Having had a decent start to my 2018 year-list and with a decent forecast weather-wise for the weekend, I decided that despite the sub-zero temperatures I should throw on lots of layers and get out and about. Saturday would be my Tayport - Leuchars walk and Sunday would be St Andrews - Guardbridge. Between the two of them I hoped that I would see enough variety to take me past 100 species within the first 7 days of January. That gives more opportunity to target other species as the year progresses. Could I get up out of a warm bed early on Saturday morning knowing that it was meant to feel like -6 degrees?
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| Slavonian Grebe |
I didn't make a very good job of setting the alarm on my phone and so it was around 0730 before I got up. However I did still make it out the door for around 0820-ish which left me a hurried walk to the bus station in time to catch the 0840 bus to Tayport. Herring Gull was first on the list and there were a few Blackbirds foraging in the pre-dawn gloom below the bushes next to the pavement. Robin, Feral Pigeon and Woodpigeon were seen as I headed down Victoria Road and a skein of Pink footed Geese passed over as I neared the bus station. Carrion Crows were seen at the Fife end of the roadbridge and a few Jackdaws and Starlings were on the roofs in Tayport.
The tide was already quite far out and as it was cloudier than forecast there wasn't much to see out on the mud. The bitingly cold wind didn't help matters either. Shelduck were the most obvious and I soon added Oystercatchers, Mallards and Black Headed Gulls as well. Chaffinch and Goldfinch were seen near the old RAF weather station buildings. A Curlew flew up from the shore and headed inland. I cut across the saltmarsh hoping for Snipe or Jack Snipe but finding neither. A Meadow Pipit was scant consolation. A Redshank scurried away from the edge of the saltmarsh where it had been foraging. A Stonechat popped up on some vegetation near the track. A Common Gull drifted by.
I decided there was little to be gained by sticking to the beach route, instead I would cut in through the trees and follow the track along to the end of the trees where I would check again for anything out on the mud before heading southwards to the Green Woodpecker trees and then onwards to the Lagoons. Ten minutes or so along the track I stopped to successfully scan for Goldcrests and Long tailed Tits that I could hear in the trees above me. A Mistle Thrush flew out of a track-side tree and I eventually spotted a Wren moving around among the undergrowth. There had been a few of the birds singing at territorial rivals nearby.
Stopping at the end of the forest I scanned out towards the river where I found a
Bar Tailed Godwit feeding alongside a Curlew. A few Eiders could be seen well out on the river but otherwise it was very quiet. When I arrived at the site I favour for trying to find Green Woodpeckers it was very quiet also. I had gone around half-way before I saw any movement in the trees. A Blue Tit and a second bird which flew to a tree in front of me. My second year-tick of the morning following the earlier Godwit, a
Treecreeper. A Wren and a Robin were also seen before I spotted a
Raven in flight above the forest. Another hoped-for species found. I took a detour towards the forest to circle back round for a second attempt at the trees.
Things were quiet on that side also. A Great Spotted Woodpecker flew off from the stand of the trees, not the woodpecker species I was hoping for. A large-ish bird was seen to fly into the trees but I made the mistake of trying to photograph it rather than look at it properly. I suspect it was just a Mistle Thrush and not the Green Woodpecker I was hoping for. A small flock of Linnets in the trees at the end of the small wood had me checking through them for a
Lesser Redpoll I was sure I'd heard and eventually it flew up to land in the same tree as the flock for a few seconds. Another new one. I headed out towards the beach where I found there was lots more water around, the end result of some recent large tides. My route out to the dunes to look for Snow Bunting was cut off. I would need to skirt along the edges and then hope that the water didn't extend too far south.
A female Goldeneye and a
Little Grebe (another new one) were on the lagoon but there were no waders around the edges. There also didn't appear to be any flocks of birds opposite. I continued on southwards hoping to find a way across to the dunes. At one point I thought a crossing was possible but the closer I got I realised that it was merely an optical illusion created by the vegetation, and that there were numerous channels running through the weedy islands. I'd walked a few hundred metres along the water's edge when I spotted a flock of small birds fly up from the dunes. A smaller group diverted away from them. The main flock were Linnets and the one photo I got of the breakaway group gave me my
Snow Bunting. It was a fair bit further on before the water in the dunes finally dwindled away and despite having seen my target I decided to search anyway.
