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| Goldeneye |
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| Goldeneye and Red Breasted Merganser |
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| Brent Geese |
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| Velvet and Common Scoters |
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| Little Grebe |
Having checked the weather forecast last night, and again this morning, I knew there was a good chance that it might rain at some point but that there was also a chance of avoiding getting wet if I planned my route well. However, the forecast wasn't particularly accurate and the rain arrived earlier and heavier than expected. With public transport more or less back to normal, I headed for Fife today.
It was much colder with a rather strong wind adding a bit of bite to the day when I left the house at about 0835. Luckily I didn't have to wait long for a bus as one was on its way down the road as I headed for the bus stop. Birds were in short supply with only a couple of Black Headed Gulls seen. Added a flock of Feral Pigeons passing the Wellgate, but nothing else was seen until the bus to St Andrews was leaving the bus station, when a Herring Gull was attempting to gain access to some rubbish in a skip.
Making landfall at the Fife end of the bridge, a Carrion Crow was overhead the car park and a Woodpigeon overflew the dual carriageway passing Newport. A Starling was on a chimney at the St Michael's Inn but there was no sign of any Jackdaws in Leuchars where they can normally be seen sat on the chimneys. The next bird seen was a Redshank in a roadside puddle by a gate into a field on the road to St Andrews. A pair of Mute Swans on a pond was glimpsed through the trees as the bus passed the playing fields by the Old Course Hotel. Walking through St Andrews town centre birds were almost completely absent, just a few Blue Tits being heard but not seen. The tide was very low at the harbour with the burn merely a trickle through the mud. A few Mallards were there, and a family of 6 Mute Swans rested on the mud. I walked back up to the main road where a Blackbird was sat on a hedge in a garden, then cut through a University owned housing scheme to the beach. Black Headed, Herring and Great Black Backed Gulls were on the sand near the water's edge, and a few Oystercatchers and Redshanks foraged among the seaweed and pools towards the cliffs. Scanning the water I picked up a string of around 25+ Long Tailed Ducks close in to shore near the harbour wall, and some Eiders. No sign of any Divers. A Grey Heron was stood in the burn near the start of the harbour wall but was quite wary. A few House Sparrows flew down to the lobster creels and a Rock Pipit called from the wall opposite.
I scanned north, but only a few Common Scoters and Eiders were obvious. I walked the length of the harbour wall, with the wind buffeting me as I went. Stopping to scan again I picked up 3 drake Velvet Scoters landing near the end of the wall, but when I got there I couldn't see them. Other than the gulls, Eiders and Long Tailed Ducks there was nothing to see, and with the wind doing its utmost to make holding binoculars steady impossible I decided to head back along the wall. A recently deceased Shag was lying close into the wall, where it had probably succumbed to the cold overnight, and allowed a good look at the feathers and feet of a bird that isn't always easy to get close to. A sad sight to see all the same. A few more Scoters were beyond the rocky shore - all females - 2 Velvets and a Common. Couldn't see any Purple Sandpipers or Divers or Grebes, but rain was threatening so I sheltered out of the wind by the 'modern' flats for a few minutes. I could see a few Fulmars gliding around over the bay, which although not totally unexpected, was a nice bonus bird.
I walked up the hill towards the Scores as the rain eased, stopping to scan anywhere I could get a bit of shelter from the wind. Among the rocks, a few Oystercatchers and Redshanks were the most obvious birds, and what was probably the same Grey Heron from earlier staked out a rock pool. The rain started to get a bit heavier so I found shelter in the open stairwell of some flats near the Castle which allowed a view over the rocks and bay down from the cliffs. From the relative comfort of the stairwell I spotted 3 Turnstones flying to another rock, and a couple of Red Throated Divers together out on the water. I scanned the rocks at the water's edge looking for Purple Sandpiper where the waves were beginning to break as the tide started to come in again with a bit of purpose. A bit of movement suggested I had perhaps found one, but it stopped and stood for 10 seconds with its back to me, and I willed it to move to give me a better view. It flew the short distance to another seaweed coated rock by the water giving me enough detail to confirm Purple Sandpiper for the yearlist, and the 5th addition for the day. Another Diver out on the water turned out to be a juvenile Red Throated, but behind it was a Great Crested Grebe. Bird 6 for the yearlist. A Shag flew in and landed in the water before diving under the waves. Number 7. Another Red Throated Diver and a Common Gull were next to be added to the list for the day. The rain had got heavier and I figured I wasn't going to add much more from the stairwell, so I walked to the bus station, keeping out of the wind as best as I could, but still getting a bit wetter than I wanted to.
