I was undecided where to go on Monday, though I got up early so as to head out for an early bus anyway. My original preference was to head for Letham Pools and the Ladybank area but with decent amounts of migrants passing through the Isle of May and more winds from the east I decided to try the Crail and Fife Ness area instead. I hoped I might get a Ring Ouzel or maybe a Yellow Wagtail or something even more unusual, though I reckoned my chances were probably rather slim anyway. I wasn't feeling 100% but hoped that being outside would help.
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| Fulmar |
I was out the door at around 0645 to catch the 0705 bus to St Andrews, which left a 10 minute window before the Crail bus left. Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, House Sparrow and Herring Gull made up a fairly typical start to the day's list followed soon after by Starling, Carrion Crow and Lesser Black Backed Gull. Goldfinch flying over and a singing Wren on Dens Brae were added before I reached the bus station in time to catch the bus. If I'd missed it then the Ladybank bus was due to leave 5 minutes later so I would have changed my plans and headed inland.
From the bus I was only able to put a few more species onto the list with Cormorant on Submarine Rock, and a Blackbird in Leuchars the only ones before I caught my second bus. Jackdaws were seen around St Andrews and a Mallard flew down the Kinness burn near the harbour. The first Buzzard of the day was seen near Boarhills. A few Oystercatchers and a Skylark were in a field with some Woodpigeons further on, and there were Pheasants dotted around everywhere. A Brown Hare was resting up in its form in a field near Kingsbarns.
I was feeling less than great by the time I got off the bus and actually considered turning round and heading for home but instead decided to hope that I would eventually feel better as I headed for a quick check of Denburn Wood. Stock Dove, Greenfinch, Chaffinch and Blue Tit were seen in the wood, but no Blackcaps or Chiffchaffs were seen or heard. I wandered down to Roome Bay to check the sea and shoreline. Eiders were offshore and further out a Gannet headed by. A Great Black Backed Gull was on the rocks with Herring Gulls. A Fulmar flew by and I spotted a Redshank towards the eastern end of the beach.
I headed for the caravan park access road next, stopping to see a few Linnets in the Gorse bushes. Reaching the road, I spooked a pair of Grey Partridges from the edge of the field opposite and they flew off to the middle of the field. On the wires above the field were a Corn Bunting, a Reed Bunting and a Yellowhammer. A male Greenfinch showed well in the sunshine on the wire by the road. A Collared Dove landed on a house roof as I walked up to the road out to the golf course and Kilminning. Another Corn Bunting sang from a fence post.
As I neared the top of the access road a group of 6 Whooper Swans headed over towards the Wormiston direction. Walking out along the road I heard plenty of Skylarks singing and another Corn Bunting was seen and heard from the field on the north side of the road. A Meadow Pipit and a Pied Wagtail were seen in flight and a Magpie flew across the field beyond the B&B driveway. I looked up to see a Sparrowhawk overhead which flew off towards Kilminning. The trees near the industrial estate entrance held a pair of Great Tits and a few foraging Goldcrests as well as a few Blackbirds.
I checked the top area of Kilminning though I was still feeling a bit ill so my mind wasn't completely on the task. A rabbit was the only thing new seen and there was no sign of the Grey Partridges which had been around the previous Wednesday. Instead of heading for the bottom end of Kilminning next I chose to head to the Fife Bird Club hide at Fife Ness for a seat and a spot of seawatching. A Chiffchaff was in the bushes at the golf course by the bend in the road and a pair of Fieldfaes flew over heading inland. A male Reed Bunting sang from the bushes by Stinky Pool where a pair of Shelduck were on the water. Shags and Cormorants were in their usual spots out on the rocks offshore. A Song Thrush flew off from the garden of the cottage.
It was just before 1000 when I settled into position in the hide to see if I could pick up anything interesting passing offshore, or arriving/heading out. The first addition was a Common Gull gliding by. Common Scoters headed north low over the water. I eventually ended up with a count of 60 of these sea ducks. Another sea-duck, a Red Breasted Merganser passed by. The first Kittwakes were picked up a good bit offshore. A Guillemot bobbed around out on the water. A few minutes later a Red Throated Diver rushed northwards. There didn't seem to be particularly heavy movement of anything but there seemed to always be something passing. A Pied Wagtail with a ring that I only noticed later on photos picked around the rockpools.
