 |
| Spotted Redshank & Mallard |
I arranged to meet Nat at the Fife end of the Tay roadbridge to save us a bit of time. I left the house at around 0750 to head into town to catch the bus across the bridge. The smaller birds were in very short supply, though I did hear Blue Tit and Robin but saw neither. Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Collared Dove, Feral Pigeon and Herring Gull were all seen on the walk down to the bus station. I heard a Meadow Pipit go over as I walked down Princes Street, but didn't see it.
I met Nat at the car park and quickly laid out the plan for the day. We set off for our first stop. We could hear a few birds in the trees when we got out of the car, and spent a few seconds looking for them, but a Blackcap calling loudly distracted us. A brief view showed it to be either a youngster or a female, with a brown cap. On the pools were a number of Moorhens. Swallows overflew. Blue Tits and Great Tits foraged around in the trees as we walked along but Coal Tits proved elusive even though we could hear them. A Blackbird called loudly in alarm as it shot out from the trees.
Nat spotted a Wren among the wood piles, and a Yellowhammer sat atop another pile. A young Great Spotted Woodpecker picked around at the foot of another pile. Nat spotted a warbler which turned out be a Chiffchaff, while I found a Dunnock and a Whitethroat on top of yet other wood piles. A small flock of Goldfinches flew out from the trees and overhead. We headed along the track beyond the wood yard, where a mewing young Buzzard flew out from the conifers and away. Greenfinches were next on the list, and a Starling overflew. A few Sand Martins were a bit of a surprise as they passed over with the Swallows.
Something was causing a bit of agitation among the Swallows and we turned to see a Kestrel flying over behind us. I heard Bullfinches in the trees but again they were too far in cover to see them. We spotted a Meadow Pipit passing over, heading westwards, its call giving it away. A few Siskins followed a few minutes later. On the large pool were a pair of Mute Swans and a number of Little Grebes. A Stock Dove sped by, and a small number of House Martins overflew with yet more Swallows. As we headed back to the car, we added Chaffinch and better views of the Chiffchaff. A Reed Bunting flew up from near the car, and a few Mallards were seen in with the Moorhens behind the fence. Goldcrest was heard but not seen before we headed off towards the pool off the Luthrie road.
A few Rooks and a Robin were seen from the car on the way to the field which held the large flooded area. It was relatively quiet with nothing picking around the edges. A few Mallards were on the water, while Linnets and Pied Wagtails flitted around nearer the car. A large flock of gulls in the field held a number of Common Gulls as well as Herring Gulls. Nat spotted a Jackdaw on the other side of the road. Before we set off for Letham Pools I remarked that we were probably on course for between 75 and 80 species if our luck was in.
When we arrived at Letham Pools however it appeared that perhaps our luck wasn't in. Heavy rain the previous afternoon had raised the water levels and the island which was good for waders was underwater. There were a number of ducks around the edges, though most were Mallards and most were asleep. There were a few Teal on the water, and a Grey Heron or two stood around the fringes. In addition, Black Headed Gulls, Tufted Ducks, Coots and Gadwall were spotted but waders were absent. This was a bit of a setback, though the waders such as Lapwing and Oystercatcher and Redshank were likely to be seen elsewhere. Continual scanning eventually found a few Snipe along the edges. Russell Nisbet stopped for a chat and a quick look at the pools as he was passing.
We headed off for a quick check of Mountcastle Quarry but the water levels were high here as well and birds were in short supply, though an adult Great Crested Grebe was feeding a rather large youngster on the water. Mallards and Grey Herons were also seen here. Angle Park was our next stop so off we went via an unintentionally roundabout route. Strangely the water levels at the site were very low with plenty of exposed pebbled areas and lots of exposed shoreline. There were lots of Lapwings here, mostly stood around among the rocks across the far side. I managed to find a few Shoveler and Wigeon among the Mallards and Tufties. Just as we were about to head in to check the pools in the woods a man with 4 or 5 dogs running loose turned off the path through the trees and down the track towards the water. No birds for us there then, so we headed back to the car. A Grey Heron complained loudly about being disturbed as it flew over the trees from where it had been at the woodland pools. A Curlew called as it descended into land at the pools.
