Ian contacted me earlier in the week to see if I fancied a trip over to Fife on Saturday which naturally I said yes to. The one minor downside was a later than normal start - however it would give me a chance to hopefully catch up with some of the waders in transit (Spotted Redshank & Curlew Sandpiper at Guardbridge in particular) as well as fitting in a spot of seawatching at Fife Ness. I arranged to meet Ian in the city centre around 1100.
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| Razorbill |
As I left home a Meadow Pipit flew over, followed seconds after by another. A few others were seen over the City Centre. Given the time of day and the numbers involved it did suggest there were probably a lot of Meadow Pipits on the move. Three Buzzards were seen over a field near Drumoig and Swallows and House Martins were numerous over Guardbridge as we queued in traffic there. We arrived at Fife Ness around 1205. There were plenty of Gannets moving past but with the winds from the west things were otherwise relatively quiet.
Undeterred we began our seawatching. Most other birds were well out towards the horizon though there was a relatively steady stream of Meadow Pipits arriving in off the sea and heading off inland. A small flock of around 15 or so Knot plus Dunlin and Turnstone were feeding on the small rocky island just offshore. Curlew, Redshank and Oystercatcher joined them there later and a flock of around 15 Ringed Plover also showed up as the tide came in. Cormorants, Shags, Great Black Backed Gulls and Herring Gulls made up the majority of birds close in to shore and nearby.
Further out, I picked up a few auks and Fulmars as well as a Black Headed Gull and an Arctic Skua but the Skua in particular was too distant to try and photograph. A Painted Lady butterfly, my first of 2020, fed just in front of us. Other butterflies were moving through with 2 Red Admirals and a few Green Veined Whites also noted. A few Pied Wagtails moved along the coast and a small number of Eider drifted by offshore. I spotted a Razorbill among the rocks and wandered over to see if it was an injured bird. It appeared ok though it did appear slightly agitated as I approached so I backed off again quickly and left it where it was. Checking photos at home the bird appeared only to have a single outer primary on each wing, which suggests it would probably have flown off had it been able to.
Sandwich Terns passed by in small numbers and 2 Grey Herons dropped in. We were joined by Will Cresswell and his dog, Nutty. We added Kittiwake and a second Arctic Skua before Will headed off again. The Razorbill had also departed unseen. Just as we were about to leave at 1430 a pair of Red Throated Divers headed south. We had to double back on ourselves from near Kingsbarns when Ian realised he'd left his jacket on the WW2 pillbox we'd been sat behind. Thankfully it was still there when we got back. Kestrel was added on the drive back towards Guardbridge. A bad accident at Strathkinness meant we were caught up in traffic for a while between St Andrews and Guardbridge.
When we finally made it to the hide the majority of birds had already relocated round towards the 'goal-posts' and beyond because of the rising tide. We had just missed the Curlew Sandpipers but thankfully I managed to find the
Spotted Redshank though it had flown off with other Redshanks between me moving back from my scope and Ian moving forward to look through it. A couple of photographers seated on the grass in front of the hide ensured that all the birds kept their distance. There were other birds around though all distant - 2 Ospreys, a few Wigeon and Teal, a Great Crested Grebe youngster, some Lapwings and Black Tailed Godwits, a good number of gulls and Canada Geese. Two Little Egrets out on the saltmarsh and a Willow Warbler in the bushes behind us took my total for the day to 50 species including 1 year-tick (in bold) before we had to head back to Dundee around 1700 after another decent day out.
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| Knot, Dunlin & Turnstone |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Black Headed Gull |
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| Sandwich Tern |
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| Knot, Dunlin & Turnstone |
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Razorbill |
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| Razorbill |
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| Razorbill |
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| Eider |
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| Gannet |
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| Fulmar |
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| Gannet |
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| Gannet |
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| Gannet |
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| Ringed Plover |
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| Redshank & Ringed Plover |
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| Shag |
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| Shag |
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| Gannet |
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| Gannet |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Cormorant |
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| Cormorant |
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| Cormorant |
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| Cormorant |
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| Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Great Black Backed Gull |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Buzzard |
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| Teal |
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| Osprey |
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| Osprey |
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| Cormorant |
Species seen - Arctic Skua, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Black Tailed Godwit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Fulmar, Gannet, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Grey Heron, Herring Gull, House Martin, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kittiwake, Knot, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Little Egret, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pied Wagtail, Razorbill, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Ringed Plover, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sandwich Tern, Shag,
Spotted Redshank, Starling, Swallow, Teal, Turnstone, Wigeon, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon.
Butterflies seen - Green Veined White, Painted Lady, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell.
Mammals seen - Rabbit.
