March 3rd

1st winter kittiwake passing Crail

Despite the continuing thaw and easing winds Crail was still full of fieldfares, with several on the rocky shore. There were also redwings today, or at least I noticed them. One was unmissable, foraging under my bird feeder – like the fieldfare earlier this week I usually only have them flying over my garden. There were more in Denburn and Beech Walk Park later. There was a flock of more than 100 skylark out in the big field between Balcomie Caravan Park and Kirklands: there may be some more interesting things among them but the snow showers and wind made checking them out difficult. Another good flock – of linnets and goldfinches – was congregated at the Bow Butts corn bunting seed patch. These patches will have been a real lifeline over the last few days to a lot of birds. There were quite a few kittiwakes passing close in and low over the rocks of Roome Bay, they were with a steady passage of common gulls heading east out of the Forth. It should be worth sea watching tomorrow as birds blown about by the storm move back along the coast to where they want to be.

Advertisement