I still wasn't in the best of moods on Thursday and stayed in bed rather than heading out anywhere but once I did get up I decided that as I was on holiday I should really make the effort to get out somewhere. However, I wanted peace and quiet, preferably birding on my own. I decided that I would try the Eden Estuary - have a quick look from the Eden Estuary Centre, then head out to the George Evans hide until the tide came in, then wander along to the Fife Bird Club hide for it receding again. Although I wasn't expecting anything unusual, there is always the chance of an American wader when there are continuous westerlies.
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| Curlew, Redshank, Greenshank & possible Marsh Sandpiper? |
I headed out at 1255 seeing Herring Gull and Feral Pigeon from the bus stop and then a flyover Goldfinch on the way down to the bus station. Swallows at Drumoig, Mistle Thrushes at St Michaels and House Martins over Guardbridge were noted before I wandered in towards the hide. House Sparrow, Woodpigeon and Jackdaw were seen but when I opened the door I found all 4 windows occupied and turned right round and didn't even bother scanning from outside. Pied Wagtail and Linnet were seen as I waited for the bus to St Andrews.
Things didn't improve any on the walk to the George Evans hide. I was passed by 2 school teachers and half a dozen (probably Primary 7) boys on bikes. It was easy to see that these were the more unruly kids being taken out for a while rather than disrupting a classroom, and so it proved. They were at the hide when I arrived and had bolted the teachers inside, with a couple of them standing out in front on the grass overlooking the bay making plenty of noise. My hoped for peace and quiet wasn't happening. They were rather annoying but thankfully the teachers got them back onto their bikes again and away after about 5 minutes and I settled down to see what I could see.
Rooks, a trio of Stock Doves, numerous Black Tailed Godwits, a few Lapwings and Oystercatchers, a mixed group of gulls including Black Headed, Common and Herring Gulls as well as a few of both Great and Lesser Black Backeds. There were also Curlews and a pair of Ruff to be found out on the mud. A few Shelducks were dotted around and distant Cormorants, Eiders and Grey Seal (and a solitary Common Seal) could be seen out in the river. I spotted some Pink Footed Geese out on the mud and they were soon joined by more birds arriving from a north easterly direction. A small group of Golden Plover flew over and I found a couple of Grey Herons.
A flock of Starlings wheeled over the fields to the west and more Pink Footed Geese came and went. A smaller skein of 10 geese approached low over the mud before landing not too far away. These were the local wintering Brent Geese already arrived back on the Eden. A few Ospreys were seen on posts and another did a spot of hunting. As the tide came in, I found a few more species for the list - Teal, Redshank and Common Tern. There were also a few Bar Tailed Godwits off to the east a little. A young Peregrine chased at least 3 Black Tailed Godwits but never really looked like catching one. Once the tide had ensured that there was unlikely to be anything else appearing in front of the hide I packed up to walk along to the Fife Bird Club hide at the farm nearer Guardbridge.
A Moorhen on the golf course then Carrion Crows, Buzzard, Meadow Pipit and Linnets were seen on the walk along the cycle path as well as even more Pink Footed Geese. At the hide I could see that there were plenty of birds roosting on the saltmarsh though the water levels weren't as high as the previous afternoon. Grey Heron, Little Egret, Black Tailed Godwits, Redshanks, Curlews and Dunlin were all soon picked out, as well as a few Greenshanks. Mallards, Mute Swans, a single Pintail and a number of Knot were soon added. Wigeon and a single Curlew Sandpiper were also seen before I decided to call it a day, adding Magpie to the list on the walk back to the village to catch the bus home.
Looking through the photos I'd taken at home later, I noticed something odd that I had overlooked at the time. Stood next to a sleeping Greenshank was what appeared to be a smaller bird, slightly paler grey, but also asleep. It looked like a miniature Greenshank but there wasn't anything else to attempt an ID from other than a strong supercilium just visible. I checked through my other photos to see if perhaps I'd caught the bird in flight, or at least awake, but the search was rather inconclusive. I found what appeared to be the same bird but it wasn't 100% certain and similarly a bird in flight may just be a Greenshank though it does look more Redshank sized. The most likely species for the mini-Greenshank (assuming it isn't just a mini Greenshank) would be Marsh Sandpiper - which would be a lifer. However, although I saw the bird, I didn't pay it the attention it appears to have merited, (though as it is unidentified that is a moot point) having mentally noted it as a Greenshank as I scanned past without looking properly. I need to take more time and look properly, next time.
A reasonable enough afternoon in the end with a total of 50 species seen (plus the 1 that got away!) and relative (much needed) peace and quiet eventually gained too.
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Carrion Crow, Common Gull, Black Headed Gull, Shelduck |
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| Ruff, Common Gull, Carrion Crow, Herring Gull, Black Headed Gull & Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Pink Footed Goose, Oystercatcher |
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| Golden Plover |
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| Golden Plover |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Grey Seal |
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| Ruff, Black Headed Gull, Common Gull |
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Brent Goose |
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| Brent Goose, Jackdaw, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Shelduck, Black Headed Gull |
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| Brent Goose |
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Osprey & Oystercatcher |
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| Lesser Black Backed Gull & Herring Gull |
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| Ruff |
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| Brent Goose, Curlew & Shelduck |
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| Teal |
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| Peregrine, Black Tailed Godwit, Shelduck, Black Headed Gull, Common Gull & Herring Gull |
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| Peregrine, Shelduck & Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Brent Goose, Black Tailed Godwit, Common Gull & Peregrine |
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| Peregrine |
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| Shelduck |
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| Buzzard |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Little Egret |
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| Little Egret, Curlew |
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| Redshank, Greenshank, Curlew |
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| Grey Heron, Little Egret, Redshank, Curlew |
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| Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Lapwing, Redshank |
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| Teal, Greenshank, Redshank, Curlew, Black Tailed Godwit, Dunlin |
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| Osprey, Herring Gull, Carrion Crow, Black Headed Gull |
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| Redshank, Curlew, Greenshank, Knot & Dunlin |
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| Teal |
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| Greenshank, Redshank, Curlew & possibly the mystery wader |
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| Knot, Redshank, Black Tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Little Egret, Teal & Dunlin |
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| Pintail |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Lapwing & Curlew |
Species seen - Bar Tailed Godwit, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Brent Goose, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Common Gull, Common Tern, Cormorant, Curlew, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Eider, Golden Plover, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Knot, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Pintail, Redshank, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Ruff, Shelduck, Starling, Stock Dove,Swallow, Teal, Wigeon, Woodpigeon.
Mammals seen - Common Seal, Grey Seal.
