With yet more westerlies forecast along with the possibility of rain in the morning, my midweek birding options were rather limited. Paul had managed to get back onshore and was available to get out birding though it was likely he would have to be home earlier than usual. We settled on a pick-up at Guardbridge followed by a morning of seawatching until the rain passed through then a look around at Kilminning then possibly along to Caiplie to see if the Black Redstart which had been seen a few times a few days before was still around. This would mean Paul didn't have too far to travel to get home and the amount of driving he'd have to do would also be rather limited.
 |
| Arctic Skua |
I needed to catch the 0755 bus to Guardbridge so was out the door at around 0735. Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon and Herring Gull were all around when I stepped out the door. Blackbird and Robin were both seen near the bus station. From the bus to Fife I was able to add Buzzard, Starling, Rook, Pheasant and Jackdaw. Blue Tit and Long Tailed Tits were in the trees by the gate into the park at Guardbridge. I met Paul outside the hide and we scanned out across the estuary. Black Tailed Godwit, Redshank, Great Black Backed Gull, Little Egret, Mute Swan, Lapwing, some distant Golden Plover, Dunlin, Curlew, Mallard and Black Headed Gull were quickly jotted down.
Paul found a Ruff among a flock of Redshanks and a small group of Red Breasted Mergansers swam upriver. A Grey Heron flew in to join the Egrets. Some searching finally produced an Oystercatcher. Chaffinch and Goldfinch both flew over. A large 'lump' out on one of the wooden posts in the estuary was confirmed as a White Tailed Eagle, most likely the local female who has apparently been deserted by the male this year. Teal, Wigeon and Eider were the final additions before we headed for Crail. Nothing else was added on the way there except House Sparrows and a Greenfinch. The visibility got progressively worse as we neared Crail and our seawatching opportunity seemed to be under threat.
Thankfully it turned out we could see far enough out over the sea, though the horizon was obscured. Turnstone were seen on the rocks out in front, while Shags and Gannets flew by. Despite the poor visibility there were birds moving and we soon added Kittiwakes, Red Throated Diver and Arctic Skua to the list. Rock Pipits showed out among the pools and a Grey Seal surfaced offshore. A few Sandwich Terns flew by and a female Velvet Scoter was a surprise as she headed south. Common Gull, Razorbill, Guillemot, Common Scoter and a Manx Shearwater were seen over the next half hour or so.
A small group of Purple Sandpipers showed up among the Ringed Plover and Turnstone flock out on the rocks. A Pied Wagtail flew over the hide. It was more of the same for the rest of the morning and just before noon we packed up and headed for Kilminning to see if there was anything to be found in the bushes and trees. Great Tit and Meadow Pipit were seen quite quickly and overhead there were lots of Skylarks moving just above the low cloudbase with birds suddenly appearing below the grey. A Sparrowhawk flew out from a tree but rapidly changed direction having spotted us. Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting were seen near the bottom end as well as small covey of around half a dozen Grey Partridges which flew from the airfield across towards the grey shed.
I flushed a surprise Snipe from the grass as we wandered around and a calling Chiffchaff was a sign that there were at least a few migrants around. The local Magpies put in an appearance as did Willie Irvine. After a short chat we headed back up towards the top end again for another look. We spent some time looking through the large flock of a few hundred Linnets in the field between the airfield and the golf course halfway up. Among them was a partially leucistic Linnet which might have convinced someone it was a small Snow Bunting, but photos showed otherwise. A few Song Thrushes and a Great Spotted Woodpecker may have been migrants and Blackbird, Blue Tit and Greenfinch were all seen also. Paul decided to head for home a little early, just in case of any delays and I decided to stick around for some more seawatching as the conditions had improved a lot.
Paul dropped me off near the hide and headed for home and I headed into the hide. Within the first 30 minutes I had seen 4 skuas close in, so I messaged John Anderson to let hime know and he soon joined me in the hide. One of the skuas looked like it might be a Long Tailed Skua but appears to have just been a rather thin Arctic Skua. A Merlin headed out over the sea, like the Kestrel from the previous week. It was a similar mix of species to earler in the day with the addition of a Great Skua, and a possible Pomarine Skua or two among the Arctics, but which close inspection of the photos at home have me leaning towards more Arctics. Two Velvet Scoter drakes headed southwards. John dropped me off at the bus stop in time to catch the 1740 bus back to St Andrews and a Kestrel was seen as the bus neared Kingsbarns.
All in all a quite productive day with the 2 separate seawatches being broadly similar except for a far greater number of skuas seen in the afternoon. I ended the day with a healthy total of 71 species (and 2 possibles), plus 1 mammal species.
 |
| Black Tailed Godwit, Redshank & Oystercatcher |
 |
| Red Breasted Merganser |
 |
| Black Tailed Godwit, Redshank & Ruff |
 |
| Black Headed Gull |
 |
| Goldfinch |
 |
| Wigeon |
 |
| White Tailed Eale |
 |
| Goldfinch |
 |
| Kittiwake |
 |
| Eider |
 |
| Red Throated Diver |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Red Throated Diver |
 |
| Velvet Scoter |
 |
| Gannet |
 |
| Razorbill |
 |
| Cormorant |
 |
| Gannet |
 |
| Kittiwake |
 |
| Red Throated Diver |
 |
| Razorbill & Guillemot |
 |
| Red Breasted Merganser |
 |
| Ringed Plover, Dunlin & Turnstone |
 |
| Purple Sandpiper, Ringed Plover, Turnstone & Oystercatcher |
 |
| Teal |
 |
| Rock Pipit |
 |
| Manx Shearwater |
 |
| Kittiwake |
 |
| Red Throated Diver |
 |
| Red Throated Diver |
 |
| Red Throated Diver |
 |
| Common Scoter |
 |
| Stock Dove |
 |
| Linnet, Greenfinch & Goldfinch |
 |
| Skylark |
 |
| Snipe |
 |
| Snipe |
 |
| Magpie |
 |
| Linnet |
 |
| Linnet |
 |
| Linnet & Greenfinch |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Arctic Skua & Kittiwake |
 |
| Merlin |
 |
| Merlin |
 |
| Velvet Scoter |
 |
| Artic Skua |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Red Throated Diver |
 |
| Red Throated Diver |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Great Skua |
 |
| Great Skua |
 |
| Red Throated Diver |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Red Breasted Merganser |
 |
| Red Throated Diver |
Species seen - Arctic Skua, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Gannet, Golden Plover, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Skua, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Partridge, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kittiwake, Lapwing, Linnet, Little Egret, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Manx Shearwater, Meadow Pipit, Merlin, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Purple Sandpiper, Razorbill, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Ruff, Sandwich Tern, Shag, Skylark, Snipe, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Turnstone, Velvet Scoter, White Tailed Eagle, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.
Mammals - Grey Seal.
