Once again, there was no firm plan for my Wednesday trip out birding with Paul. We had discussed a few possibilities for both target species and potential sites to visit but with nothing approaching a 'certainty' we settled for another "let's just make it up as we go" day. The weather forecast was mostly dry though windy and still rather cold, though not as bitterly cold as the weekend was. I arranged to meet Paul at Guardbridge at 0755.
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| Pintail |
It was just before 0720 when I left the house to try to get to the bus station for the 0735 bus to Guardbridge. There were a few birds around as I left with the usual Herring Gulls and Feral Pigeons seen immediately plus the marginally less usually seen Woodpigeon and the local House Sparrows seconds later. Coal Tit, Carrion Crow and Magpie were added on Dens Road as well as the Woodpigeon pair that continue feeding even when you pass within just a few feet of them feeding by the path. A Blackbird and a Redwing were seen at the top of Dens Brae and also a Blue Tit. A Pied Wagtail flew over as I waited to cross the road to reach the bus station with a few minutes to spare.
Cormorants were on Submarine Rock in the Tay and Rook was added at St Michaels. Collared Dove, Starling and Jackdaw were spotted from the bus as we passed through Leuchars. A small flock of Curlew were seen near Leuchars railway station. Paul was waiting by the hide at Guardbridge and we spent a short while adding more species to the list before deciding where to go first. Tree Sparrows were numerous in the bushes and trees, while on the river were Mallard and Teal. Along the shore opposite were Redshanks, a Black Tailed Godwit, a few Dunlin and a Lapwing. More Dunlin and Godwit were around where the gulls roost at the bend in the river.
A few Mute Swans were picked out quite far downriver. Shelduck were seen distantly towards Coble Shore. Herring Gull, Black Headed Gull, Common Gull and a Lesser Black Backed Gull were all around in small numbers. A Knot and an Oystercatcher were in with the Godwits and Dunlin. A Great Black Backed Gull flew past and a pair of Grey Wagtails flew around nearby. Paul found a party of Goldeneye and a Grey Heron was on the far bank at the river bend. A Chaffinch was seen at the feeders as we headed for the car and Ruddon's Point, in the hope of Surf Scoter. A skein of Pink Footed Geese headed north slightly to the west of the village and a Buzzard was harassed by the local Rooks behind the houses across from the car park.
On the way to Ruddon's Point we added a few Pheasants but things were relatively quiet bird-wise. As we were passing Kilconquhar anyway we chose to pop into Barnyard's Marsh and Kilconquhar Loch first. Around 10 Snipe were seen and a larger bird that I didn't get onto quickly enough also flew off. Paul reckoned it was a Woodcock but the sound made by the wings as it flew away made me think more of Pheasant. As I couldn't be certain either way having chosen the camera, which decided not to focus, rather than binoculars to try and watch the bird, I didn't count the bird. A Reed Bunting flew over and a Yellowhammer and Dunnock were seen as we walked back along the road. A Wren showed briefly opposite.
From the Quiet Garden area by the Loch we added Moorhen, Coot, Pocjhard, Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe and Tufted Duck in addition to Mute Swan, Mallard and Teal. As we were leaving I stopped to try and see some Long Tailed Tits that I could hear and succeeded in seeing a few of the birds flitting around in the bushes. A Greenfinch and 2 Goldfinches flew into a nearby tree as we reached the car park again. The short drive to the Shell Bay caravan park was fruitless with nothing added. The wind felt a lot stronger and colder when we got out of the car to walk the rest of the way to the point.
A Whimbrel had been seen the day before and we scanned all the waders we could see - a few Redshanks and a selection of Curlews, but ultimately drew a blank. Offshore we could see a few Eider and a Red Breasted Merganser. We scanned from a small hollow at the beach that offered some protection from the wind, and the rain which had started as we walked out. We added Guillemot and Shag, while behind us a few Skylarks started their song-flights. Having failed to find the Whimbrel we walked round to the north side of the point to try for Surf Scoter. A small group of Turnstone flew in to land on the rocks at the water's edge.
The tide was quite far out and a selection of gulls could be seen along the shore to the north. There were Velvet Scoters lightly spread among the waves along with a few Long Tailed Ducks but despite much effort we failed to find any Divers, Slavonian Grebes or Surf Scoter. Even Common Scoters appeared to be hiding from us. As we walked back to scan the beach and burn mouth a Meadow Pipit flew in to land on the rocks in front of us. Back in the relative shelter of the trees we added a Rock Pipit on the beach along with a pair of Carrion Crows and a pair of Curlews. Paul spotted a group of Ringed Plover while a pair of Siskin flew out from the same trees we were sheltering under.
