Having missed out on Garganey and Wood Sandpiper at Kinnordy earlier in the week by choosing to visit Fife Ness instead, and not seeing either the previous day when I actually made it to Loch of Kinnordy, I decided that I would take a chance that one or both of the species might show up at two of the wetland sites in northwest Fife, The Wilderness, near Ladybank and Letham Pools. Obviously a bit of luck would be required, probably quite a lot of luck, but I also had a third and hopefully easier target species in Garden Warbler, which I hoped to possibly catch up with at Mountcastle Quarry, where I've had good views in the past.
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| Kestrel |
With the bus not until 0835 I was able to leave the house a little bit later than previous mornings, though the walk into town wasn't as productive either. Feral Pigeon, Blackbird, Goldfinch, Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Magpie and Woodpigeon being the extent of the list by the time I reached the bus station. From the bus to Ladybank, I did manage to add a few more in the shape of Carrion Crow, Rook, Swallow, House Martin, House Sparrow, Starling and Collared Dove. A decent enough start to proceedings.
With a slightly later start than my last effort at this route, there did appear to be slightly less birds around. There were a few Tree Sparrows in a roadside bush, not too far outside the village, and a Brown Hare in one of the fields. A few Jackdaws picked around in the field on the other side of the road. A pair of Long Tailed Tits skirted along the edge of the wood, and I didn't have to wait too long for the first Blackcap of the day singing loudly. Another loud singer popped out below the tree the Blackcap was in, a Wren. A Buzzard was being harassed by Carrion Crows over the field to the north of the road as I arrived at The Wilderness.
I took my time stopping to scan every few feet along the wall, as there is a lot to cover and small areas may only be visible from particular angles. Oystercatcher, Coot, Little Grebe, Tufted Duck, 4 Pink Footed Geese, some Sand Martins and 3
Common Sandpipers, my first of the year, wasn't a bad start. Add to that Mute Swans, Moorhens, Mallards, Shelduck, Pied Wagtails, Lapwing, Shoveler, a singing Sedge Warbler, Teal, Gadwall, Willow Warbler and a Grey Heron and it shows how good the site is for a selection of birds. I got distracted by some interesting aircraft passing over - USAF F-35s, their newest fighter jets, being refuelled by KC-135 tankers. Thankfully I was in the one spot where it was possible to see sky beyond the trees, as I was opposite the track into the wood when they went over.
I headed onwards to the end of the road where I found a Wheatear in the field just north of the junction, and a small group of Linnets flying around. The Rooks in the trees near the railway line were very noisy as I passed. A Mistle Thrush flew out from the area of trees just short of the railway line and headed over the fields towards the wood. Chaffinch and Blue Tit showed in the trees by the road once I'd crossed the railway at the level crossing. A Buzzard circled round high in the sky and a little further on, a female Sparrowhawk did likewise. Stock Dove and Great Spotted Woodpecker both flew over as I continued on. I stopped to try and see what I'm sure was a Garden Warbler behind a roadside house and garden, but it remained frustratingly hidden from view.
A Great Tit was the only further addition before I reached Bow of Fife and a Dunnock and Whitethroat shared a section of hedge by the road not too far from Letham Pools. The Whitethroat eventually popped out in the open once it thought I had passed by, but I was waiting a little further along the road for just such an eventuality. A Skylark could be heard high in the sky to the west but I just could not find the tiny dot against the sky. Thankfully, another took to the air from the fied behind me which was much easier to see. Ahead of me I could see some Pink Footed Geese on the grass at the end of the pools. A single Greylag was with them.
There were Herring Gulls, Lesser Black Backed Gulls and a few Black Headed Gulls dotted around, as well as Mallards, Tufted Ducks, Coots, Shoveler, Oystercatcher and Moorhen. I stopped to chat to Tommy Ross who said they'd seen a Redshank, which I did eventually manage to see later, but there were no really good birds around. When Tommy left I scanned round just in case anything had dropped in while we chatted. A Grey Heron, and a pair of Great Crested Grebes were added, as was a pair of Reed Buntings. Slightly disappointed, though not surprised I headed along the road to Mountcastle Quarry. A Goldcrest was the only addition here, with no sign at all of thhoped for Garden Warbler, though I decided against exploring as a Scottish Water van was parked at the entrance.
I headed back round to the Pools where a single Black tailed Godwit had appeared from womewhere and I found the aforementioned Redshank. I decided I would catch the bus to St Andrews rather than wait for the later bus to Ladybank which would allow me to connect with the faster bus to St Andrews. However, there was a smaller window of opportunity between those two so it wasn't wrth taking a chance on. I added Greenfinch on my way to the bus stop in Letham, though I didn't manage to add anything at all as the bus made its way through the agricultural landscape of Fife, with birds appearing few and far between. Where farmland used to be great habitat for seeing birds it appears that the opposite is now true, sadly. There are some farmers who are wildlife friendly, such as those involved in the Corn Bunting initiatives with the RSPB but if my travels through farmland this week are anything to go by, they are massively outnumbered.
At St Andrews I caught the bus to Guardbridge and headed into the hide. Opening up the window, once I finally managed to get the door open after around a dozen attempts - the keypad really needs replacing, I was surprised to see a Kestrel hovering quite low above the rocky slope below the hide. I got a few photos before it drifted off over the fence and over the trees and away. There was very little to be seen out front. A pair of Mallards woke up from their sleep and began hunting crabs which drew the attentions of first a Carrion Crow which waded around nearby with a hint of menace suggesting it was plotting how to steal a crab or two from the ducks. A Herring Gull was next to harass the ducks for their meal, but again it didn't try too hard. The Gull then did a spot of hunting of its own, resorting to the stamping of feet most used on land to tempt worms to the surface, but being implemented with the water being up to the bird's belly and apparently being used to rouse crabs from the muddy river bottom.
A Grey Heron eventually stalked the ducks for a few minutes before they gave up on trying to find something to eat. Another two Grey Herons got too close to the original bird which saw fit to chase off the rivals from its stretch of the river. A Curlew flew in and caught a few crabs as well. Scanning along the banks I found around half a dozen Redshanks, and there were a few distant Oystercatchers as well as another Curlew, but waders in general seemed to be few in number. A Cormorant flew past the hide heading down river. I found a distant pair of Wigeon despite the heat haze, before I spotted an Osprey above the river. It hovered then dived and caught a large flatfish before some of the local Shelducks gave chase, though not successfully, with the Osprey out-turning and out-climbing them, despite carrying a large fish. A Great Black backed Gull flew past before I decided it was getting a bit too cold with the bitter east wind coming straight in the windows, and the sunshine having no warming effect, and called it a day at around 1530.
Another decent enough day with a total of 67 species seen, including a single year-tick (in bold), tinged with slight disappointment at not getting any of the targeted species, even if two of the three were always going to be down to good fortune.
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| Brown Hare |
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| Common Sandpiper |
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| Buzzard & Carrion Crow |
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| Sedge Warbler |
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| Wheatear |
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| Buzzard |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Pink Footed Geese & Greylag Goose |
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| Mallard |
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| Kestrel |
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| Mallard |
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| Mallard |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Shelduck & Osprey |
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| Shelduck & Osprey |
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| Curlew |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
Species seen - Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove,
Common Sandpiper, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Gadwall, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Sedge Warbler, Shelduck, Shoveler, Skylark, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Tufted Duck, Wheatear, Whitethroat, Wigeon, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren.
And a few bonus photos of the 'bigger birds' that passed over when I was at The Wilderness. USAF KC-135 Stratotanker and F-35 Lightning IIs on their way back to the USA.
