Unforeseen circumstances almost halted plans to get out birding with Ian on Saturday but thankfully we were able to get out as planned in the end. Once again, Fife was to be our destination of choice with some light easterly winds hinting at the possibility of a few migrants such as Yellow Browed Warbler dropping in. Seawatching would also be on the agenda. With a bit of luck we would hopefully be able to add something to our year-lists which understandably have had to take a back seat due to 'outside influences' this year. We arranged an 0730 start to head for the Crail area.
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| Red Throated Diver |
Nothing of particular note was seen on the way to Crail. Arriving at Kilminning around 0820 we started checking the bushes and trees around the top end. A trio of Roe Deer were slightly spooked as we got out of the car but stayed put where they were. There appeared to be plenty of Robins, Song Thrushes and Blackbirds in the trees while small groups of freshly arrived birds passed overhead. Swallows and House Martins were seen hawking for insects over the airfield and a Sparrowhawk flew through. After around 25 minutes or so I caught sight of a bird in the trees on the sunny side of one of the lines of trees on the western side of the road. I suspected Pied Flycatcher as a possibility as one had been reported the day before. It popped out into the open on a different tree and I had myself a year-tick. Ian saw it briefly in flight but spent a while trying to get a better view, though unsuccessfully.
Pied Wagtails, Meadow Pipits, Tree Sparrows, a Grey Wagtail and Skylarks all passed over, some singly, some in small groups. Linnets, Chaffinches and Goldfinches flitted around but the only other obvious grounded migrant was a Blackcap found by Ian. Will Cresswell joined us briefly and managed to track down the Pied Flycatcher. Tommy Ross also arrived a little later and we had frustrating views of what was probably the same Flycatcher as it fed among the small stand of trees near the earth mound. Having read an article about sound recording continuously while birding recently I thought I would give it a try using an old mobile phone. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard and was obvious on the sonogram. An odd calling bird we both saw flying over was also recorded and appears to have been a Sedge Warbler. Most of the recording consisted of loud footsteps.
Around 1020 we headed for the bottom end where I hoped we would see the Garden Warbler which had been lingering. Unfortunately, the area was occupied by a number of tents with cut vegetation being burned in a large oil drum by those camping. Needless to say there was no sign of Garden Warbler or much else. Yellowhammer, Greenfinch and Buzzard were the only things of note at the bottom end so after 30 minutes or so we gave up and headed down to Fife Ness for a seat in the sun and some seawatching. A pair of Stonechats were among the brambles by the path and a single Bar Tailed Godwit flew past as we wandered round to behind the pillbox. There was a couple already there but they headed off after a few minutes. Things seemed relatively quiet with Gannets and Kittiwakes the most numerous birds out over the water. There were a few Guillemots and Razorbills and the odd Fulmar too. Shags and Cormorants seemed a little less conspicuous than usual though both were still around.
Dunlin, Sanderling, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Curlew and Turnstone were the wader species seen though only in relatively small numbers. There were still plenty of Meadow Pipits and Pied Wagtails arriving in off the sea. With very little wind it was quite pleasant sitting in the sunshine and it felt relatively warm for mid-September. Around 1130 I spotted a few Little Gulls in flight and realised that there were actually quite a few of them on the water. I counted around 20 before being distracted. We were joined again by Will who is less easily distracted when counting than I am and got to 40 or so. He then spotted a group of 8 Wigeon heading north. There were small numbers of Black Headed, Common, Great Black Backed and Herring Gulls seen but in far lower numbers than the Kittiwakes and Little Gulls which seemed to be feeding quite far out before flying closer in to rest.
A Common Scoter went north before I picked up a distant Manx Shearwater heading in the same direction. The first of 13 Red Throated Divers passed by shortly after as things seemed to pick up a bit. Will had headed off again and we were joined by a small group from, I think, the western side of the country. Ian picked up a Skua also going north and from photos it appeared to be yet another Arctic Skua rather than any of the others we haven't seen this year yet. Around 1330 a distant line of geese headed south way out on the horizon. I suspect they may have been Barnacle Geese given the flock structure but photos showed just fuzzy blobs. Another Manx Shearwater was seen and a third possible too a bit later. The first Eiders of the day flew by before a flock of around 40 Golden Plover circled around above us. We were joined by Matt Jackson and his pal, whose name I forget. Another group of Wigeon went north.
A Kestrel was spotted hunting behind us before I spotted a large Diver species heading south above the horizon. Great Northern Diver seemed likeliest but checking the rather blurry (due mostly to distance and heat shimmer) photos later at home, the bill colour appeared better for White Billed Diver - though it was very subtle and needed fully zoomed in to see. As the photos were rather inconclusive (and I'm indecisive which never helps) I sent them to a couple of experienced birders for their opinion. One thought it might be a WBD but that there wasn't enough to go on in the photo to conclusively clinch the ID, and the other was less convinced, but agreed that the photos weren't particularly helpful - so yet again another potential goodie goes on the 'ones that got away' list for Fife.
We were joined by another couple of birders (George Jamieson - who I met last year there and who obviously remembers faces and names better than I do, and a lady I think he introduced as Anne - but whose surname I forgot - sorry!) but apart from a few more Red Throated Divers and Common Scoters there was nothing particularly of note added. We had to cut short the birding a little earlier than planned when Ian got a phone call from home though we did manage to add a Lesser Black Backed Gull to the list as we neared Dundee. Despite the frustration of the large Diver sighting we managed a total of 60 species (61 with Ian's Blackcap) including 1 year-tick (in bold) and 1 heard only - though the recordings suggest we missed a few other flyover species (such as Siskin). Another good day out in pretty good conditions given that we are now into Autumn.
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Sparrowhawk
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Sparrowhawk
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Chaffinch
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| Blackbird |
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Starling
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Great Tit
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Pied Flycatcher
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Pied Flycatcher
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Pied Flycatcher
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Chaffinch
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Pied Wagtail
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Skylark
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Goldfinch
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Goldfinch & Blue Tit
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Skylark
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Linnet
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Goldfinch
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Yellowhammer
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Greenfinch
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Song Thrush
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Skylark
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Tree Sparrow
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Bar Tailed Godwit
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Wigeon
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Little Gull
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Common Scoter
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Black Headed Gull
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Pied Wagtail
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Meadow Pipit
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Linnet
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Arctic Skua
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Arctic Skua
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Arctic Skua
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Red Throated Diver
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Common Gull
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Red Throated Diver
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Red Throated Diver
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Red Throated Diver
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Red Throated Diver
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Red Throated Diver
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Diver sp.
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Diver sp.
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Diver sp.
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Diver sp.
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Geese (possibly Barnacle?)
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Sandwich Tern
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Gannet
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Cormorant
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Golden Plover
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Gannet
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Common Gull
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Cormorant
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Red Throated Diver
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Eider
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Oystercatcher, Shag, Golden Plover, Bar Tailed Godwit, Great Black Backed Gull
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Red Throated Diver
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Red Throated Diver
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Kittiwake
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Cormorant
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Kittiwake
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Species seen - Arctic Skua, Bar Tailed Godwit, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Gannet, Golden Plover, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, (Great Spotted Woodpecker - heard only), Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kittiwake, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Gull, Magpie, Manx Shearwater, Meadow Pipit, Oystercatcher,
Pied Flycatcher, Pied Wagtail, Razorbill, Redshank, Red Throated Diver, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Sanderling, Sandwich Tern, Sedge Warbler, Shag, Skylark, Song Thrush, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stonechat, Swallow, Tree Sparrow, Turnstone, Wigeon, Woodpigeon, Yellowhammer.
Mammals - Roe Deer.
