Cold and frosty all day even in Crail. It’s proper Christmas weather. I saw a snipe down on the rocky shore at St Monans. It’s camouflage doesn’t work as well against the dark seaweeds. It reminded me of last winter with all the woodcocks and snipes moving to the unfrozen shore. A few more icy days and we will start to see more of the same again.
Common snipe on the rocky shore - a sure sign of cold weather inland
This week’s wildlife highlight has been the huge flock of pink-footed geese just behind the co-op at Anstruther. They were still there today. Over 7,000 of them. I didn’t count them but that looked about right, or even a few more than that. John Anderson also found four bean geese among them which must have taken a lot of careful and patient scanning. I had a quick scan through and only found a barnacle goose, but no cigar for finding a black and white goose among the greys and browns of the pink-feet. It is a great spectacle particularly when the flock takes flight in alarm. The noise is then incredible too. Definitely the highlight of some Christmas shopping at the co-op. You can then also take in the whooper swan flock on the way back to Crail. There were seven birds there still today in the same field behind the pig farm. A bit easier to count than the pinkfeets.
Pinkfoot - one of 3,000 or so at the co-op at Anstruther this week
It’s worth keeping an eye out for waxwings. I had four over the High Street heading for Market Street last Thursday. They look very much like starlings in flight but their peachy buff colour then gives them away.
Wild Crail 
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