Today looked like the right sort of weather to visit Leven and Largo Bay (on the north side of the Firth of Forth). It was calm and the sky was lightly overcast, which is important for Largo Bay because the views are normally to the south and potentially into the sun.
I got the bus from St Andrews down to Leven and in the thirty minutes or so that the journey took the lightly overcast sky turned darker and it was raining quite persistently by the time I arrived by the river mouth in Leven. I made a quick scan through the gulls and ducks that were on the mud and noticed a rather gingery looking duck preening. With my scope I was delighted to see that it was the regular female King Eider (a 'Queen' Eider). In fact I saw her well before I saw any Northern Eiders (which were all further out) and I had close views as she preened and then swam around the river mouth, drifting in and out of the rocks at the foot of Methil Power Station. She was quite delicate looking for an Eider with a short bill and a 'Mona Lisa' smile formed by the gape line. I've been down to Leven quite a few other times to look for her without success and so was delighted to be able to enjoy our own resident monarch at such close quarters. On the first look out to sea there were many of the ducks and other seafowl for which this area is so well known: Common and Velvet Scoter, Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, Long-tailed Duck, Great-crested Grebe, Shag, Cormorant and Razorbill.
The rain looked set to stay so I decided that I might as well carry on along Leven beach towards Lower Largo. There were plenty of waders at my feet, with groups of Ringed Plover and Sanderling resting up the beach and a few Bar-tailed Godwits and Grey Plovers along the shore. Nearer to Lower Largo there were some large groups of Knot and Dunlin, gathering in tight groups on the sand. A few lazy Common Seals were also lying back on the offshore rocks and a Siskin flew overhead, calling. The seaduck were strewn right across the Bay and were often close into the shore. The drake Eiders were cooing enthusistically and some of the Goldeneyes were displaying by jerking their heads back and forth. I was surprised that the first group of divers that I saw were five Black-throated Divers - the rarest species in the area. The same group appeared a few times at various points between Leven and Largo and at times some fished close in, picking up small flatfish from the sandy bottom. A few Red-throated Divers were also seen but the numbers were quite low. Some Red-necked Grebes were also fishing with a few already starting to get a little rusty on the neck. Ten were counted in all, mostly around Largo. Slavonian Grebes began to appear just after the village and, although many were quite far out, 36 were counted including one loose flock of 18 birds.
As I went through Lower Largo village the sun finally came out and Dunnocks, Chaffinches and Greenfinches all began to sing. I stopped for lunch to watch the seaduck next to the old pier and to look through the small parties of gulls along the beach. From here the path continues on along the dunes towards Ruddon's Point at the eastern end of the Bay. A few Stonechats were flitting about on patches of scrub or weeds and Buzzards were battling with crows over the fields behind the dunes. Large numbers of Velvet Scoters were distributed in groups across the sea and amongst one group I located the bird for which the area is most renowned - a Surf Scoter. It was a drake and so was quite easy to pick out, although the strange white patches on the head were less obvious when it went to sleep for a while. Later I saw him out on his own, diving for shells and giving a distinct flick of the wings like an Eider as he went down. To the north a large mixed flock of Greylag Geese and Pink-footed Geese were out in one of the fields, although they moved further away from view after being disturbed.
I contunued on from Ruddon's Point, through the rather silent pine forests towards Kilconquahar Loch. The Loch is a round shallow lake fringed by reeds and woodland and it holds large numbers of duck in the winter. Scanning from the hide I soon found the drake Red-crested Pochard that has been there for the past few weeks. He was quite a way off but still looked smart with his bright orange 'afro' crown. Amongst the large numbers of Pochard, Goldeneye and Tufted Duck I noticed several Greater Scaup. I counted eleven in total, mostly adult drakes but there were also a few young drakes and ducks. Two pairs of Gadwall were in the middle of the Loch and there were small numbers of Wigeon and Teal. A pair of Little Grebes swam out from the reeds. Plenty of gulls had gathered on the water and I was surprised to see a Lesser Black-backed Gull amongst them - an early arriving summer visitor to this area. The gulls eventually took off en masse, presumably to roost on the Bay. As dusk fell I watched a Sparrowhawk dashing acrobatically after a small passerine in the reeds, a Tawny Owl hooted briefly from the woods and a few geese started to come into roost.
