The weather forecast was once again the determining factor with regards where I went birding on Saturday. I had considered a trip to Musselburgh but with strong winds and low temperatures predicted I didn't really fancy trying to pick out birds on the river while freezing from the winds howling down the Forth. Instead I decided to head for Fife. Guardbridge would be my first stop in time for the tide coming in, then a visit to the reservoir on the off-chance that the Firecrest reported a while ago was still around. After that I would head for Earlshall Muir to see if there were any obvious raptors overwintering in the area, or perhaps even a Great Grey Shrike. Chances were slim on any of the above locations turning up anything particularly outstanding but they were better than sitting at home.
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| Peregrine with prey. |
When I reached Guardbridge just before 1225 I found that the tide was already quite well in and the majority of birds were very distant either on the water or on the saltmarsh. Whooper Swans, a Great Crested Grebe, a Peregrine, a Little Egret, an unexpected Stonechat and a Snipe were all quite decent birds to get from the hide. In addition there were 4 Little Grebes and a couple of Goldeneye on the river out in front with a flock of Red Breasted Mergansers much further out. Around 1330 I headed for the reservoir. A trio of late Swallows passed by westwards but there was little else around. I crossed the Motray and decided to investigate the area opposite the paper mill which used to be quite good for birds but which now has an area fenced off. A Peregrine with prey was perched up on the former paper mill but it flew off when it spotted me. A group of Long Tailed Tits showed well along the 'Motray Walk' path and a Scaup flew upriver with 2 Mergansers. A Red Admiral butterfly was seen flitting around in the sunshine, despite the winds. A nice non-avian surprise was a pair of Italian Air Force F-35s and a Boeing KC-767 tanker on their way back to Italy from Iceland.
I then caught a bus up to Leuchars and walked out Earlshall Road to the Muir. Jays were much in evidence flying back and forward to collect and cache acorns for the Winter. A few distant Buzzards were also noted but things were rather quiet overall. A Roe Deer was spooked near the boardwalk area as I headed back to catch a bus home. A trio of Grey Wagtails were seen flying over the Victoria Bridge area as I walked home from the bus station where a Pied Wagtail had been seen as I crossed the road bringing my total for the day to 50 species.
Dundee to Guardbridge - Magpie, Herring Gull, Dunnock, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Jackdaw, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Pheasant.
Guardbridge (Eden Estuary Centre) - Black Headed Gull, Tree Sparrow, Great Crested Grebe, Whooper Swan, Red Breasted Merganser, Little Grebe, Goldeneye, Curlew, Pink Footed Goose, Wigeon, Great Black Backed Gull, Blue Tit, Black Tailed Godwit, Peregrine, Little Egret, Oystercatcher, Common Gull, Greenfinch, Snipe, Stonechat, Mallard, Robin, Lapwing.
Guardbridge (Reservoir and Motray Walk) - Starling, Collared Dove, Cormorant, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Swallow, Chaffinch, Long Tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Redwing, Linnet, Wren, Scaup.
Butterflies seen - Red Admiral.
Leuchars and Earlshall Muir - Buzzard, Blackbird, Jay.
Mammals seen - Roe Deer.
Dundee - Pied Wagtail, Grey Wagtail.
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| Great Crested Grebe |
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| Whooper Swan & Curlew |
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| Little Grebe |
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| Little Grebe |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Wigeon |
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| Lapwing |
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| Little Egret |
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| Stonechat |
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| Peregrine |
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| Collared Dove |
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| Swallow |
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| Peregrine & prey |
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| Red Breasted Merganser & Scaup |
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| Buzzard |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Jay |
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| Jay |
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| Jay |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Buzzard |
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| Woodpigeon |
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| Jay |
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| Jay |
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| Jay |
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| Rook |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Jay |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Pink Footed Goose |
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| Chaffinch |
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| Curlew & Lapwing |
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| Curlew & Lapwing |
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| Curlew |
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| Lapwing |
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| Jackdaw |
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| Rook |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Wagtail, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, Jay, Lapwing, Linnet, Little Egret, Little Grebe, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Mallard, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Red Breasted Merganser, Redwing, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Scaup, Snipe, Starling, Stonechat, Swallow, Tree Sparrow, Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies seen - Red Admiral.
Mammals seen - Roe Deer.
Bonus pics.....
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| Boeing KC-767 of Italian Air Force |
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| Lockheed Martin F-35 of the Italian Air Force |
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| Lockheed Martin F-35 of the Italian Air Force |
