End of 2023

 November 

November is the end of the migration season but I often find it can be productive on my W Fife patches well into the month. November 2023 was helped by a good showing of Waxwing and I had a few passing through Ferry Hills. 

Not all Waxwing were migrating overhead at Ferry Hills with two birds feeding on Hawthorn berries at close range as well. 

I also came across small flocks outside my house at Dunfermline and at St Margaret's Marsh during November. 

 Best find this month was a locally rare Water Pipit which frequented the ditches and pools at St Margaret's Marsh from 10th-24th. 

December 

I was on holiday from the 11th and although plenty of time was taken up with domestics and bird recorder duties, I enjoyed a few outings. 

Best bird was a rather unexpected Grey Phalarope at Kinghorn on 11th which flew in from the east and landed on the sea during rather benign conditions. Certainly a world away from the conditions in October which brought an influx of this species into the Forth during Storm Babet. That said, a check of the weather maps showed a fairly strong NE airflow offshore in the North Sea at the time. 

The same seawatch also produced good views of two feeding Red-necked Grebes. 

I had a feeling of Deja Vu  when I came across a 1st winter male Scaup on Kinghorn Loch after finding Fifes 2nd Lesser Scaup there at exactly the same time of year in 2022. This time lighting hadn't struck twice and it was a Greater Scaup, although still a good record locally in West Fife. 

The year finished with very close views of a Slavonian Grebe at Loch Gelly and an influx of Scandinavian Herring Gulls at several sites. 

Autumn 2023 Part 3

 Migrant Arrival at Kilminning 24/10/23

We were blessed with regular east winds during autumn 2023 and not only that but my advance 'negotiations' for a day out in the E Neuk of Fife also worked out weather wise. With a fresh E wind blowing it was clear birds were coming in as I arrived at the top end of Kilminning with some very tired looking Blackbirds and Blackcaps drinking from puddles on the road.

There were plenty of thrushes about and when I got down to Lower Kilminning two Waxwings, my first in what would prove to be a good autumn for this lovely species. Then things stepped up a gear when I heard some 'tic' calls and picked up a Little Bunting flying off some bushes and low towards the old Crail airfield. Given how low it was flying I thought  I had a good chance of finding this bird again on the fields but no further sign. That said there is an awful lot of suitable habitat for a species like that all the way to Crail and beyond. 

After that an arrival of Common/Mealy Redpolls started, small numbers were coming in off the sea, pausing briefly and then heading off inland. I ended up with a total of 19, this influx was reflected nearby on the Isle of May where they had 55 on the same day. Two Black Redstarts finished off  very enjoyable day in the field.

Northern Bullfinches 

No doubt with similar origins to the Common Redpoll arrival, a small arrival of Northern Bullfinches was apparent in late October. I had four males at Ferry Hills on 23rd and then a very impressive pale female at Kinghorn on 25th. The Isle of May had its best ever arrival of Northerns at this time. 

Autumn 2023 Part 2 Ferry Hills Highlights

 It wasn't just seabirds during this productive autumn. As usual my convenient local patch at Ferry Hills rewarded regular coverage with a great variety of species migrating up the Forth. Highlights this year in addition to Honey-buzzards and Long-tailed Skuas mentioned in previous posts included: 

 -UK record Tree Pipit day count as listed on the vis mig website Trektellen. Ferry Hills has a long established reputation as one of the best places to see Tree Pipits on autumn migration and this year a new record was set with 334 flying SW in just over two hours on 14th August. FH holds all of the top 10 UK day counts listed on the website, all have been in August; Tree Pipit is a classic early autumn migrant with peak numbers well in advance of the Meadow Pipit migration. 

-Good variety of birds of prey. In addition to the unprecedented showing for Honey-buzzard already blogged about,  a good variety of other species were recorded including  Merlin, Osprey, Red Kite, Marsh Harrier, White-tailed Eagle (site first) and Short-eared owl (annual total of 4 which is good for here). 

