A dentist's appointment for me meant a later than usual start for my midweek birding outing with Paul this week. Our options were somewhat limited with not a lot happening locally in either Fife or Angus. Having had a look at the species Paul had still to see this year I suggested the Crail area which potentially offered around half a dozen prospective additions. Unfortunately the weather forecast of gale force winds and rain in the afternoon didn't look to be overly helpful. I arranged to meet Paul at Guardbridge once I'd been to the dentist.
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| Eider |
I headed out just after 0800 to walk to the dentist for my 0830 appointment. Feral Pigeon, Herring Gull and Magpie were noted with House Sparrow, Blue Tit, Goldfinch and Woodpigeon seen during the 20 minute walk. Afterwards I caught the bus to Guardbridge around 0850 but birds en route were few and far between though I did manage to see Rook, Jackdaw and House Martin. On the walk in to the hide at Guardbridge, Swallows, House Martins and Sand Martins were hawking over the park in the shelter provided by the trees from what was already a very strong gusty wind. A Pied Wagtail adult and youngster were seen feeding on the path.
Paul was in the hide and we scanned around to see what we could find. There were plenty of Mute Swans and Shelduck over on the saltmarsh including some ducklings. A few Oystercatchers and Curlews were found as well as Mallard, Eider and Goldeneye. Carrion Crow, Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Herring Gull and Great Black Backed Gull were also spotted. Greenfinch and Tree Sparrows were at the feeders and a Chaffinch appeared just before we left. A Grey Heron was roosting on the bank over by the pub grounds. A distant Osprey was out on the posts in the estuary. A flock of Goosanders flew in just as we were packing up.
A Song Thrush and a Collared Dove were seen on the walk back to the car though a singing Wren eluded us. Skylark and Buzzard were spotted on the way to Crail. Our first stop was spoiled by the wind with only Linnet and more Skylarks seen before we headed out to Kilminning. A Swift was seen over the village. A Meadow Pipit landed on the road in front of us as we drove along. A singing Willow Warbler showed briefly at the top end while a Whitethroat teased us by singing from hidden perches. A pair of Grey Partridges - one of our targets for Paul, were seen on the airfield on the short drive down to check the lower half of the site. A male Reed Bunting and a male Pheasant were also seen nearby. Around the bottom end we added a few Yellowhammers and a family of Great Tits but the wind was keeping most birds tucked away out of sight, and out of the wind.
We headed for Fife Ness next and a welcome seat out of the gale force winds. A male Kestrel hovered over the golf course and a small flock of Starlings flew over the car further on. Seawatching seemed to offer our best chance of more additions but despite 90 minutes of watching it was fairly standard species seen. Gannets were easily the most numerous, with Fulmar, Kittiwake, Guillemot, Razorbill, Eider, Puffin, Shag and a single Sandwich Tern all we managed to see except a few gulls. A Grey Seal did show offshore as we were about to pack up. On the walk back to the car I predicted that Thursday would be far more productive (it was - 6 Storm Petrels, a Black Guillemot, 5 Great Skuas and 97 Manx Shearwaters all seen during the day). With the weather feeling more like February than June we decided to cut our losses and called it a day at 1300. Paul dropped me off at Guardbridge where I popped into a busier than expected hide. Angus Duncan confirmed there was nothing particularly of interest around so I headed homewards.
Not a classic day out by any manner of means with only 1 of our potential target species seen. Given the weather our final total of 55 species was decent enough. Photo opportunities were also rather limited though I did capture a Gannet in flight trying to swallow a large fish it had just caught at Fife Ness. This isn't something that seems to be seen too often, or at least photos showing this behaviour seems to be hard to find.
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| Goldeneye & Herring Gull |
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| Eider |
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| Willow Warbler |
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| Shag |
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| Shag |
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| Shag |
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| Shag |
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| Shag |
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| Gannet |
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| Kittiwake |
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| Puffin |
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| Puffin |
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| Razorbill |
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| Eider |
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| Eider |
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| Shag |
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| Shag |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Shag |
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| Gannet |
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| Gannet |
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| Gannet |
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| Eider |
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| Eider |
Species seen - Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Cormorant, Curlew, Eider, Fulmar, Gannet, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Partridge, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kittiwake, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Puffin, Razorbill, Reed Bunting, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Shag, Shelduck, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Tree Sparrow, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.
Mammals seen - Grey Seal.