A few Razorbills whirred northwards low over the waves. Sandwich Terns passed by, quietly for once. More Great Black Backed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Shags, Cormorants, gannets and Eiders were seen. A Curlew joined a few Oystercatchers on the rocks in front of the hide. More Common Scoters and a couple more Red Throated Divers passed by. Having spent 2 hours in the hide I was on the verge of heading along to Kilminning when a pair of Velvet Scoters went north, with another 3 a short while later. Having only seen 3 Red Throated Divers in the previous 2 hours, I was surprised to see the same amount in less than a minute. For the next hour, there seemed to be a large movement of Red Throated Divers going on - my photos eventually gave me a total of 30 passing by, with at least 4 out on the water offshore.
A photographer who had seen the window open knocked on the door and asked if he could come in. I told him that he had to be a Fife Bird Club member and gave him details of how to join. I also told him about the Red Throated Divers passing by. After a few more Divers had gone past I decided to pack up and went outside to beside the pillbox to see if he'd seen them. He hadn't, though further conversation clarified that he was still very much in the novice birder category, more interested in getting a photo rather than in the subjects themselves, as seemingly many are these days. With what looked like an incoming rain shower he decided to head back to his car at Kilminning. As I was going the same way anyway I wandered back with him. I pointed out various birds passing offshore as we wandered along the coastal path together and a Grey Seal not too far offshore.A male Sparrowhawk gave us nice views as it flew over.
The expected rain-shower failed to materialise and we had reasonable views of Greenfinch and Meadow Pipit but little else. There was very little to be seen around Kilminning with only a Dunnock added at the bottom end. Things were also quiet at the top end, though a few Redwings and Blackbirds were around that I hadn't seen earlier in the day. I decided to try for the 1455 bus amd waked back to Crail. There were 3 Roe Deer in the field to the north of the airfield and a Robin in the trees by the entrance to the industrial estate. A few Rooks were seen at the other end of the large field. There were no further additions in Crail or from the bus back to St Andrews.
To try and add a few more species I walked down to the castle at St Andrews to scan out over the bay, but only Eiders, Fulmars and a handful of Common Scoters were seen. Things weren't any more productive along towards the golf museum so I caught a bus to Guardbridge. Mute Swans and Whooper Swans were seen in the fields between St Andrews and Guardbridge, and Tree Sparrow and an unexpected pair of Bullfinch were in the bushes outside the hide. With the tide already in most of the waders were rather distant though with a bit of effort I did manage to pick out Knot, Dunlin, Black Tailed Godwit, Redshank and Oystercatcher along with Wigeon, Teal. Pintail and a Pink Footed Goose. A Turnstone was a surprise foraging alongside the other waders at the edge of the saltmarsh.
Despite feeling under the weather I did manage a grand total of 69 species of bird, though nothing new for the year, and very few obvious migrants. I also managed 4 mammal species. A text message from the FBC grapevine showed that the Ladybank and Letham areas were very quiet also, so I'd probably made a decent choice by choosing Crail.
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| Collared Dove |
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| Corn Bunting & Reed Bunting |
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| Corn Bunting |
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| Greenfinch |
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| Whooper Swan |
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| Skylark |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Goldcrest |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Fieldfare |
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| Shelduck |
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| Herring Gull, Cormorant, Shag & Eider |
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| Shag |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Common Scoter |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Gannet |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Curlew |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Eider & Red Throated Diver |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Razorbill |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Fulmar |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Velvet Scoter |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Velvet Scoter |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Shag |
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| Razorbill & Guillemot |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Kittiwake |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Gannet |
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| Cormorant |
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| Red Breasted Merganser |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Grey Seal |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Magpie |
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| Pheasant |
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| Roe Deer |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Shelduck |
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| Redshank, Teal, Oystercatcher, Pintail, Wigeon & Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Shelduck, Pink Footed Goose & Curlew |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Cormorant, Corn Bunting, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Fieldfare, Fulmar, Gannet, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Partridge, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kittiwake, Knot, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Pintail, Razorbill, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sandwich Tern, Shag, Shelduck, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Turnstone, Velvet Scoter, Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals seen - Brown Hare, Grey Seal, Rabbit, Roe Deer
