Paul was unable to get out this Wednesday due to circumstances, however he was able to change his birding day this week to Monday. We had considered heading west but conditions were to be very wet and windy on that side of the country so we decided to head for Fife Ness and to spend the day seawatching. I arranged to meet Paul at 0815 at Guardbridge for a quick look from the hide and then to spend the rest of the day in the hide at Fife Ness. Hopefully, the birds would co-operate too.
 |
| Dunlin & Little Stint |
It was a rather grey morning when I left the house for the bus station and with only Herring Gull to show by the time I was on the bus to St Andrews I was hoping my luck would improve significantly. Things picked up ever so slightly from the bus with Starling, Rook and Jackdaw added to the very short list before I met Paul at the hide at Guardbridge. Mute Swan, Little Egret, Black Headed Gull, Buzzard, Black tailed Godwit, Curlew, Teal, Greenshank, Grey Heron and Woodpigeon were rapidly noted without too much effort. Goosander, Shelduck, a single Bar Tailed Godwit, Cormorant, Mallard, Great Black Backed Gull and Dunlin soon followed before we set off for Crail.
A Rabbit was on the grass as we headed for the car. Blackbird, Linnet and Magpie were seen from the car but things were still rather low-key with the sky not looking like it was going to brighten up anytime soon. A Great Tit was seen in bushes as we passed Kilminning and a Kestrel was chasing something around on the rocks by the static caravans. Offshore we could see the usual Shags, Oystercatchers, Cormorants and Great Black backed Gulls roosting on the rocks. Gannets moved through offshore though numbers appeared rather low.
We were soon set up in the hide and began our seawatching. More Gannets filtered by, along with a few Shags heading out to sea. A Red Throated Diver flew by a few minutes later. Razorbill was the next new bird before a Meadow Pipit dropped in onto the rocks alongside a Rock Pipit. Common Gull glided by and a Carrion Crow landed on the rocks. A few Eiders drifted just offshore. A Wren briefly appeared out among the rocks. The first Common Scoter and Great Skua of the day flew by. Kittiwakes were picked up rather distantly out over the sea. A small group of waders flying south were identified from photos as Knot.
Turnstones showed on the rocks, and a Guillemot was seen out on the water. An Arctic Skua hurried past. A small flock of Wigeon were a slight surprise. A Grey Seal swam by just beyond the rocks. A small flock of Ringed Plover appeared from behind the rocks and when they flew a short distance a few minutes later it was possible to see Purple Sandpiper among the flock. A skein of Pink Footed Geese arrived from the east. Another similar sized skein arrived later in the day. Things were rather steady rather than exceptional and things settled into a little bit of a lull. A pair of Common Scoter with another pair of ducks beyond them headed north. These turned out to be a drake Pochard and a Teal.
The weather had improved by lunchtime and despite the forecast heavy rain for most of the morning we had endured only 1 rather insignificant shower. Both the visibility and the light was now better than it had been all morning. A Manx Shearwater was spotted low over the waves. A small group of Sandwich Terns flew by. A Pied Wagtail wandered round on the rocks. As the tide came in the Ringed Plovers and Dunlin moved closer to the hide. Among them was a single Little Stint which was very active around the rockpools. I managed to get a bit of video as well as plenty photos.
Paul spotted a small group of Wheatears on the rocks. There were at least 3 males and a female with 1 bird in particular appearing very orange. A Feral Pigeon joined them out on the rocks and 1 of the Wheatears showed within a few feet of the front of the hide as it picked around on the rocks. Red Breasted Merganser and Velvet Scoter both headed past. There were plenty of Red Throated Divers passing by mostly singly but also in pairs and 1 group of 3. There were also plenty of Common Scoters, some singly but other larger groups, the largest of which held 13 birds.
Skuas were also relatively regular with Bonxies outnumbering Arctics, sometimes harassing the Kittiwakes. More Wigeon and Teal were spotted. A few more Manx Shearwaters and a
Pomarine Skua were seen before we eventually decided to pack up at around 1630. Another 2 Wheatears were seen on the rocks to the north of the hide and a pair of Stonechat showed among the vegetation. A Pheasant was a final addition before Paul dropped me off at the bus stop and we both headed homewards.
A fairly steady but relatively varied day's seawatching with 61 species seen including 1 year-tick (in bold) almost 90 Common Scoters, over 30 red Throated Divers, around 40 Pink Footed Geese, 10 Wigeon, 5 Teal, 1 Pochard, 1 Velvet Scoter, 6 Red Breasted Mergansers, 6 Great Skuas, 4 Arctic Skuas, 1 Pomarine Skua, 4 Sandwich Terns, 3 Manx Shearwaters, and 1 Pochard, as well as the Little Stint among the waders and the newly arrived Wheatears. Not a bad way to spend just over 7 hours.
 |
| Eider |
 |
| Redshank |
 |
| Common Scoter |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Red Throated Diver |
 |
| Pochard, Teal & Common Scoter |
 |
| Wigeon |
 |
| Common Gull |
 |
| Red Throated Diver |
 |
| Velvet Scoter |
 |
| Cormorant |
 |
| Cormorant & Shag |
 |
| Wigeon |
 |
| Common Scoter |
 |
| Eider |
 |
| Sandwich Tern |
 |
| Sandwich Tern |
 |
| Red Throated Diver |
 |
| Kittiwake |
 |
| Common Scoter |
 |
| Manx Shearwater |
 |
| Manx Shearwater |
 |
| Great Skua |
 |
| Great Skua |
 |
| Gannet |
 |
| Red Throated Diver |
 |
| Ringed Plover & Dunlin |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Gannet |
 |
| Gannet |
 |
| Gannet |
 |
| Gannet |
 |
| Gannet |
 |
| Gannet |
 |
| Little Stint & Ringed Plover |
 |
| Little Stint |
 |
| Little Stint |
 |
| Little Stint |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Arctic Skua |
 |
| Dunlin & Little Stint |
 |
| Dunlin & Little Stint |
 |
| Little Stint & Dunlin |
 |
| Black Headed Gull |
 |
| Wheatear |
 |
| Wheatear |
 |
| Wheatear |
 |
| Wheatear |
 |
| Feral Pigeon |
 |
| Grey Seal |
 |
| Herring Gull |
 |
| Great Black Backed Gull |
 |
| Red Breasted Merganser |
 |
| Little Stint |
 |
| Dunlin |
 |
| Sandwich Tern |
 |
| Common Scoter |
 |
| Teal |
 |
| Herring Gull |
 |
| Black Headed Gull |
 |
| Herring Gull |
 |
| Red Throated Diver |
 |
| Dunlin |
 |
| Redshank |
 |
| Wheatear |
 |
| Wheatear |
 |
| Wheatear |
 |
| Gannet |
 |
| Skua sp. |
 |
| Red Throated Diver |
 |
| Great Skua |
 |
| Red Throated Diver |
 |
| Gannet |
 |
| Stonechat |
Species seen - Arctic Skua, Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Gannet, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Skua, Great Tit, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Guillemot, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kittiwake, Knot, Linnet, Little Egret, Little Stint, Magpie, Mallard, Manx Shearwater, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Pochard,
Pomarine Skua, Purple Sandpiper, Razorbill, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Ringed Plover, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sandwich Tern, Shag, Shelduck, Starling, Stonechat, Teal, Turnstone, Velvet Scoter, Wheatear, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Mammals - Grey Seal, Rabbit.
