As my year-list continues to grow it is getting harder to target more than one species at a time, so it is likely that January's flood will reduce to a trickle or even a drip in February. So with that in mind, there were really only a few possible choices for my day out with Nat. Either head to Lintrathen in the hope of picking up the trio of Red Necked Grebe, American Wigeon and Green Winged Teal, or head to Fife for Snow Bunting and Green Woodpecker at Tentsmuir followed by an attempt to see the Lapland Buntings at Crail. After a spot of discussion we decided on the latter.
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| Corn Bunting |
I headed out at around 0750 but there were no birds to be seen in the pre-dawn gloom, though I did eventually manage to see a few Herring Gulls and a Blackbird before I reached the bus station. I met Nat at the end of the roadbridge, adding Starling to the list before we set off to Morton Lochs for a quick visit until 0900 when the barrier on the access road into Kinshaldy becomes operational. Woodpigeon was seen on the way, and we hadn't walked very far along the track from the car park towards the Railway hide before we added Coal Tit and Goldcrest, followed quickly after by Blue Tits. Chaffinches and Goldfinches were in the trees further along.
Things were quiet out in front with only a pair of Mallards to be seen, though a Buzzard could be heard mewing from the trees off to the right. After a few minutes of nothing much happening we headed back along to check the other loch. I heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker calling and quickly spotted it high in a conifer, catching the early rays of the sun. A single Feral Pigeon flew over. On the other loch were Mute Swans, Mallards, Teal, Tufted Ducks, and Little Grebes, but not too much else. Heading back out to the main road, Nat spotted a Rook that I missed before she saw a flock of geese across the far side of the field. Surprisingly, given the time of year, these were 22 Canada Geese. A year-tick for Nat.
On our way to Kinshaldy we added Mistle Thrush, Curlew and Pheasant to our list for the day before we reached the barrier. There were 2 Buzzards in the horse fields - one on the ground and the second on a fence. There was a sizeable flock of Redwings and Fieldfares feeding and as we were about to move I spotted movement out of the corner of my eye - a Treecreeper on the nearest tree trunk to the car. A pair of Bullfinches overflew as we got out of the car. Carrion Crow was seen as we walked towards the beach to walk along the edge of the dunes in the hope of seeing a Snow Bunting or two.
Unfortunately for us, things were very quiet. There was a single Oystercatcher down on the beach and a few small groups of Common Scoters offshore, but no sign of any small birds feeding along the strandline. As we neared the pools a flock of Linnets took off ahead of us but flew off to the north. Around the pools were a few Curlews, a Redshank, a Greenshank and a pair of Bar Tailed Godwits. There was no obvious sign of the Shorelarks either, though we didn't really look too hard at this point. With no Snow Bunting to be seen, we continued north towards my favoured site for Green Woodpeckers.
A Great Black backed Gull circled over the beach and more Oystercatchers were roosting beyond another pool. A pair of Reed Buntings flushed from the edge of the dunes. We could see birds in the tops of the line of trees ahead of us, so we moved closer to investigate. These turned out to be mostly Linnets, but also a few Reed Buntings, Goldfinches and even a couple of Lesser Redpoll. Not a bad wee haul. A Stonechat was perched atop some grasses a little further on. A Meadow Pipit flew up from among the grass, and a surprise as we crossed a heathery area was a Snipe which flushed and flew off. Woodcock would've been more likely but the call and flight action was definitely Snipe.
We heard a distant Green Woodpecker and headed towards where the call was coming from. Eventually I was able to narrow the calls down to a single tree but the bird flew off. My view was blocked by the branches of the trees I was under, but Nat who was stood further back confirmed that it was indeed our first Green Woodpecker of 2017. Another called from the trees where I usually see the species (if my luck is in), so as this is a much more open environment we hoped we would have a chance of a better view if we were able to locate the bird.
