With major roadworks in Guardbridge and towards St Andrews planned for at least the next 6 weeks with major changes to public transport in the area for the duration, myself and Nat decided we should probably squeeze in some birding in Fife for our regular midweek birding outing. With the Kinshaldy wintering Snow Bunting flock having been seen a few days before, though not on the Tuesday despite being searched for, we decided to try for them first then visit a few other places including Portmoak Moss which had been recommended to us by the lady I spoke to at Montrose Basin on Sunday. With sunshine and blue skies forecast, fingers were crossed for a successful trip.
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| Snow Bunting |
I wasn't feeling too great the previous evening and did consider calling off but even though I still wasn't feeling anywhere near 100% when I got out of bed on Wednesday morning I forced myself to get out to meet Nat in Fife.I had arranged to meet her at the far end of the roadbridge at around 0845, so I left home around 0815. Carrion Crow and Herring Gull were first onto the list but as the streets were rather busy birds were few and far between though I did find a few on Dens Road, with Blackbird, Blue Tit, Woodpigeon and Robin all seen in a very short stretch. Feral Pigeon was added before I arrived at the bus station.
Across the other side of the bridge, Black Headed Gull was seen around the car park. We headed for Leuchars as the road from Tayport is still being worked on. Starling was seen as we passed through the village, with Common Gulls, Chaffinches, a single Buzzard, Redwing and Great Tit all seen from the car as we drove into Tentsmuir Forest and past the barrier. Arriving at the car park we stopped to try and work out what bird was singing. It turned out to be a Chaffinch but the song was rather different from the usual song - vaguely similar but sufficiently different to make us stop. Two Treecreepers showed well as they climbed up neighbouring conifer trunks. A Robin perched on a fencepost and a few Blue Tits flitted around.
Heading out into the dunes having parked the car, we heard a Mistle Thrush singing and easily found it perched right at the top of a tall tree to the north. A Meadow Pipit flew up from within the dunes. There was a lot of flooding in the dunes and we made the mistake of not crossing to the beach near the car park. As it turned out the chances to get across to where we wanted to be were very few and far between as we walked north. A few Skylarks flew up from ahead of us. I spotted a small flock of finch type birds in flight silhouetted against the blue sky, but they were too far away to ID safely. Nat counted 13 and that number was close enough to the reported Snow Bunting flock to suggest they were the birds we were looking for.
We needed to get to the beach side of the dunes and there was a lot of not particularly shallow water between us and where we wanted to be. Luckily the ground rose just enough to enable us to be able to get across a bit further on. However, this meant that we would have to double back a little as the birds had been headed south when we saw them. This we did, but we drew a blank so decided to head back towards the area the birds had favoured last winter, at the northern end of the raised area of dunes that bordered the beach. There were Oystercatchers on the beach, as well as Cormorants and a Great Black Backed Gull. I found a few Reed Buntings among the dunes. Nat took the strand-line and I walked along the higher part of the dunes. This gave us a decent chance at spotting the birds if they were around. A few more Skylarks and Reed Buntings followed.
Just as we were running out of likely feeding areas for the birds, not too far from the large tidal pool, Nat shouted to me. She had spotted the Snow Buntings feeding among the strand-line debris a short distance ahead. I moved round onto the beach for a better angle and edged a bit closer. The birds ignored us both and we were able to watch them feeding for a few minutes before something caused them to fly off. Still, it was mission accomplished once again. A quick look at the pools found Common Gulls, a pair of Shelducks and a Curlew or two down on the shore. We debated heading further north for Green Woodpecker but decided instead to try for the species later in the day at Portmoak Moss, where we had been assured the birds were easy to see. Heading back t the car park we added Eiders and more distant Common Scoters offshore but a lack of scope meant we didn't give them any further scrutiny.
We decided on a quick visit to Guardbridge to hopefully pick up Peregrine Falcon for the year. As we crossed the bridge over the Motray I spotted a Buzzard perched in a small bush just a few feet from the road, looking down onto the riverbank. Nat parked the car and I hurried out as an angler was getting organised and was probably headed in the same direction as us. I didn't really expect the Buzzard to stay put as I arrived at the opposite end of the bridge from the bird, but it did. I took a series of photos before Nat joined me. I heard a Grey Wagtail calling but I was so focused on the Buzzard that I didn't even attempt to locate it. Unfortunately by now the angler was also now across the road from us and heading across the bridge. We moved a bit closer to the bird and got a few photos before the angler crossed the road and went to head down the track behind the bird. This was too close for the bird and it took off and flew off across the road and upriver int the trees.
We walked down the same track as the angler and watched a Magpie fly across ahead of us and into the trees. There was no Peregrine perched on the old papermill building unfortunately and the sun was in the wrong place t have a good scan through the birds out on the mud across the Eden. There were a few Black Tailed Godwits, Mallards and Teal close by, as well as some Redshanks and Goldeneye across the other side and in the water. A large flock of Lapwings congregated together in the centre of the mud. We headed back t the car, watching the Buzzard being harassed by 2 Carrion Crows as it perched atop a telegraph pole near where the car was parked. It flew off before we had even crossed back over the road and the bridge.
A Collared Dove, Dunnock, Woodpigeon, Goldfinch an House Sparrow were all seen in and around the gardens though a quick stop at the pool at the end of the road only found a pair of Mute Swans and a Redshank. W decided to head next to Buckhaven in the hope of seeing Mediterranean Gull. A few Buzzards and crows were seen on the way but little else. We stopped at Leven at the mouth of the river to have our lunch first, adding Red Breasted Merganser and Pied Wagtail to our day list but little else, though there were plenty gulls, Goldeneye, Oystercatchers and Redshanks. Buckhaven proved a disappointment with only Eiders offshore, and no sign of any Mediterranean Gulls despite attempting to entice birds in with some bread left over from lunch.
Portmoak Moss via Vane Farm was our next planned stop. Although there were a few possible books to purchase I resisted temptation for once and we continued on to Portmoak Moss. A Kestrel flew across the road near Vane Farm and a flock of Rooks overflew the car as we turned down towards Scotlandwell. We found the small car park for the Moss, and followed the path in through the trees. few Blue Tits were seen and we heard a Jay and a Great Spotted Woodpecker calling though saw neither. Things seemed promising. A little further in we heard and saw a few Siskins flying over. Coal Tit, Goldcrest and Great Spotted Woodpecker were all seen in the trees before we reached the steps up to the proper open area of the Moss. Unfortunately, we managed to get right around the full circuit without seeing anything new, in fact birds were very few in number, and there was no sight or sound of Green Woodpeckers. Still we now know where to go and it may be that it is a more productive site at a different time of day/year.
We decided to head back in the direction of home, possibly stopping at Gaddon Loch on the off-chance that the American Wigeon that we missed out on had somehow sneaked back in. Jackdaw was added as we passed through Auchtermuchty. When we arrived at Birnie and Gaddon, there were a few birds on the grass including a pair of Greylags. Out on the water were a few Tufted Ducks and a drake Wigeon. Mallards and a Moorhen pair made up the numbers. We walked along the track at Birnie taking us towards the hill where we had the best views of Gaddon from on our previous visit. A drake Goosander was spotted over in the far corner of Birnie along with a Goldeneye.
Gaddon seemed very quiet with little to see initially, though we did find a Redwing and a male Bullfinch sharing a tree as well as a flock of Long Tailed Tits feeding along the railway line in the bushes. We decided on a quick circuit of Gaddon to take us back to the car and we did succeed in finding more Wigeon on the water as well as a few more Goldeneye, Mallard and Coot. A Wren was seen in a pile of branches and another few Goosanders were seen before we made it back to the car. Having made it to almost 1600 I started to feel a bit unwell again and suggested we just head for home. We added one final species - Pheasant, before we reached the dual carriageway road down to the bridge.
58 species seen (1 new -in bold) and a new location visited, with the main target species for the day successfully found.
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Snow Bunting |
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| Snow Bunting |
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| Snow Bunting |
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| Snow Bunting |
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| Snow Bunting |
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| Snow Bunting |
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| Snow Bunting |
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
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| Goldeneye |
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| Oystercatchers |
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| Wigeon |
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| Magpie |
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| Wigeon |
Species seen -Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Eider, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lapwing, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shelduck, Siskin, Skylark, Snow Bunting, Starling, Teal, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
