STONEFACTION BIRDING: 0231 : Testing Times (11/11/15)

0231 : Testing Times (11/11/15)

With both Tamron and Sigma having brought out 150-600mm lenses in the past year or so, I had been considering buying one. Unfortunately, the Sigma lens required an upgrade to the software of the D7100 camera for it to work properly, apparently. Not wanting to be without my main camera body for any length of time, I ruled out the Sigma. However, the price of the Tamron lens when it was released was a bit too high for me to justify buying it for the extra 100mm of magnification. An email from Ffordes coupled with a catalogue from Wex had me looking at prices. The price for a new lens had dropped to an almost justifiable to myself price. However, Ffordes had a second-hand lens in stock for quite a bit cheaper. Temptation proved too much...

Song Thrush

Having waited in all day Tuesday for the delivery to arrive I was a bit disappointed to find not only was the light beginning to fade but that it was also a very grey and drizzly day. I would have to wait till my Wednesday outing with Nat to give it a work-out. We decided to head for Vane Farm where a Green-Winged Teal had been seen earlier in the week. Leaving the house slightly later than intended, I was lucky to find a bus on its way down the road which I managed to catch into town. Herring Gull and Robin were both seen on the way to the bus stop, with Feral Pigeons seen at the Wellgate. However, the recent changes to the bus routes mean a longer walk than previously so I was cutting things fine as I arrived at the bus station. A Carrion Crow was on the roof of one of the blocks in the Seagate.

I met Nat at the end of the roadbridge, adding Black Headed Gull and Woodpigeon as we left the car park heading for one of Nat's local patches. A previous visit here had proved quite productive so fingers were crossed for a repeat, and a good work-out for the new lens. As we were about to get out of the car a flock of what looked like Golden Plovers could be seen off to the north but they had disappeared by the time we were out of the car. We didn't have to wait too long for birds however, with a Buzzard and a Cormorant passing overhead in different directions. A flooded area nearby held a mixture of waterbirds - a pair of Gadwall, a pair of Mute Swans, a few Coots, a Moorhen and a few Teal around the edges.

Walking on a Grey Wagtail overflew, and 4 Pied Wagtails could be seen scurrying around on the ground beyond the flooded area. A skein of Pink Footed Geese flew by, while on nearby wires a trio of Goldfinches were joined by a single Greenfinch. We then found a mixture of birds feeding on the ground, Blackbirds, Dunnock, Robin and Wren. A small tree down a track held a few Redwings and a another Yellowhammer. They were soon joined by a couple of Song Thrushes. A flock of Woodpigeons passed westwards, while a smaller group of Fieldfares did likewise, their chuckling call catching our attention. A Stock Dove briefly landed in the top of a tall tree but changed its mind and flew off again.

Chaffinch and Reed Bunting were next onto the list with an adult male of the first and a young male of the second being spotted. More Woodpigeons went west, a loose flock of around 60 birds this time. We came to another larger pool. This one had a mix of species with a few Canada Geese, Mallards, Tufted Duck and Wigeon to be seen. A Coal Tit flew into a tree behind us. Some more scanning of the pool found a Little Grebe. We headed back towards the car. I heard a Mistle Thrush calling and spotted it on wires across a field. A small group of Lesser Redpolls overflew. We had heard Meadow Pipits earlier and as we neared the car we spotted a pair perched on top of a fence.

Further west we turned off the main road to check out another flooded field. There were a lot of Common Gulls stood around, while on the pool could be seen a large group of Greylags, a Pink Footed Goose or two, Mallards, Wigeon and Teal. Among them wandered a lone Lapwing. The fields on the other side of the car held a single Curlew and in another field a bit further away we spotted a male Pheasant. There were a few Jackdaws flying around here too. Next we headed to Letham Pools, a few miles down the road. It was rather quiet there with a number of Teal, a few Black Headed Gulls, a small group of Goldeneye and a handful of Goosander.

As Nat had never been to Rossie Bog we made this our next stop, but even with all the recent rain it was still dry. However, in the trees there was a small flock of birds moving through. A family group of Long Tailed Tits were joined by a pair of Treecreepers, a few Goldcrests and Coal Tits. Nearby were Blue Tits and a few Chaffinches. A Carrion Crow overflew. Angle Park was our next stop. There were good numbers of birds here but despite scanning through the ducks, the only addition to our list on the water was a Shoveler drake. Great Tit and Blue Tit flew by as we wandered along the road in search of a calling Magpie. We found the bird perched in a small tee by the horse field. We decided to check the pools beyond the car park. I wandered in ahead of Nat, and spooked a Jay which flew up into the trees across the water. I suspected we might find a Grey Heron here and sure enough a single bird flew out from the trees on the small island.

We drove through Ladybank to check out the Wilderness. There was no sign of any Snipe which was a surprise and a disappointment. There was a mix of ducks and gulls but nothing new among them. Our only addition here being Whooper Swan. There were a few family groups with the greyer youngsters much in evidence. We decided to take the scenic route to Loch Leven, going via Falkland and over the Lomonds. Rooks were seen on the outskirts of Falkland, and on the way down the other side of the Lomonds we stopped to watch a few Skylarks hanging in the wind above the roadside fields.

The list of possibilities at Vane Farm/Loch Leven that we hadn't already seen wasn't particularly long, but as things turned out, the additions we did get here were rather few. The feeders were rather quiet, so we headed down to the hides. With heavy rain clearly approaching from the west, we decided to hurry to the furthest away hide first so that if we did encounter rain we would, in theory, be nearer the visitor centre/car when we did so. In addition to lots of Teal, there weren't too many other species on the water in front of the rather empty hide. I scanned back and forward through the roosting Teal flock but there was no sign of the American bird among them. There were obviously other birds that couldn't be seen from the hide and it could have been among those. A pair of Shelduck were the only new species here.

We decided not to bother with the middle hide, instead heading back to the first one, which was also empty. Only a single Moorhen was on the pools out front. Out on the Loch, Nat spotted a few drake Pochards among the Tufted Ducks and Whooper Swans. A few Cormorants could be seen much further out on the Loch. I found a winter plumage Great Crested Grebe but with the rain blotting out the northern side of the Loch we headed back up to check out the books in the visitor centre. For once there was nothing to tempt me. With the heavy rain which had been forecast arriving a bit earlier than it was supposed to, we decided to call a halt to proceedings and head for home. A Kestrel on a telegraph pole was the only addition before Nat dropped me off near Drumoig. As the bus stopped the rain came on quite heavily. Nice timing.

A good day out despite the early finish and drawing a blank on the target bird (though expectations of finding it were rather low) and a respectable total of 62 species seen. The lens seemed to perform reasonably well, though conditions were rather poor with grey, flat conditions meaning a higher than hoped for ISO setting was required. The extra reach the lens provided was welcome though and the autofocus did appear to be quicker than the Sigma 50-500mm lens I usually use. Time will tell which is better though, and which gets most use.

Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Fieldfare, Gadwall, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Crested Grebe, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Lapwing, Lesser Redpoll, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Pochard, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shelduck, Shoveler, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.