A New Year and a new year’s list. I was out from first light to dusk at Boarhills and the Kenly Burn, Kingsbarns beach, across to Carnbee via Kippo, Cambo (for moorhen that I missed at Carnbee), Balcomie Beach, Kilminning and Saucehope. In total, 81 species, so pretty good but not beating the 85 of last year. I was unlucky today I think. I missed out on water rail and dipper at Boarhills, and long-tailed duck, common scoter, treecreeper, stonechat and razorbill that have been every day species for the last month. Most annoying was missing out corn bunting – I checked the field at Saucehope after 3 pm when everything had left to roost. Still, with a little luck, 90 species are achievable mid-winter around Crail. I had a couple of lucky species to compensate for missing the common: a greenshank at the mouth of the Kenly Burn (this is an occasional wintering site for them) and a pomarine skua harassing herring gulls out at sea from Kingsbarns Beach. The skua was moving from gull group to gull group, and occasionally feeding from the surface of the water with them, so wasn’t just passing by. Mid-winter skuas are fairly unusual but pomarine skuas are the most likely species.
Greenshank – most winter in wetlands in sub-Saharan Africa but a few stay with us
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