Having struggled a bit recently with my mental health (something I was contemplating a blog-post about) I really didn't feel up to going anywhere on Sunday and stayed in bed until late morning. Unfortunately this happened to coincide with an influx of Yellow Browed Warblers and a Red Breasted Flycatcher turning up around the Crail area as wel as Black Throated Diver and Pomarine Skuas being seen from Fife Ness. I forced myself to get up and head in that direction on Monday to see if any of the migrants were still around and if time allowed perhaps squeeze in some seawatching as well. I caught the early bus over and started in Denburn Wood which was quiet before walking to the Wormiston track where I heard but failed to see
Yellow Browed Warbler. Thankfully I had better luck along the road to Kilminning where I managed to see one in the trees arching over the road. Another was at the top end of Kilminning. Barnacle Geese were also passing by and the mist cleared leaving a lovely day.
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| Yellow Browed Warbler |
I added the
Red Breasted Flycatcher without too much trouble and the Little Stint was still at Balcomie Beach. Seawatching with Andy Falconer and Anne Galbraith was fairly unproductive with Arctic Skua, Barnacle Geese, Red Throated Diver and Common Scoter as good as it got. Anne gave me a lift up to Kilminning to try and find a Yellow Browed Warbler for her, but there was no sign at the top end, so we headed down to the bottom end which also seemed a bit on the quiet side. We wandered around looking and listening but there seemed to be no Yellow Browed Warblers around.
A small bird low down in a small tree caught my attention and I raised my binoculars to see what it was. I immediately recognised it as a Bunting and I thought the cheek looked very chestnut in colour. Having been reading recently about various Buntings that there was a slim chance of running into, I immediately thought of
Little Bunting. Unfortunately, within a split-second of having raised my binoculars the bird flew into a patch of roses where our views were hindered by the strong sunlight and the shadows in the bushes as well as the bird's movements. I decided to take photos in the hope that I could get something to confirm or rule out my suspected ID. Anne managed to get onto the bird too, but the views weren't great. There was a 'tic' sort of call coming from the area the bird was in, but as it sounded a bit Robin-like I couldn't be sure if it was the Bunting or not making the sound - though it did sound similar to the call on the Collins Bird Guide app.
We were joined by Claire Halliwell and another birder and told them about the bird which had disappeared deep into the bushes and out of view. I tried to examine the photos on the back of the camera but the bird being in shade and the strong glare/reflections on the screen made it too tricky to make a firm decision on whether it was or wasn't a Little Bunting. I wasn't 100% sure that it was a Little Bunting nor could I completely rule out a Reed Bunting and wishful thinking. Having been on the recieving end of some uncalled for comments about my birding abilities lately on social media which hadn't helped my already low mental state, I chose to err on the side of caution and wait until I got home and see the photos on a computer screen so I could say for sure one way or the other what the bird was, rather than have folk rushing out and attempting to find what might turn out to be just a Reed Bunting.
With no further sight or sound of the bird and time increasingly against all 3 of us we headed up to the top end to try once again to get Yellow Browed Warbler for Anne and Claire and managed to hear 2 birds calling but failed to see either. Anne headed home and Claire and I searched in vain for views of a Yellow Browed Warbler. Claire then gave me a lift back to Crail from where I headed home. Once I got the chance to look at the photos later at home they did indeed show a Little Bunting and I sought a second opinion just to be extra sure. I then put out the news on the FBC WhatsApp group along with a photo showing exactly where the bird was seen - though when I arrived on Tuesday I found everyone looking at a different area for the bird.
Apologies to those who feel they may have missed out through my caution but having no experience of the species and already low self-confidence because of the recent unwarranted social media 'digs' among other things, I wasn't prepared to risk calling it wrong given my already low mental state.
Birds seen on walk to bus station - Herring Gull, Woodpigeon.
From bus to St Andrews & Crail - Cormorant, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Jackdaw, Curlew, Starling, House Sparrow, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Carrion Crow, Black Headed Gull, Magpie.
Denburn Wood to Wormiston to Kilminning - Dunnock, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Goldfinch, Linnet, Reed Bunting, Swallow, Meadow Pipit, Barnacle Goose,
Yellow Browed Warbler, Chaffinch, Blackbird.
Kilminning to Balcomie Beach - Skylark, Pied Wagtail, Stock Dove, Robin, Golden Plover, Kestrel, Lapwing, Whitethroat, Gannet, Wheatear,
Red Breasted Flycatcher, Bar Tailed Godwit, Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Styonechat, Little Stint, Ringed Plover, Sanderling, Redshank.
Butterflies seen - Red Admiral.
Fife Ness - Great Black Backed Gull, Red Throated Diver, Arctic Skua, Shag, Common Scoter, Eider, Kittiwake, Grey Heron, Guillemot, Razorbill, Common Gull.
Kilminning - Yellowhammer, Willow Warbler,
Little Bunting, Peregrine.
Crail to home - Collared Dove, Buzzard, Grey Wagtail.
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| Robin |
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| Great Tit |
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| Linnet |
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Swallow |
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| Swallow |
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| Barnacle Goose |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Yellow Browed Warbler |
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| Skylark |
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| Skylark |
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| Barnacle Goose |
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Kestrel |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Lapwing |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Skylark |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Linnet |
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| Wheatear |
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| Kestrel |
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| Goldfinch & Linnet |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Goldfinch |
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| Magpie |
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| Barnacle Goose |
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| Skylark |
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| Red Breasted Flycatcher |
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| Red Breasted Flycatcher |
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| Red Breasted Flycatcher |
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| Red Breasted Flycatcher |
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| Bar Tailed Godwit |
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| Dunlin |
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| Stonechat |
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| Stonechat |
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| Stonechat |
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| Dunnock |
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| Redshank |
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| Little Stint |
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| Little Stint, Dunlin & Ringed Plover |
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| Little Stint |
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| Dunlin & Little Stint |
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| Guillemot & Razorbill |
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| Common Scoter |
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| Common Scoter |
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| Eider |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Manx Shearwater |
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| Common Gull |
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| Gannet |
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| Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Golden Plover |
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| Golden Plover |
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| Golden Plover |
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| Ringed Plover |
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| Golden Plover |
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| Barnacle Goose |
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| Little Bunting |
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| Little Bunting |
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| Little Bunting |
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| Little Bunting |
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| Little Bunting |
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| Little Bunting |
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| Little Bunting |
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| Yellowhammer |
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| Peregrine |
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Peregrine
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62 species seen (3 year-ticks in bold) - Arctic Skua, Barnacle Goose, Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Gannet, Golden Plover, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kittiwake, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet,
Little Bunting, Little Stint, Magpie, Meadow Pipit, Oystercatcher, Peregrine, Pied Wagtail, Razorbill,
Red Breasted Flycatcher, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sanderling, Shag, Skylark, Starling, Stock Dove, Stonechat, Swallow, Wheatear, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon,
Yellow Browed Warbler, Yellowhammer.
Butterflies seen - Red Admiral.
