With Paul back onshore again this mid-week's outing was roughly sketched out with a few possibilities to add to both of our year-lists. Some were more wishful thinking than particularly likely to be seen but if you don't look for them you don't usually find them. We would start at Guardbridge then have a quick look near Leuchars station for Grey Partridge and Waxwing for Paul before heading to Tentsmuir to try for Merlin, Snow Bunting and White Tailed Eagle for both of us, plus Green Woodpecker and Lesser Redpoll for Paul. After that we would head for Balgove Bay and Out Head for Snow Bunting and Brent Geese for Paul. Any remaining time after that we would hopefully use constructively.
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| Merlin |
I headed out at 0740 to head to the bus station. A singing Goldfinch, a couple of Starlings, a flyover Feral Pigeon and a Herring Gull started the list off for the day. Woodpigeon and Blackbird were added on Dens Road. A singing Goldcrest was heard but not seen. A few Redwings were seen near the inner ring road and bus station. The windows on the bus weren't clean enough to add much on the journey to Fife though Rook was added at St Michaels and Jackdaw was noted in Leuchars. Robin, Tree Sparrow and Blue Tit were seen before I met Paul outside the hide at Guardbridge.
Scanning around out in front we added Curlew, Lapwing, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Black Tailed Godwit, Knot, Dunlin, Teal, Mallard, Goldeneye, Shelduck, Carrion Crow, Black Headed Gull and Cormorant. A pair of young Pheasants and a couple of Dunnocks were seen closer to where we were standing. With little more to be expected and wanting to get to Tentsmuir before the dog walkers, I suggested we move on after about 10 minutes. A detour to check the field at the railway station where I saw Grey Partridge a few weeks ago drew a blank but Paul spotted a raptor in the field. It didn't look big enough for a Buzzard and though it was brown and white it seemed an odd place for a Sparrowhawk. A quick photo confirmed the identity as a rather unexpected
Merlin.
A few House Sparrows and Starlings were in the trees opposite the station where Jacqui had seen Waxwings on Sunday but there was no sign of the Scandinavian visitors this time. A few Pheasants and a group of half a dozen Stock Doves were in the field at the forest edge. Buzzard, Mistle Thrush and Fieldfare were in the horse fields beyond the barrier on the access road. Not unexpectedly things were relatively quiet on our walk through and along the edge of the dunes. A Skylark was spotted while offshore a few Eiders bobbed around. A Sanderling and Oystercatcher were by the water's edge. A pair of Red Breasted Mergansers and a few Great Black Backed Gulls were spotted as we neared the frozen over Lagoons.
A flock of small birds flew over but rather than the hoped for Snow Buntings they turned out to be Linnets. This wasn't too bad as it was one of the species that Paul still needed. We drew a blank on Snow Buntings however. There was no 'channel' to cross so we were able to save some time on our way to look for Green Woodpecker. At the end of the trees we stopped to look for some small birds we could hear before realising they were perched up in the tree closest to us - a few Greenfinches. Further on Mistle Thrush, Redwing, Blue Tit and Great Tit were all encountered as we tried to confirm a Green Woodpecker that paul had glimpsed flying ahead of us. Thankfully the bird flew up and landed on a tree trunk where we could then see it easily. From behind us I heard a Great Spotted Woodpecker and we watched the bird fly to a tree near where the Green Woodpecker had just vacated his perch.
A pair of Stonechats were seen at the edge of the dunes as we walked back towards the Lagoons. A Greenshank was in a pool on the beach along from a Redshank. A Common Gull was on the beach behind the pool. A small flock of Skylarks were spooked as we walked along the inside edge of the dunes. As we neared the car park we could hear Crossbills and were rewarded with good prolonged views of a pair and a second pair showed briefly as we were about to move on. A few more were in the trees at the car park. With a couple of hours until high tide was likely to bring the Brent Geese in close at Balgove Bay, I suggested we try a spot of seawatching at Fife Ness. There was a chance of adding Golden Plover and another shot at Grey Partridge for Paul as well as Guillemot and Gannet for me.
A Kestrel was by the side of the road near Kingsbarns. As we headed out towards Kilminng I spotted birds in the filed to the north side of the road but a car behind us meant we couldn't stop until we reached the B&B driveway where it was possible to pull in. A quick check back along the field and Paul had his first Golden Plover of the year. Magpie was seen near the house at the golf course junction. At the Ness we headed into the hide along with another birder who I've met before at Guardbridge who was parking as we were getting out of the car. Things were very quiet though there were a few Shags and Cormorants on the water in addition to a couple of Eiders.
