With Wednesday heralding the start of another 3 day spell off work, and potentially 5 straight days of birding, I was hoping that the weather would be favourable for our regular midweek outing. Thankfully, it wasn't too bad and we decided to do another circuit of Fife in the hope of finding Curlew Sandpiper and Wood Sandpiper, and maybe something more interesting too, with migrant season beginning to gather pace.
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| Spotted Redshank |
I headed out at around 0750 to walk into town to catch the bus to Fife to meet Nat. Woodpigeon got the list started followed by a nice surprise bird, a Grey Wagtail flying over. Herring Gull, Blackbird and Feral Pigeon were all rather more predictable. Cormorants were seen from the bus crossing the bridge, while a Carrion Crow was on the grass at the car park where I meet Nat at the end of the roadbridge. With high tide being around 0730 I was hopeful we would catch the waders arriving back on the mud when the visitor centre opened for the day. Rather than head straight there though I suggested we visit the small reservoir off River Crescent in Guardbridge.
On the way there we added Swallow, Collared Dove and Jackdaw to the list with Mute Swans on the Motray and House Martins overhead when we got out of the car at the pool. As hoped the pool was relatively busy with a nice selection of birds on show. A trio of juvenile Shelducks ferreted around in the shallow water, while a pair of Ruff wandered along the edges. A few Redshanks, a number of Teal and a single Curlew were also dotted around. A bit of scanning found a pair of Common Sandpipers and a single Black Tailed Godwit before wandering up through the rather wet grass to the other end gave us Mallard, Black Headed Gull and a single Snipe. Not a bad haul and one that justified the decision to visit.
With the time approaching 0900 we headed along to the Eden Estuary Centre, meeting the Ranger on his way back out having unlocked the door for the day. The Redshanks were just arriving back on the small crescent of exposed mud opposite. A Stock Dove flew by. In the water were a number of gulls including a few Lesser Black Backeds. Blue Tits appeared at the feeders, as did a Dunnock below them. A few Dunlin were in with the Redshanks but it proved impossible to turn any of them into something rarer like a Curlew Sandpiper. Lapwings flew in and landed. Goosanders were spotted out on the river. A Tree Sparrow showed at the feeders, while a charm of Goldfinches overflew. The first Grey Heron winged its way low up the river. A Little Egret flew by. Coal Tit, Chaffinch and Greenfinch popped into the feeders before we decided to move on elsewhere.
We headed next to St Andrews West Sands and Out Head, hoping for the possibility of a Little Stint among the local Dunlin and Sanderling flock. With the tide receding it would be unlikely but nothing ventured, nothing gained. A Starling was on a rooftop in Guradbridge. A Rook was by the road as we drove out to the end of the road at the West Sands to walk the last few hundred metres. Linnets flew off as we started to walk along the edge of the dunes. An Oystercatcher was on the beach, while offshore Sandwich and Common Terns dived for fish. Scanning along the shore found a few Ringed Plovers but there were no other obvious birds relatively near though there were hundreds of gulls and terns offshore both on and off sandbars. A Skylark flushed from the side of the track as we wandered back to the car, and nearing the car, we found 2 Meadow Pipits. Driving back out we added a roadside Pied Wagtail and a Stonechat perched on vegetation atop the dunes.
We headed next to Fife Ness for some scanning of the beach at Balcomie and a spot of seawatching. Common Gulls were seen in fields by the caravan park on the way out of St Andrews and a Buzzard was on a fencepost near Boarhills. House Sparrows were added at Kingsbarns. We parked at our usual spot near Fife Ness and walked along the coastal path northwards in the sunshine. Offshore we could see Shags, Cormorants, Great Black Backed Gulls, Gannets and a few Eiders. A Fulmar or two and Sandwich Terns were also seen but it was relatively quiet offshore. A Wheatear flew low over the rocks the white flash of its tail feathers catching the eye as it went. A single Linnet posed on a rock and a Grey Heron flypast gave the golfers on the tee something to look at.
A small group of Pied Wagtails foraged on the shore among the seaweed. There were a small number of waders on the sand near the water - Dunlin, Redshank and Oystercatcher. A Bar Tailed Godwit joined them briefly. Unfortunately, a dog walker decided that the edge of the water was a better place to throw a ball for Fido than the large empty expanse of sand further up and off went the waders. Not content with spooking them once, she continued on her merry way sending the birds on ahead of her, oblivious to them and also us standing trying to view the birds with binoculars and scope in hand. We gave up and headed back to the car. Nat had lunch while I attempted some seawatching but although it was a lovely warm day or a seat in the sun out on the rocks, there was little movement and we soon decided to head up to Kilminning to check out the trees and bushes there.
Rather unsurprisingly this was also rather fruitless, though a high flying Sparrowhawk was spotted well above us. There were a few butterflies around - Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell and Red Admiral, as well as a few Common Darter dragonflies. Great Tit and Magpie seemed to be the only birds around though. We bumped into Willie Irvine near the bottom end and sat in the sun and talked birds for a while. A male Kestrel hovered briefly nearby but around 1400 we decided to head inland to The Wilderness and Letham Pools. Pheasant was the only addition on the way.
Thankfully there were a few more birds around at The Wilderness, just outside of Ladybank. A few Dunlin caused some difficulty with the sun being in just the wrong place to be 100% sure of the identification. There were also plenty of Curlews around. A single Little Ringed Plover was spotted scurrying around on the mud. Among the Greylag flock were a few Barnacle Geese and hybrid youngsters. Coots, Shoveler, Mallards, Teal, Moorhens and a Tufted Duck were also found, before we moved on again, this time to Letham Pools, a few miles up the road.
A rather nice Spotted Redshank was the main highlight here, as it wandered along the southern edges of the eastern pool. There were a few sightings of Water Rails also - both adults and youngsters. A few Ruffs and a Greenshank were also added here, while on the water were a few Little Grebes and Gadwalls among the Coots, Teal and Mallards. There were a couple of late Sand Martins passing through. After a while we called an early halt to proceedings and headed for home. A good day out despite the lack of 'new birds' with a surprisingly high total of 75 species seen.
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| Curlew |
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| Ruff & Redshank |
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| Redshank & Dunlin |
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| Little Egret |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Linnet |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Wheatear |
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| Dunlin, Bar Tailed Godwit, Redshank & Oystercatcher |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Common Darter |
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| Small Tortoiseshell |
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| Water Rail |
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| Buzzard |
Species seen - Barnacle Goose, Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Common Tern, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Gadwall, Gannet, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Little Ringed Plover, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Ruff, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Shag, Shelduck, Shoveler, Skylark, Snipe, Sparrowhawk, Spotted Redshank, Starling, Stock Dove, Stonechat, Swallow, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Tufted Duck, Water Rail, Wheatear, Woodpigeon.
