 |
| Bar Tailed Godwits |
 |
| Skylark |
 |
| Raven |
 |
| Greenshank and Common Gull |
 |
| Snow Buntings |
 |
| Snow Bunting |
 |
| Skylark |
 |
| Long Tailed Tit |
 |
| Fieldfares |
 |
| Redwing |
 |
| Mistle Thrush |
 |
| Stonechat |
With a reasonable weather forecast and a day off work my intention had been to get up early and head out around sunrise but my snooze button kept winning the battle between lying in bed for another ten minutes or getting up to get out. Eventually I made it up and headed out a while later once I got organised. I had been undecided where offered the best bet to add some new birds for the year but I dcided to fall back on Tayport to Leuchars around the edge of Tentsmuir Forest. Even if I didn't get anything new there were Snow Buntings, waders and other possibilities to photograph.
Leaving the house, as usual Herring Gulls were one of the first birds on the list, a few gliding around in the cold wind. I chose not to go back upstairs for a warmer scarf, figuring that the trees would provide a bit of protection from the wind. This proved to be mostly true thankfully. I jumped onto a bus into town, adding Feral Pigeon and Carrion Crow en route to the bus station. From the bus to Tayport I managed to see very few birds with only a few Starlings, including one on the Tay bridge, and a few Woodpigeons.
Arriving at the turning circle I got into a brief chat with the bus driver owing to my choice of headwear - a Yes Scotland hat. He was undecided but not a fan of Alex Salmond. Gave him a few arguments for, before he had to get on with his return journey. Scanning from the path, I could see waders and Shelducks on the beach. Mostly Dunlin, but with Bar Tailed Godwits in decent numbers, some Redshanks and at least one Knot. The odd Oystercatcher and Curlew completed the wader collection. A few Mallards swam just offshore, with Eiders much further out on the river. A few gulls, mostly Black Headed and Herring Gulls flitted about, with a couple of Carrion Crows chasing around. I walked across the salt marsh to see if there were any Snipe around but found none. A couple of Meadow Pipits did fly up calling as they went, and a single Chaffinch overflew back towards the town.
Further on, a few Wigeon were out on the river and a female Red Breasted Merganser flew out of a small pool just behind the concrete blocks on the sand, having obviously been aware of me before I was of her. I could see a large flock of Oystercatchers, some Cormorants and gulls out on Lucky Scalp island as well as a huge flock of gulls and Eiders feeding en masse in a long line towards the Broughty Ferry side of the river. Not sure what the source of the food was but the number of birds suggested there was plenty of it. A single Wren flew across the path in front of me as I neared the fence line for the start of Tentsmuir Point nature reserve and there were a few more Cormorants drying their wings out towards the river on the sand.
I decided against walking out to the beach across the dunes, instead heading for the stand of deciduous trees where I sometimes find Green Woodpeckers. Unfortunately I was out of luck with only a single unexpected Song Thrush to show for my efforts here. I did spot a 'tumbling' Raven which a few minutes later was calling loudly from the top of a conifer not too far away. Good to see these big corvids without having to travel up to the glens, always a welcome addition to a day's birding. I walked along the edge of the trees but only succeeded in seeing two Mistle Thrushes which flew up into the trees loudly protesting against being disturbed. A Skylark flew up half-heartedly singing as it passed overhead.
I reached the fence for the southern end of the nature reserve and decided to get my boots a bit wet by crossing the channel where water from the pools flows out to the sea. Thankfully I found a narrow point, around 6 feet wide and got away with getting across in just two steps. Once across I scanned the pools, where a couple of Common Gulls and a Greenshank stood, but little else. I walked along the dunes hoping for Snow Buntings but the cold wind in my face was making my eyes water which wasn't helping. Thankfully before I had travelled much further I spotted movement off to my right as a small flock landed by the edge of the pool. Snow Buntings, calling softly as they leapfrogged over each other in small groups, moving forward slowly, drinking and feeding. They seemed to be carrying their tails cocked up to keep them from getting wet, which made them look slightly odd. I managed to edge quite close but two walkers on the other side of the water caused enough concern for the birds to fly back to the dunes.
