Patch-watch, first week

One week in, mostly in line with expectations, but a few surprises.  No site visits yet without adding a "tick" - wonder when that will come.

Inverkeithing - no LBB Gull, no RT Diver (yet). Will probably exceed last year's January total of 51, in part by diversifying my efforts in terms of location within the patch.

Cullaloe - delivered two bonus birds in two visits: Dipper and Merlin. Both species I have only recorded once here before, and the previous Merlin came with a fall of 100s of Mipits.

Hill of Beath - no major surprises, but outperforming expectations - see percentages. No Woodcock (yet). See Inverkeithing in terms of diversifying effort. Despite being closest to home (including my house) hasn't been subject to close scrutiny until now, and may prove a winner. I am now half expecting at least one serious surprise during 2012. Going well for an inland site with no serious water body, and since starting to look better the site list has jumped by about 10 species, including Bean Goose!

Inverkeithing, target 125 species, current 47, 38%

Cullaloe, target 100 species, current 29, 29%

Hill of Beath, target 70 species, current 39, 56%

Dalbeath Marsh LNR 6th Jan

Quick tour around the local reserve added Cormorant and Pied Wag to the patch year list (total 39, 52% of target), and continues a run of no visit yet without new additions.

This deer brought home the lesson of not leaving your camera on manual focus (again)

Went up to the hilltop to see what was moving - some shots of the surrounding scenery:

Knockhill to the NW

Mossmorran Ethylene Plant

Stubble field North

Artificial ski slope and landing plane at Edinburgh Airport

Cowdenbeath and Forth Bridge

Also a lot of Woodpigeon and Herring Gull were moving NW - probably roosts moving out to feed.

And a local Buzzard called from a fencepost

Inverkeithing and Cullaloe

Third visit of the year to Inverkeithing produced some good additions to the list - Raven and Peregrine amongst the five species added. Virtually guaranteed for the year list anyway, but nice to get them under my belt. Total 47, 37% of 125 target

Second visit of the year to Cullaloe added Mute Swan and Merlin (definite bonus bird). Total 29, 29% of 100 target. Only my second Merlin here.

Merlin south over Cullaloe

Merlin south over Cullaloe

 And some more prosaic fare ...

Fieldfares

Coot

Mute Swans, born here last year?

Tuft numbers increasing, 6 each male and female now

These owl pellets under the pines seem to be Tawny's - a local breeder

Owl Pellets

identifying owl pellets

Dalbeath Marsh LNR from Hill of Beath

Four Days In

Four days into the new year and patch lists growing. Took a spin around Hill of Beath this morning looking for (but not finding) Woodcock. Still managed to add Siskin and Lesser Redpoll to the list though, and a suspiciously high total of 36 has already been reached. Probably my target (70) will prove too conservative. 36 is already 51% of that total. Compare that to Inverkeithing (current total 42, 34% of target 125) and Cullaloe (27, 27% of target 100). Observer effort has been higher, granted, but it's still better than expected.

Here's my Winter Thrush area to the south of the hill:

Netherbeath Road - from HOB looking south

Yesterday it chipped in Mistle Thrush, Greenfinch and Yellowhammer.

This morning also revealed a movement of Woodpigeon north, some of which were skirting the west of the hill to avoid the SW5 wind (@ < 10m), and some of which were higher going directly north to the west of the hill (@ c.250m). And here's where they were moving across ...

From Hill of Beath to the north

New Year's Day, part II

Quick spin around Hill of Beath showed that the Whoopers near Kingseat, having stayed for a month or so, today decided to be gone. The field which previously also held large numbers of Corvids and gulls was mysteriously empty apart from a couple of mobile flocks of finches (all Linnet that I could see/hear). There was a surprise Greater Black-backed Gull, however, over towards Loch Fitty, which probably counts as a bonus bird.

Off to Dalbeath Marshes LNR and the Tit flock there produced LT Tits (6), Goldcrest and Treecreeper, before a trip to the hilltop and my intended new vismig spot produced flyby Geese and Swans - an auspicious start? 

And they're off ...

Firstly, Happy New Year to anybody who happens across the site. You never know. It might not only be me who looks at it!

Inverkeithing starts with a decent number of predictable species in the first hour - 38 to be precise. That will be about two thirds of the January total probably. No bonus birds, but it was at least finally not raining. Helluva windy though. A movement of Woodpigeon was going SW, and a Fieldfare was heard but not seen as it went over the harbour. 32 is a decent number for Dunlin here and a handful of Teal too. In the last couple of years there has been a Moorhen here at the turn of the year, but not this year.

Onward to Cullaloe where the first bonus bird did show at 10:00 am - a Dipper leapt from the filter beds and shot off like it was on rails down the Dour Burn like they do. Been a few years since I last saw one here, but I was actually looking for it, which made it all the more pleasing. Woodcock gave itself up fairly easily but Snipe and Jack Snipe, once New Year "gimme"s, were nowhere to be found. The willow growth now means that where there used to be up to 20 Snipe they couldn't land even if they wanted to. The Jack Snipe area which once would bear fruit for anybody who wandered a metre off the path in the right place, was also barren. Another bonus, although virtually guaranteed later in the year, was a small flock of Lesser Redpoll. Sadly I didn't take my camera (not good when hunting Woodcock) as they posed in the sunshine. 26 species made for a very respectable start to the year, and in the end it will be the bonus birds which make the difference.