With my 'Autumn migration' week's holiday off work looking like being a write-off, a report of a Buff Breasted Sandpiper at Balcomie on Thursday was definitely of interest. Having seen the species in exactly the same place a few years previously, I considered jumping on a bus to try for it, but a near 2 hour trip just to get there and an almost 2 mile walk at the end was enough to curtail those thoughts. I thought about trying for it on Friday when I would have the whole day to try and locate it, assuming it stuck around. A message from birding buddy, Jacqui, on Thursday night asking if I wanted to try for it on Friday morning for a few hours set the wheels in motion.
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| Wigeon |
A read of Will Cresswell's 'Wild Crail' blog late on Thursday night seemed to put a spanner in the works with the bird apparently vanishing. I messaged Jacqui in the morning to tell her, but a Meadow Pipit calling as it went over my home persuaded me that there were at least some birds still on the move so there was some potential to pick up another traveler even if the BBS wasn't around. I headed out at 0750 to walk to the bus station for the 0810 bus to Guardbridge to meet Jacqui. On the way to the bus station I managed to see just 4 species - Herring Gull, Blue Tit, Blackbird and Feral Pigeon.
From the bus to Guardbridge I added Woodpigeon, Rook, Swallow, Jackdaw and Collared Dove. Jacqui was waiting at the car park for the Guardbridge hide when I got off the bus and we set off for Crail and the Fife Ness area. Starlings were seen in Guardbridge, but there were no additions on the way to our destination. We parked t the top end of Kilminning and walked along towards the golf course to scan the field where the Sandpiper had been seen the previous day. There were Carrion Crows in the field as well as some Woodpigeons and what we discovered later were Starlings. We decided to walk down for a closer look through the farmyard at Balcomie.
A few Meadow Pipits overflew, and there were plenty of Yellowhammers around also. A couple of Skylarks flew over, possibly fresh arrivals. There were more Meadow Pipits in the stubble along the field edge and a Magpie was seen. There were also some House Sparrows, Goldfinches and Linnets plus a sizeable flock of Starlings. No sign of any small waders though. From the gate overlooking the golf course we scanned the rocks along the shore. Oystercatcher, Curlew, Redshank were all seen, with Gannets and Cormorant flying by offshore and an Eider drake on the water. A Pied Wagtail was on the wall. A Kestrel hovered above the farm as we turned to head back up the hill.
We wandered back up to the car, adding a female Pheasant to the list as we reached the road. A quick check of the top end at Kilminning gave us more Magpies and a Buzzard, but little else and nothing new, though there were some Red Admiral butterflies to be seen. We tried to the field halfway down but there were only a few Linnets around there plus a few Woodpigeons. Not even any sign of Golden Plover that the Sandpiper might've been expected to associate with. A check of the bottom end didn't yield anything new either. Jacqui dropped me off at the top end as she had to be back home for 12. I had another hunt around the top end but only added a Great Tit to the list. There were a few Blue Tits and Goldfinches around as well, but there was no hint of any migrants except the infrequent calls of Meadow Pipits overhead.
I decided to head down to Balcomie beach to check for waders there. I did see 2 Wrens on the drystane dyke between the fields and the golf course driving range. There were some birds on the shore thankfully - Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Common Gull, Black Headed Gull, Sanderling and Turnstone. More scanning discovered a few Golden Plover among the rocks at the far end of the beach. Nothing particularly interesting or unusual though. I headed for the rocks in front of the hide along at Fife Ness. A few Painted Lady butterflies were seen along the edge of the track, hinting that if nothing else, there were migrant butterflies around.
On the rocks offshore were the usual Shags and Great Black Backed Gulls plus a few Herring Gulls, but no sign of any Purple Sandpipers. Sitting out on the rocks in front of the hide I discovered that it wasn't just on land that things were very quiet. There were Gannets moving but even they were relatively few. A Rock Pipit did land nearby, and 4 Sandwich Terns flew by. I found a single Guillemot sitting on the sea, but no skuas, no divers and no shearwaters. I gave up and headed up into the patch. Needless to say this was also 'dead' with only 2 Coal Tits seen. I checked Stinky Pool before wandering back along to a now quiet Balcomie Beach. A Grey Wagtail flew over but there was only Pied Wagtails on the beach. I decided to cut my losses and headed back to Crail to catch the bus back to St Andrews.
