Although the wind had moved round to a more easterly direction on Thursday, by Friday it was coming from a more southeasterly direction, and it brought rain with it. I didn't venture out anywhere on Friday at all and Saturday was a complete wash-out. Sunday was drier but I used it to catch up with some blog posts and photo edits. Monday morning I woke rather late to a message from Susan suggesting meeting up for some light birding around the Crail area. We arranged to meet at Guardbridge around 1230 and to head for Kilminning to see what we could find, if anything at all.
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| Chiffchaff |
I managed to catch a bus into town and hurried to the bus station having only managed to note Carrion Crow, Feral Pigeon and Herring Gull. From the bus to Fife I was able to add an unexpected Jay at Drumoig as well as Rook, Woodpigeon and Jackdaw. A Mute Swan was on the Motray. My bus arrived seconds before Susan did. House Sparrow and a Red Admiral butterfly were seen on my short walk to Susan's car and we set of for Crail. Curlews on the playing fields were added as we entered St Andrews. Black Headed Gull was the only other addition on the journey to Crail.
There were plenty birders around at Kilminning though migrants were relatively scarce compared to Thursday at least. A skein of Pink Footed Geese flew over. Hunting around we found Blue Tit, Great Tit, Blackbird, Chaffinch, and a flyover Pied Wagtail. Coal Tit, Starling and Song Thrush were soon added. At the top end of Kilminning we found a rather pale bellied
Chiffchaff and a Yellow Browed Warbler sharing the same tree but heard a
call that wasn't quite right for either. Not knowing which bird was
making the call we tried for better views but both birds soon moved off
and we lost sight of them. Susan spotted a nice Speckled Wood butterfly before we wandered over to Balcomie and the walled garden. A Kestrel was seen on the walk to the garden. Not unexpectedly things proved rather quiet at the garden with only a Dunnock, Goldcrest and another Chiffchaff found. Magpies were seen nearby and a few Skylarks were seen arriving from off the sea. A Painted Lady and a Large White butterfly were also seen, and also a flyover Meadow Pipit as we walked back down the driveway from the farm.
Willie McBay had managed photos of one of the birds in the tree we'd been watching earlier and the photo appeared to show a distinct wingbar on the bird I had dismissed as a rather pale Chiffchaff, largely on account of its almost constant tail-dipping. After some discussion with others present there was a consensus that the bird photographed might be a Greenish Warbler. I felt the 2 birds I'd seen were a Chiffchaff and a Yellow Browed Warbler but couldn't rule out the possibility of Willie's photo showing a different bird as was suggested. Having never seen Greenish Warbler I was also struggling to remember what they actually looked like, so I was non-commital on what the wing-barred bird could be.
Word was put out as a probable Greenish Warbler and we went back to try for better views and more definite photos. Willie McBay headed off to try and get Ken Shaw for confirmation on the mystery bird. As Susan and I, plus Grant Robertson and his pal, Ron (I think) arrived back where we'd been watching the bird, the strange calling bird flew in and proceeded to feed in the tree. We were joined by Wlie Irvine and myself and Willie concentrated on getting photos while others concentrated on getting more detail. The bird was tail-flicking a lot as it moved through the branches. It still seemed quite Chiffchaff-like to me from the views I was getting though more like a Siberian Chiffchaff type, more greyish than the typical dirty yellow-ish colour of Autumn Chiffchaffs. The belly was definitely very pale though there were hints of a dirty yellow under the tail and on the flanks. Ken Shaw arrived and with decent views of the bird called it as a Chiffchaff. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard but not seen.
Comparing the warbler calls that I had recorded later at home with ones on Xeno-Canto.org showed the reason for my unfamiliarity was that the calls were what are known as the 'sweeoo' type call, often heard at this time of year - though the same type of call may have confused me last year too at Barry Buddon. The photos also showed a slight hint of wingbar in some but not in others as well as quite a strong supercillium in some but not in others. The bird's apparent colours varied with the light and shade too from almost grey to green though at all times the underside was very pale. All in all, an instructive bird even if it was to turn out to just be a Chiffchaff. Warblers typically skulking nature can make them a bit of a nightmare to get good views and the light can aid as well as hinder getting a firm ID. It made sense to put out word as a "probable" to give others the chance to connect with the bird had it been the species suspected. I also need to sit down and read up properly on all the possible wader species before next year's migration time comes around so I am better prepared. Having looked at lots of photos of Greenish Warblers online since they weren't all 'obvious' examples.
We headed back to Guardbridge at around 1545 and Susan dropped me off before she headed home. I headed into the hide where only 1 window was in use. I chatted to the female birder/photographer present and scanned around for what I could find. Golden Plovers in their hundreds were on the mud, though distant. Lapwings, Redshanks, Black Tailed Godwits, Oystercatchers and a few Curlews and Dunlin were all spotted as well as Mallard, Shelduck, Grey Heron and Cormorant. Common Gull, Black Headed Gull, Great Black Backed Gull and Herring Gull were all noted while at the feeders Tree Sparrow, Robin and Greenfinch were added to the day's list. A Little Egret flew upriver and a Collared Dove proved elusive initially before a pair showed well on the fence outside and on the bird table too. Goldfinches were seen from the bus stop and a Grey Wagtail was seen back in Dundee as I waited for the bus home from the city centre.
Despite having been caught up in trying to 'nail' the mystery warbler I still managed a day total of 47 species plus 4 butterfly species which was quite unexpected for such a late date in October though the weather was relatively warm and sunny.
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Red Admiral |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Blue Tit |
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| Carrion Crow & Kestrel |
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| Common Darter |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Painted Lady |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Golden Plover & Lapwing |
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| Golden Plover & Lapwing |
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| Oystercatcher & Redshank |
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| Redshank |
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| Little Egret |
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| Cormorant |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Goldcrest, Golden Plover, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Kestrel, Lapwing, Little Egret, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shelduck, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Tree Sparrow, Woodpigeon, Yellow Browed Warbler.
Butterflies seen - Large White, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood.
