One of the birds that I should have probably been able to see this year that I haven't yet is White Tailed Eagle. There are 2 wooden posts in the Eden Estuary just off the southern side of the military base that the birds have been known to lounge around on for long spells. Unfortunately so far this year, I haven't managed to catch them doing so (if indeed they have indulged). So, when trying to decide where to go on Saturday under my own steam I chose to head for the Eden Estuary. I wasn't sure whether to head for the Guardbridge hide, the Fife Bird Club hide, Balgove Bay, or to Out Head at St Andrews. In the end I decided on the Balgove Bay hide as it offered the chance of some birds in close as the tide rose.
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| Little Egret |
It was around 0910 when I headed out noting Goldfinch, Woodpigeon, Blackbird, Herring Gull and unusually Long Tailed Tits between home and the bus stop. Blue Tit and Starling were added from the bus into town. I walked from the top of the Wellgate and could hear a singing Song Thrush by the inner ring road but failed to see it. More Long Tailed Tits were seen near the bus station. From the bus to St Andrews I was able to add Carrion Crow, Pheasant, Rook, Jackdaw, Collared Dove and a Buzzard. The walk out across the golf course yielded a singing Yellowhammer, a flyover Stock Dove and a Chaffinch.
I reached the hide around 1015. The tide still had a bit to go before high tide, though it was to be a relatively low one, so there was a chance that there would still be some exposed mud in front of the hide before it turned. Scanning over the bay found a Cormorant, a few Mallards, around 70 Pintail, 20+ Wigeon, Redshanks, Oystercatchers, Dunlin and Shelduck. A Linnet flew past. There were a number of Common Gulls and some Herring Gulls stood around. More scanning found a Bar tailed Godwit in among a flock of roosting Curlews. One Herring Gull had an odd stance reminiscent of the illustrations of Caspian Gull in some field guides but as far as I can tell it is only a Herring Gull.
My next find was a rather loose flock of 18 Grey Plovers along to the east, though they didn't linger long. Well out on the river I spotted a few Eider. A Skylark flew out over the bay before returning to the golf course. A small group of Black Tailed Godwits landed a little to the west. As the tide rose further the Pintail flock came slightly closer though the area near the hide only tempted a few Oystercatchers. A Pied Wagtail flew by and a trio of distant Goldeneye were seen out in the bay. A few Black Headed Gulls landed on the mud. A Meadow Pipit was the next flypast species and a pair of Teal dropped in off to the west. Birds were starting to move closer as the amount of mud to ffed and roost on lessened.
Unfortunately this coincided with the arrival of two young boys and their posh sounding father on bikes. When they realised the hide was occupied the Dad told the kids not to disturb whoever was inside. Unfortunately he didn't mention not disturbing the birds as both kids appeared at the top of the banking next to the hide scattering the nearby birds. Nor did he stop one of them from running down onto the mud in front of the hide to grab a golf ball he could see, ensuring that even the birds a little further out scattered in all directions. I stuck my head out the door of the hide and sarcastically thanked the father for allowing his kids to disturb the birds. He was also treated to an explanation of the purpose of a bird hide. They didn't linger but the damage was done and there was little point in me hanging around much longer waiting on birds returning.
I headed instead for Guardbridge along the cycle path. Reed Bunting was added at the edge of the golf course and a Buzzard perched up on a pole at the far end of the next field. A few fields further on along the cycle path I found a flock of Linnets sharing the area with some cattle. I headed down the dirt track to check the Coble Shore pools. A pair of Grey Partridges flushed from by the wooden gate and flew off across the field. There wasn't much visible in the bay though there were lots of Wigeon in the pools. I found a few Lapwings with Oystercatchers round the other side of the point but retreated so as not to flush them. There were still 2 swans in the field south of the road opposite the farm, and a quick check confirmed them as Whooper Swans.
It was around 1320 when I reached the hide at Guardbridge. A Bullfinch flew up into the trees behind the war memorial. Neil Redpath was the only birder in the hide and the water levels were still a little on the high side though there was enough mud exposed for the main course of the river to be traced easily. Scanning around found a few Great Black Backed Gulls and a Lesser Black Backed Gull out on the mud. Tree Sparrows were plentiful at the feeders. The wader flocks at the river bend took flight and a quick scan found a Peregrine doing a wing-over and swinging back to meet the flock. When it emerged again it was clear it was carrying something freshly caught. Photos showed it to be an unfortunate Dunlin which was then carried off to the base to be consumed.
There had been no sign of the Little Egret but it suddenly appeared from just beyond the fence to the north and flew along low past the hide. A very distant Grey Heron heading for Reres Wood was spotted over the base. I checked the feeders for species I hadn't yet seen and found a Coal Tit. A Magpie over in the conifers gave me a final species for the day before I decided to head for home before the forecast heavy rain arrived - though it was already raining by the time I got outside.
No sign of any White Tailed Eagles and the disturbance of the birds in
the bay before they got particularly close to the hide meant a rather
frustrating day's birding though I did still manage 52 species and a few
reasonable photos.
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| Stock Dove |
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| Mallard |
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| Herring Gull, Oystercatcher, Carrion Crow, Curlew, Bar Tailed Godwit, Common Gull, Redshank |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Pintail |
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Pintail, Herring Gull, Shelduck, |
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| Curlew, Redshank, Oystercatcher & Wigeon |
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| Pintail |
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Redshank |
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| Redshank |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Curlew |
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| Wigeon |
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| Pintail |
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| Curlew, Common Gull, Herring Gull, Shelduck, Pintail & Wigeon |
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| Redshank |
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| Buzzard |
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| Linnet |
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| Dunlin, Herring Gull, Redshank |
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| Goldeneye |
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| Dunlin, Redshank, Herring Gull |
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| Pheasant |
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| Pheasant |
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| Peregrine & Dunlin |
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| Peregrine & Dunlin |
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| Peregrine & Dunlin, Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Peregrine & Dunlin, Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Redshank & Curlew |
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Little Egret |
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| Little Egret |
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| Little Egret |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Buzzard & Blackbird |
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| Mallard |
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| Mallard |
Species seen - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Grey Heron, Grey Partridge, Grey Plover, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pintail, Redshank, Reeed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shelduck, Skylark, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.
