Having had a successful first outing of 2018 last mid-week with Paul Williams, I was looking forward to seeing what we could conjure up this week on our second. Paul had already managed to see the returning Smew at Loch Ore and the Great White Egret at Rossie Bog, so I was slightly surprised when he suggested we try to get them for my list. We decided to also try to get Green Woodpecker for both of our lists at Portmoak Moss, near Loch Leven RSPB reserve, and anything else we could find wherever else we happened to squeeze into our probably rather busy day's birding. I arranged to meet Paul in Cupar around 0825.
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| Smew |
I was out the door at 0730 to ensure that I didn't run any risk of missing the bus this week, having managed to find an accurate timetable for the bus. It leaves Dundee at 0752, rather than 0755 (but 0800 during Fife school holidays). Blackbird and Herring Gull were seen in the pre-dawn gloom followed by a Black Headed Gull and a Carrion Crow on my way to the bus station. Feral Pigeon was added at the bus station as I waited for the bus to depart almost 10 minutes later than it should have. The only additions from the bus during the journey were Cormorant and Starling.
I met Paul as planned at around 0830 in the car park of Lidl opposite the railway station and we set of for the Rossie Bog area outside Ladybank. Woodpigeon, Buzzard, Rook and Bullfinch were all seen from the car on the way from Cupar. As our route there took us past The Wilderness we made the decision to stop and check it out, just in case. Although it was rather frozen we did find a nice mix of birds there, congregated together on the ice at the western end. A Black Headed Gull, a few Mute Swans, some Whooper Swans, Mallard, Teal, a pair of sleeping Shelduck, Goldeneye, Coot and a single drake Pintail. A Wren showed near us, and a skein of Pink Footed Geese overflew.Wigeon and Tufted Ducks as well as a few Mallards were in the pool to the west of the gate.
Great Tit, Dunnock and Jackdaw were seen on the next leg of our journey. We headed for the southern side of the bog area from where Paul had managed to find the Great White Egret roosting in a conifer, though seen rather distantly. I spotted a Grey Partridge in the field next to where we parked, followed by a second a few metres away from it. A further 4 broke cover and flew low across the field, followed by the initial 2. A few Linnets flew over and then I heard a Skylark calling somewhere above us, and finally managed to see it, but couldn't quite direct Paul onto it. Thankfully, a few minutes later a second bird was seen, and then they seemed to appear from everywhere. A Pied Wagtail was heard behind us but not seen.
We scanned for the Egret but drew a blank. There were 4 Roe Deer at the far end of the field we were at the edge of. We headed round towards the more usual stopping-off point for Rossie Bog, adding Robin and Magpie along the way. We stopped at a gate overlooking the fields but there was still no sign of any Egret though we did add a pair of Stock Doves, some Meadow Pipits, a Mistle Thrush and a flock of Fieldfares, as well as a male Pheasant. From the driveway entrance we added a number of Curlew in the field and a Blue Tit pair in the trees a little along the road. I spotted a flock of maybe 15-20 Stock Doves in a field towards the main road and having drawn a blank on the Egret we decided to head for Loch Ore for the Smew. We stopped to check out the Stock Doves and found more Fieldfares, a few Redwings and a Mistle Thrush in the field before we reached them.
It took a rather circuitous route to reach the western end of Loch Ore and it was fairly standard traveling fayre on the way - Buzzards, gulls, pigeons and corvids. There were Chaffinches in the trees by the small car park and we headed along the rather frozen tracks into the park. We stopped to watch a flock of Long Tailed Tits in the trees before we reached a small pool off the main Loch. A Moorhen was added to the list here, and there were a few ducks of species seen earlier (mostly Teal and Mallard). We added Gadwall at the main Loch and I picked up an overflying Lesser Redpoll as it headed for the trees. There were plenty of Coots, Mallard, Wigeon and Teal out on the water as well as Mute Swans and a Cormorant. A Grey Heron flew past.
I found a Little Grebe and a few distant Goosander before we wandered round to a small bay where Paul had seen what was probably the same bird last winter. There were Greylag Geese landing in the fields behind. As we neared the trees which backed onto the small bay, the female
Smew swam out away from us. A couple of Mute Swans were also nearby. The bird gave us decent views but was rather wary and kept its distance, eventually moving round towards the main part of the Loch before heading back to the small bay where it seems to like to lurk out of the public eye. We added Common Gull to the list before heading back to the car park, stopping to watch Coal Tits and Goldcrests in the trees.
Back at the car park a trio of Bullfinches were feeding on the ground and there were Tree Sparrows and House Sparrows visiting feeders in a garden opposite. With the Smew on the list we decided to pop into Vane Farm to see what we could find before attempting to get Green Woodpecker a mile further on. Paul had just mentioned Peregrine when I looked up as I got out of the car and found a Peregrine drifting over. While trying to get a clear view for a photo I found that there was actually a pair of the birds. Goldfinches were added at the feeders as we made our way to the underpass to check out the view from the first hide.
