Paul was available for this week's midweek outing and as Spring migrants are just beginning to show up locally we decided to try and see some of these birds. Primary targets were Little Gull - a few of which had been seen at Monikie Country Park and Chiffchaff - Jacqui had seen and heard one at Cameron Reservoir in Fife on Monday. Other possibilities included Puffins at Auchmithie and maybe a Wheatear. A visit to Loch of Kinnordy to try and see Barn Owl was also on the agenda, with an outside chance of an early returning Osprey. We arranged for a 0730 pick-up time.
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| Peregrine |
Paul arrived early having allowed himself a bit too much extra time to try for Grey Partridge and Waxwing near Leuchars Station, neither of which he'd been fortunate enough to have managed to see. I headed out slightly earlier than planned for the 10 minute walk to the pick-up point. House Sparrow, Starling, Feral Pigeon, Herring Gull, Blackbird, Robin and Carrion Crow were all seen on the walk. A Grey Wagtail on a (former?) church roof was a nice surprise though I have seen the species in the same area before. Woodpigeon was noted before we set off for Monikie Country Park.
A Lesser Black Backed Gull was seen perched atop a lamp post and a Collared Dove was spotted as we reached Monikie village. A Black Headed Gull was perched on a cottage roof. Paul saw a probable Reed Bunting in the trees at the car park before we set off for the Island Pond. It was colder than expected with a chill to the relatively strong wind. Moorhen and Mallard were seen on the grass and a Grey Squirrel ran off away from us. A Grey Heron, more Black Headed Gulls and a Chaffinch or two were seen, along with a released Muscovy Duck that has been around for a few weeks. Little Grebe, Cormorant, Goldeneye, Tufted Duck and Teal were spotted nearby before we made a proper effort to try and find Little Gull.
In previous years I've seen the birds quite far out on the reservoir towards the south-eastern corner so that was where I looked. There was a flock of Black Headed Gulls in that area, mostly on the water but a single bird flitting around in the same area caught my eye. The underwing was markedly black and the flight style was distinctive. A quick photo confirmed my suspicion and we had our first target bird of the day - a
Little Gull. Blue Tit, Coot and Mute Swan were noted befor we wandered along the track between the Island and Northern Pools to try for a closer view. A Lapwing was seen flying over the field to the south of the park.
Great Tit was next onto the list before a quick look at the Northern Pool gave us a number of Oystercatchers, a pair of Herring Gulls, a few Black Headed Gulls, a pair of Great Black Backed Gulls, a few Goosander and a few Rooks. A pair of Grey Wagtails and a flighty pair of Meadow Pipits showed nearby before we picked up a party of 4 Little Gulls in the air relatively close to where we were, before they flew towards the Denfind Pond. We headed back for a better look at the Northern Pool. Long Tailed Tits and Coal Tits gave us close views as they foraged in the bushes and trees by the path.
A few Siskins flew over and a Dunnock flew up into another bush. A Redshank was spotted sleeping near the gulls and Oystercatchers on the shore. We scanned over the fields to the north which proved quite productive. A Song Thrush was heard singing but we failed to find it. We did find Stock Doves, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting and Pheasant, followed soon after by a singing Wren. A very flighty Treecreeper and a Rabbit were seen on the walk back to the car. After a bit of discussion we decided to head for the nearby Crombie Country Park where I've seen Chiffchaff in the past.
A Skylark ascending over a field and a Pied Wagtail flying across the road in front of the car joined the list before a singing Song Thrush and Jackdaw were seen from the car park at the Country Park. A Crossbill was a nice surprise a little further on around the reservoir. A Great Spotted Woodpecker drummed loudly near the Ranger Centre. On the water a few Greylags were spotted with Wigeon further on. We spent a bit of time trying to locate an apparent Tawny Owl we though we heard calling from the conifers by the path but had no success. A few Common Gulls and Goosander were seen along with a Grey Heron, a few Teal, 4 Moorhen feeding together, 4 Coots squabbling violently and a pair of Little Grebes.
Bullfinch, more Crossbills, a few more Siskin and a Mistle Thrush were added further round before we eventually succeeded in finding a Goldcrest showing well - having heard plenty but not having seen any of them. There was however no hint of any Chiffchaffs to be had. A few more Chaffinches and a Great Spotted Woodpecker on feeders near the car park rounded off our visit to Crombie. Although it isn't a site I really visit often, this particular visit was the 'bird-iest' one I'd had here by far with plenty of variety and decent numbers of birds seen. After a short discussion we decided to try Montreathmont Forest for Chiffchaff instead of Auchmithie for Puffin.
A quick walk down the track was fairly fruitless though I did see a distant skein of Pink Footed Geese heading north but lost sight of them behind the trees. The first Buzzard of the day hovered briefly over the relatively open area beyond the ADBC hide and as we headed back to the car a small group of Lesser Redpolls flew over giving Paul a second year-tick for the day. We dropped into Balgavies Loch next where an unexpected drake Shoveler was the only addition. Again there was no sign of any Chiffchaffs. Next stop was Murton, another place where I've seen Chiffchaff in the past, though the suspicion was that we were unlikely to find one here either.
There were Shelduck on the car park pool and the Green Sandpiper was showing quite well on one of the nearby islands in front of the hide. A few pairs of Gadwall were added from the next hide. We decided to walk all the way around the reserve but failed to find anything new, though a single Skylark was seen over the airfield to the west. Our final site to try for something new was Loch of Kinnordy and we arrived there around 1400. A flock of Whooper Swans were seen across the far side of the Loch but there was nothing to be seen in the Barn Owl box. A Peregrine flushed all the waders from the bogbean islands and a Goldcrest showed outside the side window. The feeders were rather quiet though we did add a flock of Goldfinches in the trees near the East Hide before calling it a day and heading for home around 1545.
A decent enough haul of birds seen including a year-tick (in bold) for me, and 2 for Paul, among the 65 species seen. I discovered later that 30+ Little Gulls were seen later in the day at Monikie, a White Tailed Eagle flew over near Fern in the morning, there were a few Waxwings near Monifieth and Puffins were seen off Auchmithie, so a few different choices could have been slightly more productive. That's birding though - you see what you see and some days are more productive than expected while others are quieter than hoped.
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| Lesser Black Backed Gull |
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| Little Gull & Goldeneye |
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| Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Little Gull |
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| Little Gull |
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| Little Gull |
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| Little Gull |
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| Little Gull |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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| Goldeneye |
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| Goldeneye |
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| Wigeon |
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| Tufted Duck |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Moorhen |
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| Teal |
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| Cormorant |
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| Buzzard |
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| Green Sandpiper |
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| Green Sandpiper |
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| Teal & Wigeon |
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| Shelduck & Black Headed Gull |
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| Oystercatcher & Lapwing |
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| Goldcrest |
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| Goldcrest |
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| Goldcrest |
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| Coot |
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| Peregrine |
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| Peregrine |
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| Peregrine |
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| Peregrine |
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| Peregrine |
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| Shoveler |
Species seen -Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Bullfinch, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Coot, Cormorant, Crossbill, Dunnock, Gadwall, Goldcrest, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Green Sandpiper, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Greylag Goose, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Lesser Redpoll, Little Grebe,
Little Gull, Long Tailed Tit, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Shelduck, Shoveler, Siskin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Teal, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.
Mammals seen - Grey Squirrel, Rabbit.
