With recent changes to the bus timetables in Fife I can now only get to Crail very early or later than I like to, so for my holiday Monday off work I decided that I would need to get up early to catch the 0705 bus to St Andrews then the 0745 bus to Crail for a spot of seawatching, despite the winds being 'wrong'. I did consider Musselburgh again but the temperature was once again forecast to be on the hot side, so a spell in a hide made sense. I was hoping for something interesting but my optimism for it actually happening was minimal.
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| Curlew |
I set off for the bus station at 0645. Woodpigeon, Herring Gull, Blackbird, Feral Pigeon, Robin and Collared Dove were the sum total for the walk there with Lesser Black Backed Gull added from the bus station. From the bus to St Andrews I was able to add Great Black Backed Gull, Swallow, Starling, Rook, House Martin and House Sparrow. The bus journey to Crail was relatively unproductive with Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Mallard and a Roe Deer the only wildlife noted. Denburn Wood was 'dead' with only a few Blue Tits seen. A Linnet flew over as I left the village and a Rabbit was laying low in the garden of the last house.
The walk out to Kilminning was even quieter than usual with only Meadow Pipit added, though there were some Linnets on the wires to the north side of the airfield entrance as well as Swallows on the wires in the yard beyond. Kilminning produced a Buzzard and a Painted Lady and a few Goldfinches. An Oystercatcher and 2 Tree Pipits flew over as I headed along the road to the golf course. I decided to check Balcomie Beach in the hope of a Curlew Sandpiper or a Little Stint. A Wren was seen on the walk down across the golf course. On the beach was a mixed flock of Dunlin, Sanderling and Ringed Plover, as well as a few Curlews, a few Bar Tailed Godwits, some Black Headed Gulls and a few Pied Wagtails.
Offshore a few Sandwich Terns and Gannets passed while there were also a few Eider on the water. I followed the coastal path along the edge of the course and spotted 2 Wheatear - 1 on the fairway and 1 on the rocks. A Meadow Brown butterfly and a rather scruffy Painted Lady were also seen. Shags, Cormorants and Great Black Backed Gulls were resting out on their usual rocky island offshore. A single Redshank was the only bird at Stinky Pool. Peacock and Green Veined White butterflies were seen as I headed to the hide and a Silver Y moth was by the fence behind the building along with a 'singing' Grasshopper.
There was a steady passage of Gannets seen from the hide as well as a few Sandwich Terns. A Whimbrel and a Bar Tailed Godwit flew past together. Scanning further out I managed to add Fulmar, Common Scoter and Kittiwake. A few Turnstones landed among a group of Ringed Plover roosting down on the rocks and while checking these I found a pair of Knot half-hidden alongside them. A very distant Great Skua was seen, as well as a few more Common Scoters. A Common Sandpiper headed south low over the water. I was joined by a birder I've met at Guardbridge a few times, Eric, who chose to sit outside in the sun rather than in the hide though information was passed back and forth.
Nothing much of note was seen over the course of the next hour so we both decided to call it a day. Eric offered me a lift back to St Andrews which was gratefully accepted (thanks again!). A Kestrel was seen from the car on the way back. I was planning on walking out to Balgove Bay to catch the tide receding but a FBC alert came through about a Curlew Sandpiper and Ruff from the Eden Estaury Centre. This meant a change of plan for me. I caught a bus back to Guardbridge, noting Canada Geese to the south of the bridge but found I couldn't remember the code to get into the hide. Thankfully Harry Spence was inside and let me in. Unfortunately a Sparrowhawk flushed the waders opposite the hide as Harry was getting up to let me in, moving them further away.
We chatted for a bit as we scanned through the waders opposite, adding Lapwing and the rather orange Ruff to the list for the day. Osprey and Mute Swan were also noted before we were joined by Susan. Unfortunately Susan hadn't brought her scope either (I'd left mine at home to lighten my bag for the walk out to Fife Ness). A Fulmar glided by heading downriver - not a bird I've seen too often close to the hide. Angus Duncan arrived soon after followed soon after by Ian Cummings - with a scope. Unfortunately, he could find no trace of the Curlew Sandpiper either. There were plenty of butterflies on the Buddleia - Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral and Large White all being new for the day. A Little Egret flew by and a group of young Pheasants flew across the river.
