 |
| Reed Bunting |
Arriving in Fife to meet Nat at the far end of the bridge, a Blackbird flew past me and a trio of Starlings glided down into the grass next to the car park. We set off for Letham Pools, choosing not to make any detours along the way. A Buzzard was by the side of the road a few miles on our way, and a pair of Yellowhammers were spooked from atop a drystane dyke by the car as we passed. Rooks in a field and a Collared Dove landing in a tree were added before we reached the pools and a single Swallow was hunting over the farmyard a short distance from our first stop.
There were less geese around than on our previous visit, with only a relatively low number of Greylags around. Lapwings were the most obvious wader, though again there numbers were on the low side. On the water were a number of Coots plus Mallard and Tufted Duck. A Grey Heron lifted from the corner of the main pool and flew off low across the water. There were a few pairs of Gadwall around also. Scanning slowly around the edges located a few Oystercatchers. As we scanned a male Reed Bunting showed up giving us very close views and allowing me to take a nice sequence of photos.
There were Wigeon feeding along the edges and up onto the grass at the far end, and a Skylark lifted into the air as we watched the ducks feeding. Through the scope we spotted a few more Skylarks among the grass. A Meadow Pipit called as it overflew. A few Mute Swans were on the grass while an adult was out on the water. A few Black Headed Gulls perched on the fence that splits the main pool. More slow and methodical scanning with the scope found a pair of Redshanks and a lot of sleeping Teal tucked in among the vegetation around the edges.
A Moorhen swam out from the edge of the west pool. There were a few groups of Sand Martins passing over but despite checking there were no House Martins to be found among them. A Pied Wagtail landed on the hedge nearby - not a typical perch. A female Shelduck showed up apparently from nowhere, though it had probably been hidden by the vegetation. We were joined by a pair of birders who were hoping to see the Jack Snipe which has lingered at the site for over a week. I found a Common Snipe feeding across the far side, and the other birders spotted a pair sleeping on the island, but there was no sign of the diminutive Jack Snipe. A Wren was seen in the hedge behind us and a Common Gull was spotted perched on the fence posts in the water.
With no additions to either of our year list found we headed in the direction of Ruddon's Point, adding Pheasant along the way. We decided to make a quick stop at Kilconquhar to check out Barnyards Marsh and the Loch. Our first Jackdaws of the day were on the chimneys in the village. A Tree Sparrow was in the hedge at the entrance to the small nature reserve at the edge of the village. The paths were a bit on the soggy side still and a pair of Snipe lifted as we walked around. A quick peek at the drainage ditch across the middle spooked a drake Mallard, and a pair of male Pheasants chased each other northwards. A few Sand Martins overflew, possibly new arrivals heading inland.
Blue Tits and a Greenfinch were in the trees near the car park as we walked towards the Loch via the churchyard. There were gulls out on the water which appeared to be mostly Herring Gulls but like most of the birds on the water they were very distant. I did find at least 5 Great Crested Grebes and a single Little Grebe relatively close in though our view was obscured somewhat by the branches of the trees beside us. A pair of Shoveler were distinctive enough to be picked out at range with Mallards and Tufted Ducks beyond. As we headed back to the car we spotted a Treecreeper feeding in the trees along the edge of the reedbed where it meets the churchyard. Nat reckoned it was a first for her year-list.
From Kilconquhar it was a relatively short drive through the caravan park to within walking distance of Ruddon's Point where hopefully we might see Divers, Grebes and sea-ducks with the possibility of some exotica among them, if we were lucky. There were a few Eiders and at least a pair of Shags out on the Forth with a few Gannets flying by further out. We could see birders out on the island and a quick check of tide times suggested that high tide had passed and we should be safe enough to venture out for a better view. When we got out we discovered the birders we had met earlier at Letham Pools were there. They hadn't yet found the female King Eider but had seen a Sandwich Tern already.
There were Cormorants and Curlews out on the rocks in front of us as well as a few Oystercatchers and Eiders. I scanned through the Eiders slowly but wasn't having much success. Another birder who was staying in Edinburgh but was visiting from London was also hoping for the 'Queen' Eider. Eventually the younger of the two we had met earlier announced he had found it and we tried to get onto the bird. I eventually managed to find it and after a quick look passed the scope to Nat. Unfortunately, the bird had dived and some more searching drew a blank.
While searching through the Eider flock I did manage to add a few extra species - with a number of Common and Velvet Scoters dotted around. A pair of Razorbill, a few Guillemots and a trio of Red Breasted Merganser were picked out before I spotted a pair of Red Throated Divers closer in. A Fulmar flew past and a single Red Throated Diver did likewise. I heard the call of a Sandwich Tern and Nat was first to spot the bird flying past. My 150th species of 2016. The others left and I continued to scan, determined to re-find the bird for Nat. I eventually managed once again to get the bird in the scope and again described where it was before passing the scope to Nat - who couldn't see it. Once again, it had dived.
We were joined by another birder/photographer with a camera and a slight foreign accent. Only when seeing a photo of the King Eider on Facebook later did I realise that he was Lukasz Michal Pulawski - whose photos I had seen on the Scottish Birding group previously. By now, we were well past our planned lunch-time, so after a few more minutes we gave up and Nat headed back to the car. I decided to check the bay for other birds but I only added Rock Pipit to the list before joining Nat back at the car. It was now around 1400, so we set off for Crail. A Great Tit and a few Collared Doves as we passed through Pittenweem were the only birds of any note en route.
Although a Hawfinch had been seen around the Bow Butts area we decided to continue on to Kilminning to see if anything was around. There were a few Song Thrushes around as well as a few Chiffchaffs and Robins plus at least one Willow Warbler. A bit of a surprise was a group of 7 Magpies perched together in a small tree. We bumped into Davie Watters who told us he'd only seen Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs. A bit more searching across the road at the grassy area found a pair of male Blackcaps in the bushes together. Nat found a Goldcrest and a Dunnock showed briefly.
As we searched around a bird landed for a split second on the ground between us. I quickly lifted my binoculars and caught a glimpse as it dived back into cover. The sighting had lasted less than 2 seconds but there had been a lot of red on show and it hadn't been a Robin. I suspected Redstart and Nat thought likewise - however, I though male, Nat thought female. It would have to be one for the 'one that got away' pile. We searched around to no avail before time got the better of us once again - a recurring theme with Redstarts it seems. A brief stop on our way home at Leuchars Station added Stock Dove to the list taking the total seen to 71 species.
 |
| Reed Bunting |
 |
| Greylag Geese |
 |
| Reed Bunting |
 |
| Gadwall |
 |
| Buzzard |
 |
| Red Throated Diver |
 |
| Willow Warbler |
 |
| Magpie |
 |
| Magpie |
Species seen (year-tick in bold) - Blackbird, Blackcap, Black Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunnock, Eider, Fulmar, Gadwall, Gannet, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Crested Grebe, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Guillemot, Herring Gull, Jackdaw, King Eider, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Little Grebe, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Moorhen, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Razorbill, Red Breasted Merganser, Redshank, (Redstart?), Red Throated Diver, Reed Bunting, Robin, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Shag, Shelduck, Shoveler, Skylark, Snipe, Song Thrush, Starling, Stock Dove, Swallow, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Treecreeper, Tufted Duck, Velvet Scoter, Wigeon, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.