First Fife trip of 2025

I'm up in Fife for the first time this year. I was supposed to come on Friday but Storm Eowyn had other ideas. I changed my trip to Thursday instead, but this got cancelled too. OK then, I'll just go on Saturday....

Despite a truncated day I managed to visit Letham Pools on Saturday afternoon with my Mum. Nothing new, but a pleasant 45 minutes having a good old scan while she went for a walk in the village and made some new friends. A couple of Stonechat, four Red-legged Partridge, and a remarkable six Raven was the best of it. If I keep coming I'll keep finding new birds - I think I am on 96 for the site now after something like 45 visits. Tantalisingly close to a nice round number. The site isn't as good as previously though, the farmer has given up trying to drain it and as such there is no mud any more. And no mud means no waders. After that we had a quick stop at Birnie and Gaddon lochs for a Great White Egret. This was on Gaddon, the southern lake, and may or may not be the Angle Park bird that I found all the way back in September. This was the first of a veritable influx, so many birds that it was actually impossible to say how many there were. Most moved on but a few lingered. 

There are trees down all over the place, this central part of Scotland got a real battering. The ones on roads have been cleared away to allow vehicles to pass, but everywhere I've been birding the last two days has required some kind of clambering or minor detour. At Birnie and Gaddon the entrance track just past the little bridge is completely blocked, and I'd imagine this is the case almost everywhere. Damage at Chateau L deux was limited thankfully.

Today I started down at Leven, scoping the sea for Ducks. There have been a couple of Surf Scoter here but I couldn't find them, the sea was pretty choppy and stirred up after Eowyn. Lots of Velvet Scoter though, Long-tailed Ducks, Red-breasted Merganser, and eight Scaup. From there I carried on around Largo Bay to Balbuthie which is just above Kilconquhar. Some White-fronted Geese have been hanging around with the Pink-feet here, and a good old scan found three, probably four, but on the point of confirming something spooked them and they all relocated to the middle of the field. This was a Fife tick, and feeling quite satisfied and rather than start again I went to Ruddon's Point.

A female Merlin was a nice surprise at the Cocklemill Burn, and a handful of Twite were around the second bridge. Even more surprising was a hunt in full flow, a pack of hounds and a load of riders on horseback, even a bit of bugling. I had no idea this even happened in Fife, I thought it was an exclusively English pursuit and that Fife wasn't posh enough. Needless to say I am not a fan. They did put up a load of Grey Partridge though, and hundreds of Wood Pigeon. Of Foxes there were no sign. Good!

At Ruddon's Point itself I scanned westwards from the high ground. The sea seemed a lot calmer from here, and I could easily pick out half a dozen Red-throated Divers and a single Black-throated Diver. One Slavonian Grebe was about halfway out, and I had good views of the Velvet Scoters. It's great up here, and this particular site is one of the best. On a calm day it can be magnificent, Largo Bay like a skating rink.

The only downer was that a Tundra Bean Goose spent the day on Wanstead Flats. This is a rare bird nationally, in London even more so, so to miss one on the patch is particularly gutting. Hopefully it sees no need to leave the lovely Greylag it is hanging around with.