Having considered a trip to Guardbridge in the hope of seeing the Avocet found by Angus Duncan & Neil Redpath earlier in the week which had re-appeared while I was in Carnoustie on Thursday, I knew where I was going on Friday. It had to be a trip to the Eden estuary around high tide to try and catch the bird in the wader roost. The only real problem was that high tide was around 0500 or thereabouts. This meant that even leaving the house to catch an early bus I would still be lucky to be able to catch the waders as they dispersed from the roost to the various points of the estuary. Still, as always, nothing ventured, nothing gained....
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| Osprey |
I woke at around 0520 and decided I could probably just about catch the 0635 bus, so I quickly got organised though I was still pretty tired, but made it out the door just before 0620 to hurry to the bus station. There were decent numbers of birds around, despite the sun having cleared the horizon not too long before. Starling and Jackdaw were two slightly less typical early birds for my list, though the Feral Pigeon and Herring Gull were expected. Blackbird and Carrion Crow, as well as Blue Tit and Woodpigeon completed the list on the way to the bus station.
Thankfully I made it in time to catch the rather busy bus. Two more slightly unexpected birds were added as the bus crossed the Tay, a couple of Sandwich Terns not too high above the bridge and a Grey Heron in the shallows at the Fife end. Collared Dove and House Martins were seen in Leuchars and Mute Swans were seen on the Motray at Guardbridge. Unexpectedly, the hide was open with one person already staring out the open window. I decided not to go in, deciding instead to have a quick scan before heading round to the hopefully slightly more advantageous position of the Fife Bird Club hide.
Unfortunately, the wader roost also contained the gulls which normally rest out on the water during the day and the sun was almost directly in line. Trying to find the white of an Avocet in a tightly packed group of gulls, mostly Black Headed and Herring Gulls, while looking into the light was going to be a struggle, so off I went, once I'd added the 250-300 Canada Geese and a few Little Egrets to the list. Great Spotted Woodpecker flew off from the tree beside the gate by the main road, which was an unexpected early bonus. A Goosander overflew I crossed the footbridge. Around 10 minutes later I had found the way through the farm to the hide and was soon inside, though not before receiving a surprise web-wrapped moth to the face, as I entered.
As I opened the windows at the front and side I could see that the birds had already largely moved out onto the mud as the tide receded. An Osprey stood atop a pole nearby, giving me great potential photos, but first my priority was to try and find the Avocet before the birds dispersed in all directions. There were 6 Little Egrets and a few gulls still on the grass, and the hundreds of Canada Geese were strung out across the mud. Redshanks and Lapwings made up the majority of other birds. Curlews and a few Black Tailed Godwits plus another osprey with an even bigger flatfish was also perched on a rock relatively close to then hide. My attempts at scanning through the flocks properly were interrupted by messages from Jacqui, who had herself popped down to the hide at Guardbridge around the same time I'd been there but had no luck either seeing the Avocet.
I did take the opportunity to take photos and video clips of both Ospreys. I had arranged to meet Nat at 0915 so had the best part of 2 hours to see what I could see, even if the Avocet was looking like a no-show. A small group of Dunlin skimmed low off towards Coble Shore. A Lesser Black Backed Gull was found among the gulls. A pair of Snipe flew up high above the saltmarsh and I was surprised to actually manage to get reasonable photos of both birds in flight. A Peregrine was spotted out behind Guardbridge. A Linnet landed on the fence along the field, and a trio of Cormorants overflew. The two Ospreys which had been close to the hide both moved, with one heading to the "goalposts" and the other to a different rock further away. A third Osprey was on one of the poles further out in the estuary.
When I checked that same pole a few minutes later, there was no longer an osprey on it but a much larger shape. A White Tailed Eagle, and a second one was flying towards Reres Wood pursued by crows. House Sparrows were seen flying up from the stables, while a few Mallards flew downriver, and a Meadow Pipit flew up from the saltmarsh. A few Swallows sped low over the grassy area in front of the hide as did a single Sand Martin. A small flock of Teal circled round above the bay to the right of the hide, and a party of Oystercatchers flew in to join the other birds on the mud. A few Pied Wagtails overflew, as did a few more Meadow Pipits. With the time now approaching 0850 I decided I should head round to Guardbridge hide to meet Nat, not knowing exactly how long it would take to get there.
A Wren was seen as I exited the hide and a Coal Tit was seen as I walked down through the village to the bridge where I spent a few minutes getting some close photos of a Little Egret on the muddy bank just below, alongside a few Redshanks. Arriving at the hide there was a young birder with a scope already there and I asked him if he'd had any luck. He'd seen the Avocet on the mud down towards the gull roost at the point but had lost sight of it, not long before. Nat arrived a few minutes later and we all scanned through the birds searching for the elusive Avocet. A Kingfisher landed on the post out front for a few seconds, and I found a couple of Ruffs opposite the hide. Around 1000 the young birder re-found the
Avocet and very kindly let me see the bird through his scope (thanks again) which also allowed me to work out where to look for it to get a record shot photo or two, despite the distance. A nice and probably overdue lifer for me.