The Wilderness, just outside of Ladybank, was our next stop. A Spotted Redshank had been seen here and we were hopeful it was still around. When we arrived we could hear Long Tailed Tits calling above the car in the trees but we didn't make much effort to locate them, instead preferring to head across the road to scope the pool and the surrounding area. A couple who we had met at Letham Pools were already there and another birder, Harry Bell, was scoping the waders around the edges. A Little Stint had been seen but had disappeared into the grass. Having seen one a few weeks ago, this wasn't as disappointing as it could have been. There were plenty Greylags roosting out of the water at the eastern end of the pool. I found a few Ruff which I pointed out to Nat.
A welcome surprise for me among the Greylags were two Barnacle Geese, an adult and youngster, which I suspect were the same birds Nat had seen last month at Letham Pools with Greylags. A year-tick for me. Somebody picked up the Spotted Redshank on a little spit of mud and we all got onto the bird and had decent views against the light as the bird acted in typical SpotRed fashion, up to its belly and very actively head down in the water as it waltzed around the small pool it was in. Something disturbed most of the geese and waders and there was a lot of movement. Thankfully the Spotted Redshank stayed put and I wandered along for a different angle, with the sun in a more favourable position for photos and video.
Minutes later, Harry Bell joined us with news that he had just found a Pectoral Sandpiper. This was a very unexpected, and very welcome, bird. He got us all onto the bird as it stood near a Snipe. The light was pretty poor and heat haze made it difficult to get decent photos or video clips but the v-shaped markings on the breast could be seen despite the conditions. A lifer for Nat, as was the Spotted Redshank. A year-tick for me too. There were a few Bar Tailed Godwits around as well. Curlews, Mallards, Mute Swans, Tufted Ducks, Starlings, Buzzard and gulls were all also seen, as well as a male Blackcap calling continuously among the bushes across the road. I managed to see the bird for a second or two before it dived back into cover. A text message came in about a Curlew Sandpiper on Balcomie beach. This gave us a dilemma. Continue with our planned route in the hope of Green Sandpiper, though none had been reported for a few days from Cullaloe, or cut across country to Fife Ness and Balcomie where hopefully we could see the Curlew Sandpiper.
We discussed the options before settling on Fife Ness and Balcomie for the Curlew Sandpiper. There had also been Sooty Shearwater seen passing offshore, so we had another incentive to try the coast. Off we went, first to Cupar then via Peat Inn to Crail and Fife Ness. A Magpie on the cottage roof was seen as we turned downhill to cross the golf course. Offshore Gannets passed though in nowhere near the numbers of the previous week, Shags stood out on the rocks along with a few Cormorants and a Great Black backed Gull. Eiders floated in a raft further out. A few Sandwich Terns called as they shuttled by over the water. Stinky Pool held a handful of Redshanks and a pair of Herring Gulls, but nothing else.
We headed off along the beach to look for the Curlew Sandpiper which I hoped wouldn't be too hard to find. I knew there was a good chance of it being with either Redshanks or Dunlin, or both, so the sandy areas were more likely than the rocky parts of the beach. We bumped into a birder coming the other way who told us that the bird was still visible and that Will Cresswell was watching the bird from up a small hill. We found Will, who told us which parts of the beach the bird had been favouring and he wished us luck as he headed off. We had left the scope in the car, which wasn't the most sensible decision we could have made. still, I do like a challenge and finding a single Curlew Sandpiper among a beach full of small and medium sized waders and Starlings, as well as gulls, through binoculars from a distance is definitely a challenge.
Undaunted, I described to Nat what to look for and started searching through the constantly shifting mass of waders - Dunlin, Sanderling, Ringed Plovers, Redshanks, Knot, Oystercatchers, Turnstones (there were also Ruff there apparently but I didn't search where they had been seen), even a few Curlews. Eventually I caught the right small group of Dunlin in flight and there among them was the larger build and white rump of the Curlew Sandpiper. I tried to describe to Nat where the group had landed but with waders disappearing behind rocks and piles of seaweed I failed to get her onto the bird before I lost sight again. I scanned and scanned but struggled to relocate it. A small group of Golden Plovers flew over. The wind was rather chilly and it looked like there was rain not too far away out over the sea. with this in mind, I suggested we get the scope from the car to increase the chances of Nat seeing the bird.
