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| Gannet corpse |
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| Black Headed Gulls & Sandwich Tern |
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| Ringed Plover |
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| Bar Tailed Godwits |
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| Wheatear |
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| Rook |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Jackdaw |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Stoat and Redshank |
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| Lapwing and Stoat |
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| Osprey |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Curlew |
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| Curlew & Kingfisher |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Lapwing |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Greenshank |
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| Kingfisher & Black Headed Gull |
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| Peregrine |
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| Little Egrets |
Having attempted to see the Little Stints at Out Head, St Andrews and having failed the previous day, there was only one place on the cards for an early start on the Sunday morning. Would I be lucky? Would the dog-walkers and runners chase the birds off again leaving me with a long walk out and back for no end result? Time would tell.
So, once again I was up and out early with a bus to catch at around 0800. Sunday mornings are usually rather quiet with few people going around so there is a decent chance of seeing birds that would often be missed, or just not around. However, this wasn't to be one of those mornings. I managed a grand total of just five species on my walk to the bus station with Collared Dove being the least common of the five. The others being Blackbird, Carrion Crow, Starling and Herring Gull - all being some of the most often seen birds locally.
The bus journey to St Andrews wasn't hugely productive either with only another eight species to add to the list. A Woodpigeon was at the end of the Tay roadbridge on the roundabout, a Buzzard on a fencepost near the small church on the hill, Jackdaws at Leuchars, Curlews by the railway station, Black Headed Gulls, House Sparrow, Feral Pigeon and Mute Swans at Guardbridge. Once again, there were decent numbers of swallows and House Martins congregating around the Rusack's Hotel in St Andrews. Pied Wagtails scampered around on the golf course. Meadow Pipits and a couple of Oystercatchers were down by the burn, the waders near the mouth, the pipits by the edges. The St Andrews roosting Peregrine put in an appearance as it circled up above the course before heading off westwards. I wonder if this is the same bird seen around Guardbridge, or another bird which spends its day elsewhere.
On the beach were a few Black Headed, Common and Herring Gulls as well as one or two Great Black Backeds. I decided to avoid the beach to speed up the journey to Out Head. This decision had the added bonus of being a bit less trying with concrete being easier to walk on than sand. A small flock of Linnets were on the grass near the coach parking area. I stopped to scan out over the bay around a third of the way out. A party of Common Scoters flew past. I heard Sandwich Tern and soon found a bird being harassed by a pair of Black Headed Gulls. I could see Gannets a bit further out and I picked up a Red Throated Diver not too far offshore just beyond the breaking waves, which seems to be the favoured area for these birds. Unfortunately the bird dived meaning no photos.
I headed down onto the beach for the last section of the walk, knowing this was the likeliest area to find the small mixed wader flock that frequents the area. A washed up Gannet corpse was on the beach, looking relatively fresh though with no obvious cause of death. A Cormorant flew by while a few Pied Wagtails flitted around nearby. Some more scanning offshore produced the first Eiders of the day. A small group of Sanderling were roosting near the water's edge but there were no other waders species with them. Up ahead I spotted a group of small waders on the beach. Again there seemed to be no sign of any Little Stints. I decided to try and skirt around the birds so as not to disturb them. This proved to be quite successful with none of the flock taking flight. There were Sanderling, Dunlin and Ringed Plover, which is the normal flock mixture here. Some appeared to be roosting in holes, possibly footprints in the sand, with just their heads showing. As the tide receded, I scanned along the sand spotting a single Knot and a Curlew and a Kittiwake flying along offshore.
A few Pied Wagtails and Meadow Pipits flew over towards the other side of the Eden. A flock of waders appeared from out of the Eden. These turned out to be Bar Tailed Godwits. A Red Breasted Merganser flew upriver much lower than the Godwits. A much larger flock of waders overflew. At first I thought they were Golden Plover owing to the size, shape and flock dynamics. However, they were actually Knot, not as tightly packed together as they usually are when I see them. Possibly as they seemed to be on the move rather than panicked by something.
The sky was overcast and the temperature was lower than the day before so I had a walk round into a very quiet Balgove Bay to get out of the cold wind but as there were few birds nearby I doubled back on myself and wandered up through the dunes. A Reed Bunting watched me from the grass stems it was perched on. Another Common Scoter flock was seen offshore out over the bay. A small flock of Herring Gulls down by the water were joined by a pair of Teal which splashed down beside them. I wandered past the barrier and onto the road to wander back to St Andrews. Movement on the grass caught my eye. This turned out to be a Wheatear, quite possibly a Greenland race bird, though I'm not 100% sure. Further on a Rook grabbed a paper bag from a bin and was tearing into it to get at whatever food waste was in the bottom of it. It allowed me to get quite near before flying off a short distance.
Goldfinches, Linnets, Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtails made up the majority of birds seen as I headed along the road, with five or so Meadow Pipits along the burn keeping a little ahead of me. I decided to have a quick look across the beach and rocks by the car park. A pair of Jackdaws were poking around in the seaweed strandline. A Grey Heron was spotted among the rocks where Eiders roosted. A Redshank flew by noisily and I wandered up to the bus station to catch the bus to Guardbridge.
