Having felt a little unwell on Wednesday when I was at Arbroath I ended up being off work ill on Thursday and Friday. I was feeling a bit better by Friday evening but was looking at Sunday being the more likelier day for me feeling like getting out somewhere. However, Ian messaged me to see if I fancied some birding on Saturday. Although there was nothing much around we eventually decided on a spot of seawatching at Fife Ness. This had a few advantages. I wouldn't have to walk very far and it was close enough to home that if I didn't feel too great we could finish up early. With a bit of luck we might also add a few species to our respective yearlists. The winds as forecast were 'wrong' for seawatching at Fife Ness with medium to strong winds coming out of the Forth but it was still our best option.
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| Great Skua |
Ian arranged to pick me up at 0900 just around the corner, so I headed out a few minutes early to wait. Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon and Woodpigeon were the only birds seen before Ian arrived. We set off for Fife just before the hour. Cormorants were seen on Submarine Rock in the Tay. House Martin, Black Headed Gull, Goldfinch, Rook and Starling were the only other species seen before we reached Crail though an unidentified raptor (Peregrine or Sparrowhawk?) carrying prey flew over the car as we reached St Andrews. Surprisingly a few Swifts were still around over the village. Swallow, Carrion Crow and Magpie were added as we drove out to Fife Ness with Pied Wagtail and Meadow Pipit seen on the golf course. A small flock of Tree Sparrows flew over the static caravans as we got out of the car.
Unsurprisingly we found the hide empty and settled down for a few hours of hopefully successful, and relatively easy, birding. Gannets were by far the most numerous birds, mostly moving in singles, or loose pairs, largely northbound. Later in the morning when visibility had improved we could see a few distant strings of the species heading back southwards. A few Fulmar were picked out distantly shearing over the relatively calm sea. A Curlew flew past. On the rocks were a few Great Black Backed Gulls and a flock of Knot. Oystercatcher and Sandwich Tern were soon added to the growing list and a Grey Seal was seen 'bottling' offshore. A small number of Kittiwake were picked up as they passed by. Black Headed Gull and Herring Gull also showed in small numbers.
The camera was proving temperemental making it tricky to get distant shots. A Linnet flew up from the rocks and up over the hide before I spotted a dark distant bird well out towards the horizon. Shape, colour and flight-style all added up to
Sooty Shearwater - a year-tick for us both. Unfortunately I failed to pick up the bird with the camera meaning I didn't even manage a record shot which was disappointing. Common Gull was next onto the list before a single wader flew by. Photos showed it to be an unexpected Bar Tailed Godwit. Things were rather samey for the next hour or so with lots of scanning for little return.
Just after mid-day a pair of Common Scoters headed past northwards. A single Common Tern was seen around 1245 coming in off the sea before heading into the bay to the north. John Anderson was seen wandering out to his usual spot to take advantage of the decent conditions for photography. Around 20 minutes later I spotted a Great Skua close in and Ian quickly got onto the bird which gave us decent views for around a minute, though it did seem to catch John rather by surprise. I think from the photos that the bird might be a rather fresh looking youngster, but I could be wrong. Turnstone appeared among the Knot out on the rocks.
Ian using a scope managed to get onto a distant Manx Shearwater that I failed to find with the camera, or even with my binoculars. A pair of Redshank, a quartet of Sanderling and a few more Knot were all seen flying south past the Ness. A trio of Ringed Plover among the Knot on the rocks gave us another species and I spotted a circling pair of Great Skua out over the sea, gaining height before we lost sight of them. We packed up around 1500 to head for home. Small White and Painted Lady butterflies were seen along the track back to the car and a Grey Heron was seen near Stinky Pool. Ian spotted a Brown Hare in the field bewteen the golf course and Balcomie Farm. A Kestrel by the roadside, a probable Buzzard and some Mute Swans on the Eden rounded off our list for the day before Ian dropped me off back in Dundee around 1615.
Given the sub-optimal conditions for seawatching it was a reasonable enough 5 hours worth of birding though with quite a low total of only 39 species seen though 1 of those was a year-tick for us both (in bold).
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| Tree Sparrow |
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| Common Gull |
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| Gannet |
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| Bar Tailed Godwit |
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| Gannet |
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| Gannet |
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| Gannet |
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| Fulmar |
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| Fulmar |
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| Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Common Gull |
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| Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Common Scoter |
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| Shag |
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| Gannet |
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| Gannet |
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| Grey Seal |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Knot |
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| Cormorant |
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| Common Tern |
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| Gannet |
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| Grey Seal |
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| Gannet |
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| Shag |
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| Great Skua |
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| Great Skua |
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| Great Skua |
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| Great Skua |
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| Great Skua |
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| Great Skua |
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| Great Skua |
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| Great Skua |
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| Great Skua |
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| Great Skua |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Shag |
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| Knot |
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| Fulmar |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Kittiwake |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Gannet |
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| Gannet |
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| Gannet |
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| Shag |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Curlew |
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| Gannet |
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| Gannet |
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| Gannet |
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| Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Great Skua |
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| Great Skua |
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| Knot, Turnstone & Ringed Plover |
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| Sanderling |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Fulmar |
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| Shag |
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| Shag |
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| Knot |
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| Gannet |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Cormorant |
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| Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Redshank & Knot |
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| Knot & Ringed Plover |
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| Knot & Ringed Plover |
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| Grey Heron |
Species seen - Bar Tailed Godwit, Black Headed Gull, Carrion Crow, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Common Tern, Cormorant, Curlew, Fulmar, Gannet, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Skua, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Martin, Kestrel, Kittiwake, Knot, Linnet, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sanderling, Sandwich Tern, Shag,
Sooty Shearwater, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Tree Sparrow, Turnstone, Woodpigeon.
Butterflies seen - Painted Lady, Small White.
Mammals seen - Brown Hare, Grey Seal.
