For many birders October is THE month in the autumn for migrant birds and always hope for a spell of easterly winds to bring these birds to the county, well this year certainly did that, with pretty much an easterly airstream for the whole of the month. Some heavy rain and very strong tidal swells caused many problems too. At the Eden Estuary LNR 12 Greenshanks were notable (1st), alongside nine Little Egrets, two Ruff and a Red- throated Diver, a female Marsh Harrier was seen at Mugdrum Island (2nd) and seen off Kinghorn that day were two Manx Shearwaters and a Bonxie. Watched heading west up the Forth from Ferry Hills (3rd) were 10 Taiga Bean Geese, presumably birds heading to their regular wintering grounds at Slamannan, a Marsh Harrier was watched near Tayport and noted off Fife Ness (4th) were two Red-throated Divers, one Manx Shearwater, six Common Scoters and five Teal, all heading S. Also noted there were six Knot, 14 Turnstones and a Purple Sandpiper. A smattering of hirundines are usually seen passing through at this time of year, so five Swallows seen heading S at Strathkinness (5th) were worthy of note. The counts from Fife Ness that day were 62 Redthroated Divers S, one Black-throated Diver S, one Velvet Scoter S, 42 Common Scoters N, 13S, 40 Little Gulls, two Manx Shearwaters N, 1S, one Arctic Skua N, six Barnacle Geese S, with 30 seen going inland, and 30 Pink-footed Geese S. The next day at Fife Ness the counts were six Red-throated Divers S, two Arctic Terns S, four Wigeon S, five Goosanders S, a Kestrel and a Greenshank. c200 Golden Plovers were noted at Kilrenny (6th), from the Eden Estuary Centre, four Red-throated Divers and five Razorbills were seen in the main channel, also seen were four Curlew Sandpipers and c100 Golden Plovers and eight Whooper Swans. 33 Barnacle Geese, three Scaup and a Great Crested Grebe were seen from the Eden Estuary Centre (7th), with a Chiffchaff also noted at the Centre. A ringtail Hen Harrier was reported from Coaltown of Balgonie and at Lindores Loch there was a seasonally unusual count of c250 Swallows, with also a Merlin seen. The counts at Fife Ness were five Sooty Shearwaters N, four Manx Shearwaters, one Balearic Shearwater, four Little Gulls, 52 Red-throated Divers S, six Barnacle Geese S, four Arctic Skuas S, six Red-breasted Mergansers S, one Goosander S, eight Long-tailed Ducks S, three Purple Sandpipers N, one Arctic Tern N, one ‘Commic’ Tern N, five Tufted Ducks N (unusual here), 26 Teal and 12 Wigeon N. 29 Barnacle Geese were seen from Ferry Hills and noted off Kinghorn were a third calendar year Mediterranean Gull, seven Manx Shearwaters, one Arctic Skua and 150 Razorbills. Along the coast at Kilminning, a Short-eared Owl, one Green Sandpiper, two Redpolls, five Chiffchaffs and nine Redwings were seen.
Heard at Ferry Hills (8th) was a Pallas’s Warbler, calling several times from the gully at the west end, an amazing record, so far west in the county, also 3500 Redwings, one Black-throated Diver, 20 Bramblings, one Golden Plover, one Great Northern Diver and 19 Red-throated Divers were noted. Seen passing Kinghorn that day were c60 Barnacle Geese SW, a Brambling was seen in Newburgh, with one seen in Leven that day also and down at Kilminning two Ring Ouzels flew over, with one nearby at Balcomie where a Pied Flycatcher was also seen. A Ring Ouzel was also seen at Kingsbarns and a Pied Flycatcher was also noted at lower Kilminning, with a Yellow-browed Warbler seen at the upper part of Kilminning. It is worth noting that this autumn (and last year’s) these gems have been quite scarce and this after a long run of years where they were one of the more regular of the scarce migrants seen in autumn in Fife. Two Short-eared Owls were seen