Leaving the house, as usual Herring Gulls were one of the first birds on the list, a few gliding around in the cold wind. I chose not to go back upstairs for a warmer scarf, figuring that the trees would provide a bit of protection from the wind. This proved to be mostly true thankfully. I jumped onto a bus into town, adding Feral Pigeon and Carrion Crow en route to the bus station. From the bus to Tayport I managed to see very few birds with only a few Starlings, including one on the Tay bridge, and a few Woodpigeons.
Arriving at the turning circle I got into a brief chat with the bus driver owing to my choice of headwear - a Yes Scotland hat. He was undecided but not a fan of Alex Salmond. Gave him a few arguments for, before he had to get on with his return journey. Scanning from the path, I could see waders and Shelducks on the beach. Mostly Dunlin, but with Bar Tailed Godwits in decent numbers, some Redshanks and at least one Knot. The odd Oystercatcher and Curlew completed the wader collection. A few Mallards swam just offshore, with Eiders much further out on the river. A few gulls, mostly Black Headed and Herring Gulls flitted about, with a couple of Carrion Crows chasing around. I walked across the salt marsh to see if there were any Snipe around but found none. A couple of Meadow Pipits did fly up calling as they went, and a single Chaffinch overflew back towards the town.
Further on, a few Wigeon were out on the river and a female Red Breasted Merganser flew out of a small pool just behind the concrete blocks on the sand, having obviously been aware of me before I was of her. I could see a large flock of Oystercatchers, some Cormorants and gulls out on Lucky Scalp island as well as a huge flock of gulls and Eiders feeding en masse in a long line towards the Broughty Ferry side of the river. Not sure what the source of the food was but the number of birds suggested there was plenty of it. A single Wren flew across the path in front of me as I neared the fence line for the start of Tentsmuir Point nature reserve and there were a few more Cormorants drying their wings out towards the river on the sand.
I decided against walking out to the beach across the dunes, instead heading for the stand of deciduous trees where I sometimes find Green Woodpeckers. Unfortunately I was out of luck with only a single unexpected Song Thrush to show for my efforts here. I did spot a 'tumbling' Raven which a few minutes later was calling loudly from the top of a conifer not too far away. Good to see these big corvids without having to travel up to the glens, always a welcome addition to a day's birding. I walked along the edge of the trees but only succeeded in seeing two Mistle Thrushes which flew up into the trees loudly protesting against being disturbed. A Skylark flew up half-heartedly singing as it passed overhead.
I reached the fence for the southern end of the nature reserve and decided to get my boots a bit wet by crossing the channel where water from the pools flows out to the sea. Thankfully I found a narrow point, around 6 feet wide and got away with getting across in just two steps. Once across I scanned the pools, where a couple of Common Gulls and a Greenshank stood, but little else. I walked along the dunes hoping for Snow Buntings but the cold wind in my face was making my eyes water which wasn't helping. Thankfully before I had travelled much further I spotted movement off to my right as a small flock landed by the edge of the pool. Snow Buntings, calling softly as they leapfrogged over each other in small groups, moving forward slowly, drinking and feeding. They seemed to be carrying their tails cocked up to keep them from getting wet, which made them look slightly odd. I managed to edge quite close but two walkers on the other side of the water caused enough concern for the birds to fly back to the dunes.
I headed in that direction as well, and found the birds ahead of me, so I used the slope of the dunes as cover to try and get ahead of them, so the sun was behind me. Unfortunately the birds spotted me a few times before I managed to see them and I had to repeat the process. Eventually I was able to get photos of a few birds feeding on the seed heads of the grasses in the dunes, pulling one seed off at a time and eating it. I left the birds in peace after a few minutes and ploughed on southwards into the wind. A couple of Carrion Crows warily fed down on the beach as I passed.
