Myself and Jacqui had discussed the possibility of getting out and about a little further afield than normal this past weekend, but bad weather put paid to the Saturday and Jacqui not feeling 100% meant a change of plan for Sunday. Instead of the Lothian coast we settled on a trip to Fife Ness with a later start. As I'd failed to make it that far on Wednesday I was hopeful of picking up at least the 3 new species that I'd targeted on Wednesday. Razorbill, Gannet and Kittiwake. There was also a slim chance of getting a wintering migrant or two homeward bound.
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| Kestrel |
I headed out at 0910 to walk to the bus station to catch the bus to Guardbridge to meet Jacqui. Woodpigeon, House Sparrow and Starling started the list off, followed quickly after by Feral Pigeon, Blackbird, Collared Dove and later than usual, Herring Gull. A pair of squabbling Goldfinches were seen on Dens Road, and a Magpie was in the usual tree on the corner of Arthurstone Terrace and Dens Road behind the billboards. A Chaffinch flew across the road, and a Carrion Crow was added before I reached Victoria Road.
The bus windows being rather dirty meant that the chance to add much during the journey to Guardbridge was greatly reduced. A male Pheasant at Drumoig, a few Rooks near St Michaels and Jackdaws in Leuchars being the only definite sightings. I headed into the hide to meet Jacqui, adding a female Bullfinch in the trees by the path and Tree Sparrows at the feeders, along with the first Blue Tits of the day. There was plenty to see out in front of the hide. Grey Heron, Goosander, Goldeneye, Mallard, Black Headed Gulls, Shelduck, lots of Dunlin and Knot as well as Oystercatchers, Redshanks and Black Tailed Godwits.
Cormorant, Curlews, Teal, Herring Gulls, Lesser Black Backed Gulls and Common Gulls were all added after a bit more scanning. Robin and Blackbirds appeared at the feeders along with Chaffinches. A distant skein of what at first looked like geese turned out to be 20 Whooper Swans well out over the sea. A very distant Buzzard was picked up over Reres Wood circling up on a thermal. With most of what we expected to see from the hide with the exception of Greenfinch and Long Tailed Tit (both seen by Jacqui before arrived) in the bag it was time to move on, and head for Crail.
Lesser Black Backed Gulls were quite prominent in St Andrews which suggests that the Spring migrants movements have already begun for this species. There wasn't too much else added on our way to Crail, though a few more Buzzards, some Pheasants and a handful of Skylarks kept the journey interesting. We chose to head first to the hide at Fife Ness when we arrived rather than checking either Denburn Wood or Kilminning. There were Great Black Backed Gulls and Cormorants out on the rocks off Stinky Pool, but things looked rather quiet out over the sea.
I spotted a Shag in the water and Jacqui added the first year-tick of the day with a short string of
Gannets well out from the shore. Into the hide we went, soon adding Fulmar and Eider to the list. The first Auks of the day were
Razorbills, target species number 2 within the first 10 minutes. It didn't take too long to get the hat-trick with a distant but obvious
Kittiwake heading south. I found a group of Red Throated Divers just to the south before they drifted further out. There were more Gannets passing along with Black Headed, Common and Herring Gulls. Shags and Cormorants came and went out to sea.
A Guillemot was found not too far offshore. Oystercatcher, Curlew and Redshank foraged among the seaweed on the rocks. Another couple of pairs of Red Throated Divers were seen on the water and a single bird flew south. More Kittiwakes were seen and a Red Breasted Merganser hurried northwards low over the water. Around 1230 we packed up and headed up to visit the "Patch". A Yellowhammer was the only addition, though there were also a few Magpies around, before we headed to the top end of Kilminning. I wasn't expecting too much and so it turned out with only Wren and Song Thrush seen before we found some Goldcrests in the conifers along with Blue Tits. Golden Plover was heard and I flushed a male Pheasant. Across the road I flushed a pair of female Pheasants, but there was nothing else to see.
