With Green Woodpecker still eluding me for my year-list, I decided to use the relatively decent weather conditions on Friday to walk around the coast from Tayport to Leuchars again. This walk gives a nice mix of species, though Green Woodpecker was the likeliest year-tick to be found, though a Merlin or a Surf Scoter wasn't out of the question. As the days are lengthening again, I decided that there was no rush to be at any particular point for any particular time, so I could just wander slowly and see what I could find, which is generally my favourite way to go birding.
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| Grey Partridge |
I was a little later than intended leaving home to head to the bus station to hopefully catch the 0840 bus to Fife. The walk was relatively productive with the usual Herring Gull starting the list off, followed almost immediately by Feral Pigeon and Carrion Crow. A little further on and Robin was added then a Woodpigeon. Blue Tit, Goldcrest and Blackbird were seen between King Street and Seagate. Cormorant was seen from the bus as we crossed the bridge, followed by Starlings and Collared Dove in Tayport.
I heard a Wren calling when I arrived at the turning circle and got off the bus. I headed down towards the shore where a line of brambles hid some concrete World War 2 anti-tank blocks. There was a slight break in the brambles so I stepped forward to see if I could spy the Wren. I wasn't expecting to see Grey Partridge on the grassy area which floods at high tide sometimes. Not just 1 bird either, but a minimum of 7 but possibly as many as 10. I took a few photos as they watched me. A Song Thrush popped up onto the concrete block near me. A Stonechat was spotted a little distance away beyond the Partridges. Out on the mud I could see Black Headed Gulls, Oystercatchers and Common Gulls as well as a few Curlews. As it was low tide most of the birds were very distant.
A pair of Chaffinches flew over and I spotted a distant group of Mallard in a channel. There were Shelduck strung out across the exposed mud, and I eventually caught sight of the Wren. The Grey Partridges flew a short distance away landing nearer the burn. Not a bad start and I hadn't yet moved. When I did I found a trio of male Pheasants wandering along the farm road and a pair of Yellowhammer perched in the trees behind the factory along with a Chaffinch. A skein of Pink Footed Geese passed overhead and I heard a singing Greenfinch which I found perched in the trees inside the fence of the former RAF weather station. Another song puzzled me slightly but it turned out to be a slightly odd Chaffinch song - perhaps a youngster from last year that has taken the milder conditions as a sign to sing his not yet perfected song at full volume.
I tried the ditches of the saltmarsh for Snipe or Jack Snipe but drew a blank on both, though a Redshank was a rather noisier departure from one of the ditches than either of the Snipe would've been. A Rock Pipit perched up on one of the concrete blocks long enough for me to take a few photos. I could see a few Eider offshore flying low downriver. What I think was surprisingly my first Rabbit of the year ran off ahead of me. With the prospects of not seeing too much different given the tide state I decided to head into the forest to see if I could add anything. This proved effective most immediately when a pair of Ravens took off from the top of a tree near where I entered the edge of the forest.
I was expecting to encounter lots of walkers as the weather was nice for February, although it was still rather chilly, but I probably encountered about 10 people in total through the whole day. The quietness meant I could hear lots of activity and I stopped to watch a flock of Coal Tits and Long Tailed Tits as they worked their way through the trees by the track. A Great Tit was in the trees opposite too. A little further on I heard an odd call which turned out to be from a pair of Red Squirrels chasing around in a tree a little back from the path. A Mistle Thrush was next onto the list as one flew off as I neared where it was perched unaware that it was there.
The first Siskins of the day were feeding high in the trees as I neared the area where the track rejoins the coastal walk route just short of the fence marking the edge of Tentsmuir Point nature reserve. A Treecreeper wasn't an unexpected sighting but it was another welcome addition. I scanned from the track at the forest edge, looking back along the mud to the west. A tidal pool with Oystercatcher, Curlew and Redshank also contained a single Little Egret. An unexpected bonus bird and a text was sent reporting it and the Ravens. Offshore I could see a pair of Red Breasted Merganser. Across the river between Balmossie and Monifieth I could see hundreds of Eiders strung out along the river. I walked along the path which flanks the easternmost edge of the forest adding more Siskins and few gulls, mostly Herring, but also Common and a Great Black Backed. Up ahead I could see my Green Woodpecker site, where I hoped I would at least manage a glimpse of one.
As I stood at the gate, a male Sparrowhawk flew across in front of me carrying a fresh kill (possibly a Meadow Pipit). Unfortunately the bird was back-lit by the low winter sun and my photos weren't very good, but it was great to get such a close view. I decided to try the edge of the forest and then enter the Woodpecker trees with the sun at my back, hopefully improving my chances of seeing one. I did find a small flock of Redwings in below the trees to the south, but despite a slow walk the main site was almost empty of birds other than a few Robins, Wrens and Blue Tits.
I headed to the beach through the dunes adding a Meadow Pipit on the way. There is still a lot of excess water on the beach and I found a couple of pools with sizeable wader roosts. One was mostly Knot, Grey Plover and relatively few Dunlin, while the latter was mostly Dunlin with a few of the others and a couple of Sanderling nearby. Further along the beach I could see a few Grey Seals hauled out. There were also Oystercatchers and Cormorants in the same area. I decided to cross the rather wide channel to reach the dunes well to the north of the fence-line. This seemed to give the most direct, and uninterrupted, route to where I wanted to be at the edge of the dunes to the east of the main 'lagoon' pool(s). There was still the chance of there being unseen dips full of water but I set off anyway, finding a relatively narrow point which was mostly slow moving and shallow except for a few feet on the far side which was faster and deeper. Thankfully the new boots still appear to be waterproof and I made it across and remained dry.