passing over Craighead Farm, Fife Ness, heading west, with one seen later in the day at lower Kilminning. One was also seen at Craigrothie that day, with four Stonechats also noted there. An estimate of the migrants seen in the Fife Ness area, aside from those species mentioned previously, was c300 Goldcrests, thousands of Redwings grounded and over, c35 Bramblings and c15 Chiffchaffs. Two Blacktailed Godwits were seen at St David’s Harbour, Dalgety Bay. In St Andrews (9th) a Yellowbrowed Warbler was heard calling in a private garden, 2500 Redwings passed over in Inverkeithing in 30 minutes and a Short-eared Owl was also seen there, quite a scarce bird in these parts, though one at Ferry Hills on the same day may well have been the same bird. Also noted at Ferry Hills were 7400 Redwings, one Great Northern Diver which flew inland, 28 Red-throated Divers and a Bonxie which also all flew inland. Migrants were now being seen in good numbers along the coast and at Kilminning, one Short-eared Owl, one Yellowbrowed Warbler, c15 Redwings, four Bramblings, six Chiffchaffs, one Willow Warbler, eight Siskins, one Hawfinch flew S, three Fieldfares W and 40 Golden Plovers N were seen at the upper areas, with one Jack Snipe, 10 Bramblings, 100 Goldcrests, 10 Chiffchaffs, one Blackcap, five Redpolls, 10 Siskins, one Short-eared Owl, one Yellow-browed Warbler, one Garden Warbler, one Willow Warbler, two Blackcaps, c12 Chiffchaffs, one Mistle Thrush and a Hawfinch, which was possibly the same bird seen elsewhere, all seen at the lower part of Kilminning. Counted from Crail were two Great Northern Divers 1E, 1W, five Arctic Skuas W, five Long-tailed Ducks W, five Barnacle Geese W, 35 Wigeon W, six Red-breasted Mergansers W, three Red-throated Divers and four Common Scoters W, a Little Bunting was seen and heard briefly at Balcomie and at Out Head two Snow Buntings were seen, the first sighting at that site this autumn. An adult Pomarine Skua with spoons, 15 Whooper Swans with a single Barnacle Goose, all W and also 12 Crossbills were seen at Ferry Hills (10th), a Yellow-browed Warbler was still present at Kilminning, a female Marsh Harrier and c30 Goldeneye were at Mugdrum Island and noted at Tayport was a juvenile Curlew Sandpiper. A 2nd calendar year Mediterranean Gull was seen on Anstruther Beach (11th), with a Yellow-browed Warbler and also c10 Chiffchaffs present at upper Kilminning, with a Little Egret at the lower area. Seen at The Wilderness were 14 Greenshanks, 11 Black-tailed Godwits and a Raven. Seven Whooper Swans passed over Strathkinness W (12th), the highlights at Ferry Hills were a group of three adult Pomarine Skuas, which flew inland, one Great Northern Diver which also flew inland, eight Bramblings, 125 Lesser Redpolls and 19 Crossbills. A count at Loch Gelly included two Barnacle Geese, 650 Pink-footed Geese, c300 Greylags and 91 Pochard, with the Pochard count particularly notable given the huge drop in numbers in Fife over the last 10 years or so. At Craigluscar, 31 Gadwall, which is a new site record count, were counted, single Short-eared Owls were seen at both Kilrenny and Kilminning, two juvenile Curlew Sandpipers, one juvenile Ruff and 17 Scaup were at the Eden Estuary and slightly further up the Estuary, at Coble Shore (13th), four Twite, one Whimbrel and a Ruff were noted, with one Red-throated Diver, one Black-throated Diver, one Little Egret and 21 Scaup seen on the Estuary. Seven Little Egrets were seen at Tayport, a Great Northern Diver SE, two Sandwich Terns SE, two Twite and five Greenshanks were counted at Boarhills. At East Wemyss, 52 Mediterranean Gulls, which included four yellow darvics all from the Leipzig project, as well as a Greenshank, were noted, with the Greenshank