Too many early starts finally caught up with me on Saturday and I went back to sleep rather than getting up and out birding. However a check of Sunday's weather later on - heavy rain and strong easterlies, looked promising for a spot of sea-watching from Fife Ness. A text chat with Jacqui led to a decision to meet at Guardbridge around 0930-1000 and to head to Fife Ness for a few hours worth of seeing what was flying by offshore. A little later I was offered the chance to go sea-watching at Usan with Stuart Green but having made arrangements already I had to decline. The fact that there is a hide to sit in at Fife Ness made the decision to do so, rather easier, though once arrangements are in place I don't like cancelling on anyone, unless it is unavoidable.
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| Whimbrel |
I headed out in the rain to catch the bus into town at around 0835. The first birds seen were a Feral Pigeon looking rather wet by McManus Galleries and Herring Gulls and Lesser Black Backed Gulls around the bus station. Only Woodpigeon was seen on the way across to Guardbridge. I headed into the hide to wait for Jacqui to message me to say she was leaving. The wind and rain meant opening the windows wide was a surefire way to get wet. I opened them just wide enough to beable to see up and downriver. This got the list off to a reasonable start with Black Headed Gull, Common Gull, Mute Swan, Little Egret, Goldfinch, Swallow, 3 Little Egrets, Carrion Crows, Blue TIt, Osprey, Grey Heron, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Lapwings, Curlew, Dunlin, Tree Sparrow and Ruff all being noted despite the conditions.
Jacqui picked me up at around 0945. I added Blackbirds eating Rowan berries and a Dunnock as I waited below a tree. Arriving at Fife Ness around 1020 we found it was still raining though not as heavily as had been forecast the previous day. Gannets and Shags could be seen offshore as we walked down to the Hide where we found Will Cresswell already in situ, scoping out over the waves. Visibility was rather poor with the horizon being lost in the grey for 90% of the time, and colours being rather muted and muddied. Movement of birds was steady rather than the hoped for spectacular.
Kittiwakes, Sandwich Terns, Fulmar, Arctic Terns, Common Terns and the first few Manx Shearwaters passed by. The Gannets streamed north and almost everything else went south. Our first Great Skua was picked up within 15 minutes or so. Guillemots, Puffins, Razorbill and Cormorants passed by in low numbers. A trio of Linnets showed out on the rocks. More Manx Shearwaters went by, with one large stream adding significantly to our running totals. Jacqui spotted the dorsal fins of a school of Bottlenose Dolphins heading past northwards. A minute or so later, Will and I spotted an Arctic Skua heading by south, and a second Great Skua was seen soon after.
A Whimbrel showed well on the rocks, before a Great Black Backed Gull glided by. Will headed for home leaving Jacqui and I in the hide. A Grey Seal was spotted just beyond the rocks. A Common Sandpiper picked around among the rock pools. A pair of female Eiders swam by and a juvenile Pied Wagtail showed close to the hide. A second Whimbrel appeared from somewhere and headed off south. A Redshank flew past. A small flock of Starlings were seen off to the right of the hide. We were joined by Willie Irvine and added a few more species though things seemed to quieten down significantly with Manx Shearwaters in particular dwindling to a slow drip from the steady stream earlier.
A Turnstone dropped in on the rocks and a Red Throated Diver headed north not long after the species was mentioned. A Mediterranean Gull juvenile was much less of a surprise than it would have been a year or two ago, and as we contemplated packing up at around 1345 a second Red Throated Diver went past north before Willie spotted a trio of Common Scoter. A rather wet Skylark was by the roadside at the golf course and Rooks and Jackdaws were in the fields on the way back to Crail. Collared Dove was seen in Crail. Arriving back in Guardbridge around 1430, we found the tide already well in, so I decided to head for home instead of spending more time in the hide.
Although there was nothing new seen there was plenty to keep us occupied and we ended up with 55 species seen. A claim of Balearic Shearwater from Usan in Angus will likely at best be 'not proven' if the visibilty and conditions there were in any way similar to what we had at Fife Ness, and there are no photos to back up the record. Will be interesting to see the eventual outcome.
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| Gannet |
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| Common Tern |
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| Manx Shearwater |
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| Manx Shearwater |
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| Arctic Skua |
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| Arctic Skua |
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| Manx Shearwater |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Arctic Tern |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Whimbrel |
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| Great Skua |
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| Great Skua |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Manx Shearwater |
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| Fulmar |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Gannet & Red Throated Diver |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Mediterranean Gull |
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| Razorbill |
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| Common Scoter |
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| Oystercatcher |
Species seen - Arctic Skua, Arctic Tern, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Carrion Crow, Chaffinh, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Common Scoter, Common Tern, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Gannet, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Skua, Grey Heron, Guillemot, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Kittiwake, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Manx Shearwater, Mediterranean Gull, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Puffin, Razorbill, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Ruff, Sandwich Tern, Shag, Skylark, Starling, Swallow, Tree Sparrow, Turnstone, Whimbrel, Woodpigeon.
Mammals - Bottlenose Dolphin, Grey Seal.
