As anyone who has been reading my blog for a while will likely know, I've been growing increasingly frustrated by my Tamron 150-600mm lens and it's annoying habit of refusing to focus anytime I get a really good photo opportunity, usually of a close flypast by a raptor (except for the 1 head-on Osprey sequence that I was lucky enough to get at the Eden Estuary earlier this year). I had been swithering over buying a Nikon 200-500mm lens as a replacement. My thinking was that a Nikon lens on a Nikon camera should work as advertised without any problems. What was putting me off was the apparent slowness of focussing by the lens. Last week I decided to bite the bullet and buy the 200-500mm lens but I had to wait until Wednesday to get out and test it out.
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| Grey Heron |
I was undecided where to go with a number of options considered but shelved, mostly owing to potential rain showers. Eventually I settled on heading for Guardbridge with the option of continuing on to St Andrews and catching a bus to Crail for some sea-watching at Fife Ness. I headed out just before 0945 (after a visit to the dentist and some shopping) to catch the bus to Fife. Feral Pigeon and Woodpigeon were seen before I caught the bus to the Wellgate and the shorter walk to the bus station. I did manage to add Blackbird, Herring Gull and Blue Tit (a fledgling in a tree by the underpass at the Cowgate) on the way.
A Starling flew over the road at the Fife end of the Tay roadbridge and Rooks were seen near St Michaels. A few Sand Martins were seen over the golf course in their usual spot and a pair of Swallows landed on wires just outside Leuchars. Jackdaws were on the chimneys in the village but there was no sign of any Collared Doves. Mute Swan was seen on the Motray and House Sparrows were seen as I got off the bus to walk in to the hide. The hide was busier than expected though thankfully there was still a spare window available. Inside already was Eric ("the novice birder") who I met earlier this year in the same place, and a couple up from England on holiday who are staying just outside Crail.
Things appeared relatively quiet out frnt and with the tide on its way out I wasn't expecting anything too spectacular. As the main focus was on testing the lens I wasn't too bothered as long as there were opportunities to catch a few birds in flight and maybe some birds on the mud or water below the hide. Scanning around got me a few Carrion Crows, Lapwings and Redshanks opposite, a pair of Buzzards on the 'see-saw', more Mute Swans, a few Shelducks and Grey Herons and a Black Headed Gull or 2. The light wasn't too great though the forecast was for it to get slightly worse before it got better. Not just being a fair-weather photographer (photos are secondary to seeing the birds for me) this didn't bother me, and if anything would potentially provide a better idea of the lens performance.
A large group of 21 Goosander swam upriver before hauling out along the shore downstream a little from the hide. The lens seemed to find focus consistently and the photos seemed as sharp asthe higher than hoped ISO would allow. It was relatively slow from close to distant but I still suspected I should be able to get a higher than currently 'hit rate' with my photos. The slight downside to that is more photos to edit after a day out. The first Osprey of the day was seen landing on the pole by the FBC hide and soon afterwards a second bird with a fish landed nearby on a fence post. I contemplated heading round to the farm to the hide but decided against it.
I added a few Lesser Black Backed Gulls and a party of 3 Swifts before finding my first Mallards of the day. A single Collared Dove flew past. A Great Black Backed Gull stood in the water near the bend in the river. Tree Sparrows and Blue Tits, including youngsters, visited the feeders and a Magpie flew past. An Oystercatcher flew upriver and both Sand Martin and Swallows were seen zipping around over the water and the shoreline opposite as well as over the hidden pool beyond. Great Tits and Chaffinches brought their recent offspring to the feeders too. I found a flock of Wigeon near the Shelduck on the saltmarsh and a pair of Linnets flew over. A small skein of 8 Canada Geese disappeared upriver having overflown the farm, before a Rbin appeared on the grass in front of the hide.
I picked up a few more Ospreys dotted around, a few hovering and circling over Balgove Bay before finding places to land with their catch as well as others loafing around doing very little. Eventually I counted 8 birds but didn't actually realise that 2 of the lumps on a washed up tree beyond the "Osprey posts" were also Ospreys giving a grand total of 10 Ospreys in view at once. (2 on "Osprey Posts", 2 on dead tree, 3 on rocks on mud, 1 by edge of saltmarsh, 1 on post by FBC hide and 1 on fence nearby). Usually it is later in the year when Osprey numbers are at their highest, usually around the first few weeks in September when birds are stopping off on their way south, but this year it appears that there are a lot more non-breeders in the area, possibly as a result of their later than usual arrival back in any great numbers.
The couple from England headed off and soon after I was joined by Willie and Anne Irvine, before Eric too headed off. The lens was performing quite well given the conditions and the general lack of birds close in. I found a few very distant Cormorants as well as a few Eider ducks with a creche of ducklings. A Pied Wagtail flew across the river and a Coal Tit popped into the feeders. A Curlew landed on the mud near the bend and a Common Gull circled overhead. The Ospreys started to move on with 1 flying over the hide and another heading towards the Motray. A few House Martins circled over the conifers opposite.
Things proved rather quiet aftewards for adding birds to the list for the day though Dunnock and Goldfinch were both seen as the afternoon progressed. Anne and Willie headed off before I was joined by a family group from Musselburgh. The camera got plenty of exercise and the lens proved up to the task, and was a big improvement on the previous Tamron 150-600mm I had been using. Lapwings and Grey Herons seemed to provide the bulk of the opportunities though there were others but all in all, I was very happy with the lens, even if I'm not entirely looking forward to carrying it any great distance as it is heavier than my previous gear.
A decent enough day's birding with plenty to photograph which was the main exercise though only 44 species of bird seen in total. Considering that it is mid-June though, that isn't actually all that bad for what was really just one site with all of the birds, except Rook, seen elsewhere also seen from the hide.
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| Redshank & Mute Swan |
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| Lapwing |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey (x2) |
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| Osprey, Mute Swan, Shelduck, Mallard & Wigeon |
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| Goosander |
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| Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Eider |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Osprey & Oystercatcher |
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| Osprey (x2) |
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| Shelduck |
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| Canada Goose |
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| Shelduck & Osprey |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Osprey (x4) & Black Headed Gull |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey (x3) |
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| Linnet |
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| Goosander |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Mallard |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Osprey (x3) |
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| Curlew |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Mallard |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Shelduck |
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| Shelduck |
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| Magpie |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Lapwing |
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| Great Tit |
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| Goosander |
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| Goosander |
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| Goosander |
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| Lapwing |
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| Redshank |
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| Sand Martin |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Carrion Crow & Buzzard |
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| Mallard |
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| Lapwing |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Lapwing |
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| Sand Martin |
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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Sand Martin |
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| Sand Martin |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Lapwing |
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| Lapwing |
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| Lesser Black Backed Gull |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Lapwing |
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| Lapwing |
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| Swallow |
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| Swallow |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Lapwing |
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| Buzzard (& Pipit/Skylark?) |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Jackdaw |
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| Curlew |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Eider, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Shelduck, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Tree Sparrow, Wigeon, Woodpigeon.