being very unusual for there. Off Fife Ness (14th) a Grey Phalarope was watched heading S, a ringtail harrier species crossed N over the Forth distantly, with a Red Kite also S across the Forth, at Kilmany a scarce (for this site) male Merlin was noted, two Green Sandpipers, a Greenshank and 16 Pintail were at Angle Park GP and seen over Mugdrum Island were a Marsh Harrier and seven Whooper Swans W. A Marsh Harrier, a Hen Harrier, c60 Canada Geese, 54 Greylag Geese and c120 Pink-feet were seen at Loch Fitty and much further east, 20 Twite, a Wheatear, four Common Terns, five Bar-tailed Godwits and five Barnacle Geese were at Balcomie Beach, with a juvenile Snow Bunting in off the sea, one Bonxie S, one Arctic Skua N, 3S, one Pomarine Skua S, 20 Little Gulls, including 6N, one Black Guillemot, one Manx Shearwater N, one Sooty Shearwater N, one Common Tern N and c300 Pink-footed Geese S, all from Fife Ness. In what was becoming a good autumn for Short-eared Owls, another was seen at Crail, a Snow Bunting was still present at Out Head and a Jack Snipe was a good find in a stubble field in Anstruther. Off Fife Ness (15th) was a Black Guillemot, one Slavonian Grebe, one Pomarine Skua S, four Arctic Skua S, two Manx Shearwaters N, six Little Gulls S, seven Long-tailed Ducks, two Great Northern Divers, one Black-throated Diver and three Red-throated Divers. Three adult Whooper Swans, 17 Pintail and one Greenshank were at Angle Park GP, the highlights from Ferry Hills were five Great Northern Divers, which flew inland, 25 Red-throated Divers which flew inland, 16 Whooper Swans, 800 Pink-feet, six Pintail, one Sand Martin, four Swallows, 58 Mistle Thrushes, 160 Chaffinches, two Bramblings, 29 Crossbills and 235 Goldfinches. At Kingskettle there was an excellent count of 99 Whooper Swans on a recently flooded field, which also hosted two Ruff and a Greenshank, Bearded Tits were heard on six separate occasions and seen fleetingly once at Morton Lochs NNR, a Waxwing in Crail (16th), was a sign of things to come. A Marsh Harrier was seen at Kilmany and a Red-throated Diver was a good inland record from Lochore Meadows CP. A Little Egret and seven Whooper Swans W were seen at Dalgety Bay, a Brambling was in a Glenrothes garden and 10 Whoopers Swans, which included two juveniles, and four Pintail were noted at Angle Park GP. The juvenile Whooper Swans are particularly noteworthy, as up to this point in the month, very few had been recorded. The counts at Fife Ness were four Pomarine Skuas N, one Arctic Skua N, eight Manx Shearwaters N, four Little Gulls S, 3500 Razorbills N, nine Red-throated Divers, one Great Northern Diver S, three Red-breasted Mergansers N, 21 Common Scoters N, one Velvet Scoter N, five Long-tailed Ducks, two Teal N, one Wigeon N and one Mallard N. 15 Twite were in Shell Bay (17th), a White-tailed Eagle was on a post off Out head, with two Redthroated Divers, one Long-tailed Duck, one ‘Commic’ Tern and two Snow Buntings also seen there. The counts from Fife Ness were four Arctic Skuas N, one Bonxie N, c1000 Razorbills N, one Little Egret, one Little Grebe, one Great Northern Diver N, c400 Kittiwakes N, 60 Barnacle Geese S, one Goosander N and one Balearic Shearwater. A Marsh Harrier was at Elie (18th), off Crail were a Black-Throated Diver W, one Manx Shearwater E, one Little Gull E, four Velvet Scoters E, three Common Scoters E, one Arctic Skua W, two Long-tailed Ducks W and Razorbills passed E at a rate of 1200 per hour. Seen from Dalgety Bay were four Manx Shearwaters, seven Little Gulls, c400 Shags, four Red-throated Divers, one Great Northern Diver, one Arctic Skua, one ‘Commic’ Tern, one Goldeneye, three Red-breasted Mergansers, c100 Gannets and c50 Kittiwakes. A Corncrake was flushed in