-Days of excellent variety. September 30th featured 40 species including Honey-buzzard, 900 Pink-feet, a Greenshank, first Fieldfare of the autumn, 91 Mistle Thrush, 700 Meadow Pipit and 280 Redpolls. 

October  22nd featured 36 species including Short-eared Owl, Black-throated and Great-Northern Diver, 68 Brambling, 1 Hawfinch, 2 Twite and 48 Crossbill. This was the first calm day after the passing of Storm Babet. 

Autumn 2023 Part 1

The  great run of honey-buzzards mentioned in a previous post was just one highlight in an exciting autumn for migration in Fife. 

Regular easterly winds in  August, September and October produced good numbers of seabirds in the Forth. The obvious highlight was the immature Brown Booby which I caught up with at Kinghorn on 5th September, also pretty sure I saw this bird feeding distantly from Carlingnose Point on 14th. Probably should have had the courage of my convictions as it was then seen off the Lothian side at Hound Point and Crammond Island where it afforded some very close views. 

A excellent supporting cast included a Juv Sabs Gull off Kinghorn on 15th September, part of a mini-influx into the Forth at that time, and a strong showing of Long-tailed Skuas. I ended up with a personal best annual total for Long-tailed Skuas of 14, starting with an adult mentioned in a previous post heading north at Fife Ness. The best encounter involved two Juvs in less than typical circumstances',  circling overhead at Ferry Hills calling to each other on 26th August before heading off inland. 

Then came Storm Babet in October with storm force easterlies driving unprecedented numbers of petrels and Grey Phalaropes into the Forth. I somehow managed to miss Leach's during this influx but enjoyed some close views of feeding Storm Petrels including c16 off Hawkcraig Point, Aberdour on 21st October. I also enjoyed close views of a Grey Phalarope feeding in the surf at Port Laing near Carlingnose Point on 20th. 

Grey Phalarope was a long overdue Fife tick for me. Up until recent years this has been a rare bird in Fife but an increase in sea watching coverage at Fife Ness has revealed that there are quite a few phalaropes out in the North Sea at times. This started with an unprecedented influx during Nov 2021 when a run of Northerly winds produced  almost daily sightings including an amazing flock of 28! However I live a long way from Fife Ness in W Fife and this species has very rarely made it that far up the Forth. 

 2023-The Year of the Honey-buzzard-Updated 

Honey-buzzards are one of my favourites, a true birders bird. 

I've had some of my best ever encounters with them this year probably aided by an extremely successful breeding season in Scotland. 

The run of encounters started with a visit to a well studied Scottish breeding site on 7th August when Honeys were almost constantly on view. A min of 5 different adults were seen, often close overhead. Some lovely behaviour observed including wing clapping display and a bird carrying wasp comb. Biggest surprise was Juvenile Honey on the wing. This felt on the early side for a fledged Juv and on speaking to others it turned out it was the earliest ever in the study area! Other observers recorded two Juvs here the next day. 

The next encounter was a real surprise, driving a quiet back road in the Highlands  on August 22nd after a short break with Carina. I glanced up to see a buzzard with suspiciously deep, fluid wing beats flying towards us. Fortunately I was able pull off the road by a forest clearing and we were treated to close views of a Juvenile Honey Buzzard flying low overhead, which then turned around and came back to check us out! 

The day after this, August 23rd, I was still on Annual Leave and savouring the prospect of a Visible Migration watch at my Fife patch of Ferry Hills in ideal fair weather and light south-west winds. What I didn't expect was two Juv Honey-buzzards already on active migration! Both birds gave good views as they slowly moved SW, one at 12:39 and the other at 15:45. 

The next day August 24th I was back at Ferry Hills and while walking up the track to the watch point I noticed as large raptor approaching with the now familiar flexible wing action-another Honey! This one a very dark, almost black Juv and surprisingly early in the morning at 06:45. To put this into context Honey-buzzard is a very scarce bird in Fife and previous to this I had only seen one at Ferry Hills.  

That completed my run of Honey sightings. Given they have had a good year, I was somewhat greedy in hoping for a few more during my regular Ferry Hills watches as they can  pass through throughout September. But I have no complaints!

