Between January and March I usually take a few days holiday from work to break up the routine a little. Usually I have a couple of days in late January and another couple in late February and this year is no exception. Wednesday is a day off for me anyway, so taking Thursday and Friday off on holiday means I get a run of 5 days when I'm not at work. This also means if the weather holds I get a nice run of consecutive days birding in. As I'm trying to beat last year's personal best year-list total again, this week's short break would be used to add more new birds to the list.
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| Stonechat |
I slept in a little longer than intended on Wednesday which meant a change of plan though my main target would be Brent Goose. My original plan had been to head to Tentsmuir where Brent Geese might be possible though perhaps unlikely. Of the other likely target species none were anywhere near guaranteed. Instead I would catch the bus to St Andrews, walk out to Out Head then follow the coast round into Balgove Bay. Depending on when, or if, I managed to see the Brents I would see what else I could find during the remaining daylight.
I headed out at around 1110. Herring Gull and Woodpigeon were noted with Feral Pigeon being seen near the bus station. From the bus to St Andrews I was able to spot Carrion Crow, Starling, Rook, Jackdaw and House Sparrow. As there was quite a hard frost the golf course was quiet meaning I was able to take a short cut across to the golf museum car park. A Grey Heron flew over folowed seconds later by another. Scanning from the car park I soon added Oystercatcher, Eider, Great Black Backed Gull and Common Gull as well as Herring Gull. Offshore I could see the large raft of mostly Common Scoters. On the cliffs were lots of Fulmars.
I scanned through the Scoter raft picking up a few Velvets and relatively quickly the 2 drake Surf Scoters. A few Red Breasted Mergansers, some Long tailed Ducks, a single Great Crested Grebe and some more distant Scaup were also added. Rock Pipit and Redshank were seen closer to where I was standing before I headed out along the road towards Out Head. I spooked a Song Thrush from the dunes which perched on a fence post giving me nice views in the sunshine. A Stonechat perched up on the grasses a little further back from the path. A Black Headed Gull flew over.
At least another 3 Stonechats were at the small paddocks beyond the top car park and a pair of male Yellowhammers were a nice surprise on the grass nearby. A Red Throated Diver was spotted quite far offshore. Things were quiet at Out Head though the number of walkers out in the sun probably played its part in that. I headed into the bay along the beach. A Sanderling flew low over the river before landing back on the beach near an Oystercatcher and a Curlew. I headed up onto the golf course as I could see there were more birds on the beach ahead of me and I wanted to cause as little disturbance as I could, while still being able to see the birds.
A couple of Grey Plovers and a Bar Tailed Godwit were added. A number of Pintail showed well not too far offshore, while Wigeon, Teal and Mallard swam and loafed around. Scanning across the expanse of the bay towards the hide meant I was able to put Dunlin on the list and also at least 3 distant but distinct,
Brent Geese. A Dunnock perched atop a small bush as I scanned. I cut across the golf course to try to avoid spooking the birds congregated at the bend, though not entirely successfully. The tide was quite well in by the time I reached the hide but I had good views of Redshank, Shelduck, Dunlin and Teal out in front. I was joined by another Fife birder whose name escapes me and we chatted about what was around.
Once the tide was lapping against the shore we decided to walk along to check the field. A few pairs of Mallard flew out of the reeds as did a Moorhen which headed for the safety of the pond. Ahead of us a Blackbird flew on into the field. A Song Thrush was heard. I decided to carry on along the edge of the field and onto the cycle path back towards Coble Shore and then maybe Fife Bird Club hide if tide and the remaining daylight allowed. A Mistle Thrush and a Meadow Pipit were noted. In one of the fields by the cycle path I saw a flock of birds flying around before settling back on the ground. I suspected they might be Linnets and was proved correct. When they flew around again they drew up a small flock of Skylarks that I hadn't noticed until then.
A Magpie and a Carrion Crow picked along the edge of the field and a Pied Wagtail dropped in. A Buzzard was seen perched on a fence at the northern edge of the fields. A small flock of Lapwings and some Curlews were seen in a different field. A large number of gulls - mostly Common and a few Black Headeds drifted over from south of the road. I wandered down to Coble Shore to see what else I could find but was only able to add a couple of male Goldeneye and a Cormorant. With the light fading, the tide rather high and a bus due I decided against heading in to the hide. Instead I headed for home.
A decent enough day's birding with 52 species seen, including a year-tick (in bold). I also had some nice photo opportunities along the way. The light also made searching through the Scoter flock a lot easier than it has been this month so far.
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| Common Gull |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Common Scoter, Velvet Scoter & Long Tailed Duck |
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| Common Scoter |
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| Common Scoter & Surf Scoter |
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| Common Scoter & Surf Scoter |
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| Common Scoter |
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| Common Scoter, Velvet Scoter & Long Tailed Duck |
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| Common Scoter, Surf Scoter & Long Tailed Duck |
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| Surf Scoter & Common Scoter |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Song Thrush |
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| Stonechat |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Stonechat |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Stonechat |
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| Long Tailed Duck |
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| Eider |
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| Grey Plover |
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| Pintail |
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| Pintail |
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| Brent Goose, Dunlin, Pintail, Curlew |
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| Brent Goose, Dunlin, Pintail, Wigeon, Common Gull, Redshank |
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| Pintail, Oystercatcher |
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| Pintail, Oystercatcher |
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| Pintail, Oystercatcher, Curlew & Wigeon |
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| Wigeon, Mallard & Pintail |
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| Shelduck |
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| Shelduck |
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| Dunlin |
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| Dunlin |
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| Redshank |
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| Redshank |
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| Shelduck |
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| Teal |
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| Redshank |
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| Redshank |
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| Teal |
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| Redshank |
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| Shelduck |
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| Teal |
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| Shelduck |
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| Redshank |
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| Mistle Thrush |
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| Curlew |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Common Gull & Black Headed Gull |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Lapwing |
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| Lapwing |
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| Lapwing |
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| Linnet |
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| Skylark |
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| Linnet & Skylark |
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| Linnet |
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| Skylark |
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| Skylark |
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| Buzzard |
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| Linnet |
Species seen - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull,
Brent Goose, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Goldeneye, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Grey Heron, Grey Plover, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Linnet, Long Tailed Duck, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Pintail, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sanderling, Scaup, Shelduck, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Stonechat, Surf Scoter, Teal, Velvet Scoter, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.
