtails and Meadow Pipits were on the golf course and by the burn. A mixed gull flock was on the beach by the mouth of the burn. Great Black Backed, Black Headed, Herring and Common Gulls with a few Starlings scampering around nearby.
Walking out to Out Head, I stuck to the road to save time. Linnets, Goldfinches and Greenfinches were feeding along the way, some in the rosebushes, some on the ground. Reed Bunting was also seen with two perched together briefly on a fence. Offshore I spotted a few Eider. Dunnock was next on the list, one seen on a fencepost. A Sandwich Tern adult and youngster were heard then seen offshore, so I headed down onto the beach to walk the rest of the way out to the point. A Stonechat was in the dunes though the light was abysmal though I still took a record shot. Two Carrion Crows overflew. Ahead of me I spotted a few Oystercatchers near a few Common Gulls. A small group of Sanderling roosted by the water.
A little further on I found the mixed flock again, but not unexpectedly it was only Ringed Plover, Dunlin and Sanderling again. No Little Stints though. A Curlew wandered around near the water's edge. I headed back up through the dunes. A few Meadow Pipits were around near the sheep enclosure and I almost stood on a Skylark which flew a short distance and landed again. A Cormorant flew over towards the sea.
I managed to catch the bus to Crail again, but the weather didn't look to be improving any with low grey clouds and visiblity a bit limited with a haar/mist offshore. This might prove helpful or mean that I saw little. Time would tell. A Moorhen was at the small roadside pool on the golf course a mile or so outside St Andrews. Collared Dove was seen at Kingsbarns with a Buzzard just a little further down the road. In Crail, I added Jackdaw to the list. In Denburn Wood it was pretty quiet with just a Robin and an unexpected Grey Wagtail flitting around on the burn. A Blue Tit was seen at the southern end.
I wandered down to overlook the bay. A Gannet and a Shag were seen winging their way past well offshore. A Redshank flew off along the beach. A Grey Heron and a Woodpigeon were perched atop the drystane dyke up from the caravan park. Once back on the main road out of Crail towards the golf course I heard a Magpie and spotted it perched on the wall between the fields before it flew off back towards the village. There wasn't much else to see on the way out to Kilminning with just a Buzzard on a wall watching over a field of Curlews and then a few Carrion Crows and a Great Tit in the trees further on. Arriving at Kilminning I wandered slowly around the top square in the hope of finding something good. A few Feral Pigeons flew out of the ruined building, and Woodpigeons clattered off through the trees but the only migrant seen was a sole Willow Warbler.
I headed off down the road to check out the bottom end. On the way down a flock of Blue and Great Tits were feeding through the trees by the road but there was very little activity overall. I stopped to chat to another birder (may have been Barry Forbes?) who mentioned this blog and the amount of work it takes to put it together. A small flock of Golden Plovers were in the field along with a few Starlings. I headed into the concreted area up from the bottom car park area to see if there was anything to be found. Again it was very quiet with few birds and only one birder. He mentioned Yellow Browed Warbler, a possible Barred Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat as all having been seen earlier in the morning though none had been seen for a while.
Undeterred I wandered around checking the bushes and trees. The whistling call of a Yellow Browed Warbler suddenly rang out behind me and I hurried across to the area it had come from. The bird showed briefly in the open end of a bush before flying along the line of trees where I lost sight of it. A year-tick nonetheless. Some more wandering produced Blackbird, Blackcap and Song Thrush with a quick look out over the sea adding Fulmar and Eider as well as a couple more Gannets. Local birder and photographer, John Anderson showed up and I had a chat to him and another birder who I didn't recognise, before we headed in different directions to search for more birds.
I spooked a Pheasant as I checked around the edges before I wandered off back up the track. I noticed movement in the tree to my left and stopped to check it out. A small bird was flitting around but I struggled to pin it down so I took a quick photo which although blurred showed a Yellow Browed Warbler which may or may not have been the same bird seen earlier. A Yellowhammer was in the trees opposite. Roe Deer bolted across the field near the golf course disappearing into the Karting area.
A bird flew off low over the field and I grabbed a few quick photos. It was a female Sparrowhawk and it seemed to land a bit further on. The mist had closed in again and the visibility was pretty poor, meaning there was no point in attempting any seawatching. A Buzzard was perched on tyres near the old control tower with something held in its talons. With my attention focused on the Buzzard I didn't notice the Sparrowhawk ahead of me until it took flight again and headed further up the road.
Once again at the top of the road I decided to search among the trees beyond the earth barrier. I spotted movement in the tree tops but struggled to get a clear view. I eventually managed to get into a position where I could see the bird. A Spotted Flycatcher. I flagged down the birder I had spoken to earlier to tell him about the bird but he wasn't too bothered. John Anderson wasn't too far behind, so he decided to have a quick look too in the hope of maybe getting a photo or two but the bird wasn't showing. I did mange a quick photo of a Woodpigeon which appeard to be sat on a nest. John kindly gave me a lift back into Crail where I had another check of Denburn Wood (dead would sum it up) before catching the bus back to St Andrews then onwards back to Dundee.
Only 54 species seen but with a year-tick among them it wasn't a wasted day by any means. Year Tick in bold.
Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull , Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Gannet, Golden Plover, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Linnet, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sanderling, Sandwich Tern, Shag, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Spotted Flycatcher, Starling, Stonechat, Swallow, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Yellow Browed Warbler, Yellowhammer.