the patch at Fife Ness, a Jack Snipe, 12 Twite, five Greenshanks and six Little Egrets were at Tayport and two Snow Buntings were still present at Out Head. Seen from and around lower Kilminning were two Manx Shearwaters, one adult Little Gull, four Common Scoters and one Velvet Scoter, with 20 Fieldfares, c50 Blackbirds, 20 Song Thrushes, c10 Goldcrests, one Brambling and a Hawfinch also noted. Single Short-eared Owls were seen at Wormiston Beach and at Kingsbarns, with a Ring Ouzel, a Garden Warbler, three Blackcaps, one Chiffchaff and four Bramblings also noted there. The counts off Fife Ness included four Pomarine Skuas N, six Arctic Skuas N, four Bonxies N, seven Sooty Shearwaters N, 17 Manx Shearwaters N, three Great Northern Divers N, five Red-throated Divers N, 21 N, two Goldeneye N, one Shelduck N, 14 Red-breasted Mergansers, two Velvet Scoters N, 41 Common Scoters N, three Long-tailed Ducks, 146 Eiders, one Sandwich Tern N, one ‘Commic’ Tern N, 56 Little Gulls N, 8,560 Razorbills N and seven Puffins N. An excellent seawatch off Kinghorn (19th) produced one Leach’s Petrel E, two Grey Phalaropes, one Little Auk, two Long-tailed Skuas, two Pomarine Skuas, 17 Bonxies, seven Arctic Skuas, five Manx Shearwaters, 23 Red-throated Divers, one adult Mediterranean Gull and c530 Little Gulls and this was the prelude to a fantastic few days of seeing scarcer oceanic species further west up the Forth, as well as being seen quite a distance up the Eden Estuary. This was due to the extremely strong and persistent easterly winds, coupled with some very large swell conditions along the coast, forcing some species, which we normally see only a handful of times each year, closer to our shores. Four Mediterranean Gulls, four Arctic Skuas, four Brent Geese, seven Pomarine Skuas, two Bonxies, 12 Wigeon, eight Teal, 40 Common Scoters and a Purple Sandpiper were noted off Anstruther. Two Grey Phalaropes, four Little Auks, one Leach’s Petrel lingering, four Bonxies, one Arctic Skua, one Shag, 11 Kittiwakes, 40 Little Gulls, one Red-necked Grebe, a juvenile Gannet and 13 Storm Petrels, including one close in front of the Eden Estuary Centre, were seen (20th). A Little Auk E, a Great Northern Diver and a ‘blue’ Fulmar E were off Pittenweem and from Crail a Little Auk E and one Storm Petrel E were seen. Not far away, off Coble Shore one Leach’s Petrel and one Little Auk were also seen. Counted off Kingsbarns were four Leach’s Petrels S, seven Storm Petrels N, 3S, three Grey Phalarope S, five Little Auks S, one Sooty Shearwater S, two Manx Shearwaters N, 8S, five Long-tailed Skuas N, 2S, five Pomarine Skuas N, 29 Arctic Skuas N, 5S, nine Bonxies N, 5S, 23 Little Gulls S, one Great Northern Diver S, one Black-throated Diver S, eight Red-throated Divers S, 33 Goldeneye S, 21 Wigeon S, seven Long-tailed Ducks N, 29S and six Teal N. Elie Ness had four Storm Petrels E and one Short-eared Owl, with one Leach’s Petrel E, one Storm Petrel E, two Brent Geese E and one juvenile Arctic Tern seen from Elie. Surprisingly the counts at Fife Ness were not as impressive as other sites with (only!) one Leach’s Petrel N, six Razorbills S, five Long-tailed Ducks N, two Sooty Shearwaters S, one Arctic Skua S, one Little Auk N, one Manx Shearwater N and three Goldeneye S. The counts off Kinghorn were nine Grey Phalaropes, five Leach’s Petrels, 43 Storm Petrels, two Sooty Shearwaters, six Manx Shearwaters, six Arctic Skuas, two Bonxies, five Fulmars, c700 Little Gulls, one Mediterranean Gull, one Great Northern Diver, three Red-throated Divers, c75 Long-tailed Ducks, c30 Common Scoters, two Velvet Scoters and two Purple Sandpipers. Even further west, it was just as incredible, with 12 Bonxies, 16 Arctic Skua, one adult Pomarine Skua, six