Eden Estuary News (1 Viewer)

[edenwatcher]

Seems quite similar to what we managed. I only saw 2 curlew sands (and again yesterday) and only saw ruff on Sunday. Best count of greenshanks was 28 yesterday. I also heard (but failed to see) whimbrel on both days.
Good numbers of duck arriving with both teal and wigeon numbers up, and 2 pintail yesterday. I was at Outhead yesterday morning and there several groups of teal and a few wigeon coming in. I also saw at least 14 Arctic skuas.
I saw up to 5 Arctic skuas from the garden on both days.
Ospreys very much in evidence again (Daniel got some nice scope views on Friday evening!) with a young peregrine both days. I fumbled a buzzard sp going south on Saturday morning, I only got on to it very late and it looked "interesting".
Highlights of the weekend were not avian however. On Saturday our first comma was on the buddleia - further evidence of the spread through Fife. Early on Saturday morning the otter showed nicely on the weed covered pier, feeding and washing - enabling Andrew to get nice views. Yesterday evening a stoat trotted into the garden, walked through the rockery and went off under the cars! Finally the otter showed again in the evening fishing in mid-channel and apparently having lots of fun! Amazing stuff. Note on both occasions I picked it up thanks to the flock of black-headed gulls flying over it.

Rob

 

[edenwatcher]

Tuesday highlights - 3 curlew sandpipers, 3 ruff and 3 pintail.
Yesterday featured some windblown waifs and strays, with Sue seeing both a fulmar and a young gannet on the water well upstream. The 3 pintail and 3 ruff were still about, but I only saw 1 curlew sandpiper, also 9 common terns. Evening highlight was a party of 10 little gulls (7 adult, 3 juvs).

Rob

 

[edenwatcher]

Forgot to mention that Sue also had a male wheatear on Wednesday.
Last night there were 7 ruff on the saltmarsh and a single curlew sandpiper. That's the highest ruff count for a few years.
This morning whilst trying to find more than 3, they started getting agitated and the otter came into view at the near edge of the saltmarsh. It headed west towards the river, showing occasionally. Much the closest to the house we have seen.

Rob

 

[edenwatcher]

On Friday evening the ruff count was up to 11. Numbers remained high over the weekend, with 9 yesterday morning. The highlight of Friday evening was a spotted redshank, which also showed nicely yesterday. One or two curlew sands were around over the w/e, along with plenty of greenshanks.
Dabbling ducks are arriving all the time, with 11 pintail newly arrived and jittery yesterday afternoon. A wheatear showed nicely yesterday but osprey numbers seem to be dropping. I led a walk at Outhead yesterday afternoon, which reconvened to the garden afterwards - and we failed to see osprey. That said, one was showing nicely this morning. Undoubted highlight at Outhead was a juvenile whinchat.
Some interesting vismig over the w/e with 135+ swallows SE after the rain on Saturday morning, when a westerly wind picked up (along with a few other hirundines). This is an unusual direction, they usually follow the river. Plenty of meadow pipits moving yesterday morning.

Rob

 

[edenwatcher]

A top evening: 9 ruff on the saltmarsh, a single curlew sandpiper, at least 8 greenshanks, a knot, 2 pintail, 6 tufted ducks ... However the highlight came with a flock of 15 or so common terns - 2 juvenile black terns. Our first new species of the year (115 for the year, 160 total).

The list police will of course want to know why we had WWBT before black tern ...

Rob

 

[Jane Turner]

I had Black Tern today (new for the year) as well as 2 LT Skuas, Razorbill, Sooty Shearwater and a bucketfull of Leach's

 

[edenwatcher]

Indeed, he types with gritted teeth!

Rob

 

[JWN Andrewes]

Well done on the Black Terns Rob, classy garden tick!

James

 

[edenwatcher]

Thanks James, one of the most likely additions to the garden list, but very welcome nevertheless.
Still good wader numbers with up to 4 curlew sandpipers, plenty of ruff (7 this morning), and 3 spotted redshanks on Saturday morning. There was a big influx of golden plovers yesterday with around 380 in the afternoon.
In common with elsewhere pinkfeet have put in an appearance with the first 8 on Friday evening, then 5 on Saturday (plus numerous others flying to the north and west of us that were presumably pinkies) and 300+ yesterday.
On Friday morning Andrew got to scope a peregrine for the first time, which was excellent. Ospreys are now thin on the ground, though I did see one catch a fish yesterday and another this morning.

Rob

 

[kawwauser]

i visited the eden centre today at 11.30,(mon)lots of waders on the mud on the far left, 3 curlew sandpipers/3 ruff/black tailed godwits/greenshank/ringed plover/knot/dunlin/redshank/lapwing/oystercatcher/curlew/goosanders/cormorants/mutes/shellducks/wigeon/mallards were swimming about,a cormorant caught a large flatfish and tried to eat it,the fish was to big and the cormorant eventually abondened it,a herring gull pounced on it but also gave up trying to eat it(fish was still alive)buzzards woodpigeons were flying with swallows and greenfinch great tit blue tits chaffinch were on the feeders,a dunnock with a nasty looking growth on its forehead was feeding below,the small bush in front of the hide was attrackting a lot of peacock butterflys,i was begining to pack up to leave when a peregrine carrying some prey flew over and spooked everything,the waders came a lot closer,i had to sit down again and check again,7 ruff and 6 curlew sandpipers but no spotted redshanks unfotunatly

 

[Stonefaction]

Spent a large part of the day at Guardbridge today (11am - 4.45pm) and managed to see 45 species of birds.