This meant I probably added an extra mile to what was already a long walk. It was also unsuccessful, though i did manage a few sightings of the Linnet flock. A nice surprise as I wandered south again along the dunes was the large shape of turquoise Z - one of the Fife
White Tailed Eagles. I watched it continue on over the beach and towards the forest where I eventually lost sight of it above the trees. As I neared the car park area I spooked a couple of Skylarks from within the dunes. I scanned out over the sea where I picked up a few
Long Tailed Ducks in flight (another new). Walkers on the beach put up a few waders and a small flock which whizzed north proved to be
Grey Plovers. A few minutes later, Dunlins went the same way.
A Great Black Backed Gull flew by and out on the water I could see the Scoter flock, though it was rather smaller than usual with maybe 2-300 birds only. Mostly they were
Common Scoters, though I did eventually find a few
Velvet Scoters also. There were also a few Red Breasted Mergansers and at least 7
Slavonian Grebes among the flock and a Red Throated Diver. I spotted a Gannet over the sea much further out but unmistakable. A few Sanderling were seen on the beach near the burn outflow. I debated cutting inland along the access road but decided to continue on towards the Goosepools area. A Kestrel was seen hovering over the scrubby heath-land beyond the barbed wire fence, and a distant Buzzard was added circling around above Reres Wood.
Things were very quiet among the tracks passing the Goosepools with only a Common Frog on the path of any great note. A Siskin flew over. A small flock of Chaffinches and Greenfinches were in the last stand of trees among the dunes. Skirting along the edge of the Army base there was little to be seen except a few Goldcrests. A Roe Deer was seen in the field bordering the wood. Things were very quiet as I headed back towards Earlshall Farm. Two Red Squirrels chased around in the wood but the light was too poor for photos. I found a few Redwings, Fieldfares and Chaffinches in the field behind the farm bordering the moto-cross track.
A Pheasant was in the grounds of Earlshall Castle and a Great Tit was seen by the road. Woodpigeon and Chaffinch were the only other birds seen before I made it to Leuchars village where House Sparrows were one final addition. I didn't have to wait too long for a bus home and a welcome chance to sit down out of the bitter wind.
I managed to see a good selection of the species I was hoping for, with only really Green Woodpecker of the 'probables' list not seen. There were a few more on the 'possibles' list that weren't seen but I managed 12 new for the year among the 58 species of bird seen taking me to within 10 of the 100 mark for the year. With between 15-20 possibles on Sunday, I should be in with a decent chance of reaching the target.
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| Mistle Thrush |
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| Bar Tailed Godwit & Curlew |
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| Linnet |
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| Raven |
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| Raven |
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| Linnet |
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| Lesser Redpoll |
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| Little Grebe |
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| Goldeneye |
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| Snow Bunting |
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| White Tailed Eagle |
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| White Tailed Eagle |
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| Grey Plover |
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| Dunlin (& Sanderling?) |
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| Cormorant |
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| Common Scoter & Slavonian Grebe & Red Throated Diver |
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| Common Scoter, Slavonian Grebe & Red Breasted Merganser |
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| Slavonian Grebe |
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| Velvet Scoter, Common Scoter & Slavonian Grebe |
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| Red Breasted Merganser & Common Scoter |
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| Long Tailed Duck |
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| Kestrel |
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| Common Frog |
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| Greenfinch |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Roe Deer |
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| Buzzard |
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| Siskin |
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| Fieldfare |
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| Redwing & Chaffinch |
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| Pheasant |
Species seen (year-ticks in bold) -
Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull,
Common Scoter, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Fieldfare, Gannet, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch,
Grey Plover, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel,
Lesser Redpoll, Linnet,
Little Grebe, Long Tailed Duck, Long Tailed Tit, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pink Footed Goose,
Raven, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Sanderling, Shelduck, Siskin, Skylark,
Slavonian Grebe, Snow Bunting, Starling, Stonechat,
Treecreeper, Velvet Scoter, White Tailed Eagle, Woodpigeon, Wren.