Ten minutes later we were back on the small hill setting up the scope. I pointed it at the beach and looked through it. Amazingly, right in the centre of the scope view was the Curlew Sandpiper. I quickly got out of the way to let Nat see it, although it had moved a little before she got her eye to the scope. She found it and had a good few minutes of studying the bird's features so she would stand a good chance of finding her own in future. With both of us now having seen the bird we decided to head along to the hide for a bit of sea-watching. Fulmar, Gannet, Kittiwake, Sandwich Tern, Herring Gull, Black Headed Gull, Shag, Cormorant, Great Black Backed Gull - all the usual suspects were seen easily. I hoped to find Manx Shearwater for Nat, and possibly something even better.
An Eider drifted offshore just beyond the rocks and a Guillemot popped up for a few seconds before vanishing once more below the waves. A Common Tern passed by heading south. I eventually got onto a distant bird which was shearing like a Shearwater. Nat and the other birder in the hide both had the scopes so I talked them both onto the bird before I tried to re-find it myself with the camera. Manx Shearwater was confirmed but the bird I photographed wasn't it. I had got onto a young Kittiwake in roughly the same bit of the horizon. So no photo for me, but another lifer for Nat. We decided to round off the day with a visit to the hide at Guardbridge in the hope of adding a few more species. As we were closing the window hatches I spotted a diver flying by, and grabbed a few photos which showed it to be a Red Throated Diver. The first of the day.
When we arrived at Guardbridge, there were a couple of folk in the hide and the tide still had a bit to go before the waders would be pushed up opposite the hide. Unfortunately there were also another few people who had chosen to stand outside the hide. This meant nothing coming to the feeders, like Tree Sparrow, and very little chance of the Kingfisher. An Osprey was on the mud across near the far edge of the salt marsh, and a Little Egret was further downstream just across the river from the hide. I found a Black Tailed Godwit or two before the woman who had been sat next to me got up to leave with the man who had been standing outside. Once they had left a Tree Sparrow obligingly dropped into the feeders giving us another species.
The tide pushed the Redshank flock further in but despite repeated scanning i could only find a Dunlin of any interest among them. I could hear a Common Sandpiper calling from somewhere opposite and eventually managed to find it on the far shore as it picked around among the mud and washed up debris along the water's edge. More scanning through the gulls and other birds on the water found an interesting looking pair of ducks. These turned out to be a pair of Pintail and our 85th species of a very, very good day out. With the tide almost all the way in, we called it a day and headed for home. The four new year-ticks for me took me past last year's total for the whole year, with almost 4 months still to go. My all-time record is 205. Can I beat that? Also the 85 species in a day is the most I've yet managed to see in 1 day, though I reckon over 100 species is doable, given the opportunity and a bit of luck.
85 species seen (year-ticks in bold) - Barnacle Goose, Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Common Tern, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Gadwall, Gannet, Golden Plover, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kittiwake, Knot, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Magpie, Mallard, Manx Shearwater, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pectoral Sandpiper, Pied Wagtail, Pintail, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Ruff, Sand Martin, Sanderling, Sandwich Tern, Shag, Shoveler, Siskin, Snipe, Spotted Redshank, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Tufted Duck, Turnsone, Whitethroat, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
 |
| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
 |
| Whitethroat |
 |
| Buzzard |
 |
| Sand Martin |
 |
| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
 |
| Linnet |
 |
| Great Crested Grebe |
 |
| Grey Heron |
 |
| Pectoral Sandpiper |
 |
| Dunlin & Curlew Sandpiper |
 |
| Dunlin & Curlew Sandpiper |
 |
| Pied Wagtail |
 |
| Red Throated Diver |
 |
| Red Throated Diver |
 |
| Pintail & Black Headed Gull |