Autumn and second winter 2022-part 2

September-Leach's Petrel

A run of strong NE winds in early September had produced an excellent run of seawatching at Fife Ness including several Great Shearwaters but here in West Fife it was harder work. It was a tad annoying really; fair enough for more fully pelagic species like Shearwaters, but we usually do better than Fife Ness for skuas up here in the Forth. However the Ness was also getting very good counts of Long-tailed Skuas. 

I consoled myself with a single dark Juv Long-tailed Skua at Kinghorn on 4th but it was the 9th that delivered something even rarer in Fife terms at Kinghorn- Leach's Petrel. A very good record this far up the Forth and in fact, a difficult bird to get anywhere in Fife. 

September-Great Shearwater

By the end of the month I had to accept that if I was going to see a Great Shearwater in Fife I was probably going to have to make the trek out to the Fife Ness. I'm making this sound like a chore but don't get me wrong, its a lovely place with an awesome reputation for seabirds and arrivals of passerine migrants, its just if you live in W Fife its not the most convenient place to get to.

So on 29th September I had a 'treat day out' at Fife Ness and Kilminning and was in the seawatching hide when Jared 'the seawatching machine' Wilson picked up yet another Great Shearwater which myself and several other grateful observers got good views of. 

It was a good day all round with lots of sooty and manx shearwaters and a small arrival of land migrants including a Yellow-browed Warbler. 

September/October -Ferry Hills

These are always productive months on the patch. A long awaited patch first on 18th September was Juv Marsh Harrier moving W up the Forth:

A true record shot of Ferry Hills first Marsh Harrier. In my defence it was distant and it wasn't even fully light. Interesting to see a migrant raptor out so early, it must have left its roost site while still dark. 

Arctic Skuas migrating overland were pretty frequent during September and October. On the other hand, reflecting the population being hit by Avian Influenza, unfortunately Bonxies were very scarce this year with just five birds for the whole autumn. 

Two Juv Long-tailed Skuas were noted in September including this bird heading inland on 20th: 

In October Ferry Hills maintained its reputation as the most reliable site in Fife to get Hawfinch with three birds flying through together on 27th. One of these was captured for posterity below: