Seafield to Kinghorn (6 Viewers)

[Gander]

Wednesday, I made an afternoon visit to the loch, then walked the strip from the Seafield end. Typical summer birding, with not a lot to report. The birds are calling less and showing less. Numbers of recently fledged birds showing.

Good to see that the pair of Great crested Grebes are hanging on at the loch. Only other highlight were House Sparrows at the bottom edge of the field know as Mid-Mire. A personal patch tick for me, but one I probably could have got a long while ago.

The strip was even quieter than the loch. Some distant auks photographed. I've not looked at the photos yet, but am assuming Guillemot/Razorbill to add to the single Razorbill that was close enough to ID with the binocs.

Yesterday morning, I headed back to the loch. a more extensive wander added a few more species than on Wednesday's list, but nothing unexpected.

 

[Gander]

I made an attempt to beat the rain on Saturday afternoon, but had to abandon my plans having reached only a little way past the stone dyke. Camera and phone went into a wet sack I carry for just such an event, but I was in shirt sleeves when the heavens opened, and was soon heading back to the car park.

Just before the rain hit though, a male Sparrowhawk came hurtling around the bend of the path, spotting me last second before veering off through a gap in the hawthorn just to my left. This patrolling the pathway at low altitude (2 or three feet) and high speed, seems to be a hunting strategy for this bird, as I have now witnessed it on several occasions. Birds flitting between the path's corridor walls of hawthorn are the target.

 

[TheFifeFlyer]

The wife and I walked from Kinghorn to Kdy this morning. It was a grey, murky morning with the sea haar spoiling any chances of decent photos.

Bearing in mind, am very new to birding. I`ve always liked looking and photographing, but the names never really bothered me. Now it`s time to start learning.

So if you could confirm for me, I think the 1st 2 pics are whitethroats. 2 pics at 2 totally different places so doubt it`s the same bird.

The 3rd pic was of a group of ducks I presume but couldn`t get a clear shot. Same with the herons I saw. (grey heron I presume?)

The final pic I`ve no idea of. I know it`s not a geat shot but am sure you`ll know it.

But my favourite shot of the day (or many other days) was the trio of sparraes

 

[MJB]

The wife and I walked from Kinghorn to Kdy this morning. It was a grey, murky morning with the sea haar spoiling any chances of decent photos.

Bearing in mind, am very new to birding. I`ve always liked looking and photographing, but the names never really bothered me. Now it`s time to start learning.

So if you could confirm for me, I think the 1st 2 pics are whitethroats. 2 pics at 2 totally different places so doubt it`s the same bird.

The 3rd pic was of a group of ducks I presume but couldn`t get a clear shot. Same with the herons I saw. (grey heron I presume?)

The final pic I`ve no idea of. I know it`s not a geat shot but am sure you`ll know it.

But my favourite shot of the day (or many other days) was the trio of sparraes

No 2 is a Dunnock, No 3 look like Goosander with bushy hindcrests squarish heads and white wing flash, but I can't discern the white chin clearly and so maybe they're Red-breasted Merganser (in either case, possibly females, juveniles & and eclipse males?) and No 6 is Linnet.
MJB

 

[TheFifeFlyer]

@MJB Thanks very much for the help.

 

[Gander]

The wife and I walked from Kinghorn to Kdy this morning. It was a grey, murky morning with the sea haar spoiling any chances of decent photos.

Bearing in mind, am very new to birding. I`ve always liked looking and photographing, but the names never really bothered me. Now it`s time to start learning.

So if you could confirm for me, I think the 1st 2 pics are whitethroats. 2 pics at 2 totally different places so doubt it`s the same bird.

The 3rd pic was of a group of ducks I presume but couldn`t get a clear shot. Same with the herons I saw. (grey heron I presume?)

The final pic I`ve no idea of. I know it`s not a geat shot but am sure you`ll know it.

But my favourite shot of the day (or many other days) was the trio of sparraes

Hi,
Apologies for the slow response. I've not been into this thread since last week. With MJBs help, I think you've got them all, but just in case....