Grey Heron was added while around the feeders Great Tit, Greenfinch and Tree Sparrow were seen. Harry, Susan and Ian all headed off leaving Angus and me. Angus spotted a very distant Osprey and while I was trying to get the camera onto the bird I picked up another very distant raptor. It turned out to be exactly what I hoped it might be - my first sighting of a
White Tailed Eagle this year. An Osprey gave it a bit of harassment before I lost it in the blue sky out over the mouth of the river. Common Gull and Goosander were added before we had our first glimpse of Kingfisher for the day. Angus headed off and I was joined by a couple of photographers.
I finally managed to add Magpie to the list for the day and we had better views of the Kingfisher as it perched briefly on the post. A trio of Little Egrets flew in and landed opposite. Despite lots of scanning and rescanning of the waders throughout the afternoon I failed to find any totally convincing sign of the Curlew Sandpiper though I had a few possible sightings but the lack of a scope and a bit of heat distortion meant I couldn't confidently claim to have seen it. What appears to be the bird appears in a few photos but I didn't see the bird when the photo was taken). One of the Rangers arrived to lock up a little ahead of schedule and chatted away with a few interesting snippets of information dropped into the conversation before I headed out to catch the bus just after 1700. A Large Yellow Underwing moth was on the bus and I managed to catch it and release it as I was getting off back in the city centre.
Not a classic day by any manner of means with a rather 'run of the mill' species list for the day of 63, including a bonus year-tick (in bold). Some nice light for photos but most birds were a bit too distant.
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| Rabbit |
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| Buzzard |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Wren |
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| Curlew |
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| Black Headed Gull, Common Gull, Oystercatcher |
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| Ringed Plover, Dunlin & Sanderling |
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| Ringed Plover |
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| Bar Tailed Godwit |
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| Wheatear |
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| Wheatear |
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| Cormorant, Shag & Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Silver Y |
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| Grasshopper sp. |
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| Bar Tailed Godwit |
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| Gannet |
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| Common Scoter & Gannet |
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| Cormorant |
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| Gannet |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Great Skua & Gannet |
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| Redshank |
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| Ringed Plover, Turnstone, Dunlin, Bar Tailed Godwit & Sanderling |
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| Herring Gull, Redshank, Dunlin, Black Headed Gull |
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| Peacock |
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| Fulmar |
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| Goosander |
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| Redshank, Dunlin & Ruff |
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| Osprey |
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| Little Egret |
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| Little Egret |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Common Sandpiper |
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| Pheasant |
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| Goosander |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Redshank |
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| Osprey & White Tailed Eagle |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Red Admiral & Small Tortoiseshell |
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| Common Sandpiper & Redshank |
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| Cormorant |
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| Common Sandpiper |
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| Lapwing |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Swallow |
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| Swallow |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Robin |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Cormorant |
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| Mallard |
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| Carrion Crow |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Swallow |
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| Little Egret |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell & Red Admiral |
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| Osprey |
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| Curlew |
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| Curlew |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Curlew |
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| Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Redshank |
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| Little Egret |
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| Little Egret |
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| Little Egret |
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| Little Egret |
Species seen - Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Sandpiper, Common Scoter, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Fulmar, Gannet, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Skua, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kingfisher, Kittiwake, Knot, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Ruff, Sanderling, Sandwich Tern, Shag, Starling, Swallow, Tree Pipit, Tree Sparrow, Turnstone, Wheatear, Whimbrel,
White Tailed Eagle, Woodpigeon, Wren.
Butterflies seen - Green Veined White, Large White, Meadow Brown, Painted Lady, Peacock, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell.
Mammals seen - Rabbit, Roe Deer.
Moths seen - Large Yellow Underwing, Silver Y.