By listening to where the call was coming from, we were able to narrow it down to a few trees. Needless to say, the bird was watching and flew to a different part of the small wood. A slight change of direction and it was off again, but this time I was able to see where it had landed. However, it quickly sidled round the trunk so that only a slim sliver of the bird was visible. we edged closer, but again the bird flew, allowing me to grab a few flight shots, but as it was clearly not keen on posing for us, we headed back to look again for the Snow Buntings.
A pair of Crossbills overflew as we walked back towards the beach. There was a large flock of Bar Tailed Godwits circling and we watched them drop in at the water's edge where they joined a larger group including at least 60 Grey Plover, over 100 Dunlin, some Knot and at least 4 Sanderling. We made sure we didn't get too close and more birds flew in to join the roost. Out on the water, Nat found a few Eiders, and a Cormorant flew past. A Common Gull and a pair of squabbling Black Headed Gulls had dropped in at the pools. A Pink Footed Goose overflew but returned and seemed wary of landing, circling numerous times before dropping in for a minute or two before departing again. A quartet of Sanderling and a single Dunlin were also at the pools.
A Pied Wagtail passed over us as we neared the dunes again. We scanned for Shorelarks but there was no sign. We checked along the front of the dunes for Snow Buntings but there was still no sign. A bird lifted from in the dunes - clearly a lark, but it proved to be the first Skylark of the day and we saw a few more as wandered back south. Unfortunately there was nothing else added before we arrived back at the car. After lunch we set off for Crail, adding a Robin on the barrier post on the way out of Tentsmuir.
Collared Doves were seen in Guardbridge, with Jackdaws at the farm on the St Andrews road. A group of Whooper Swans were in one of the roadside fields. With the direct route to Crail closed for roadworks we had to go via Anstruther. A Kestrel watched the roadside verge from atop a telegraph pole as we headed down the slope towards the town. Arriving In Crail we found somewhere to park before walking out along the road towards Kilminning. There were a few House Sparrows around in the gardens. As we walked out along the road we heard and saw Skylarks from the field, but having listened to Lapland Bunting calls in the car to familiarise ourselves with them, we didn't hear any.
Movement from the stubble along the edge of the field we were walking along next to proved to be a rather tame Corn Bunting which perched atop the ploughed earth not too far away allowing us to take photos. Another two showed but further away. Another bird disappeared into the furrow and we couldn't get decent enough views to confirm what it actually was. We walked up the track past the B&B towards Wormiston, adding Rook and Magpie to the list. A small flock of Golden Plover overflew from the east. There was some movement at times from the corvids in the field and also the Skylarks.
Eventually we heard a Lapland Bunting call and quickly located the source, as the single bird flew up from the field, before being joined in the air by a few Skylarks. I failed to get the camera to focus on the bird and missed out on the photo, but it was the first lifer of the year for me, and a welcome one at that. We retraced our steps and added around 15 Grey Partridges to our list when they flew up from near the road end of the field, further into the field as we headed back to the village. A much larger group of over 100 Golden Plover also flew over. We routed back through Fife and had great views of a male Kestrel hovering above the grass verge at a height of about 6 feet near Drumoig.
A mostly successful day, with 2 out of the 3 target birds seen (in bold), among the 63 species seen. Not too many photo opportunities but a good day nonetheless.
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| Linnet & Goldfinch |
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| Linnet |
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| Lesser Redpoll |
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Reed Bunting, Linnet & Goldfinch |
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| Green Woodpecker |
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| Green Woodpecker |
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| Bar Tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Grey Plover & Knot |
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| Bar Tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Grey Plover & Knot |
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| Cormorant |
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| Grey Plover |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Sanderling |
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| Corn Bunting |
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| Corn Bunting |
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| Corn Bunting |
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| Corn Bunting |
Species seen - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Cormorant, Corn Bunting, Crossbill, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Golden Plover, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Greenshank, Grey Partridge, Grey Plover, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Knot, Lapland Bunting, Lesser Redpoll, Linnet, Little Grebe, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sanderling, Skylark, Snipe, Starling, Stonechat, Teal, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Whooper Swan, Woodpigeon