1. Common Whitethroat
2. Dunnock
3. Goosander
4. Grey Heron
5. House Sparrow
6. Linnet

 

[Gander]

I have been neglecting the Seafield strip over the last couple of weeks, favouring the loch area. However, this morning, I decided to hit the strip for an early morning session. With it now being high summer, my expectations were not too high.

I was in the car park for 05:30 hrs, and the first thing noticed was a large (100+) flock of Goosander. Heading south from the car park, I started ticking off the usual suspects, but was only halfway to the sea wall when a small bird popped up on a thorny stem. I thought Sedge Warbler initially, but once I had the binoculars on it, the bright white eyebrow and rosy throat screamed Whinchat.

I have never had a Whinchat at Seafield, so self doubt started seeping in immediately, despite the evidence of my own eyes. I was well on my way to convincing myself that it was a trick of the light, however, a hastily grabbed photo bears witness to the true identity of my first patch Whinchat.

Whinchat is already on the patch master list, but only with a historical sighting at the loch, so I am well pleased with this sighting.

Out on the Forth, I spotted my first Puffins of the year, and a pod of Bottle-nosed Dolphin headed past in a southerly direction.

 

[Gander]

A quick circuit of the loch area yesterday produced nothing of huge note, however, it was good to catch up with the regulars and also the newly hatched Great Crested Grebes. Up at the covered reservoir on the hill, was a very sizeable flock of Tree Sparrows. I counted 65 on a fence at one point, but there were probably more in the cereal field.

This morning, an early morning wander along the Seafield strip, again produced nothing of huge note, but still nice to be back. A flock of 65+ Goosander, good numbers of Razorbill out on the Forth and the return of the Bar-Tailed Godwits were the highlights.

 

[Gander]

Between heavy showers, I managed a quick wander around the loch area this morning. Not too much to add to Wednesday's list, but an unexpected Sedge Warbler was nice to get. There have been surprisingly few at loch this year.
Up in the woodland, a couple of Great Spotted Woodpeckers were hammering away. Another species I've not seen/heard much of this year.

 

[Gander]

I have noticed through the Kinghorn Loch Wild Group's Facebook page, that the Ecology Centre have a volunteer who is doing a biodiversity report each month, on the loch and surrounding areas, including Seafield. The volunteer is a Dr Robert Mill, formerly a research botanist at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh. The reports certainly give a much greater overview of the area's biodiversity than I could manage, so I will include the links on this thread, as they are published, starting with the last one.

https://www.theecologycentre.org/uploads/tinymce/files/Kinghorn%20Biodiversity%20Monthly%20Report%202021-06.pdf

I am hoping to link up with the good doctor at some point, as I'm sure I had a few birds in June that don't appear on his report.

 

[Gander]

Yesterday afternoon, I got dropped off at the loch. Within about 20 minutes, I realised that I had made a mistake. There were no birds calling or showing. It was blowy and bright, and although not unpleasant to be out in, it was very unproductive.
I headed up Kissing Tree Lane first, then across to the cottages. Heading down to the farm, then past the allotments. Hardly a bird was evident.

I descended into the woodland, thinking things would be different under the canopy. I was right. Things were worse! I headed along the loch side path. The residents were about, but nothing stirred in the woodland. I passed the boathouse and the Ecology Centre before exiting the loch area at the outlet corner. My list was dismal! I had not seen a finch, a warbler, a tit, a Blackbird, a Robin or a Wren. I had briefly heard a Willow Warbler twice, and a Chaffinch once.

It will be different on the walk back from Kinghorn to Seafield, I thought. I was right again! It was different, but not really better. I reached my pick up point at the car pack thinking that if this had been my first visit to these areas, it would have been a long time before I returned. I will of course be back, as I know there will be much better days to come.

Just to cap things off though, I ended up with a bout of the shivers and shakes when I got home. Exposure probably, with a bit of dehydration as I did not take enough water with me. Or maybe a reaction to the previous day's Covid jab. Never mind, I'm 100% again today, and planning an early morning session tomorrow to coincide with high tide. Roseate Tern is my prime target.

