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| Wren |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Greenfinch |
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| Buzzard |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Coal Tit |
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| Magpie |
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| Skylark |
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| Treecreeper |
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| Green Sandpiper |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Mistle Thrush |
A day off work with decent weather forecast, (although with still a bit of a chill in the air temperature wise), isn't something that happens too often, so I do try to make the most of it. Having debated with myself as to where to head for to maximise my chances of adding a few more year ticks and seeing lots of other birds in the process, I had more or less decided that Fife Ness would be my location of choice. The possibility of some migrants arriving afresh and a spot of seawatching thrown in sealed the deal.
So I was up early and out the door for 8am. Herring Gull and Lesser Black Backed Gull were seen from the bus stop and Woodpigeon and Feral Pigeon were spotted from the bus down to the city centre. A few more Herring Gulls were seen around the bus station where they nest on the roofs of the bus garage sheds. I caught an earlier bus than my initial plan but knew that this would give me around 30 minutes of birding in St Andrews as a bonus.
A Carrion Crow passed over the bus near the Dundee end of the Tay bridge heading towards City Quay. A Song Thrush hopped around on the grass of the roundabout at the Fife end of the bridge looking for something to eat. As we turned off from the dual carriageway heading for Leuchars a male Pheasant was in the margins of a field on the right hand side of the road. Passing St Michaels a Blackbird flew across the road into a garden and further along a small flock of Sand Martins swooped around over the golf course. As we slowed down on arrival at Leuchars Rooks could be seen flitting around at the rookery on the edge of the village. Starlings and Jackdaws perched on chimneys, with a few smaller birds going unidentified as they flew by the bus windows.
Down the road at Guardbridge a Mute Swan was on the Motray along with a few Mallards. A male House Sparrow was sitting on a garden wall chirping loudly as we stopped at a bus stop in the village. Heading out along the St Andrews road, one of the local Buzzards glided along above a field. A small group of Mute Swans were feeding in one of the fields by the road around halfway between Guardbridge and St Andrews, where they have been for a while now.
Arriving in St Andrews I wandered down to the car park in front of the golf museum to scan for birds. A few Eiders were on the water, with some Herring Gulls stood around among the seaweed covered rocky shore. A couple of Oystercatchers almost completed the picture, though a Curlew flew in as I was about to head back to the bus station. On the cliffs were numerous pairs of nesting Fulmars, noisily cackling to each other, or gliding around in front. A bird in flight caught my eye heading up over the Old Course. A quick look through the binoculars confirmed my suspicion as to the identity of the bird in question - a Peregrine. I next checked out the path down from the bus station to the University buildings with Blue Tit, Wren and Dunnock being the first few birds seen. A sudden burst of loud birdsong from among the trees stopped me in my tracks. It was a song I recognised but which I hadn't heard yet this Spring. A few more snatches of song and some careful searching yielded the culprit. A nice male Blackcap - my first of 2014, and a bird I was hoping to see around Crail. A Woodpigeon flew noisily out from the trees, its wings clapping together, as I made my way back to catch the bus to Crail. While waiting to get going I watched a Jackdaw on someone's garden feeders and a Blackbird chased a rival off from the same garden.
Siting upstairs on the bus at the front gives a good view ahead and to the sides, so on longer journeys on double deckers this is where I try to sit. The field by the caravan park as we left St Andrews had Woodpigeons and a few Oystercatchers and Curlews in it. As we passed the golf course further along the road, a bit of movement on a small pool caught my eye. Not the usual Mallard pair, but an unexpected Moorhen. A few more Woodpigeons and Oystercatchers were noted as the bus travelled southeast in the sunshine. At Kingsbarns, a Pied Wagtail went on the day list, and as we made our way between the junction into Wormiston and the last few bends into Crail a couple of Yellowhammers flew along beside the bus for a short distance.
I got off the bus at my usual stop in Crail, by the church, and headed along the track to Denburn Wood. Blue TIt, Chaffinch and Woodpigeon were seen before I reached the wood. There were plenty of birds around among the trees though they weren't always easy to ID as they flitted around. Great Tits and Blackbirds scolded me as I walked through the trees and after a bit of a search I found a singing Chiffchaff. A Stock Dove was spied high up in a tree, possbly one of the birds that nested in the owl box last year. As I emerged back into the sunlight at the bottom end of the small park, a Wren popped up and sang loudly from a small bush. I moved round so the sun was behind me and managed a few nice shots as he darted and stopped and darted and stopped before disappearing back into the undergrowth.
Leaving the wood, I decided to head out towards Kilminning rather than along the shoreline through the caravan park. Before I had left the village I had good views of House Sparrow, Greenfinch, Collared Dove and Woodpigeon. There was no sign of any Corn Buntings along the field edges but Skylarks and Meadow Pipits sang and displayed above the crop fields. Goldfinch and Chaffinches called from the trees along the road by the old airfield, with a Woodpigeon or two bursting out from the trees if I got a bit too close for their liking. A pair of Starlings glided over into the mess of derelict old buildings and I spotted a male Yellowhammer sat upon a wire, the yellow head glowing in the strong sunlight.
I turned in to the entrance road at Kilminning and scrambled over the new earth banking to walk into the top square. The local Woodpigeons noticed me immediately clattering out from numerous bushes and trees and flying off. Another bird that took flight was a Buzzard which circled up mewing loudly ad keeping a watchful eye on me as it did so. Scouting around the area, I heard another warbler singing. Another new one for the year which thankfully didn't take too much effort to find, a Willow Warbler. A few Goldfinches called from the small trees and I spotted a Magpie balanced precariously atop a conifer. Wandering further down the road into Kilminning, i spooked a male Pheasant who made his displeasure at being disturbed known by calling loudly as he flew off. A female Blackcap was found near where the Eastern Olivaceous Warbler was watched a few times in autumn 2012. A Wren skulked among the bushes by the grey shed near the bottom car park.
