Seafield to Kinghorn (1 Viewer)

[Gander]

During my forced three week hiatus away from the loch, I of course found changes when I returned yesterday. The most obvious change was the huge decrease in leaves on trees. On the bird front, things were a little quiet, but Tufted, Goldeneye and a Pochard were on the water, along with the regulars. A single juvenile Great Crested Grebe remains, and it has been joined by a fair few Little Grebe.
There was no sign of the Kingfisher that I saw before I left, but some good photos of it were taken by someone else when it appeared in front of the hide. Photos were also taken of a Water Rail that has moved into the scrub between the marsh and the loch, but there was work ongoing replacing the marsh wooden walkway when I arrived, so nothing was showing in that area due to the disturbance.
Winter thrush appear to have moved on, with only a single Redwing seen.
In regard to mammals, I found a Stoat that appeared out of, then disappeared into, the upturned roots of a large oak felled by last year's storms. A Grey Squirrel was also seen.

 

[Gander]

Arriving at Seafield late this morning, it was obvious that I was going to have an uncomfortable session. There was a cold, blustery wind pushing white horses straight into Seafield area. The skies above were dark and increasingly threatening. It was not long before I was thinking of retreating to the relative shelter of the loch area, but I decided to push on as my opportunities to cover the coastal strip this November, were going to be very few due to other commitments.
I started building a list that had nothing out of the ordinary on it, and a fair bit of the ordinary missing from it. There was very little in the scrub, or at least very little showing, and it took over an hour to find a Robin. Very strangely, no House Sparrows were seen. It seemed that my highlight was going to be the single Rock Pipit found at the tower; the first I have found this winter.
I went as far as the stone dyke before turning back. Approaching the car park, my eye was drawn by a westwards heading Red-throated Diver, and then by a couple of black specks in the surf. With binoculars focused in, I found myself looking at a lifer. Two long sought after Little Auk were surfing in the waves, and were soon joined by a third bird.
So, once again, a bleak, seemingly unproductive session at Seafield, was turned on its head, in the blink of an eye, to become a memorable occasion, with the patch master list now registering its 160th species.

160. Little Auk

 

[delia todd]

A brilliant milestone bird for you Paul.

Well done.

 

[Gander]

During the week, I have seen single Little Auk on a couple of occasions. There have been reports of them up and down the Firth of Forth, so we must have had a substantial influx. Red-Throated Diver have also been noted, along with Common Scoter, and good numbers of Long-tailed Duck.
It is looking like a poor year for Rock Pipit. I've seen a single bird on two occasions; possibly the same bird. Usually, we have at least half a dozen or so making their presence known.

We have also been seeing Grey Seal pups turning up on the shoreline, as it is that time of year.

Yesterday, a male Kingfisher was found on the rocks south of the harbour.

At the loch, a male Pochard has been present, along with the more usual Tufted and Goldeneye ducks. The winter thrush have largely passed on, with only a single Redwing seen. A Siskin was seen at a loch side Alder, and a Kestrel gave good views near the allotments. On the other side of the main road, three Red-legged Partridge were again seen.

 

[Gander]

I should really be offshore right now, but circumstances have conspired to keep me at home, until tomorrow anyway.

I have of course made the most of unexpected time at home by registering a couple of extra sessions at the loch. Wednesday was a bit of a disaster though. I had taken my Guide IR with me, and was about to start scanning the marsh area, when it fell off the wrist lanyard. The lanyard was fine, and when I picked the unit up the viewing head just fell off. The viewing head connection must have opened up to allow the unit to slip off the lanyard. Of course Guide don't have a UK base, so I'm left trying to get help from China. Not going well!

But back to the birds. There was not a lot about, and that was probably down to disaster number two. The land owners have decided to cut down every ash tree on the north shore, of which there are quite a few. The woods now look like a war zone with felled trees and piles of wood chips. I am informed that it is down to Ash die back.

There were 20 or so Tufted on the loch along with approx 5 Goldeneye and our resident Pochard. Only other real highlight was a flock of about 30 Fieldfare that passed overhead.

