The Summer birding lull is slowly coming to a close and the long hot and sunny spell that has kept me in the shade for much of the prospective recent birding days seems like it might be doing likewise with some actual clouds in the sky and even some light drizzle this week. With Paul back onshore we arranged to head out around some of Fife for some relatively light birding on Wednesday. Another dental appointment meant a slightly later starting time but I arranged to meet Paul at Guardbridge sometime between 0930 and 1000.
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| Woodpigeon |
I headed out around 0825 with my birding gear to walk to the dentist. Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Blackbird and Starling started the list for the day off. Woodpigeon on Dens Road, Lesser Black Backed Gull slightly further on and a flyover Linnet at City Quay were added befor I came out of the dentists a couple of teeth lighter and headed for the bus station. A Carrion Crow flew over as the bus reversed to leave for Fife. A House Sparrow was seen near the Olympia. A Grey Heron was wading in the shallows below the Fife end of the roadbridge.
As the bus reached Leuchars I added a couple of Swallows over the fields followed by a few House Martins over the village. A few Collared Doves were seen perched in trees and on lamp posts while a couple of Jackdaws were still visible on the chimney pots. A Goldfinch flew past at the railway station and another Grey Heron was seen on the Motray. A pair of Song Thrushes and a Blackbird were spotted in the park where the Eden Estuary Centre hide is situated as I walked in to meet Paul.
Although the tide state was still a few hours off high tide there seemed to be a few more birds around, with numbers of Redshanks noticeably higher. Black Headed Gulls were still around and the Mute Swans could be seen swimming up the river. An Oystercatcher flew in and landed mid-river on some seaweed. There were a few Lapwing around too on the mud. A few Blue Tits showed up at the feeders though none of them looked particularly young. A Rabbit stood out on the grass to the left of the hide. A female Chaffinch was added to the list as it visited the feeders.
A few distant Curlews were seen before Paul found the Canada Goose pair that are lingering in the area. Mallards and Goosander could be seen on teh outflow pipe opposite the Herring Gull and Lesser Black Backed Gull roost. A pair of Great Black Backed Gulls were seen perched up on the old paper mill red-brick building where they appear to nest on the roof. A few Eiders were observed in the channel near the outflow pipe. A Buzzard flew in from the direction of the base carrying a kill, possibly a vole. I spotted an Osprey flying upriver but Paul missed it. A single Shelduck was stood in the water further downriver from the gull roost.
More scanning found a pair of Black Tailed Godwits and Paul found a Common Sandpiper in the same area. A few of the distant Redshanks appeared rather dark but we couldn't turn them into definite Spotted Redshanks. A Great Tit was next in to visit the feeders and a Swallow zoomed low over the water. A Grey Heron flew in and landed on the mud before we packed up to head for Fife Ness and hopefully some productive sea-watching. A Song Thrush on the grass outside the hide and a Pied Wagtail on the main grassy area of the park with a few Blackbirds gave us a few more new birds for the day. Paul spotted a Tree Sparrow and a singing Dunnock before we reached the car and set off for Crail.
Swifts were seen over Strathkinness as we took a more inland route to avoid roadworks. A Magpie was on the grass as we stopped at a T-junction. Yellowhammer, Goldfinch and Linnet were seen before we reached Crail. Once we parked up near Fife Ness a Reed Bunting was seen singing from a bush near Stinky Pool and a Sedge Warbler showed relatively well here too. A Common Sandpiper flew off across the pool. Offshore we could see Gannets and a Kittiwake passing by as well as unidentified Auks. Shags, Cormorants, Great Black Backed Gulls and Oystercatchers were out on the rocks. Greenfinch and Whitethroat were seen on the wires by the static caravans and we saw plenty of Butterflies - mostly Meadow Browns and Small Whites but also a few Ringlets and Green Veined Whites too, as well as a single Small Tortoiseshell.