Arriving at Guardbridge hide I found St Andrews birder, Ian Cummings and his pal in situ, and a family visiting from Yorkshire. With no space at the windows I sat back and attempted to see what I could actually see. The light was rather poor with dark grey clouds overhead giving everything an almost black and white look. I did manage to see the large flock of Lapwings but little else from where I was sat. There were a few Mallards visible and a Grey Heron in the river. I failed to see a White Tailed Eagle well out on one of the posts out in the estuary, as it flew off before I could get onto the bird. When the family left, I moved into one of the empty windows and was able to see the whole area.
There were plenty of gulls, Black Headed, Herring and Common, at the bend in the river. Redshanks and a few Curlews were visible. Thankfully the White Tailed Eagle landed back on the post it had been on and I managed to see it. I found a Greenshank on the opposite shore and a party of 4 Wigeon swimming upriver. The Wigeon came close in to shore in front of the hide, and had the light been far better I could have had some nice photos of a duck that is usually seen rather distantly at Guardbridge. Ian picked out a bird near the other post out in the estuary and a photo showed it to be an Osprey. Tree Sparrow and Chaffinch visited the feeders and I spotted a Great Spotted Woodpecker flying over the river to the conifers opposite. A duck off to the left looked like a Pintail, but not quite as elegant. I took some photos which hinted slightly at some Mallard influence, though it may just be a young Pintail.
Ian and his pal left and I was joined by another couple who were very pleased to get to see the Eagle through my small scope. There were also a few Teal around on the river. A young birder who I know from his visits to Riverside Nature Park, Glen Wilson, dropped in. Having not bumped into him for a while we chatted away about birds, birding and Riverside Nature Park. The Kingfisher showed briefly, its calls reaching my ears a few minutes before, alerting me to the possibility it might show. I picked up a Black Tailed Godwit over the saltmarsh circling round. There were 2 Buzzards in the conifers.
One of the Rangers popped in and pointed out that there had been a small addition to the 'broken window' sign, showing that the one next to it was also not to be opened. Having grown used to the one window not being openable, I hadn't actually looked at the sign properly, though the addition was hand-written and rather small. This meant that Glen had to close his window, and I asked about the prospects for repair. Apparently the windows have been measured up for replacement but as the initial report was in June things do not appear to be moving quickly. As the hide gets busier over the winter (a warm sheltered hide is much more welcoming than being outside in Winter) this isn't particularly handy, so hopefully the repairs will happen sooner rather than later and disruption to the hide is kept to a minimum - preferably with some advanced warning of date(s) when work is to take place.
We added nothing else before closing time at 1700 though Great Black backed Gull, Redshank and Greenshank gave us close views below the hide. Myself and Glen headed out to catch our respective buses, Glen to St Andrews where he is at University, and me home in Dundee. I watched a few Collared Doves in a garden while avoiding the wasps coming and going to their nest in a hole in the ground in the garden next to the bus stop. A slightly disappointing day out, despite still managing to see 59 species including White Tailed Eagle, (a late) Osprey, Kingfisher, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Golden Plover and Pintail among others.
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Linnet & Starling |
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| Kestrel & Meadow Pipit |
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| Kestrel |
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| Red Admiral |
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| Skylark |
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| Sanderling |
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| Ringed Plover |
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| Dunlin, Golden Plover & Redshank |
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| Dunlin |
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| Gannet |
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| Dunlin & Turnstone |
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| Gannet |
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| Cormorant |
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| Shag |
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| Small Copper |
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| Painted Lady |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Osprey |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Pintail |
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| Wigeon |
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| White Tailed Eagle |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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| Great Black Backed Gull |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Gannet, Golden Plover, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Lapwing, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pintail, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sanderling, Sandwich Tern, Shag, Skylark, Starling, Swallow, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Turnstone, White Tailed Eagle, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
