Sunday was another of those "not quite sure where to go" days. I considered Riverside Nature Park again with St Andrews my other option. A Ring Necked Parakeet - the one bird I have on my life list that I don't have on my Scottish list - had been seen recently. With a rather high tide forecast I worked out that I'd probably miss the birds being pushed in at Invergowrie Bay by the time I was able to get there so settled on the Fife option instead. It didn't help that I'd stayed in my bed later than intended too.
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| Dipper |
I headed out at 1045 noting Herring Gull and Feral Pigeon almost straight away before adding a Robin and a Woodpigeon on the walk to the bus station. From the bus I added Cormorant and Great Black Backed Gull on Submarine Rock then Curlews and Black Headed Gulls near Drumoig and Rooks near St Michaels. A Buzzard was seen on a farm track wall near Leuchars. Instead of continuing on to St Andrews I decided to pop into Guardbridge hide first though I wasn't expecting to see much. I stopped to talk for a while to one of the locals who I've known for years who was walking his dog in the park.
The tide was already well in when I got inside and unsurprisingly given the tide state the hide was empty. Tree Sparrows crowded the feeders with at least 15 seen at one time. A family group of Mute Swans swam round into the main channel from the direction of the saltmarsh. Blue Tits visited the feeders on the opposite side of the hide. I picked out a distant Little Egret out on the saltmarsh, with a pair of Carrion Crows loitering nearby. A few small flocks of Teal were just offshore though distant. My scanning was interrupted by a tussle between a Grey Wagtail and a Pied Wagtail down in front of the hide. Black Tailed Godwits, Redshanks and Dunlin were seen roosting at the saltmarsh along with at least a pair of Wigeon and a number of Curlew.
A Meadow Pipit overflew and a Goosander flew upriver. A trio of Greylags swam in to join the wader roost while in front of the hide a Little Grebe popped up but was scared across the river by the arrival of a dog walker by the side of the hide. More scanning found a few distant Shelduck and a Chaffinch picked around below the feeders. A Great Tit showed at the other side of the hide and a Goldeneye swam upriver. A large flock of Lapwings were seen milling around over the army base before 3 groups of Whooper Swans flew past the hide from the direction of the base. An estimate of around 50 or 60 of the birds were seen in total. Common Gull, Wren and Linnet were added before I headed out to catch the bus to St Andrews where a pair of Surf Scoters had been seen in the bay off the Golf Museum car park.
House Sparrows were seen as I waited for the bus to arrive and arriving at the golf course I noted Jackdaw, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Black Headed Gull and an Oystercatcher roosting on the grass while Pied Wagtails picked around in the grass. Scanning out over the bay I could see hundreds of Common Scoters bobbing around in the swell. A female Eider was on the rocks much closer in and a few Rock Pipits were seen. I let the tide subside a little before making my way along the wall to the large rock to give myself a higher viewpoint. This added Scaup, Velvet Scoter, Red Breasted Merganser and a young Gannet to the list. A Great Crested Grebe was found along with a single Guillemot before I eventually managed a distant view of 1 of the Surf Scoters. A flypast by a young Lesser Black Backed Gull was a surprise this late in the year.
I then headed up past the bus station to look for the area where the Parakeet had been seen recently. A Blackbird was added on the way. I found what I thought was the correct area but only a Robin and a few Long Tailed Tits were seen. I chose not to linger and instead followed the Lade Braes walk back in the direction of the bus station. I had good close views of a singing Dipper and was able to get some reasonable photos despite the low light levels. Starling was added just before I caught the bus back to Guardbridge and in the hide there I found a few of the regulars already inside.
With the tide now on its way back out I was able to add a few new species for the day. A Grey Heron flew downriver, a party of Mallards were down near the Motray outflow. A small party of Red Breasted Mergansers and the Goldeneye swam upriver towards the hide. A Little Grebe pair popped into view before diving as soon as anyone raised a pair of binoculars. A large flock of several hundred Golden Plover were picked out distantly on the mud with a smaller flock of Dunlin at a similar distance though in a slightly different direction. A Magpie was seen in the conifers and one of the local Buzzards picked up a spot of harassment from a couple of Carrion Crows as it flew across the river.
One of the regulars left and we were joined by a trio of older ladies who were very enthusiastic and enjoyed being shown what was around. A small flock of Goldfinches were on the fence opposite and a Lttle Egret flew down towards the paper mill buildings. The Greylag trio noted earlier flew off upriver and a pair of Pink Footed Geese flew over heading north. There was a flock of Scaup near the radio masts which may have been those seen earlier out in the bay. Another Meadow Pipit flew over and a pair of Collared Doves dropped in onto the gate by the side of the hide. A Grey Wagtail landed on the mud in front of the hide as the light was fading giving everyone good views eventually. I headed for home round 1615.
I ended the day on 60 species and despite no sign of the hoped for Parakeet I managed to see some decent birds and also to get some reasonable photos. It was also nice to be able to pass on lots of information to a very receptive audience at the hide.
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| Mute Swan |
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| Little Egret & Carrion Crow |
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| Little Grebe |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Little Grebe |
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| Shelduck |
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| Greylag Geese & Teal |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Whooper Swan |
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| Lapwing & Whooper Swan |
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| Whooper Swan |
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| Whooper Swan |
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| Whooper Swan |
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| Whooper Swan |
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| Whooper Swan |
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| Whooper Swan |
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| Goosander |
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| Scaup |
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| Common Scoter |
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| Gannet |
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| Great Crested Grebe |
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| Common Scoter |
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| Eider & Common Scoter |
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| Lesser Black Backed Gull |
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| Velvet Scoter |
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| Velvet Scoter & Common Scoter |
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| Velvet Scoter |
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Dipper |
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| Dipper |
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| Dipper |
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| Dipper |
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| Black Tailed Godwit, Dunlin & Black Headed Gull |
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| Golden Plover, Red Breasted Merganser & Scaup |
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| Carrion Crow & Buzzard |
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| Carrion Crow & Buzzard |
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| Goldeneye |
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| Little Grebe |
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| Red Breasted Merganser |
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| Buzzard |
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| Golden Plover |
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| Carrion Crow & Buzzard |
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| Carrion Crow & Buzzard |
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| Little Egret |
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| Greylag Goose, Oystercatcher & Golden Plover |
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| Little Grebe |
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| Greylag Goose |
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| Buzzard |
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| Buzzard |
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| Little Egret |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Cormorant, Great Black Backed Gull & Redshank |
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| Red Breasted Merganser |
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| Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Golden Plover & Lapwing |
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| Grey Wagtail |
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| Black Headed Gull |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Cormorant, Curlew, Dipper, Dunlin, Eider, Gannet, Golden Plover, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Scaup, Shelduck, Starling, Surf Scoter, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Velvet Scoter, Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
