I didn't really have any set-in-stone plans for getting out birding on Saturday. Another attempt at the Balgove Bay Brent Geese was likely but before and after that things were fairly fluid. I'd heard a rumour of a recent rare-ish gull sighting locally so was swithering as to whether or not to try to see if I could find it. I could then head to St Andrews to check the bay and after that see if anything had been reported or possibly head for a spot of sea-watching at Fife Ness. Jacqui mentioned that she would probably pop along to the George Evans Hide for the tide coming in so there was a chance of meeting up with her if I decided to walk out to the hide.
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| Pintail |
Rather than stay in bed I got up early and was out the door for 0800 to catch a bus to the place where the gull had been seen. Herring Gull and Carrion Crow were noted on the way to the bus stop. It was a fairly overcast morning though there was little wind meaning it felt relatively mild. Woodpigeon, Coal Tit, Blue Tit and a Buzzard were noted on the short walk to the grassy area where there were a number of Black Headed and Common Gulls roosting plus a few Herring Gulls. As expected there was nothing unusual among them so I headed off again to catch a bus into town. Redwing and Great Tit were noted along the short walk back to the bus stop.
Jacqui and I exchanged messages and arranged to meet at Guardbridge before heading to Balgove Bay. Feral Pigeon, Rook, Jackdaw and Starling were seen from the bus to Fife. I met Jacqui in the hide and started scanning to see what was around. It was a fairly typical mixture with Chaffinch, Little Egret, Great Black Backed Gull, Curlew, Black Tailed Godwit, Oystercatcher, Mallard, Lapwing, Tree Sparrow, Dunlin, Red Breasted Merganser and Goldeneye all spotted relatively quickly. Further searching soon added Grey Heron, Redshank and Shelduck.
Just after 1030 we set off for St Andrews. Walking out across the golf course we could see that the tide still had a bit to go before it was fully in. There was no obvious sign of any Brent Geese from the track out though Pintail was seen. From the hide we were able to add Wigeon, Teal, Bar Tailed Godwit and Grey Plover along with more waders and waterfowl of similar species to those seen earlier. Jacqui noticed a few small birds landing to the left of the hide and through the vegetation I thought I could see Twite. Thankfully 1 of them flew down to the mud, confirming the fact. When they all flew off shortly after we were able to see that there had been 5 of them.
A pair of Skylarks flew past and a Red Throated Diver was picked up out on the river as the tide finally reached the edge of the banking in front of us. With still no sign of the Brent Geese we decided to move on again. We had discussed a couple of options and settled on heading for Buckhaven to try and see Mediterranean Gull. A Moorhen was in the field next to the golf course where I hoped I might find a Grey Partridge. Pheasant and Kestrel were seen on the drive down to Buckhaven. Eider were seen during a brief stop at the river Leven mouth well out on the water with some Common Scoter also noted.
At Buckhaven we found a few Black Headed Gulls on the grass along Shore Street but no Mediterranean Gulls. As we drove into the small car park at the western end of the road a single gull hurried off across the grass. This one was the hoped for
Mediterranean Gull, an adult bird. Tommy Ross was scanning from one of the benches at the car park so we chatted away while seeing what else we could find. Velvet Scoter, Shag, Cormorant, Long Tailed Duck, and another Red Throated Diver were spotted. A small group of Turnstones landed on the pebble beach in front of us. Tommy found a trio of
Razorbills which gave me another welcome year-tick.
After a bit more discussion Jacqui and I decided to check out West Wemyss where the Mediterranean Gulls had been roosting en masse last Summer/Autumn. Neither of us had ever been there so we were curious to see the lie of the land (and sea). It turned out to be quite picturesque though there were very few birds around. Another Red Throated Diver was on the water off to the west and a bush was full of House Sparrows. A few Blue Tits flitted around near some feeders. With the light never having improved very much since early morning we decided we had best move on to Ravenscraig Park in Kirkcaldy where Nuthatch had been reported.
A Magpie was seen as we headed along the road towards Kirkcaldy. We found the park entrance and car park which was rather busy. We wandered along a path at the top side of the park and finally chanced upon a flock of smaller birds in the trees. Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits, Goldcrests, Treecreepers, Wren, Blackbird, Chaffinch and Goldfinch were all seen but there was no sign of any Nuthatch. Jacqui saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker that I missed. Eventually we had to admit defeat and head back towards Guardbridge. A quick stop at a frozen Letham Pools added Mute Swan but nothing else.
At Guardbridge I was able to add a few more species as the light faded with Robin, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Little Grebe all being seen. A Black Tailed Godwit showed well on the mud in front of the hide though the photos suffered from the lack of light. I packed up just after 1600 to head for home though the bus being held up in busier than usual traffic caused by a road closure north of the Tay meant I didn't get home until after 1730.
A mixed bag sort of a day. Some decent photo opportunities in Balgove Bay, a couple of year-ticks (in bold) among the 60 species seen and a few new places visited. The weather wasn't as good as it was meant to be but also wasn't as bad as it might've been either.
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| Common Gull |
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| Little Egret |
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| Lapwing & Dunlin |
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| Great Black Backed Gull, Herring Gull & Redshank |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Black Headed Gull & Herring Gull |
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| Teal, Wigeon & Pintail |
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| Pintail & Wigeon |
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| Wigeon |
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| Grey Plover |
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| Grey Plover |
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| Teal |
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| Teal, Redshank & Pintail |
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| Twite & Redshank |
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| Dunlin & Redshank |
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| Dunlin |
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| Teal |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Redshank & Turnstone |
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| Mediterranean Gull |
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| Common Scoter & Long Tailed Duck (& possible Great Northern Diver) |
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| Velvet Scoter |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Razorbill |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Goldcrest |
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| Treecreeper |
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| Mute Swan & Herring Gull |
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| Little Grebe |
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Herring Gull & Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Redshank |
Species seen - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Grey Plover, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Lapwing, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Duck, Magpie, Mallard,
Mediterranean Gull, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pintail,
Razorbill, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shag, Shelduck, Skylark, Starling, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Treecreeper, Turnstone, Twite, Velvet Scoter, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