There was a lot of residual water in among the dunes, so it was hard to judge the best path through. I did manage to find another 3 or 4 Skylarks in the grassy areas but there was little else. I did scan the sea a few times, adding Common Scoter and Red Throated Diver to the day list, as well as Great Black Backed Gull. Surprisingly, I found a pair of Mute Swans feeding in one of the flood pools among the dunes.
I decided to head inland at Kinshaldy car park and walked up through the small copse of trees by the burn outflow. A Coal Tit called quietly as it fed in the trees and a finch flew over which I managed a photo of, showing it to be a Greenfinch. Towards the other end of the car park a couple of Blue Tits and a Blackbird were seen.
The access road was a lot quieter than it is at the weekend, though there were a few cars using it. It was good to be out of the wind at last, and it was possible to hear birds calling from time to time. I found a small flock of Long Tailed Tits and Goldcrests feeding low in the trees near a bend in the road. I had mentioned to Steph the day before that I hadn't seen any Long Tailed Tits for a few weeks.
I could see movement in the field for the horses near the barrier across the road. It turned out to be a large-ish flock of winter thrushes. Mostly Fieldfares, but also a few Redwings and Mistle Thrushes. Woodpigeons and Starlings shared the field with them. I managed a glimpse of a small group of Crossbills that flew over calling noisily as they went. A nice unexpected addition to the yearlist.
By the house next to the barrier I added Robin and Chaffinch with a couple of Blue Tits, at least one Coal Tit and a Blackbird.
My plan was to continue along the road to a junction where a path cut across the forest to Earlshall Muir where I was hoping to see Stonechats, although I had failed at my previous attempt. One of my toes which I have broken in the past was beginning to hurt quite badly but as there are no bus stops or taxi ranks in Tentsmuir Forest, I just had to put up with it. There was very little to see as I cut through the forest, a pair of overflying Siskins and a woodcock which flew out from the forest and flew along the track ahead of me before dining back in at another gap in the trees.
The open area between the edge of the forest was bereft of birds, with only a couple of unidentified finches flying around near the trees to the west of the path. I could hear Teal in some of the flooded areas but couldn't see them. When I reached the boardwalk I scanned over the open area, and at the second attempt found a female Stonechat. New bird number 2 of the day. Added a male near the corner of the path down towards the gate as well.
A singing Coal Tit was in the trees opposite the open area near the motocross track, but there was no sign of any Woodcock here. There were a few birds in the field at the farm, but no sign of the usual Buzzard by the track. A few Fieldfares and a mixed flock of finches - Linnets, Goldfinches and Chaffinches, were feeding in the grass, with the finch flock being particularly restless.
A Robin was on the fence near the farm buildings. A few Woodpigeons were all that was feeding in the field, but a flock of Rooks did fly in across the far side. Nearing the houses on Ealshall Road at the edge of Leuchars I was hoping for Tree Sparrows but only managed to add House Sparrows in the hedges bordering the road. Three Greenfinches were in oneof the mature trees and a Blue Tit flitted around. A Blackbird rustled around below the hedge, tossing leaf litter around as it foraged for food.
A pair of Jackdaws perched up on the chimney of one of the houses and a Stock Dove flew off from its perch in a tree in the garden of the house nearest the crossroads by the school. A few more Blue Tits popped back and forwards across the road into the trees either side. Not much else was seen as I headed back to the bus stop except for a flock of Starlings and a few more Jackdaws. I didn't have long to wait on a bus, although I did at one point think the bus was going to reach the stop before I managed to cross the road. Thankfully a gap in the traffic allowed me across and I headed back to Dundee.
51 species seen (2 new for the year in bold) - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Crossbill, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Greenfinch, Greenshank, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Knot, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Raven, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shelduck, Siskin, Skylark, Snow Bunting, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Stonechat, Wigeon, Woodcock, Woodpigeon, Wren.