Today was better. There was an alert for a male Ring-necked Duck on the loch in the morning, but by the time I got there 2 hrs later, there was no sign of it. The session was worthwhile though, as firstly, I spotted a Great Spotted Woodpecker. That does not sound like a big deal, but it is the first I've seen there for many months, despite hearing them in the summer, and seeing reports of others seeing them recently.

Approaching the bird hide, two Kingfishers were seen flying past me and across the water.

The third species of note was a Snipe that lifted up out of the marsh area. I was hoping for Woodcock, but I'll settle for Snipe.

And finally, I found the elusive Water Rail, just in front of the hide. It has been about for a few weeks, but today I made contact.

 

[Gander]

I have not been keeping up to date with the Fife Bird News reports having been away, but this afternoon, I finally opened up the app, and found that the loch has had a visitor new to the patch list, in the form of a Lesser Scaup. It has been there all week, along with the previously reported Ring-necked Duck, so if it is still there at first light tomorrow, I'll have a lifer.

161 (104). Lesser Scaup

 

[delia todd]

Good luck Paul!!!

 

[Gander]

It took an hour or so this morning, but eventually, I found my target birds. First the Ring-necked Duck, and then the Lesser Scaup. The water was hooching with Tufties. A good number of Goldeneye present, and two Pochard.
At the back of the marsh area, three Woodcock were raised as I approached. That's another good personal patch tick for me.

 

[Gander]

A very happy Christmas to all readers of this thread.🎄

 

[delia todd]

Thank you Paul....

May I wish you and your family a wonderful time over the holidays.

 

[Gander]

For the last couple of weeks, my birding activity has been somewhat curtailed due to a series of undesirable events. And now, for the last two days, the recent weather conditions have extended my absence from the patch areas. I did make one visit to Seafield since my last report, and a couple of short visits to Kinghorn.

At Seafield, the most noticeable change was the presence of quite a few Red-breasted Merganser. My usual Rock Pipits however, continue to be absent. A bit of a worry really!

At the loch, the vagrant Lesser Scaup continues to show up, although when scared off by water sport activity, it heads for the Beveridge Park boating pond in Kirkcaldy. The first time the Ring-necked Duck was seen to be scared off, was the last recorded sighting. I would not be surprised if it was still in the area though, with Raith Lake being a possible new location, but not an easy one to get get views.

On Tuesday morning, I took a friend who is new to bird watching to the loch. We only got a couple of hours in, most of which were spent sheltering in the hide, but I did manage to introduce him to his first Kingfisher.

Other news from the loch is that three Brambling were seen, and reported to the Eco Centre. A bird that has been missing from our records for far too long, so a welcome addition to the patch list.

162 (105). Brambling

 

[Gander]

The first few weeks of this year, have been pretty much a write off due to torrential rain. Over the last few days though, the rains have abated, as a cold front has moved in, so I have managed to get out a few times.

The loch was fairly quiet, with only a handful of over-wintering wild fowl. Redwing are again present in the woods, and Chaffinch in particular are fairly abundant. The female Kingfisher is still around, but I did not see her on this visit.

Down at Seafield, it was been typical winter fare with Long-tailed Duck and Common Scoter being of most interest until this morning. This morning I had walked as far as the zigzag, and was returning past the tower, when I noticed an odd looking gull paddling about in the cove next to the tower. The odd looking thing about this gull was that it had no black in its wings. It took me a minute to believe it, but I had a new patch tick in the form of an Iceland Gull.

163. Iceland Gull

 

[Gander]

I have been neglecting my duties with this thread, so there is a fair bit to update. My last post saw the arrival of an Iceland Gull. I saw the bird again two days later, just off the tower. That was to be the last time I saw it, but it was replaced a day or so later by a Mediterranean Gull (see murky photo). Outside of these two gulls, there has been nothing outside of the typical along the coastal strip.

Regarding the regular Seafield birds, there is now a Rock Pipit or two around. Good numbers of Purple Sandpiper are being seen, with a report count today of over fifty.