With the tide being quite low I wasn't expecting too much of Guardbridge but as things transpired it was a pretty decent afternoon, all things considered. Redshanks and Lapwings were numerous along the shore opposite the hide, and one of the Little Egrets was feeding further along to the north. A Greenshank showed briefly on our side of the river before flying off again. A few Malllards were next on the list. I could see a bird perched on one of the Osprey poles way out in the river. These usually hold either a Cormorant or an Osprey if anything, so I took a photo to check by zooming in on the photo. As hoped for, it was an Osprey, the lack of heat haze allowing a bit of colour to be seen despite the distance of at least 2 miles. Herring Gulls and Black Headed Gulls were up near the bend in the river. A Great Tit was on the feeders and a Kingfisher briefly popped into the post out front. A Dunnock picked around below the feeders.
Scanning around with the binoculars added a very distant Shelduck. Greenfinches stopped by at the feeders. One of the others in the hide, possibly Willie Irvine, spotted movement in the water which turned out to be the Stoat swimming across the river towards a small islet that held a Lapwing. A Redshank in the river moved up onto a pile of seaweed watching warily as the animal swam by. The Stoat disappeared into a seaweed heap near the Lapwing, popping its head out a few seconds later. The Lapwing kept a firm eye on the wee predator, edging slowly away but ready to take flight as the Stoat moved closer. The Stoat seemed to decide that maybe the Lapwing was a bit too big for him to take without too much struggle and effort so on he trotted and back into the water to swim to the nearside bank where he disappeared from our sight. A few seconds later we heard a shriek which may have been the sound of a Rabbit being caught. Only the second time I've seen a Stoat swimming, the other time being up in Glen Doll when one crossed a burn we were walking along beside.
A Curlew landed below the hide on the mud and wandered along poking around among the seaweed. The Kingfisher reappeared, perching on a small stick at the base of the large pole. Surprisingly, considering how much noise there was from the hide, cameras and voices, the bird chose to stay put. Despite a few short forays to other perches, it would stay put for the next two and a half hours, allowing loads of photos to be taken and a Fife Bird Club outing to get great views. It even got to the point where it was being ignored by everyone as it sat quietly waiting for opportunities to do a spot of fishing. Probably the least wary Kingfisher I've seen, so far at least.
A few Chaffinches joined the Greenfinches at the feeders, and a Stock Dove dropped in by the water for a few seconds before flying off again to the north in a wide arc away from the hide. A small flock of Black Tailed Godwits dropped in among the other waders. I picked up an Osprey in flight off towards the HAS site at Leuchars and managed to get everyone onto it as it stopped to hover above the river. Another Greenshank in front of the hide gave us good views of some unusual behaviour that none of us could recall having seen before. The bird would open its bill and with the lower mandible trailing in the water it would run forward feeding in a similar fashion to the Black Skimmer from America which does similar but in flight inches above the water, the bill snapping shut when it comes in contact with any possible foodsource.
Blue Tits were next to be noticed at the feeders. A second female Kingfisher flew in to land on the big post next to 'our' female Kingfisher but it shot off again within seconds. I did manage one photo, but most others failed to get more than a quick glimpse. We were joined in the hide by Fife Bird Club on their north Fife outing, and turns were taken at the window mostly watching the Kingfisher. The local Pink footed Geses trundled out across the mud to the river from the saltmarsh. Three of the Little Egrets were feeding in close proximity along the far shore but rarely close enough to get them in one worthwhile photo. A short while later I spotted a bit of activity to the north with a young Peregrine swooping down at a Lapwing. The bird actually carried on over the top of a loop on its back as it swung back around for another attempt, appearing to keep its eye on the target all the way.
A Common Gull flew upriver. With the exception of the Kingfisher there wasn't too much activity so lots of chatting filled the time in the hide, interspersed with bursts of photos being taken as the Kingfisher fished repeatedly from her low perch. A single Canada Goose was in the far channel of the river below the airbase and a small group of Goosanders were in the river near the mouth of the Motray. Minutes later, there was a flurry of activity and some heart in mouth action as the juvenile Peregrine swooped down in front of the hide to have a go at 'our' Kingfisher. The action was too frenetic to get a photo, though two out of focus Peregrine shots showed just how close the bird was to the hide. Both birds disappeared out of sight to the right of the hide and we were all left wondering. Had the falcon succeeded? Had the Kingfisher escaped?
Scanning through the waders again, I picked up a Ruff and managed to get everyone left in the hide onto it. Most of the FBC crowd had headed off a short while after the excitement of the chase. A female Eider swam by with a mussel in her bill. The sun disappeared behind a cloud instantly making things that bit tricker, both to photograph and pick out different waders among the greys and whites. A few Carrion Crows hopped around on the mud. A small group of Wigeon still in their reddish eclipse plumage dropped into the river just downstream from the hide, adding yet another species to the day list.
We collectively let out a sigh of relief when our Kingfisher (we assumed at least) appeared on the wall below the hide, perching for thirty seconds or so before flying to the other side of the river. She was joined again by a second bird as she perched on a fence wire opposite. The by now four Little Egrets flew off eastwards together in a box formation. Some more movement of waders brought some Dunlin and a Curlew Sandpiper to across the river from us and a Grey Heron flew in. With the clock having passed the usual closing time of five o'clock I decided to finally call it a day.
Despite having failed to see the Little Stints at Out Head again, it had turned out to be a very good day with the Stoat and the tame Kingfisher being particular highlights, with the late Osprey and the very close Peregrine chase being worth mentioning again also.
61 species seen - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Cormorant, Curlew, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Gannet, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kingfisher, Kittiwake, Knot, Lapwing, Linnet, Little Egret, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sanderling, Sandwich Tern, Shelduck, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Teal, Wheatear,Wigeon, Woodpigeon.