Or a walk along the East Fife Coastal Path, 5-6th November 2011
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| Pink-footed geese over Anstruther, 5/11/11 |
It seems like a dream now but last weekend’s trip to Scotland for Hottloggz, the annual Fence Records shindig, had many highlights. Sure there was the music and the fireside sing-along’s, an unlikely quiz night victory and the afterhours church hall disco that got shut down by the local coppers; but I couldn’t go to Scotland and not squeeze in some birding. That would be plain foolish.
Before the festivities on the Saturday, Ben and I made the short walk from Anstruther to the neighbouring village of Pittenweem. The first bird we came across was also a first ever for me – a pair of Eider sheltering in one of the bays. These distinctive birds were conspicuous all along the coast, small numbers here and there and larger flocks moving off shore. Having ashamedly neglected Scotland for some time it was nice to finally see these striking birds. Who said ducks are boring?
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| Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) Male (l), female (r) Pittenweem harbour, 5/11/11. |
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| Juvenile Eider |
The rocky coves harboured a nice variety of coastal birds: Ringed Plover, Curlew, Dunlin and Redshank in varying numbers. Cormorants held court on exposed ledges and at one point were visible alongside a pair of their ‘northern cousins’ – the Shag. It was nice to see these two classic confusion species side by side; Shags showing an obvious forehead/crown and being the slightly smaller, more ‘wiry’ of the two. From the path, we had numerous passerines, with the outcrops of gorse and scrub holding Lesser Redpoll, Meadow Pipit and Linnet along with the usual tits and finches.
Arriving in Pittenweem we found the harbour alive with the sound of gulls and the throaty humming of Eider. But the real action was in the sky as hundreds of Pink-footed geese circled the village in ragged yet seemingly coordinated streams. It was a glorious spectacle, stopping people in their tracks and repeated throughout the weekend.
Divers were my mission on Sunday as we stumbled out of the B&B, blinkingly into the sun. We took the bus up the coast to Crail where we rejoined the path heading back to Anstruther. A distant low shape off Crail harbour looked possible for a Red-throated loon but I can’t be sure. Choppy waves and bright sun made the mission difficult. A bit further along though, we caught up with three guillemots in the water - always a nice spot in my book. Rock pipits and Pied wagtails were frequently encountered along the path as we headed for Anstruther. Nearing a pig farm I spotted a raptor perched on a fence post. This turned out to be a Common Buzzard that was later joined by another. In the same area a Kestrel was hunting while a Mistle thrush and hundreds of starlings poked about in the mud. Leaving the path and heading into Cellardyke, a male Sparrowhawk was darting between the chimneys.
Hot Damn. It was a great weekend.
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| Isle of May - next boat leaves 01/04/12 |
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