With Seafield being quiet, I am pleased to report that the loch area has produced a couple of nice birds. Firstly, I spotted four Lapwing flying over (see photo). This is a first for the loch, as the species does not even appear on the Eco Centre list. The Lapwings appeared in February, then on the first day of March, I found two Tawny Owls in the woods behind the Rodanbraes ruins. I have heard the owls in the area, but this is the first time I have actually seen them.

A little later, I heard Ravens at Craigencalt Cottage, and saw three pass overhead. Strangely, I managed to overthink the identification, and changed my ID to Rook. The Bird ID pages came to my rescue though (thanks Andrew), and confirmed my original ID. Now looking at the photo (especially the bottom bird) I don't know how I came to a conclusion that they were only Rook.

Raven is a patch tick for me, so very happy.

Still quite a few winter thrush around the loch, with Song, Mistle, Redwing and Fieldfare all spotted.At the loch itself, it was been fairly typical, but a Great Crested Grebe has reappeared. Two Pochard are present. Also seen yesterday, was a Lesser Black-backed Gull. The Kingfisher is also still present, continuing to give fishing lessons in front of the hide.

 

[Gander]

Four days ago, I missed seeing a Shelduck at the loch. I was there in the morning, and it was photographed in the afternoon. I returned at first light the next day, but there was no sign of it, and it has not been reported since. This morning, I returned to the loch, and there on a hay bale pontoon sat the (assuming same bird) Shelduck.

A long awaited personal patch tick for me!

Also present this morning were 10 Pochard (6 male/4 fem).

At the weekend, I was at Seafield. Red-breasted Merganser and Long-tailed Duck were evident. Also for the first time this year, returning Gannet and Guillemot were seen.

 

[Gander]

There has been a lot of tree felling over the last few months in the woods to the north of the loch. I am informed that the RSPB were consulted, and they advised that the area had been over-planted and would benefit from a bit of thinning out. In addition to that thinning out, The power company sent in more foresters, who have cleared everything under the power lines that run through the area. Taking down trees that could affect power lines, I have no problem with, but they have cleared a lot of mature Hawthorn that would never have got to that height. That is good nesting habitat destroyed for no good reason. With all that work going on, the place looks like it has been bombed!

Seafield remains quiet, however, numbers of Chiffchaff and LBBG have been showing up. At the loch, Chiffchaff have moved in, in good numbers. There have also been reports of visits by both a Gadwall and a Stonechat. On one of my visits, I again heard Raven, but made no sighting this time.

 

[Gander]

At both the loch and the coastal strip, I am seeing really good numbers of Chiffchaff. Sand Martin have now also arrived at the loch.

We lost our Great Crested Grebes for a few days, but happily, they were back on the water yesterday. They had previously started building a nest, but that disappeared, and they are not showing any renewed interest in that site.

At Seafield, highlights have been my first butterfly (Peacock) of the year, and a visitor that is fairly scarce in these parts, in the form of a Brent Goose.

 

[Gander]

Over the last month or so, I have been away more than I have been here. The summer birds however, have continued to arrive, while the winter residents have departed (although a flock of Purple Sandpiper) were still at the harbour last week). The woods are now full of Blackcap and Willow Warbler, although my long quest for a Garden Warbler in the loch area goes on. On the coastal path, the usual Lesser Whitethroats have arrived with their more common Whitethroat cousins. Sedge Warbler are also now well ensconced.

On the foreshore both Common and Sandwich Terns have been seen, however, numbers of the latter seem to be down on previous years. Highlight last week was a trio of Whimbrel, who visited the tower area briefly.

Back at the loch area, we appear to have picked up a second pair of Great Crested Grebe, although only the original pair have nested, so far. On Saturday, our first Swift passed overhead.

 

[Gander]

Yesterday, the Fife Recorder reported a Black Guillemot at the southern end of my patch (Known as Easter Braes). This is a new species for the area.

164. Black Guillemot

 

[burnie]

Yesterday, the Fife Recorder reported a Black Guillemot at the southern end of my patch (Known as Easter Braes). This is a new species for the area.

164. Black Guillemot

They along with Hooded Crows seem to be migrating east I think.

 

[Gander]

They along with Hooded Crows seem to be migrating east I think.

Yes, I'm certainly seeing more BG reports this year. Quite a few from Fife Ness.