Once into the hide we soon began adding more species to the list as birds flowed past, some in larger groups like the Puffins and Gannets and others in singles such as the Manx Shearwater that headed north after a few minutes. A Goosander just offshore was unexpected. Guillemot, Razorbill. Common Scoter, Common Gull and Fulmar were further additions. A young Sandwich Tern was a surprise especially without any adult bird alongside. A few Ringed Plover could be seen down on the rocks and a very brown 2nd year Gannet headed north.
I spotted a group of birds circling out near the horizon. I mentioned them to Paul and said we might get Dolphins or even a Whale. Just seconds later a large black shape broke the surface. A Whale. I was able to get a few distant photos which David Steel from the Isle of May has identified as a Minke Whale. I'd messaged David via Twitter as it looked like the whale might have been headed in that direction. A female Mallard was a surprise as it flew north past the hide. Probably the same Common Sandpiper we'd seen earlier appeared again out in front of the hide as it flew up from the rocks.
It was more of the same with a few more Manx Shearwaters being the avian highlight but there was no sign of any Skuas or even Divers before we headed back to the car to head for Balgove Bay in the hope of catching the tide going back out again from the hide. Rooks were active on the golf course and we spotted a nice male Common Blue butterfly in the rough by the track as we walked out across the course. From inside the hide I spotted a Six-Spot Burnet moth, my first of the year. We watched a few Ospreys out over the river and Lapwings, Oystercatchers, Shelduck, Herring Gulls, Common Gulls and Black Headed Gulls increased in number as the tide receded. A Grey Seal was seen swimming downriver and there were more on a sandbar just near the mouth of the river.
Woodpigeons and Rooks congregated by the small outflow an a Grey Heron landed in front of the hide briefly before flying off again. A Stock Dove dropped in and a couple of Sand Martins flew by. A Meadow Pipit landed on the mud in front of us but took off again before I managed a photo. I eventually managed to pick out a Skylark over the fields to the west. Two Ospreys successfully caught fish and flew off across the river to the dead tree and posts. With nothing new being seen and the tide quite far out we decided to head for Guardbridge once again though the suspicion was that we wouldn't likely add anything new to the list. A Willow Warbler was in the trees just next to the hide.
At Guardbridge things were very similar to the morning visit though the sun was now shining compared to the grey clouds and poor light. We eventually managed to see 6 Ospreys at one time, though mostly distant. Otherwise things were much the same as earlier in the day with regards the birds that were around. We called it a day around 1650 and headed for home.
I managed a total of 64 species of birds plus 6 butterflies, 1 moth (though another wouldn't land long enough for a photo at Fife Ness) and 3 species of mammal. Main highlight was the Minke Whale but although it was warm it wasn't too hot, which made a pleasant change for me, compared to recent weeks.
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| Buzzard |
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| Osprey |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Sedge Warbler |
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| Small White |
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| Meadow Brown |
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| Guillemot & Razorbill |
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| Manx Shearwater |
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| Puffin |
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| Ringed Plover |
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| Common Scoter |
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| Puffin |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Guillemot |
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| Gannet |
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| Minke Whale & Gannets |
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| Minke Whale & Gannets |
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| Minke Whale & Gannets |
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| Manx Shearwater |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Guillemot |
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| Shag |
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| Shag |
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| Gannet |
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| Common Scoter |
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| Puffin |
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| Mallard |
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| Common Sandpiper |
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| Common Sandpiper |
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| Greenfinch |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Shelduck |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Shelduck |
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| Lapwing |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey & Black Headed Gulls |
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| Mute Swan |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Osprey |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Lapwing |
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| Curlew |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Common Scoter, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Gannet, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kittiwake, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Manx Shearwater, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Puffin, Razorbill, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Sedge Warbler, Shag, Shelduck, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Swift, Tree Sparrow, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.
Butterflies seen - Common Blue, Green Veined White, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Samll Tortoiseshell, Small White.
Moth seen - Six-Spot Burnet.
Mammals seen - Grey Seal, Minke Whale, Rabbit.