All above: Bird 1 August 23rd

Bird 2 August 23rd

Bird on August 24th 

Update 

By late September I thought I had run out of time to get any more Honey Buzzards passing through Ferry Hills. The latest I'd ever had down south was on 2nd October on the Isle of Wight. But on 30th September during a cracking day for migration, a Juv Honey Buzzard appeared low out of nowhere right in front of me, I think it had been perched in the trees around the gardens bordering the site! 

Great views as it got chased by a crow and then sparring with a Common Buzzard before it flew off South-west across the bridges to continue its epic migration. 

 Late Spring/Summer 2023. 

The second half of May into June proved hard work on my W Fife patches. 

Unlike 2022, the Kinghorn area didn't provide any quality birds flying in off the Forth this spring although it did redeem its self in July on that score. A couple of quality sea birds were recorded at Kinghorn on 19th May, a summer plumaged  Black Guillemot and a Roseate Tern feeding close in with Common Terns. The Guillemot was particularly pleasing, annually recorded in Fife but always uncommon and with most records from Fife Ness. Roseate Terns are always great to see as well, you get less records in the Forth in spring compared to the post breeding period in August when they are regular in small numbers. That said, we may struggle for them this year as the Coquet Island breeding birds have been, sadly, hit by Avian Influenza for the second year running. 

Kinghorn then provided a summer surprise with a superb dark male Honey-buzzard in off the Forth on 8th July. You can't beat seeing a scarce migrant raptor come in off and I got good prolonged views as it circled over Pettycur Bay. 

From late July autumn passage started to ramp up and it was time to start coverage at Ferry Hills to coincide with the start of Tree Pipit passage. The Tree Pipits had their first big push on 3rd with 71 birds SW, plus a good variety of other species including a locally scarce Marsh Harrier. Full list here [Trektellen.org] - Migration counts & captures 

A week off work allowed me to treat myself to a day trip to Fife Ness for some seawatching on 2nd. Always a great place, even on a quieter day there is always a steady flow of commoner seabirds. It wasn't the busiest day for this site, but with perseverance I was rewarded with a lovely adult Long-tailed Skua moving slowly north in perfect lighting conditions. 

Other Wildlife 

I tend to get very bird focused on the blog but I've  had great experiences with other wildlife within a short distance of home over the summer. Several sightings of Otters at Loch Gelly including 4 together, presumably a fem with 3 large cubs , while cetaceans in the Forth off Kinghorn in July  have comprised Minke Whale and Bottle-nosed Dolphin. A nice butterfly on the buddleia in our garden in Dunfermline was a Comma on 4th August, much scarcer up here in Scotland compared to down south. 

 

 Quality Day Out May 7th. 

Following some nice easterlies that brought the first drift migrants of the year to the Kilminning area including a female Red-breasted Flycatcher, I decided to treat myself to a day out over the bank holiday weekend.

But I did include a West Fife site on the itinerary, Loch Gelly and it proved to be a great start to a cracking days birding. 

A very atmospheric spring scene here with lots of hirundines (c100 sand martin, 70 swallow) low over the water in the cool cloudy conditions, fresh in singing Sedge Warblers, Garden Warbler and best of all, a male cuckoo, an uncommon bird in Fife. It gave a few low key calls but perched up nicely in the open, I suspect it was a migrant dropped by overnight rain. Not only birds to enjoy though with an otter showing well catching fish at the west end. Otters seem quite reliable here if you visit early in the morning. 

Despite Scotland being something of a stronghold for this declining species, its not easy to see one in Fife

Next stop was Letham Pools. Water levels were on the high side but not so high that there was no potential for waders. Awesome views of 2 Jack Snipe feeding out in the open, the best views I've had of this lovely species in a long time. 

Then Kilmining where with a little patience the Red-breasted Flycatcher and a lovely male Pied Flycatcher showed well. I got three species of flycatcher with my first Spotted of the year too. Throw in a few other migrants such as Lesser Whitethroat and a Whimbrel whistling overhead and an enjoyable days birding was complete.