I spotted a trio of Auks which proved to be Razorbills but Paul failed to get onto them and missed out on another potential year-tick. The other birder decided to head off again and as he stood up I spotted a Gannet quite far out. Once he'd left things got a little bit busier with a couple of Red Throated Divers seen, then a trio of Gannets, a Red Throated Diver on the water before taking off then another pair northwards. Another auk closer in gave me another year-tick in the shape of a very welcome Guillemot. Despite the flurry of activity we decided to head up to Kilminning for a quick look for Grey Partridge. On the way we spotted a Dunlin and a few Ringed Plovers out on the rocks with the usual Cormorants, Shags and gulls and a flock of Purple Sandpipers flew in and landed on another rock nearby.
There was a flock of Starlings and a few Mistle Thrushes in the open field between the road and the golf course at Kilminning and as we turned the car to head back up to the road back to Crail I spotted a raptor chasing a smaller bird just above the trees. It wasn't a Sparrowhawk though and opening the car door I was able to get better views as the chase intensified over the car and nearby. The bird being chased was a Skylark giving short bursts of 'song' as it tried to keep from becoming an afternoon snack. Incredibly the bird chasing was another Merlin. Normally I struggle to see the species more than once a year and yet we'd seen 2 in a matter of hours!
I suspected we would probably be cutting things fine for catching the tide in Balgove Bay but we headed next for the golf course to walk out towards the George Evans hide. I was hoping the course would be quiet enough for us to cut across the fairways to check the saltmarsh areas of the bay. We were in luck and found 13 Brent Geese along with Pintail, Teal and Wigeon almost right in front of us. A number of Oystercatchers and a few Bar Tailed Godwits were also seen before we headed back to the car to head round to Out Head.
Snow Buntings were our target there. Turnstone and Sanderling were seen on what remained of the beach. A Reed Bunting was in the dunes. A flock of Linnets gave us false hope that we'd found the Snow Buntings. We tried waiting for a while but only added Ringed Plover and a Pied Wagtail. A few Stonechats and a Rock Pipit were spotted on the way back to the car. Paul dropped me off in Guardbridge and as I reached the bus stop I spotted a small falcon flying just behind the houses opposite. This time it was only a Kestrel rather than a Merlin and I watched it hover before dropping out of sight before the bus to Dundee arrived.
A better than expected haul of birds with 3 year-ticks for me (in bold), and 7 for Paul among the 66 seen. The 2 Merlins in particular were a very nice bonus even though it was a target bird for the day - though ironically one of the places we didn't see one was the place we were actually trying to find one. A nice selection of photo opportunities was a bonus as well though increasingly the camera and lens are giving me problems similar to those I've encountered with other non-Nikon lenses, as a result of the weight of the lens acting on the camera body.
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Pheasant |
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| Merlin |
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| Merlin |
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| Greenfinch |
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| Mistle Thrush & Redwing |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Green Woodpecker |
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| Green Woodpecker |
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| Linnet |
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| Cormorant |
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| Greenshank |
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| Skylark |
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| Crossbill |
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| Crossbill |
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| Crossbill |
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| Crossbill |
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| Eider |
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| Gannet |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Guillemot |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Cormorant, Shag, Eider, Herring Gull, Great Black Backed Gull & Oystercatcher |
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| Purple Sandpiper |
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| Ringed Plover & Dunlin |
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| Buzzard, Magpie & Carrion Crow |
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| Merlin |
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| Skylark & Merlin |
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| Merlin |
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| Wigeon, Brent Goose, Bar Tailed Godwit, Oystercatcher |
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| Brent Goose, Pintail & Oystercatcher |
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| Pintail, Wigeon & Teal |
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| Pintail |
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| Pintail |
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| Stonechat |
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| Stonechat |
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| Skylark |
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| Turnstone |
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| Sanderling |
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| Ringed Plover |
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| Linnet |
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| Sanderling & Turnstone |
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| Sanderling |
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| Stonechat |
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Stonechat
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Species seen - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Blue Tit, Brent Goose, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Common Gull, Cormorant, Crossbill, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Fieldfare,
Gannet, Golden Plover, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Green Woodpecker, Greenfinch, Greenshank,
Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Knot, Lapwing, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard,
Merlin, Mistle Thrush, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pintail, Purple Sandpiper, Razorbill, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Redwing, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sanderling, Shag, Shelduck, Skylark, Starling, Stock Dove, Stonechat, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Turnstone, Wigeon, Woodpigeon.
