Although the weather forecast for Wednesday was looking a bit wet, it appeared the rain around Fife Ness would be just about bearable, light drizzle being forecast. This would possibly mean any arriving migrant birds would seek cover as soon as they arrived, and if the sun came out, or the rain stopped, there would be potentially good birds around. With that vague plan in mind, I arranged to meet Nat at the end of the road bridge and we would head straight to Kilminning.
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| Goldfinch |
We had decided to start a bit later than usual, so it was around 0810 when I left the house to head into town to catch the bus over the bridge to meet Nat. Blackbird, Jackdaw and Woodpigeon were seen almost as soon as I was outside but it took a while longer before I added anything else with Herring Gull and Feral Pigeon being seen as I neared the bus station. Collared Dove near the ring road was a bit of a surprise. Cormorant was added from the bus as we crossed the river and Black Headed Gull was around the car park. Nat arrived a minute after I did, and off we went. House Sparrows were seen in Guardbridge while Curlew and Lapwing were added as we headed for St Andrews. Starling was added in St Andrews but there was nothing else seen before we reached Kilminning.
When we arrived at Kilminning, Willie Irvine was already scanning the bushes and trees in at the left hand side at the top end. We joined him and soon started to see a few species. The rain was light but soon started to get heavier. Chaffinch, Robin, plenty of Goldcrests and an overflying Pied Wagtail were soon followed by Goldfinch, Great Tit and a few glimpses of a single
Yellow Browed Warbler. A nice year-tick for me, and a lifer for Nat. The rain got heavier and there was lots of wiping down of binoculars as we tried for better views of the birds that were around. Blue Tits and another Yellow Browed Warbler flitted through the bushes by the road, but the rain and poor light made photography pointless.
A Magpie flew by, while overhead Meadow Pipit, Redwings, Skylarks and Song Thrushes came in off the sea. A Common Gull glided by. We decided that there wasn't much to be gained by staying out in the rain, so we headed back to the car to drive down to the bottom end. We sat with the windows opened slightly scanning the bushes. The first area we tried was quiet but we could see a few birds further over. Yellowhammers, Song Thrush and male Blackcap all foraged around in the same small Sycamore. With the rain still showing no sign of abating we headed down across the empty golf course to head into the hide for a spot of sea-watching.
Already in the hide were the Fife recorder, Malc Ware and Davie Ogilvy, scopes set up. Visibility out over the water was rather limited with the water and sky merging into one grey mass not too far out. There was also a serious swell, with large waves crashing in. There were still birds to be seen though, and we had soon seen Eiders, Gannets, Shags and Great Black Backed Gulls. An Oystercatcher flew by and a Redshank landed by the pools in front of the hide and was soon joined by a few others. A Velvet Scoter headed south and a large skein of a couple of hundred Barnacle Geese passed over low down and close in. A Guillemot was tricky to find as it dived among the big waves.
A Rock Pipit flew in and landed out on the rocks. A Red Throated Diver powered southwards and a small group of Teal passed by in the same direction just above the waves. Another Red Throated Diver and a number of Kittiwakes were also seen. With our stomachs beginning to rumble we decided to head back to the car for something to eat. Once we'd had our lunch we headed back up to Kilminning for another look. We headed back down to the bottom end stopping to watch a flock of Linnets in the field down from the karting track. A male Chaffinch and a few Greenfinches were among the flock which were rather unsettled.
A Pheasant and a large flock of Goldfinches were watched in the trees at the bottom end of Kilminning with Dunnock and Wren both also seen. A Rook was perched on a fencepost as we headed back to Crail. The first Buzzard of the day went on the list as we neared Kingsbarns. We made a quick stop at St Andrews but only Turnstone was new here, before we headed along to the hide at Guardbridge in the hope of topping up the list a little.
We were relatively successful initially with a few Grey Herons dotted around, and Tree Sparrows on the feeders. A pair of Wigeon were on the far bank and among the Redshanks could be seen some Dunlin. Mute Swans were on the river and a Red Breasted Merganser flew off downstream. After lots of searching I finally found a single Shelduck well out on the mud but with the prospects of further additions appearing rather slim we decided to call it a day and headed for home.
57 species on a wet day was a bit of a surprise, but welcome
nonetheless, especially the 1 year tick among them (in bold) - Barnacle
Goose, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard,
Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew,
Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Gannet, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed
Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House
Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kittiwake, Lapwing, Linnet, Magpie, Meadow Pipit,
Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted
Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon,
Rock Pipit, Rook, Shag, Shelduck, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Teal,
Tree Sparrow, Turnstone, Velvet Scoter, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren,
Yellow Browed Warbler, Yellowhammer.
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| Redwing |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Blackcap |
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| Redshank |
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| Guillemot |
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| Shag |
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| Kittiwake |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Starling & Linnet |
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| Linnet |
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| Linnet & Greenfinch |
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| Dunnock |
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| Goldfinch |