I missed a bus by seconds as I tried to cross the road into the bus station, but thankfully another turned up so I got on that. I considered heading back to Dundee and only made up my mind to give Guardbridge hide a look as the bus turned into the village. Bought a couple of packets of crisps from what must be the worst stocked shop around (only 3 flavours of crisps - Ready Salted, Salt and Vinegar and a Bacon corn snack was all they could muster!) on my way in.
As expected the hide was empty, a Grey Heron was on the mud just in front of the centre and a Buzzard flew from the trees to the left of the hide to the stand of conifers opposite. A Redshank was feeding along the edge of the water and the Heron flew across the river. I opened the window so I could get a few photos despite the rather poor light, and be able to hear the few birds that were around. A few Herring Gulls and Black Headed Gulls were on the main area of mud, but there was little in the way of waders and no sign of my target bird - Black tailed Godwit. Spotted a small group of Shelducks beyond the salt marsh and picked up another addition in the shape of a rather distant Goldeneye.
A couple of Little Grebes popped up in the river in front of the hide. Another new bird for 2014 and a drake Goldeneye headed upstream to hunt in the same area. It was joined by a Red Breasted Merganser and a juvenile Goldeneye. A party of three folk showed up so I opened the door and in they came. The extra eyes helped spot a few things - a Buzzard in a small tree, which turned out to actually be two perched together, and a male Sparrowhawk which landed on almost the same branch where the Buzzards had been earlier. A small group of Mallards was joined by a larger group of Teal near the bend in the river near the old paper mill building. Beyond the mud a large flock of Wigeon had appeared from somewhere unnoticed. The odd Woodpigeon and Cormorant flew past and Feral Pigeons swept past in varying sized groups. The weather and light improved a bit but it didn't last with a few more showers later on. A flock of waders swooping over the salt marsh gave me another year tick - Black Tailed Godwit - the species I had got off the bus for. Ten for the day.
We were joined by another birder/photographer from Carnoustie and in between chatting I picked up a couple of Geese over the Wigeon flock. Although they were distant, I took a few photos in the hope of ID-ing them. They looked brown on the photos, so I thought they were Pink footed Geese, but looking properly at home on the PC, they turned out to be Greylags. While looking at the photos on the camera I lost track of the two Geese, but a few minutes later what I assumed to be the same two birds landed by the Wigeon. Surprisingly, these turned out to be two pale-bellied Brent Geese - another excellent bonus.
The feeders were rather empty but a few birds had came and gone throughout the day, adding to the list of species seen - Blue Tit, Dunnock, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Great Tit and Robin. A Wren hunted through the rocks in front of the hide. Around 1.30pm the group of 3 folk left, with the Carnoustie birder leaving around 2pm. I decided to see what else I could see as the tide came in, not holding out too much hope, but having been surprised in the past at a variety of birds showing when the tide was in. As the water level rose the few Redshanks congregated opposite the hide, where they were joined by a single Dunlin. More Black Tailed Godwits appeared round towards the "goalposts", and the Redshanks and Wigeon joined them in that area.
One of the Buzzards was fairly mobile perching in a few different spots and both a Goldeneye and Little Grebe caught a crab each in front of the hide. Another couple of wader flocks flew in from the north - Curlews first, then a short while later around 20 or so Lapwings. I heard a familiar sharp call and caught sight of the undulating flight of a medium sized bird flying in towards the trees. I managed to get the binoculars onto the bird and confirmed what I had recognised from the call - a Great Spotted Woodpecker. The 13th new bird of the day (although I thought it was only the 12th at the time, having provisionally identified the original 2 geese as Pink Footed Geese which I had seen on the 1st).
The light was starting to fade, and my hands were beginning to feel the cold so I packed up and headed for the bus home around 1510. I was a bit concerned as we passed St Michael's by the sign which said "High Winds - Roadbridge - cars only". The same message was repeated a few more times as we approached the bridge, but for some reason, the bus driver decided he was driving a car and across we went. A few strong gusts, one of which partially opened the door, gave some doubt to the driver's wisdom but we made it safely across.
Off to Kinnordy tomorrow morning for 3 hours with my pal, Jacqui Herrington, so will see if I can add a few more to the list to take me nearer to 100 species seen before I have to go back to work on Monday. Fingers are crossed, especially for Bittern which has been seen the past few days, and which I have never seen.
50 species seen today - (additions to yearlist are in bold) -
Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Brent Goose, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Goldeneye, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Lapwing, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Duck, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Purple Sandpiper, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Shag, Shelduck, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Teal, Turnstone, Velvet Scoter, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.