Wednesday came around all too quickly, marking the half-way point of my week off work. I'd had 4 pretty full days worth of birding, but my enthusiasm was holding and my usual midweek outing with Nat was on the cards. There had been some very good birds turning up on the Isle of May (Thrush Nightingale, Bluethroats etc) but for some reason nothing had been found in Angus or mainland Fife. I had a theory that it was winds from the northeast that were bringing the birds to the island but leaving the south facing coastlines of Angus and Fife bereft of good stuff. I had a hunch that Boarhills pond might be worth a try.
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| Grey Partridge |
I headed out to catch a bus to Fife to meet up with Nat at around 0750. Once again it was a fairly typical haul on my way to the bus station - Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Herring Gull, Starling, Blackbird, Swift and Lesser Black Backed Gull. On reaching Fife I added Greenfinch and Carrion Crow. We discussed whether or not to head to Letham Pools or Boarhills first but Nat realised she'd managed to leave her binoculars at home, so our first stop was outside her house. Binoculars safely on board we set off again, a wrong turn deciding our destination - Boarhills it was. Goldfinch, Swallow, House Martin, House Sparrow and Oystercatcher all seen on the way to the small village a few miles along the coast from St Andrews.
Although the sun was shining and the sky was mostly blue there was quite a strong wind blowing, so the walk down the farm track to the pool was a dusty one. There were a few birds to see along the way, but not too many - Pied Wagtail, Song Thrush, Skylark, Yellowhammer, Pheasant and Stock Dove. We did also encounter a car on the track . The driver was also looking for birds. Crows. To shoot. He asked where we would be, and asked us to stay out of the particular field he would be shooting in. This wasn't great as the side we couldn't get to was the most sheltered and the likely place for any tired birds. However, being accidentally hit by shotgun pellets would mean a hasty ending to our birding. We would just have to make the best of the rest of the pool area.
There were a few birds around at the pool - a Sedge Warbler sand and carried out a few display flights, a Reed Bunting or two, a Grey Heron pair which flew off, a Chiffchaff and a Whitethroat. Nearby we also found Linnets, Wren and Yellowhammers while out over the sea there were Gannets passing as well as a Fulmar and a Great Black Backed Gull. Shelduck and Eider also flew by, the former headed inland, the latter up the coast. With rather disappointing results and the most likely area effectively off-limits we decided to cut our losses and head back to the car. We added Jackdaws on the way back. We also heard, but didn't see a singing Corn Bunting. A flyover Mallard pair near the village and some Tree Sparrows, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Chaffinch and Dunnock actually in Boarhills rounded off that particular part of the day list.
We had intended on visiting Kingsbarns had we been successful at Boarhills but instead decided that Crail and the surrounding area might be more productive after all. We decided to 'do' Denburn Wood first, before heading out to Kilminning and maybe a spot of seawatching at some point also. A Collared Dove perched on the church wall greeted us before we made the short walk into the small wood. There were a few birds - Robin, Blackcap, Woodpigeons, Blackbirds, Blue Tits, Great Tits. As we were on our way out again I spotted a bird in a small tree by the wall bordering the road at the southern end. When we finally managed a clearer view it proved to be a Lesser Whitethroat. Unfortunately for us it flew into the main wood and we lost sight of it among the trees. We did find a Coal Tit to add to the list but that was scant consolation.
Kilminning proved to be rather quiet also with Magpie, Buzzard and a few Willow Warblers around. A very nice surprise was a butterfly I noticed flitting around at my feet. It was small and mostly brown. I knew it was still rather early for Ringlet and Meadow Brown, so I was paying attention when it landed. Surprisingly it turned out to be a Speckled Wood - not a butterfly I encounter too often. Talking to bird photographer, Eric McCabe later at Fife Ness he reckoned it could even be a first record for Fife. Via facebook I discovered that it was actually only the second ever record of the species for Fife. So little in the way of rare birds, but a rare butterfly, of sorts instead.
As we drove to Fife Ness via the golf course, Nat spotted a bird running across the road. A nice female Grey Partridge which I managed a couple of photos of before we had to move owing to a car behind us. After a quick chat to Eric McCabe we headed into the hide for a spot of sea-watching. With easterlies there was a chance of something good passing. We took the scope in with us and it did actually make a big difference in what I could pick out. Unfortunately it isn't always practical for me to carry a scope in addition to my camera gear and binoculars etc. There were plenty of Gannets passing, along with Eiders and a few gulls including the odd Common Gull. In addition, I managed to spot Common Terns, Razorbills, Puffins, Guillemots, Shag, Kittiwakes and Sandwich and Arctic Terns. Best birds were a total of 8
Manx Shearwaters (groups of 2, 3 and 2) - a year-tick for me. Nat spotted a passing Whimbrel, which was also a nice bonus.
After roughly an hour's sea-watch we headed inland, first to The Wilderness, near Ladybank and then onto Letham Pools. We added nothing new on the way, but once we arrived at our first stop we did succeed in finding a few birds. Mute Swans, Coots, Sand Martins and Lapwing were all new for the day. I spotted a large-ish wader wandering along the edge of a sandy spit. There was only one thing it really could be - incidentally a bird we were hoping to see at Letham Pools - a
Ruff. The second year-tick of the day. We moved on to Letham Pools.
Gadwall, Shoveler, a single drake Pochard, a Canada Goose, some Greylags, Tufted Ducks and a Little Egret were all around. There were also a few Black Headed Gulls, Oystercatchers and a Ruff. More scanning around found Wigeon, Mallard, a lone Curlew, Great Crested Grebe, Redshanks, a Common Sandpiper and Teal. Reed Bunting, Skylark, Sand Martin, Linnet and Pied Wagtail were also seen here. As it was now around 1730 we decided to call it a day and headed homewards.
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| Wren |
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| Collared Dove |
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| Blackcap |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Speckled Wood |
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| Manx Shearwater |
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| Manx Shearwater |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Mute Swan & Ruff |
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| Ruff |
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| Little Egret |
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| POchard |
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| Ruff |
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| Ruf |
79 species seen including 2 year-ticks (in bold) - Arctic Tern, Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Common Tern, Coot, Curlew, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Gadwall, Gannet, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Partridge, Greylag Goose, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kittiwake, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Lesser Whitethroat, Linnet, Little Egret, Magpie, Mallard,
Manx Shearwater, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pochard, Puffin, Razorbill, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon,
Ruff, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Sedge Warbler, Shag, Shelduck, Shoveler, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Tufted Duck, Whimbrel, Whitethroat, Wigeon, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