We detoured back along the beach to the car adding a Stonechat pair to the list. On the beach were a dead Guillemot, Razorbill and Shag. Having seen that the Scoter flock looked quite close to Lower Largo we decided to head round there for a better view and hopefully some more birds. On the way, while I was answering a message on my phone Paul spotted a couple of birds in a roadside field which he was certain were Wheatear. I only caught a glimpse of a single bird from the corner of my eye and didn't see enough detail for any sort of identification. Another one that got away, possibly.
Our only addition from the short walk along the coastal path was a small group of distant Common Scoters. The Velvet Scoters seemed to have largely moved from where we saw them from urther round the bay and there was no sign of any Divers. We stopped off a Leven, in the car park next to the river mouth. A Bar Tailed Godwit was added and I spotted a ringed Herring Gull and a rather contrastingly plumaged young Herring Gull. There was a nice mix of gulls on the beach while Goldneye, Eider and Red Breasted Merganser were either in the river mouth or slightly further out. The local Starlings were very confiding coming too close for photos at times. I found a Razorbill among the waves before we headed for Buckhaven to look for Mediterranean Gull.
Another Razorbill and a Cormorant were the only birds of any note seen here before we headed in the direction of Loch Leven. We made a few stops on the way, firstly a couple at the rather exposed and very windy Loch Gelly. We did manage to add Wigeon to the list here, as well as a Goosander and a fly-over Stock Dove. A Snipe flushed from the water's edge at the foot of the stairs. There was no sign of the Chiffchaff reported from the day before either. Our next stop was the western end of Lochore to try to add some of the smaller birds that we had yet to see. It didn't take too long to see Bullfinches, but a Calling Great Tit proved impossible to see though the pathside bushes and Goldcrest singing from the conifers opposite proved frustratingly elusive.
A Red Squirrel was an unexpected surprise in the same tree that the Goldcrest appeared to be. From the small bird hide we found the pool rather busy with a mix of Duck species including a trio of Pintail and a few Gadwall. On the main Loch we added a few Greylags but failed to find the redhead Smew we had seen last month. A Song Thrush was spotted in trees by the Loch. On the walk back to the car we once again dipped on the Great Tit and Goldcrest. We toted with popping into Vane Farm but decided it was unlikely to give us many additions so instead we headed for Burleigh Sands where a trio of Slavonian Grebes had been seen the day before - a bird that Paul needed for his year-list.
A field full of Pink Footed Geese caused an abrupt stop as we neared the car park. Unfortunately out on the Loch there was no sign of anything resembling Slavonian Grebe but a Great Tit did show in the trees behind us. A surprise was a fly-past by a pair of
Sand Martins as they hawked for the few insects likely to be on the wing just above the choppy waters of the Loch. A slightly unexpected year-tick making it the best bird of the day. A Treecreeper was finally seen climbing up the tree trunks behind where the Great Tit had been seen. (A pair of Mediterranean Gulls were seen from here an hour or so later).
We headed next for Rossie Bog where a Kestrel was the only addition though the bog did have reasonable numbers of Curlew and Lapwing and if the water levels stay the same a Garganey has to be on the cards sometime over the next few weeks. Letham Pools, our final stop, proved to be very quiet and we failed to get any geese let alone the hoped for White Fronted Goose that had been seen the day before. A few Chaffinches and a nice Brambling were seen in a tree in the garden at the Bow of Fife junction before we headed for Cupar so Paul could drop me off to catch the bus home.
Despite the lack of success with any of our target species we still managed to beat our previous best and ended up with 82 species, including a year-tick for us both (in bold). The weather could have been kinder to us, especially at Ruddon's Point but once again it was a good day's birding.
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| Teal |
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| Herring Gull, Dunlin, Black Tailed Godwit, Oystercatcher |
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| Snipe |
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Moorhen |
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| Herring Gull, Curlew & Common Gull |
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| Ringed Plover |
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| Curlew |
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| Red Breasted Merganser |
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| Common Scoter |
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| Herring Gull & Velvet Scoter |
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| Starling |
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| Starling |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Eider |
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| Goldeneye |
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| Bar Tailed Godwit, Oystercatcher & Black Headed Gull |
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| Lesser Black Backed Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Shag |
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| Razorbill |
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| Rook |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Pintail |
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| Pintail |
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| Pintail |
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| Little Grebe |
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| Gadwall |
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| Wigeon |
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| Greylag Goose |
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| Cormorant |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Magpie |
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| Sand Martin |
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| Treecreeper |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Wigeon, Lapwing, Black Headed Gull & Oystercatcher |
Species seen - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Brambling, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Gadwall, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Knot, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Duck, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Pintail, Pochard, Razorbill, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook,
Sand Martin, Shag, Shelduck, Siskin, Skylark, Snipe, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Stonechat, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Velvet Scoter, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals - Red Squirrel.
