Fife - August 2024

A family holiday on the Fife coast in mid-August allowed for some birding along the nearby beach in Kingsbarns and the area near the holiday home where we stayed. It was nice to be able to explore a different habitat to that from home and see what I could find. It is not a bad time to visit given a lot of seabirds and waders are on the move and checks of the recent sightings suggested some movement of large shearwaters off the Fife coast was taking place, albeit only small numbers. There is a hide at Fife Ness which is a good sea watching spot along this coast, but a key is required so my sea watching was done as part of my daily walks along Kingsbarns beach in the hope I would get lucky and pick something up off shore.

Fulmars were present in good numbers and up to 30 chicks were visible on the cliff edge in nearby St Andrews. Gannets were constantly on view as the area is only a short distance from Bass Rock where hopefully their breeding population is now recovering. The only shearwater I saw was a Manx seen from the harbour wall in Anstruther. 

However, the beach at Kingsbarns proved to be a good spot for a variety of birds. As expected, Curlew, Redshank, Oystercatcher and Ringed Plover were present in good numbers. Turnstones were also quite numerous including some juveniles. A few dunlin were also mixed in with the plovers, but the "best" of the waders were small numbers of Sanderling and Knot, clearly not long back from their breeding grounds in the Arctic with juveniles among them. A few Black-tailed godwits were also present along the rocky parts of the beach, and on the adjacent farmland small numbers of Golden plover.

Sandwich terns were present in good numbers, noisily patrolling in shore. The birding highlight of the holiday came when an Arctic Skua spent a few minutes chasing and harassing the terns trying to steal a meal, allowing for some great close views.

A few Kittiwakes and Little gulls loafed on the rocks with the large numbers of Herring and Black-headed gulls. Arctic terns and Commons also passed close by off shore.

Eider and Goosander were the best of the ducks. A single Wigeon was the only other notable species. Some very distant auks and ducks on the sea were most likely Guillemots and Common Scoters. Only a couple of Grey Seals were seen along with a few dolphins/porpoises.

Away from the beach the area is generally good for farmland birds. Corn buntings seem to be doing well here, and I was pleased to see some Tree sparrows given their scarcity locally these days. When I got out of my car to get better views of the sparrows I got very lucky to hear a singing Quail from an adjacent field, a real bonus! Checking back on the recent records for Quail shows this area of Eastern Scotland seems to be good for them. The presence of Grey Partridge also suggest this part of Scotland is generally still supporting some of these declining farmland species. All in all about 80 species seen was a satisfying return. Simply being out early in the morning or late evening on the coast here is a joy.

Sunrise near Crail