With there not being too many potential year-ticks within easy reach, I decided I would head to Crail and Fife Ness in the hope of picking up some passing seabirds that I don't yet have on the list for 2017 for this week's midweek outing. Kittiwake, Razorbill and Gannet being the hoped for species, with an outside chance of a Puffin too. The weather forecast was decent with blue skies although the temperature was on the chilly side.
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
I headed out at about 0750 to walk to the bus station, though I decided to catch the bus into town instead. Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Starling and Woodpigeon were all seen before the bus arrived. I made it to the bus station just as the St Andrews bus was pulling in, having added a Carrion Crow opposite the bus station first. From the bus I spotted Rooks at St Michaels and a male Pheasant in the field on the way to Leuchars. Unfortunately, the 10 minute window between the bus I was on being due to arrive and the Crail bus being due to leave was already looking under threat. Collared Dove and Jackdaw were seen in Leuchars. Curlews were added as the bus got stuck behind a piece of construction machinery chugging along on the road to St Andrews resulting in me completely missing the Crail bus.
With the bus already having gone I decided to pop down to the Golf Museum roof to see what was out in the bay. It would kill at least part of the hour before the next bus was due. There were plenty of birds along the beach, though mostly quite distant. Herring Gulls and Great Black Backed Gulls mingled with Oystercatchers. Out on the water were a few Common Scoters and some Eiders. Curlew, Redshank and Black Headed Gulls were a bit closer in among the rocks. A Shag flew in and began fishing among the waves. Fulmars lined the cliffs with a few birds gliding past quite close to where I was perched atop the rocks. I heard a Pied Wagtail but failed to see it. A Rock Pipit flew past, and as I headed down from the rocks a pair of Mallards whizzed by.
I had decided that I wasn't feeling up to the walk out from Crail to Fife Ness as I wasn't feeling 100% and I had also injured my neck at work the day before. Instead I would head to the hide at Guardbridge for the morning and then maybe head to Riverside Nature Park in the afternoon. I passed a Rook on the road, and a very tame Carrion Crow on a wall by the golf museum. A pair of Long Tailed Tits were in the trees out at the main road and there were House Sparrows on the roof of the house opposite the bus stop and a Blue Tit flew into the garden of the same house. I didn't have long to wait for the bus and was on my way to Guardbridge by just after 0930.
From the bus I could see the swan flock in the fields, but they appeared to be mostly Mute Swans (there were probably Whoopers also but it was only orange bills I was able to pick out from the bus). There was also a Skylark fluttering upwards from the edge of the same field giving me another species for the list. There were Chaffinches and Tree Sparrows at the feeders as I walked into the empty hide. Out front were a small group of Teal which flew off when I opened the window. A few Mallards were also on the river.There were Black Tailed Godwits opposite along with a small number of Dunlin. One or two Redshanks made up the initial sightings.
There were lots of waders over towards the base and when they were disturbed they flew around in a tight swarm and were assumed to be Knot. However, photos showed that they were actually mostly Dunlin, though there were some Knot among them. There were over a thousand Dunlin I think, which is possibly the largest flock I've seen of the species. There were Shelduck visible in the distance and the gull flock consisted of Herring Gulls, Black Headed Gulls (including a yellow ringed bird) and Common Gulls. There was a single Lesser Black Backed Gull sleeping alongside and a pair of Great Black Backed Gulls further to the east. A couple of Grey Herons were noted on the river nearby. A very distant skein of geese headed north well out over the sea. One of the local Buzzards flew across the river into the trees. A few Oystercatchers and Curlews were picked up out on the mud.
A Robin visited the feeders along with a few Tree Sparrows and Chaffinches. Blue Tits came and went also. A Cormorant flew past heading upriver. A Pied Wagtail flew across the river. At least two pairs of Magpies shuttled between the conifers opposite and the trees to the north by the old paper mill for around 30 minutes. A Dunnock popped out below the feeders and a Coal Tit showed briefly below the feeders as well. A Wren picked around among the rocks out in front of the hide, but was too quick most of the time to get a decent photo. I was joined by a birder from Balmullo and we chatted as we watched the birds. Another more experienced birder also came in but he seemed rather reluctant to let on what he was seeing. He left around lunchtime shortly after another birder/photographer came in.
A Greenfinch was the next addition to the list, and a few Lapwings were spotted when there was some disturbance resulting in a sky full of birds briefly. I spotted a Sparrowhawk fly low over the Dunlin flock before it landed in a tree over by the base. A Great Tit came into the feeders, and the Balmullo birder left. A pair of drake Goldeneye and a female, as well as a drake Goosander were seen further downriver. When even the gulls took flight, along with the waders, I knew that it couldn't be just a Sparrowhawk causing the commotion. It wasn't. A Peregrine had a go at trying to catch some of the waders before flying off past the paper mill buildings and out of sight. A Long Tailed Tit appeared at the feeders a few times as the afternoon progressed.
A party of Whooper Swans flew down to the river quite far downriver. The tide was beginning to come in and a few Teal and Black Tailed Godwits gave us good views close in to the hide. I spotted a small group of Wigeon near the 'goalposts'. A Whooper Swan and a few Mute Swans swam past the hide, and the Goldeneye drakes and even the Goosander ventured down in front of the hide as the tide got higher. A Great Crested Grebe was a surprise, even if it was quite distant, being nearer the base than it was to the hide. A Great Spotted Woodpecker that I'd heard a few times was eventually seen atop one of the conifers across the river. A Sparrowhawk was perched high up in one of the deciduous trees behind the conifers.
I decided to pack up and head for home around 1540 having somehow managed to take a lot more photos than the birds seen suggested would be the case. Thankfully among the 55 species there were good views of some of them and with decent light most of the time, the results were worthwhile. Not the day I'd planned for and no year-ticks, but still a decent enough day out.
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| Magpie |
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| Mallard |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Wren |
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| Blue Tit |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Buzzard |
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| Dunlin (mostly) |
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Teal |
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| Teal |
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| Black Tailed Godwit & Redshank |
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Teal |
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| Teal |
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| Teal |
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| Teal |
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Cormorant |
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| Goldeneye |
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| Goldeneye |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Teal |
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| Dunlin, Black Tailed Godwit, Knot & Redshank |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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| Great Crested Grebe |
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| Whooper Swan |
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| Whooper Swan & Mute Swan |
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| Teal & Mallard |
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| Whooper Swan |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Goldeneye |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Goosander |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Goldeneye, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Knot, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Shag, Shelduck, Skylark, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Wren.