It has been pointed out to me that I have missed Cormorant off the loch list. Don't know how I missed that, but now rectified. More interestingly, some time ago, I mentioned the story of how a Long-Eared Owl was seen in woodland near the loch, back in 2014. This was documented in an article in Fife Bird News, but the exact location was not given. Recently, thanks to Cuckoo-Shrike, I received the records of the birder who wrote the article. In the records was a map marked with the location of the L-E Owl sighting. Although the area is now built over, it is well within the boundaries of the patch, so I am adding it to the list. Now I just need to find one there myself!

Edit - It has now been pointed out that somehow, I've missed Willow Warbler and Yellowhammer off the loch list, so now corrected. Obviously, my admin has gone pear shaped! I think running the two lists in parallel has confused the issue, but hopefully that's it sorted now.

95. Cormorant
138 (96). Long-eared Owl
97. Willow Warbler
98. Yellowhammer

 

[Gander]

Not too much at Seafield yesterday, however, a couple of Stock Doves on the foreshore were a nice surprise. Also, a Kittiwake was sat on the rocks. All my previous Kittiwake sightings here have been fly byes, so another slight surprise.

This morning I headed for the loch, and walked out to Rodanbraes. There are quite a few mature oaks alongside the path to the ruins, but it is noticeable, that there is no evidence of acorns on them. Something for me to investigate further.

At the ruins, I decided to go off-patch and headed across the fields towards the Binn Hill. I reached the point where a rough track crossed in front of me. I had never been beyond this point before, but I decided to wander further. I knew there was an abandoned village somewhere down the track to my left, so that was the way I headed, soon finding the ruins. They were heavily overgrown and not explorable. I carried on past the ruins, and almost immediately spotted a pale bird in a bushy tree. It was a Spotted Flycatcher.

Between rest periods, the bird was chasing, and being chased by a group of Willow Warblers and a Chaffinch. There may even have been more than one Spotted Flycatcher, but with all the racing about, in and out of sight, it was impossible to tell.

I continued down the hill, managing to find a path that took me back to the patch. A rewarding excursion though!

 

[Gander]

Just a quick wander to the tower and back this morning. Only a few Common Terns on the rocks, so the hunt for a Roseate goes on. There were a couple of new arrivals though. A Grey Wagtail was on the flooded area behind the sea wall, and a Wheatear was found on the foreshore rocks.

 

[Gander]

A few small groups of Teal appeared along the strip this afternoon. Six Greylag overhead. And a Common Blue in the grasses behind the seawall.

Nothing new at the loch.

 

[Gander]

Mediterranean Gull at Seafield car park this morning.

 

[Gander]

A large, distant flock of duck at Seafield this morning. I believe they were Teal (see 1st photo). There were quite a few out of frame, so I think 50+ is probably a conservative estimate.

Large numbers of auk for a couple of months now, especially Razorbill. A lot more than in previous years. I usually only see them in twos and threes, but regularly seeing them in fairly large groups in recent times. Hope that is a sign of a good breeding year.

 

[burnie]

The seas shore seems to be teeming with small Sprats and some Sand eels, there are lots of Guillemot's around the shore feeding on them round the Montrose area too.

 

[Stonefaction]

Numbers were a lot lower in the Tay on Wednesday at Broughty Ferry but got some really good close in views. Probably about 6 or 7 Guillemots and 1 Razorbill just east of the castle at high tide.

 

[Gander]

I was greeted at the loch by a strong gusting wind this morning. Not ideal conditions, but I was not caring too much, having been away for three weeks. I was not expecting any surprises, but one soon came along. Climbing up the woodland rise path, a small bird came into sight at the stand of tall rowan, at the top of the path. Getting the binoculars on it, I found I had a Spotted Flycatcher. My second in two months, but this time firmly on patch, unlike the first that appeared at the ruins of Binn village.

I'd have settled for the Spotted Flycatcher, and gone home happy, but a second surprise was to come. climbing the hill up towards the covered reservoirs, I found a personal patch tick in one of the horse paddocks. A Wheatear. Later, driving away from the loch down Kissing Tree Lane, a second was seen.

So, a very good start to this leave period.

 

[Gander]

My first visit of the month at Seafield this afternoon. A few migrants evident. Some coming; others going. In the arrivals category, wave after wave of Pink-Footed Goose were heading south. Also fresh in were my first Rock Pipits of the season. And in the transit lounge around the tower, several Wheatear, the most I've seen here at one time, were very evident.