I headed down onto the coastal path to continue along to Fife Ness. On my way, I found a small flock of Linnets and a pair of Reed Buntings among the flowering gorse bushes. One of the buntings had been ringed (only 3 digits noted). Offshore very little movement was seen and disappointingly this was replicated when I reached the point itself. Before I reached Fife Ness itself I did encounter a few Pied Wagtails, though none appeared to be the hoped for continental White Wagtail race. A very showy Meadow Pipit allowed me to take a nice sequence of photos before I moved on again. A few Starlings and another small group of rather flighty Linnets were around the old coastguard building behind the hide. As the weather was nice I walked out onto the rocks to scan, rather than go into the Fife Bird Club hide.
A large flock of 80+ Great Black Backed Gulls in a mixture of plumages were stood together on the rocky islet just offshore. An Oystercatcher fed among the seaweed a short distance away. A pair of Eiders were out on the sea not far offshore and they were joined a while later by a Guillemot. One or two Herring Gulls drifted over, with others much further out over the water. Gannets were in remarkably short supply with only small numbers passing by offshore. A pair of Terns flapped their way by giving me my third year-tick of the day - Sandwich Tern. Shag and Cormorant both flew low over the relatively calm water and a summer plumaged Red Throated Diver inelegantly put down for a spot of fishing just to the north. I decided to check out Fife Ness Muir ("the patch"), a trio of Swallows coming in off the sea and whizzing over my head inland as I headed towards the cottage past which the path to the patch passes. It was quiet in the trees with only Long Tailed and Coal Tits being seen.
Crossing the golf course to head back uphill, a Kestrel was seen hunting over the rough in front of the summer cottages, but it had flown off south over the patch before I was able to stop to take a photo. I headed back past Kilminning with the Buzzard again taking flight and a few more Woodpigeons doing likewise. Meadow Pipits and Skylarks again lifted and called and sang from the fields. In Denburn Wood a Robin showed nicely and a bit of movement on the trunk of a tall old tree turned out to be a Treecreeper working its way upwards checking out the crevices among the bark for insects.
I exchanged a few messages back and forward with my pal, Jacqui Herrington, as I bussed it back towards St Andrews and we arranged to meet up at Guardbridge and go and visit Morton Lochs for an hour. The bus I was on was being very temperamental, losing power and stopping before the driver restarted the engine. I did manage to add Lapwing to the day list as we passed the Fairmount golf course entrance. Carrion Crows and Woodpigeons were in the field by the caravan park. We eventually limped back to the bus station to find I had just missed the Dundee bus. A short wait and I was headed to meet Jacqui. I quickly popped into the hide to use the facilities and have a quick look out the window. Shelduck and Redshank being the only obvious birds out on the mud, with a Red Breasted Merganser in the river.
We parked Jacqui's car at the top of the entrance road and walked down the pitted and potholed gravel track. The fields to the south were being ploughed and there were lots of birds around feeding on the ground. Carrion Crows mingled with Oystercatchers, Curlews, Lapwings, Woodpigeons and one or two Mistle Thrushes. A pair of Mute Swans were on the small flooded pool with a wader feeding around behind them on the muddy edges. Although there was a lot of heat shimmer we did manage to see enough to be able to claim my fourth new bird of the day - Green Sandpiper. It had been reported on and off for a week or so and was a good bird to get for my year list. Coincidentally, my first ever Green Sandpiper had been in the same place and also with Jacqui back in April 2010.
We headed in to check out the lochs themselves from the hides. It was very quiet out on the water with a few Mallards dotted around. A pair of Greylags and a pair of Teal were picked out as they rested on the far side opposite the hide. One or two Little Grebes were around, disappearing under the water and popping up again briefly before diving again. Jacqui spotted a Sparrowhawk overhead just before we decided to check the view from the other hide. En route we did manage to see a Chiffchaff as well as a Wren. Blackcap was heard but proved to be elusive. From the other hide, only a Moorhen was added to the birds seen from the other hide.
We wandered back out the road, pausing to check out the other loch. A Grey Heron flew in as we watched. We stopped again and scanned across the field, finding a male Pheasant near the trees. A Pied Wagtail landed in front of us, tail wagging before flying off again. A few Feral Pigeons flew in to join the other birds in the field, and as we walked on a bird lifted from the earth and flew low over the ground before landing up in the tops of the small group of trees in the middle of the field. We had wondered the identity of the bird as it flew low, a patch of white showing as it went. I had suggested Wheatear but began to doubt myslef when it landed in the treetops. However, this turned out to be correct though neither of us could recall having ever having seen Wheatear in a tree before. A Mistle Thrush landed on a fence post nearby briefly, allowing me to grab a quick photo of the perched bird. A Yellowhammer and a Chaffinch were seen in th trees as we reached Jacqui's car again.
Jacqui dropped me off at St Michaels to wait for my bus back to Dundee and I watched the Rooks coming and going noisily to their nests in the trees opposite the bus stop. A Swallow busily hunted around the roofs of the houses and the St Michaels Inn at the crossroads. A few Woodpigeons were seen from the bus back to Dundee though little else.
A very enjoyable day out with 66 species seen (4 new in bold)
Blackbird, Blackcap, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Gannet, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Green Sandpiper, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Shag, Shelduck, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Teal, Treecreeper, Wheatear, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer