Technically the first day of my week's holiday, even though I'd have been off anyway for the weekend, I had a guided walk to lead at Riverside Nature Park to kick-off hopefully a lot of birding, and a lot of additions to an already better than normal year-list. With an 0830 start at Riverside Nature Park I had to be out the door for around 0740 to walk into town to catch a bus out to the park as the Saturday timetables were rather erratic to say the least.
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| Yellow Wagtail |
House Sparrows chirping from the gutters above and a Herring Gull on a chimney, Woodpigeons on lamp posts and a few fly-over Feral Pigeons got the weekend's birding under way in fairly typical fashion. Blackbird, Starling, Goldfinch and Lesser Black Backed Gull were next with Swallow and Carrion Crow added in the city centre. With nothing more added from the bus out to the park, it was a fairly unspectacular start. Fingers were crossed that the warblers wouldn't disappoint on what I had billed as a 'Warbler Wander".
Carrion Crow, Feral Pigeon, Swallow, Starling and Woodpigeon were all 'repeats' for the day but early additions to the park-list for the day, though the Robin was new to both. As were the Oystercatchers and Chaffinch as I walked to the car park rendezvous point. Thankfully it was a much more managable group size than last October's turn-out with 6 (of which I think 4 were returnees, and 2 were from Aberdeen) plus 2 committee members from the Friends group. A Kestrel flew over the car park just before we got underway and a Blackbird flew across the path. Just as we were setting off A pair of Lesser Redpolls passed over calling as they went. Our second raptor of the day, a Buzzard, was next to put in an appearance. A Skylark was singing above the hill and everyone managed to pick out the tiny dot in the sky.
A pair of Mallards flew over, and a few Jackdaws did likewise. In and around the bushes by the path we added Yellowhammer, Dunnock and Goldfinch with the first showing far better than the others. We scanned out across the bay from near the bench and were able to pick out Black Headed Gull, Shelduck and a Grey Heron. A couple of Sand Martins swept over and a Song Thrush with its back to us caused some confusion initially until it turned its head. A Curlew could be seen out on the mud just beyond the pipe. Additional waders were in short supply with only a few Oystercatchers and a Redshank in the bay. A female Teal was near the gull roost.
A Swift was spotted zipping around ahead of us, then a few others slightly higher were noticed too. A Reed Bunting called from a bush. We spent some time watching Whitethroats singing and carrying out display flights - a year-tick for me, before having to move on. A Great Tit was in the hedge on the way to the hide, where nothing new was added except Herring Gull and Lesser Black backed Gull, though a Sedge Warbler was just audible off to the left. A few House Martins were feeding above us along with the Swifts as we walked to the hide. A Linnet overflew us. On the Lochan we were able to add Mute Swan for the day but it was very quiet.
We continued on into the lower half of the park adding Blue Tit and a low flying Great Spotted Woodpecker plus House Sparrows in 'their' hedge. As is usually the case the final part of the walk was slightly hurried though Magpie was added as we neared the car park. As I had no real plans I said to anyone that wanted to join me for another loop of the part we had rushed was free to. The couple from Aberdeen decided to join me so off we went again. A Pied Wagtail was a new bird for the list. A warbler in a small tree turned out to be a Lesser Whitethroat, which was a nice bonus the species having avoided us on the main part of the walk. A few Siskins passed over.
I had received a few Fife Bird Club text alerts about Yellow Wagtails near Crail as we had been walking but not knowing exactly where the birds were, or how accessible the site was on foot/public transport I wasn't sure about attempting to get them. However, a text from a pal, Gil who was thinking about going for them convinced me to try so we arranged to meet at Guardbridge at 1300. With those plans made and Lesser Whitethroat having been a target for the couple from Aberdeen now safely 'in the bag' we finished up and I headed for the bus back to the city centre. I had managed 43 species at the park which was a respectable haul.
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Song Thrush |
Species seen at the park (year-tick in bold) - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Curlew, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Lesser Redpoll, Lesser Whitethroat, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sand Martin, Shelduck, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Teal,
Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.
I caught a bus to Fife around 1220 which I hoped would allow me a short time in the hide. From the bus I added Swifts, Oystercatchers, Rooks, Mute Swan and Collared Dove to the non-park list. I headed into the park and made my way round the fenced off area to the hide - noting that it looked possible to get in/out near the gate at the north end, which would save a walk when Gil arrived. I failed after at least half-a-dozen attempts to get into the hide so I scanned from the side. There were very few birds around, though one in particular immediately caught my eye. A very black looking wader with a few Redshanks. A Spotted Redshank, and in breeding plumage. A year-tick for me, and the first time I'd seen one in its full summer finery. I took a few photos but the wind and a bit of heat haze made getting decent shots tricky. I looked at my watch and knew Gil was likely to be early so I hurried back to the car park, stopping to photograph a hovering Kestrel above the war memorial. House Martins circled overhead.
I met Gil at the car park and told her about the Spottie, so we decided to try from the bridge for a hopefully better view with the sun behind us. A Pied Wagtail flew ahead of us at the bridge. We were able to get slightly improved views of the bird from here, as well as noting Lapwing, Shelduck, Mallard and Goosander too. A minute or so later, the Spotted Redshank and a Redshank it was with took off and headed downriver, though the rest of the small flock stayed put. We decided to head for Crail.
Having consulted my small local road atlas I had an idea where to go so we headed out along the Anstruther road. I spotted Willie Irvine's car parked at the end of the roadside track where the Yellow Wagtails had been seen. Further on we could see Willie, so we stopped (as the traffic was unexpectedly quiet) and asked about the birds. Just at that, a cracking male actually landed on the white line in the middle of the road for a few seconds, in front of the car. With cars coming behind us we moved off along the road, choosing to park at the other end of the dirt track to walk back towards Willie and the birds. We had seen people walking along the track and the birds flying off a short distance into the field before returning when the folk had passed, so it was unlikely that we would inadvertantly chase them off.
We saw a few as we walked along to Willie, as well as Jackdaws, Skylarks and a Pheasant. We spent a short while watching and photographing the birds, mostly a single male, and a pair of females along the track, while a few showed over the field for brief flights, mostly in pairs. Out in the Forth it was easy to pick out Gannets low over the water. With a rather strong, and surprisingly cold, wind blowing we decided to head back to Guardbridge for hopefully better views of the Spotted Redshank. A Yellow Wagtail was on the farm track beside the car when we reached it. Willie decided to join us for the Spotted Redshank, so off we went.
On the way back we saw quite a few birds including a pair of Stock Doves in a field just outside Crail, 7 Grey Herons in a field at Cambo, a few Linnets, a Song Thrush and a Lapwing at the entrance to the golf course on the hill near St Andrews and a few Skylarks. At Guardbridge, Willie managed to get us into the hide - the keypad requiring a particular technique to get it to work properly. The tide was well in and there was no sign of any waders. Great Black Backed Gull and Cormorant were both spotted along with a Buzzard over the other side of the Eden and Tree Sparrows at the feeders. Black Headed Gulls flew past and surprisingly, so did a single Barnacle Goose. On the water were a few Eiders a bit further out.
I suggested paying a visit to the small reservoir just off River Terrace by the Motray in the hope that there might be waders there. There were a few birds around, mostly in the trees and bushes - Long tailed Tits, Blue Tits, Whitethroat and Sedge Warbler. A Curlew was on the mud, while a bit more hunting found us Yellowhammer, Willow Warbler and Robin plus Reed Bunting, Dunnock and Chaffinch. Common Gull rounded off the list. Gil dropped me off at the bus stop and with 3 year-ticks to start the week off, I headed home happy with the day's birding.
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| Spotted Redshank & Common Redshank |
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| Common Redshank & Spotted Redshank |
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| Kestrel |
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| Yellow Wagtail |
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| Yellow Wagtail |
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| Yellow Wagtail |
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| Yellow Wagtail |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Barnacle Goose |
52 species seen outwith Riverside Nature Park (year-ticks in bold) - Barnacle Goose, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Eider, Gannet, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sedge Warbler, Shelduck, Skylark, Song Thrush,
Spotted Redshank, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Tree Sparrow, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon,
Yellow Wagtail, Yellowhammer.
59 species seen in total.