As well as a small group of Common Gulls and a Curlew, there was still a drake Goldeneye and a Little Grebe on the lagoon itself and a pair of Pied Wagtails chattered away almost continuously as they picked around among the shells on the sand near the water. A flock of Linnets flew up from the dunes as I headed south after I'd stopped briefly for a spot of lunch. They flew off towards the forest and there didn't appear to be any Snow Buntings with them this time. A single Linnet was seen further on, which appeared to be searching along the beach in vain for the flock which had flown towards the forest earlier.
Offshore I could see small numbers of Scoters and a larger group a little further on ahead. There were also Eiders further out on the water. Despite lots of checking and re-checking the flocks were largely Common Scoters with a handful of Velvet Scoter among them. There were also some Red Breasted Mergansers and a single Red Throated Diver. Eventually I managed to see a Long Tailed Duck pair fly past. I decided to head in towards the car park to walk along the access road and then down to Earlshall Muir via the forest tracks. I had only gone a short distance back in the dunes when I heard a calling Crossbill. I managed to spot the flying bird and saw it land in a small fir tree in the dunes. I headed in the general direction stopping to take a few photos. A couple of walkers moved the bird on to what was actually a better spot for a photo. I even tried a spot of video, but a second Crossbill chased it off before I'd managed a little more than a few seconds worth of footage.
I did manage a few photos of one of the birds as they flew over. I sent a second text reporting the birds to Fife Bird Club but as with the earlier message sent this one didn't get circulated either. Frustrating and off-putting in equal measure. Where I reached the edge of the forest I found a junction showing a sign saying "Morton Lochs 3 miles". With a broadly similar distance still to go anyway, I decided to head back northwards. The path seemed to run parallel with the main road for a distance and when I reached the next junction I found a 'forestry operations - do not enter' sign, which meant turning south again. This took me to the west side of the horse fields but there was chainsawing of branches going on down the track. I found a small path through the forest and headed that way. It took me to the smaller horse fields further west and a more overgrown route to the road, but I made it eventually.
I had spooked a Buzzard as I'd headed for the road and a short distance along the track leading south from the road, a second Buzzard flew out from the trees, which seemed to surprise the flock of Goldfinches and Siskins feeding in the tree-tops above. Thankfully they settled quickly and I stopped for a few photos in the sunshine. Another flock of Long Tailed Tits was seen in the open area to the north east of the boardwalk area at Earlshall Muir. I scanned out over the fields but there appeared to be very few birds around or moving, other than a couple of distant corvids. I added a pair of Buzzards at the moto-cross track/farm but there was no sign of any winter thrushes or finches here.
Heading along the road from the farm, I stopped a few times adding Jackdaws and Rooks in the fields. Something spooked not just these birds but other flocks further to the north which included Golden Plover and Lapwings. The latter flew towards me and over the base headed for the Eden but I lost sight of the Golden Plovers. A Goldcrest was fly-catching among a small patch of Rhododenron bushes at Earlshall Castle, at one point hovering just a few inches in front of me. A pair of Stock Doves flew in to land in the trees above me as I photographed the Goldcrest. Starlings and Chaffinches were seen in the trees here also, but nothing else was added in the last half mile or so to the bus stop and homewards.
An enjoyable day out even without managing to find the one target species I was hoping for. A total of 62 bird species seen, and 3 species of mammal (Red Squirrel, Rabbit and Grey Seal). No sign of some of the expected birds but the unexpected ones easily cancel out any disappointment from missing those.
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| Grey Partridge |
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| Grey Partridge |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Stonechat |
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| Pheasant |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Greenfinch |
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Curlew |
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| Redshank |
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| Eider |
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| Oystercatcher, Curlew & Little Egret |
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| Sparrowhawk (& Meadow Pipit?) |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Dunlin, Grey Plover & Knot |
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| Sanderling |
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| Dunlin, Grey Plover & Knot |
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| Common Gull & Curlew |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Goldeneye |
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| Little Grebe |
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| Linnet |
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| Red Breasted Merganser, Black Headed Gull, Common Gull & Herring Gull |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Eider |
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| Linnet |
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| Dunlin |
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| Common Scoter |
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| Common Scoter |
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| Common Scoter & Velvet Scoter |
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| Common Scoter |
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| Crossbill |
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| Crossbill |
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| Crossbill |
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| Crossbill |
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| Goldfinch & Siskin |
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| Goldfinch & Siskin |
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| Long Tailed Tit |
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| Buzzard |
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| Golden Plover |
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| Lapwing |
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| Jackdaw |
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| Goldcrest |
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| Goldcrest |
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| Rook |
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| Jackdaw |
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| Stock Dove |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Cormorant, Crossbill, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Goldcrest, Golden Plover, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Partridge, Grey Plover, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Knot, Lapwing, Linnet, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Duck, Long Tailed Tit, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Raven, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sanderling, Shelduck, Siskin, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Stonechat, Treecreeper, Velvet Scoter, Woodpigoen, Wren, Yellowhammer.