We heard the Golden Plovers calling again, so walked along towards the golf course to scan the fields but drew a blank. We then drove down towards the bottom end of Kilminning, stopping to photograph a pair of Grey Partridges feeding in the field. A rather nice male Kestrel was perched in the top of a small tree when we headed back to the car after attempting to get more photos of the Partridges resulted in the pair flying off. The Kestrel also chose not to stick around, after a few minutes eyeing us warily. I checked in the hope of Woodcock but a flock of Curlews flying over were scant compensation.
Jacqui drove along the track past the grey shed in the hope that we could relocate the Partridges but there was no sign. However the field was quite busy with birds. In addition to a male Pheasant and the Curlews, there were 3 Linnets, a number of Skylarks and a few Meadow Pipits foraging around close to the track, which allowed us good views. With the time still not 1400 we discussed where to go next, before deciding to try nearby Kilrenny for Tawny Owl. Unfortunately the Crail-Anstruther road was closed, but Jacqui knew a back road into Kilrenny so we headed that way anyway. A skein of Pink Footed Geese overflew us north of the village.
We headed into the wood at the rear of the small village having checked the Woodpigeons in the trees alongside Starlings for Stock Doves. We drew a blank on them, but Great Tit and Treecreeper were both added quite quickly once we wandered into the wood. Needless to say we drew a blank again on Tawny Owl, but we had very close views of a tame Coal Tit at the small bridge at the top end of the wood. A Dunnock and a Robin were in a tree here, and a trio of Song Thrushes were in the trees. Checking the trees across the fields, we found them full of corvids, each tree having a large quantity perched atop them. There were a few Yellowhammers around and a party of Skylarks dropped into another field. A Lapwing overflew and a Buzzard glided by towards the village.
On our way back towards Guardbridge we dropped into Kilconquhar Church to quickly scan the Loch. We were able to add a few extra species here including Coots, Great Crested Grebes, Tufted Ducks, Pochard and rather surprisingly a small group of Scaup, as well as a pair of Red Breasted Mergansers. Mute Swans, Teal and Herring Gulls were also seen here. Little Grebes called from in the reeds near where we stood but they stayed hidden. We headed back to Guardbridge but didn't add anything on the way, though there plenty of Woodpigeons, corvids and a few Pheasants and Buzzards seen.
Jacqui dropped me off in Guardbridge at around 1630 and I headed back into the hide for 30 minutes. Although the light wasn't great I did manage to add a few new species to the list, with a calling Pied Wagtail spotted flying downriver, and a Long Tailed Tit at the feeders. Despite plenty of effort I didn't succeed in adding anything I hadn't already seen, with no sign of Sparrowhawk, Peregrine, Great Spotted Woodpecker or even a Greenfinch to take the list to a nice round 70 species. I caught the bus back to Dundee at 1703, and while waiting for a bus home from the city centre I was pleased to hear, and see, a flyover Grey Wagtail giving me one last bird for the day, and rounding off a successful outing with 3 year-ticks (in bold) successfully looked for and found.
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| Lesser Black Backed Gull |
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| Whooper Swan |
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| Cormorant (possible Sinensis) |
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| Razorbill |
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| Shag |
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| Shag |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Guillemot |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Gannet |
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| Gannet |
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| Kittiwake |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Grey Partridge |
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| Grey Partridge |
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| Grey Partridge |
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| Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
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| Kestrel |
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| Curlew |
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| Skylark |
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| Skylark |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Pink Footed Geese |
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| Treecreeper |
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| Coal Tit |
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| Great Tit |
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| Lapwing |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Red Breasted Merganser & Coot |
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| Scaup & Goldeneye |
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Dunlin, Knot, Oystercatcher & Redshank |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar,
Gannet, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Grey Partridge, Grey Wagtail, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel,
Kittiwake, Knot, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Pochard,
Razorbill, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Scaup, Shag, Shelduck, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Whooper Swan, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