A very good day although, as this is one of the finest places for winter birdwatching in Scotland, nothing too unexpected. For those keeping a list, I recorded 79 species.
I got the bus from St Andrews down to Leven and in the thirty minutes or so that the journey took the lightly overcast sky turned darker and it was raining quite persistently by the time I arrived by the river mouth in Leven. I made a quick scan through the gulls and ducks that were on the mud and noticed a rather gingery looking duck preening. With my scope I was delighted to see that it was the regular female King Eider (a 'Queen' Eider). In fact I saw her well before I saw any Northern Eiders (which were all further out) and I had close views as she preened and then swam around the river mouth, drifting in and out of the rocks at the foot of Methil Power Station. She was quite delicate looking for an Eider with a short bill and a 'Mona Lisa' smile formed by the gape line. I've been down to Leven quite a few other times to look for her without success and so was delighted to be able to enjoy our own resident monarch at such close quarters. On the first look out to sea there were many of the ducks and other seafowl for which this area is so well known: Common and Velvet Scoter, Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, Long-tailed Duck, Great-crested Grebe, Shag, Cormorant and Razorbill.
The rain looked set to stay so I decided that I might as well carry on along Leven beach towards Lower Largo. There were plenty of waders at my feet, with groups of Ringed Plover and Sanderling resting up the beach and a few Bar-tailed Godwits and Grey Plovers along the shore. Nearer to Lower Largo there were some large groups of Knot and Dunlin, gathering in tight groups on the sand. A few lazy Common Seals were also lying back on the offshore rocks and a Siskin flew overhead, calling. The seaduck were strewn right across the Bay and were often close into the shore. The drake Eiders were cooing enthusistically and some of the Goldeneyes were displaying by jerking their heads back and forth. I was surprised that the first group of divers that I saw were five Black-throated Divers - the rarest species in the area. The same group appeared a few times at various points between Leven and Largo and at times some fished close in, picking up small flatfish from the sandy bottom. A few Red-throated Divers were also seen but the numbers were quite low. Some Red-necked Grebes were also fishing with a few already starting to get a little rusty on the neck. Ten were counted in all, mostly around Largo. Slavonian Grebes began to appear just after the village and, although many were quite far out, 36 were counted including one loose flock of 18 birds.
As I went through Lower Largo village the sun finally came out and Dunnocks, Chaffinches and Greenfinches all began to sing. I stopped for lunch to watch the seaduck next to the old pier and to look through the small parties of gulls along the beach. From here the path continues on along the dunes towards Ruddon's Point at the eastern end of the Bay. A few Stonechats were flitting about on patches of scrub or weeds and Buzzards were battling with crows over the fields behind the dunes. Large numbers of Velvet Scoters were distributed in groups across the sea and amongst one group I located the bird for which the area is most renowned - a Surf Scoter. It was a drake and so was quite easy to pick out, although the strange white patches on the head were less obvious when it went to sleep for a while. Later I saw him out on his own, diving for shells and giving a distinct flick of the wings like an Eider as he went down. To the north a large mixed flock of Greylag Geese and Pink-footed Geese were out in one of the fields, although they moved further away from view after being disturbed.
I contunued on from Ruddon's Point, through the rather silent pine forests towards Kilconquahar Loch. The Loch is a round shallow lake fringed by reeds and woodland and it holds large numbers of duck in the winter. Scanning from the hide I soon found the drake Red-crested Pochard that has been there for the past few weeks. He was quite a way off but still looked smart with his bright orange 'afro' crown. Amongst the large numbers of Pochard, Goldeneye and Tufted Duck I noticed several Greater Scaup. I counted eleven in total, mostly adult drakes but there were also a few young drakes and ducks. Two pairs of Gadwall were in the middle of the Loch and there were small numbers of Wigeon and Teal. A pair of Little Grebes swam out from the reeds. Plenty of gulls had gathered on the water and I was surprised to see a Lesser Black-backed Gull amongst them - an early arriving summer visitor to this area. The gulls eventually took off en masse, presumably to roost on the Bay. As dusk fell I watched a Sparrowhawk dashing acrobatically after a small passerine in the reeds, a Tawny Owl hooted briefly from the woods and a few geese started to come into roost.
A very good day although, as this is one of the finest places for winter birdwatching in Scotland, nothing too unexpected. For those keeping a list, I recorded 79 species.
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