Having had such a successful Saturday afternoon at Guardbridge, I decided that the Eden Estuary was worth revisiting. I considered the hide at Balgove Bay, but having left my departure a little later than ideal, I wasn't certain to arrive before the tide had covered up all the mud. This left the Fife Bird Club hide at the farm on the Guardbridge-St Andrews road and the Eden Estuary Centre again. As I wasn't entirely certain how to get to the hide at the farm I settled on the same venue as Saturday. I was hoping for a bit more variety among the waders (my photos from Saturday showed a distant bird which looked like a potential Curlew Sandpiper, but the photo lacked detail, owing to the distance the bird was from the camera.
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| Lapwing |
It was 1115 when I headed out in a rush to make it to the bus station in less than 15 minutes on foot. Having chosen to take the Leica scope, it was a bit of an effort to hurry but when I arrived with about a minute to spare the bus hadn't yet arrived. On the walk down I had managed to see Woodpigeon, House Martin, Blackbird, Herring Gull and Feral Pigeon. The bus journey to Guardbridge added a few more species - Lesser Black Backed Gull at the Olympia, Cormorants on Submarine Rock, Carrion Crows and Swallows near Drumoig and Collared Dove at Leuchars.
Arriving at Guardbridge I spotted an overflying Meadow Pipit as I walked in towards the hide. The hide was even busier than the previous day, so once again, I chose to spot from outside. There weren't many birds close to the hide on the mud opposite as someone in a bright orange jacket and carrying a large pair of binoculars had scared them all off. This individual appeared to be searching for old bottles, oblivious to the disturbance they were causing to the birds (and the birders). They eventually wandered round towards the farm before doubling back again, disturbing the birds again. The list did however grow quite quickly with a young Shelduck, a couple of Little Egrets, a Grey Heron and numerous Redshanks and almost as many Lapwings being seen a bit further away than usual. Oystercatchers were more in evidence than the previous day also. The Canada Geese were still around but the Greylag had gone. There was a group of Mute Swans further downriver, and a pair of Goosanders swam past. There were also a few Black Tailed Godwits still around.
Greenfinch and Robin tentatively appeared at the feeders after the Blue Tits had showed it to be quite safe despite me being stood nearby, while I found a few Common Gulls among the Black Headeds and Herring Gulls of which there were plenty at their usual spot. Jim Brown and his friend stopped to chat as they left the hide and I headed in to take their place at the far window. It turned out that one of the birders, Mark, in the hide already, recognised me from a few years ago, when he was a volunteer at Kinnordy and another, Jonathan, follows me on twitter for info on what is happening in Fife. Small world. Knot and Ruff were both seen among the Redshanks and Curlew as well as Teal were added before a Sparrowhawk flew across the river and was chased by crows into the conifers opposite the hide. Mark spotted the unusual sight of a Bank Vole on the feeders and I was able to get a few photos from just outside the door.
The Buddleia bushes again held good numbers of Peacock and Red Admirals and a Painted Lady put in an appearance as well. Further out in the river was a large flock of Eiders once again. A Wren showed down below the front of the hide in its usual haunts among the rocks. The first Osprey of the day finally put in an appearance shortly after, and a few Mallards were found. A Grey Wagtail was heard flying over but not seen. Pied Wagtails a little later were seen flying across the river. A Coal Tit popped in to the feeders. Mark and Jonathan both headed off not long after the tide covered all the mud. Jonathan headed to Tentsmuir where he found a pair of Black Throated Divers offshore among the more expected species. Great Black Backed Gull was next onto the list with a single bird swimming around well out in the estuary. Two Ospreys circled out in front of the hide for a short while but didn't fish.
The Common and Sandwich Tern flock repeated their flypast from the day before before heading back towards Balgove Bay. Great Tit and Chaffinch were seen at the feeders on the right of the hide. A pair of Kingfishers flew off from the wall below the front of the hide where they must have been perched unseen. Thankfully they called as they left and I managed a couple of photos showing both birds. A Buzzard glided past, a bird that has been noticeably absent around its usual haunts at the conifers of late. A single Dunnock and a few Tree Sparrows fed below the feeders before I finally managed to see a Common Sandpiper flying past having heard the calls of a distant bird a few times already. An Osprey was on one of the distant posts out in the river and another attempted to dive for fish among some gulls resting on the water. needless to say the gulls chased it off when it took off after its failed fishing attempt. Well offshore it was possible to see Gannets diving in St Andrews Bay as the sun caught their white plumage and the splash they made when hitting the water.
A Kestrel flew over the river in the direction of the old paper mill buildings before a Greenshank flew low downriver. I spotted a pair of Linnets on the fence opposite as the tide began to recede and the waders started to congregate on the mud once again. A Dunlin was found among the waders but there was no sign of any Curlew Sandpipers. I happened to look up at a flock of gulls circling above the hide and spotted a Peregrine above them. The Swallows hawking for insects out in front shared the airspace with a Sand Martin. Just after 1700 I headed out for the bus and almost missed it by thinking I had already missed it and wandering off to kill 15 minutes till the next one. Thankfully I was able to hurry back to the bus stop and caught it.
Not quite as good a day as the previous day, though with a similar number of species seen (54, rather than 55) and a few decent photo opportunities, though at times with similar frustrations with regards the camera's refusal to focus.
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| Redshank & Ruff |
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| Painted Lady |
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| Bank Vole |
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| Bank Vole |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Little Egret |
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| Eider |
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| Curlew |
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| Common Tern |
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| Redshank & Ruff |
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| Sandwich Tern & Mute Swans |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Swallow |
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| Mallard |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Canada Geese |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey & Herring Gulls |
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| Greenshank |
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| Buzzard & Herring Gull |
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| Kestrel |
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| Peregrine |
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| Redshank, Dunlin & Black Headed Gull |
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| Little Egret |
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| Lapwing |
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| Lapwing |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Common Tern, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Gannet, Goosander, Great Black backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Martin, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Knot, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Ruff, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Shelduck, Sparrowhawk, Swallow, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Woodpigeon, Wren.
