STONEFACTION BIRDING: 0227 : Incoming (28/10/15)

0227 : Incoming (28/10/15)

Easterlies were finally forecast for Wednesday, but were they perhaps just a little bit too late for the majority of migrant birds on the move? With a spot of mist and rain also forecast there seemed to be a chance for a reasonable 'fall' of migrants around the Crail/Fife Ness area, if our luck was in. I suspected that they were most likely a week or so too late, but that the winter thrushes - Redwings and Fieldfares, and perhaps a few Bramblings would be the most likely birds we would encounter. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, as the saying goes, so I arranged to meet Nat at the end of the road bridge so we could head to Crail.

Brambling

The walk into town was anything but productive with the first bird not seen until I neared the bus station, with a singing Robin on a garden wall on Princes Street. A Herring Gull glided over, and that was that. Not even a Feral Pigeon to be seen. The car park where I met Nat let us add another two species - Black Headed Gull and Carrion Crow but we kept telling ourselves that these very same conditions should mean that any new arrivals would likely stop for a while. Woodpigeons, Feral Pigeons, a single male Blackbird and a Kestrel that remained in the middle of the road at the Wormiston junction until Nat stopped the car inches from the bird, when it flew off into the fields, were all we had to show for the journey to Crail.

We decided to try Denburn Wood first. It proved to be very quiet with a few Blue Tits and Woodpigeons all that was to be seen in the wood and a few Jackdaws around in the churchyard. We headed out to Kilminning, with our fingers well and truly crossed. Thankfully, there were birds to be seen here. The Rowan tree by the entrance had Blackbird, Redwing and Brambling feeding on the berries with a Great Tit aso nearby. There were more Redwings and Blackbirds dotted around, and birds passing over without stopping too, including a few Fieldfare flocks.

In addition to the thrushes, a few Linnets overflew and the local Magpies put in an appearance, as did a small flock of Starlings. We were joined by local bird photographer, John Anderson, and the three of us walked over to Balcomie to check out the walled garden. We met the owner who told us that another birder had seen something unusual but that she couldn't remember the names. We suspected it was likely to have been Will Cresswell, and a text which John received confirmed it. Black Redstart and Ring Ouzel were the rarities. Unfortunately we found neither. Collared Dove, Wren and Dunnock were what we did find at the garden.

Searching around back at Kilminning I found a Chiffchaff in the rose bushes. We heard a Yellow Browed Warbler but it went quiet and we failed to locate it. There were still plenty Redwings, Fieldfares and Blackbirds to see but the hoped for 'biggie' seemed to be hiding. Chaffinch and Coal Tit were both found as were more Bramblings among the trees. I flushed a Woodcock, which was a decent bird to get, but it wasn't visible to Nat from where she was. We drove down to check out the bottom end of the site. It was a bit quieter but there were more thrushes down there as well as Bramblings.

While I stood watching a Goldcrest in the bushes from behind a line of trees a duck whizzed past inches from my head, a Teal in a hurry. A large flock of birds over by the airfield fence turned out to be predominantly Goldfinches, though among the flock there were also Bramblings, Greenfinch and Yellowhammer. A bunting flew off out of sight, but was most likely to have been just a Reed Bunting but I'll never know for sure. A small group of Skylarks passed over, just below the low cloud base. A few Common Gulls drifted by on the wind, while a drake Mallard headed over a bit higher than the Teal had done earlier.

A Reed Bunting was seen as we checked out the area by the green shed. A Pied Wagtail was on the ground near the finch flock when we went back for a better look. Offshore there were plenty of gulls on the water and a handful of Gannets flapping and gliding by a bit further out. No doubt there were other birds out there shrouded by the mist, but we could only see a short distance offshore because of the conditions. We had something to east and had another check of the top end, where a female Sparrowhawk flew out of a conifer and off over the airfield buildings. The piles of feather around the area suggest some success for either this particular bird or another of its species.

Having failed earlier to see the Black Redstart at Balcomie, and with birds apparently still arriving, we decided to try the walled garden once again. Access to this area is generously allowed by the owners of the farm to Fife Bird Club members, which both myself and Nat are. We met another pair of birders on their way back from the garden and asked if they'd seen anything. They had managed to find the Black Redstart and told us where to look. We thanked them for the information and off we went to try again. Things didn't look too promising initially but a bird flitted around before perching on a wall. Black Redstart, my second of the year, and Nat's first ever. The light was poor and the cameras struggled for focus but I managed a few record shots.

We found a few House Sparrows but not too much else before heading back to the car and then across the golf course to try a spot of seawatching from the FBC hide. I had a quick chat to Dr Jim Cobb who rings the birds at "the patch" who said there didn't appear to be many fresh arrivals, so we decided to not pop up for a look. Offshore, there were Gannets going by, and the rocks held Cormorants and Shags. A drake Red Breasted Merganser headed past low over the water at speed. As we walked round to the hide, a Redshank flushed from the small pebble beach.

There was a newly arrived Blackbird below the hide when I opened the window hatches, while more Gannets passed by as well as Cormorants and Shags heading out low above the large waves. I spotted a Red Throated Diver heading south low over the water but lost it in the troughs. A Curlew flew up from nearby before turning round and heading back inland. We spotted a few more Blackbirds just offshore, a foot or so above the waves, obviously just arriving after a long flight over a rough sea with limited visibility. We did see a few more groups come in but overall there wasn't much variety. We found some Oystercatchers and Ringed Plovers roosting out on the rocks. It was a rather high tide with Stinky Pool inundated with seawater from both ends.

We headed back upto Kilminning once more for another quick look before the light levels dropped again and the forecast rain arrived. I flushed a second Woodcock, and also a male Pheasant which had been calling loudly. As we decided to call it a day the rain started, having been at most light misty drizzle previously. By the time we reached St Andrews it was rather heavy and it was a similar story in Dundee. We'd managed to see 48 species which considering the conditions wasn't too bad with Nat adding another species to her growing life list.

Species seen - Black Redstart, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Brambling, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Gannet, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Shag, Skylark, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Teal, Woodcock, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.