Looking back up the hill I spotted a hovering Kestrel at the top of the hill. From the hide, there didn't appear to be the usual mix of waterfowl - though there were enough of the regular species, even if they were a bit distant. Paul found a Greenfinch on the feeders by the hide and a quick check from the small gate behind the hide gave us a couple of drake Pochard. As we watched a flock of Fieldfares and Redwings dropped in to the trees around the hide for a few seconds before flying off again. As we stopped at the top of the ramp from the hide, I scanned along the ridge looking for Ravens, and found a pair flying out from the cliffs. We scanned towards the pool by the third hide where there were plenty of Curlews on the ice. As I checked them a Little Egret flew across the same pool. Right place, right time for the Ravens and Little Egret.
Next stop was Portmoak Moss. We hadn't gone too far when I heard a yaffling
Green Woodpecker not too far in front of us. I managed to spot it working its way up a diagonal branch but before I could change to the camera for a photo it flew off and we watched it land on a dead tree on the other side of the Moss. This did give me the chance for a spot of video, even if the bird was rather small in the frame. We heard a Jay calling as we headed back to the car but failed to see it. We were going to try Largo Bay next starting at Buckhaven, but given the available time left we decided to head for Ruddon's Point first and then see how our remaining time panned out. As we drove along a stretch of road a Buzzard flew across in front of the car and into the verge, talons first, before retreating back across the road. It all happened so quickly that we didn't see if it had been successful or not.
It was rather chilly with the wind coming down the river towards us. A pair of Buzzards were looking for worms in the field the farmer was turning over. At the small bay to the north of the tree line at the end of the caravan park we scanned for waders, being distracted by a few Rock Pipits first. Oystercatcher and Sanderling were the first we found, alongside Herring Gulls and a Great Black Backed Gull. A Redshank was found eventually. The Forth was choppier than we thought it might be but some determined scanning gave us distant views of Common and a handful of Velvet Scoters as well as plenty of Eiders. A Turnstone was seen on the rocks a bit further out towards the Point and a Shag was spotted flying low across the water.
Things were rather quiet though the conditions were far from ideal for birding, even using a scope, as Paul was. I did find a couple of Red Throated Divers and Paul found a drake Long Tailed Duck. A small flock of waders had been glimpsed in flight a couple of times and I thought they might be Knot but we hadn't found them. This was rectified as we walked along the beach to the south of the Point. A pair of Grey Plovers and maybe 10 Knot were feeding out along the shore edge, giving us another few species for the day. A Pied Wagtail flew over us as we neared the car, and second later a small party of Yellowhammers went in the opposite direction. As we were about to drive along to Kilconquhar and Barnyard's Marsh I spotted a bird on the wires to our left. A Mistle Thrush, a bird Paul hadn't seen earlier as the car door on my side had blocked his view.
Barnyard's Marsh proved rather productive with Snipe exploding from everywhere as we wandered through - probably around 20 in total, but no Jack Snipe or Woodcock (Paul had seen one in early January here). A quick visit to Kilconquhar Loch gave us a mixed flock of gulls roosting on the ice, and more out on the water along with plenty of waterfowl but nothing we hadn't already seen. I heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker calling and seconds later saw it fly off in characteristic undulating flight. With the time now just after 1600 we headed back to the car. Paul managed to get me to Cupar in time for me to catch the bus back to Dundee and home.
Another pretty successful day out with a total of 80 species seen, including a pair of year-ticks for me (in bold) and a few more year-ticks for Paul. Our outings together this year have already set quite a high bar for number of species seen with an average of 79 which hopefully we can keep up and perhaps even better as the length of daylight available increases though it will be March before our next trip out birding together.
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| Pink Footed Geese |
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| Whooper Swan, Mute Swan, Mallard, Teal, Coot |
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| Pintail, Coot, Shelduck, Mallard, Teal |
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| Wigeon & Mallard |
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| Roe Deer |
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| Pink Footed Geese |
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| Skylark |
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| Pink Footed Geese |
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| Fieldfare |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Moorhen |
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| Smew |
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| Smew |
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| Smew |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Bullfinch |
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| Peregrine |
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| Kestrel |
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| Pochard |
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| Redwing |
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| Curlew & Little Egret |
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| Raven |
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| Green Woodpecker |
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| Green Woodpecker |
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| Green Woodpecker |
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| Dunnock & Starling |
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| Buzzard |
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| Herring Gull & Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Velvet Scoter & Shag |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Shag |
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| Eider |
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| Grey Plover & Knot |
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| Curlew |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Mistle Thrush |
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| Snipe |
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| Snipe |
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| Herring Gull, Black Headed Gull & Common Gull |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Eider, Fieldfare, Gadwall, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit,
Green Woodpecker, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Partridge, Grey Plover, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Knot, Lesser Redpoll, Linnet, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Duck, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Pintail, Pochard, Raven, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sanderling, Shag, Shelduck, Skylark,
Smew, Snipe, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Tufted Duck, Turnstone, Velvet Scoter, Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
1 mammal - Roe Deer