A Robin was added to the list along with Great Tit and Common Gull before we decided to head inland to The Wilderness and Letham Pools in the hope of a Curlew Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank or Little Stint. As we got closer to the area the weather looked to be deteriorating with rain definitely on its way. There were plenty of Greylags at The Wilderness and also the feral Barnacle Goose and hybrid youngster pair from her pairing with a Greylag. A Greenshank, 8 Ruff, 2 Snipe and 6 or so Black Tailed Godwits were the only waders we could find, though Pied Wagtails gave us false hope once or twice as they scampered into view in a Ringed Plover-like manner. A few Wigeon, Gadwall, Mallard and Teal were the only ducks around. Moorhens and a Little Grebe rounded off the list here, as the rain started to fall.
By the time we'd gone the few miles to Letham Pools it was raining a lot heavier than had been forecast, which meant we scanned from the car. The only addition here were Coots. Disappointingly there were no waders here either. We discussed the options with the rain now looking like it was going to curtail any birding outwith the car. As Nat was needing to be home for around 1400, we didn't have too many options, so decided to try St Andrews before heading back to Guardbridge. From the car park at the golf museum we were able to see a large number of Eiders and Common Scoters out in the bay, near the mouth of the Eden. There were still the odd Fulmar on the cliffs and a Gannet was seen out in the bay. Rooks loitered with intent nearby and a few Pied Wagtails were on the beach.
Nat decided not to come in to the hide when we got back to Guardbridge, so I headed in on my own to find it quite busy with Tommy Ross, Jon Cook and Bob McCurley already in, with Angus Duncan also there. Rab Shand came in shortly after as did Willie Irvine and John Anderson also showed up. Another few Fife birders arrived as the afternoon progressed, and I managed to get a spot at the open windows when Jon and Bob left, with Rab between me and Tommy. The Avocet came back to where it had been seen in the morning and I managed a few better photos and some half-decent video. A Common Sandpiper was spotted wandering around on the mud near the Avocet. An Osprey flew over carrying a fish. A Buzzard flew into the conifers from somewhere across the estuary. A Sparrowhawk was harassed by a couple of Jackdaws. The mixed Common, Arctic and Sandwich Tern flock circled round a few times well before high tide.
The rain came on and increased in intensity which reduced visibility considerably meaning that it was almost impossible to pick out the Avocet where it had moved back to further downriver. A rather wet Neil Redpath also came in. I did manage to add a young Shelduck in flight, despite the rain. When the rain eventually did go off, myself and John Anderson decided to head round to the Fife Bird Club hide just before high tide pushed all the birds up onto the saltmarsh. Willie decided to come too. Unfortunately, the Avocet chose not to roost where we could see it, but we did have decent views of another Osprey being pursued by the Terns. Neil Redpath had walked round to stand outside the hide, not being a FBC member, so Willie let him in which made the end which me and John were at quite crowded when 3 of us were trying to see out the side window, so with no sign of the Avocet and the time approaching 1730, I decided to call it a day. John offered to drop me off at Guardbridge.
I added Goldfinch to the list as we walked to his car through the stables. Unfortunately traffic was rather heavy so St Andrews was the better bet. Having a dayrider ticket meant it didn't make any difference where I caught the bus home from. John headed for St Andrews where we met a 99 turning onto the main road down from the bus station. John decided to get in front of it, so I wouldn't have to wait 10 minutes for the next one, which meant a trip to Guardbridge for him after all, despite my insistence that I didn't want him to go out of his way (thanks again, John) and that 10 minutes wait was nothing. I made it home just a few minutes short of 12 hours after I'd left in the morning.
My second lifer (in bold) in just 3 days, doubling the amount of lifers for me this year to 4, among the 67 species seen. A long day, but a productive one, and the early start was worth doing as was visiting Fife Bird Club hide for the 1st (and 2nd) time.
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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| Canada Goose, Little Egret and Canada x Greylag hybrid? |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Little Egret & Grey Heron |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey & Lapwing |
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| Canada Goose & Herring Gull |
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| Lapwing & Black Tailed Godwit & Curlew |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| White Tailed Eagle |
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| White Tailed Eagle |
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| Snipe |
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| Snipe |
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| Little Egret |
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| Little Egret |
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| Ruff & Redshank |
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| Jackdaw & Sparrowhawk |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Little Egret |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Snipe |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Greylag Goose, Barnacle Goose, Greylag x Barnacle Goose hybrid, Grey Heron |
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| Ruff & Greylag Geese |
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| Greenshank, Ruff, Greylag Goose, Greylag x Barnacle Goose hybrid |
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| Avocet & Redshank |
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| Avocet & Curlew |
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| Osprey |
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| Common Tern |
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| Shelduck & Herring Gull |
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| Avocet |
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| Avocet & Redshank & Dunlin |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Goosander |
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| Redshank |
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| Redshank & Ruff |
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| Greenshank |
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| Redshank & Dunlin |
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| Cormorant |
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| Buzzard |
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| Curlew |
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| Osprey & Common Tern |
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| Osprey & Common Tern & Sandwich Tern |
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| Woodpigeon |
Species seen - Arctic Tern,
Avocet, Barnacle Goose, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Common Scoter, Common Tern, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Fulmar, Gadwall, Gannet, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kingfisher, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Malalrd, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Ruff, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Shelduck, Snipe, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Swallow, Teal, White Tailed Eagle, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren
