Fife

Hello! I'm in Fife for a week with the kids, one more way in which to get through the summer holidays, and gives Mrs L a week off. We came up on Friday, an eight hour marathon up the A1, but once here it seems no distance at all. Being here presents a supreme opportunity to be very lazy; willing grandparents to amuse the children, cook the food, read stories. My role: drinking gin.

So far, I haven't seen many birds. A walk at Elie netted plenty of Eider, a few Sandwich Terns and the like, but this part of Scotland doesn't really have any of the special birds associated with the country. There are a few Red Grouse on one of the local hills, but given that we are now August 13th, all that may remain are a few feathers. I'll have a quick look tomorrow. More exciting is that my visit coincides with the release of 16 Norwegian-imported White-tailed Eagles. I have no idea where they are, though Fife is not a large place. Presumably they will be hanging around their secret aviaries for a while, but I may get lucky. My best guess is somewhere remote like Tentsmuir, but if they do choose to fly they can cover ground pretty quickly. Likely as not I'll see nothing, but it will be worth keeping half an eye on the sky during my stay.

Another thing I'll be keeping half an eye on is any news on the Black Scoter that has been loafing off Aberdeen. Although I am not a twitcher in any way, shape or form, it's only two hours away,  rather than the normal ten, and so a teensy bit tempting. Although I can't get too excited about a Common Scoter with a brighter bill, it would be an excellent one with which to grip people off, so probably justifies a trip. It would also place me fairly close to the Highlands and all the exciting birds there. And to Speyside....