Highlights were 2 Pintails, 1 Spotted Redshank, 2 Pink Footed Geese (also a large flock flew over), a group of maybe around 15 Knot, 1 Great Crested Grebe, a large flock of Golden Plover, 2 Kingfishers (seen at the same time), Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Peregrine (eating something out on the mud), a Cormorant struggling with a very large flounder (before giving up and leaving it to a couple of Carrion Crows who succeeded in killing it and eating some of it), Greenshanks, and a Jackdaw (not often seen one there, although there's plenty up the road at Leuchars).

 

[edenwatcher]

No updates - just back from a superb trip to Madagascar. More on that later.

Added jay to the year list this morning (116)

Rob

 

[edenwatcher]

A few interesting things this morning:
A drake scaup with 5 goldeneye and a tufted duck, 5 knot and an impressive flock of around 300 barnacle geese.

Rob

 

[edenwatcher]

Surge!

The scaup was around again on Thursday and Saturday morning.
On Friday morning an otter swam upstream, which was nice.
Saturday was an excellent day and kicked off with me flushing a covey of 3+ grey partidges from the drive as I fetched the moth trap (117). Signs of winter aplenty with 4 slavonian grebes, 18 goldeneye and the first 11 whooper swans of the autumn. Good conditions for viewing the estuary mouth produced the first velvet scoter of the year (118) and a common scoter.
Wader highlights included 2 greenshanks and a large flock of golden plovers.
In the afternoon a bit of flock activity prompted me to go and find the first goldcrests of the year 0119)!
Sunday was quieter but there were at least 17 whoopers, 7 greenshanks and a spotted redshank.
Jays have been conpsicuous in recent days, with a peak count of 3 yesterday.

Rob

 

[edenwatcher]

108 pinkfeet in the roost yesterday with a single barnacle, whilst today there were just over 300 pinkfeet, the barnacle and the first 24 greylags of the autumn. Also 8 whooper swans this morning.

Rob

 

[edenwatcher]

Away for a week, hence the lack of updates.
Yesterday was an excellent day however.
It began with an excellent goose roost with 2000+ pinkfeet and 99 greylags. The first long-tailed duck of the autumn, a female, was nice, then Andrew and I went out to look at waxwings in St Andrews.
We got back about lunchtime and I had a scan across to Earlshall woods for jays (at least 3 in the air at once) and picked up flock of 12 waxwings catching insects over the wood (120)! This is probably the longest range views I have ever had of waxwings but the light was perfect and it's amazing what you can do with a Swarovski on 60x!
The afternoon produced a pair of gadwall, unusual at this time of year. At dusk I picked up a kingfisher on a rock near the Motray mouth, taking us to 121 for the year.
This morning far better views of kingfisher were had, with a bird fishing in the channels and pools of the saltmarsh - possibly the best views ever from the house.

Rob

 

[edenwatcher]

The kingfisher has now been seen several times on the same close perch.
Greylag numbers are increasing slowly - 129 on Saturday.
A bit of vismig yesterday with around a dozen fieldfares, a mistle thrush and the first grey wagtail of the year (122).
Around noon yesterday, once I got back from an abortive search for photographable waxwings in St Andrews, I discovered that Leuchars village was full of waxwings, perching in trees and flycatching. The most I could see at any one time was probably about 20 but there must have been many more. Rather nearer than last weekend's birds, but still very distant!
I then went out and saw around 150 in St Andrews and at least 29 in Shell bay caravan park when doing my WeBS count (the latter very approachable).

Rob

 

[edenwatcher]

Pretty quiet here. In favourable conditions we can pick up waxwings in Leuchars. The numbers are crazy - I must have seen 300+ yesterday, there could be many more. I wonder what the largest flock ever reported in Fife is?
A few goldcrests about with 2 along the drive on Firday and 1 in the apple tree outside our bedroom window yesterday.
Greylag numbers are picking up - at least 180 on Friday.

Rob

 

[edenwatcher]

Waxwings may have moved on from Leuchars, though viewing conditions have not been favourable.
Yesterday's highlights included a slav grebe, a little grebe and a kingfisher.
On Thursday morning there were 7 whooper swans present, but the real highlight of the past couple of days has been the geese. This morning there were more than 5000 pinkfeet in the roost (unprecedented in November) and they all left at the same time and flew over the house.

Rob

 

[edenwatcher]

A cracking day on Saturday with 55 species seen.
Highlights were 4 slavonian grebes, 2 long-tailed ducks, a greenshank, 6 snipe (flushed out by the snow), a great spotted woodpecker, plenty of skylarks on the move, rock pipits and a singing mistle thrush.
Lots of skeins of pinkfeet heading southwest as well. The number roosting continues to be huge, they were very restless yesterday evening (and flushed yesterday morning in response to a clap of thunder!).

Rob