Storm Petrels, 14 Manx Shearwaters, two Little Auks, two Fulmars, one Little Gull and one Great Crested Grebe seen from St David’s Harbour, Dalgety Bay. 10 Bonxies, two Arctic Skuas, one Long-tailed Skua, one Storm Petrel, one Leach’s Petrel, one Red-throated Diver and one Common Scoter were also seen from Inverkeithing. Counted from Carlingnose Point were one Grey Phalarope, two Storm Petrels, one Little Auk, 11 Arctic Skuas, nine Bonxies, five Little Gulls, a first winter Arctic Tern, 230 Kittiwakes, one Velvet Scoter and one Goldeneye. An observer at St Margaret’s Marsh also counted two Bonxies E, three Arctic Skuas E, three Little Gulls E, one Manx Shearwater E and one Storm Petrel on The Forth, with an added bonus of a Ring Ouzel on the breakwater there too. Inland at Cameron Reservoir a notable count of 16 Little Gulls was made, 20 Red-breasted Mergansers and one Woodcock and a ‘Commic’ Tern were also noted at Billow Ness. Seen from Dalgety Bay Sailing Club (21st) were three Arctic Skuas, one Long-tailed Skua, three Little Gulls, one Pomarine Skua, one Little Auk, two Leach’s Petrels, 15 Storm Petrels, one Swallow, one Great Northern Diver and two Longtailed Ducks, all heading E and a short time later from St David’s Harbour, three Leach’s Petrels, c20 Storm Petrels and a Little Gull were seen. A single Storm Petrel was seen from Ferry Hills and a bit further west up the Forth at Culross, five Gannets, two Great Northern Divers, two Slavonian Grebes, one Red-throated Diver, two Guillemots, one Razorbill. Seven Red-breasted Mergansers and five Wigeon were noted, whilst at Hawkcraig Point, Aberdour, one Grey Phalarope E, 16 Storm Petrels E, four Pomarine Skuas E, one Pale-bellied Brent Goose E, 28 Little Gulls and a Great Northern Diver were seen. Moving further east up the Forth, at Kinghorn, 25 Storm Petrels, four Leach’s Petrel E, c40 Little Gulls, c1000 Shags, 15 Long-tailed Ducks, one Tystie, 20 Common Scoters and a Mediterranean Gull were noted and along at the East Neuk, two Leach’s Petrels E, 18 Storm Petrels E, one Slavonian Grebe E, 40 Long-tailed Ducks E, 15 Velvet Scoters E, one Scaup W, two Little Gulls E and one Shorteared Owl in-off the sea, were noted at Pittenweem, with one Leach’s Petrel W, one Storm Petrel W and c10 Little Gulls seen from Elie. Seen from Crail were three Storm Petrels, one Little Auk, three Velvet Scoters, c90 Common Scoters, c120 Kittiwakes, c90 Little Gulls, one Short-eared Owl and three Swallows and from the lower part of Kilminning, one Leach’s Petrel, nine Storm Petrels, c125 Little Gulls, six Little Auks, three Arctic Skuas, one Curlew Sandpiper, three Pintail, 35 Wigeon, one Goldeneye, one Velvet Scoter and 40 Common Scoters were seen offshore. Two Leach’s Petrels S, 18 Little Gulls S, one Pomarine Skua and two Arctic Skuas were noted at Kingsbarns and off Boarhills were one Long-tailed Skua N and c40 Little Gulls. Round at Coble Shore a Grey Phalarope was on the sea. As most of these sightings were seen within the same timeframe, then it becomes obvious of the scale of this event. A truly epic few days for those that braved the quite severe weather! Also many migrants were still arriving, with a Ring Ouzel, two Chiffchaffs, 50 Siskins, c60 Blackbirds, c100 Redwings, one Blackcap, six Woodcocks, three Bramblings and 30 Fieldfares, one Long-eared Owl at upper Kilminning (21st ) and 25 Bramblings, one Lapland Bunting, two Swallows and three Blackcaps around the lower area and along at Boarhills c40 Little Gulls, one Wheatear, one Raven and a Great Grey Shrike were seen, with the shrike proving elusive. At Coble Shore four Pale-bellied Brent Geese, c60 Twite and one Merlin were watched, a winter plumage Slavonian Grebe was an unusual visitor to Kilconquhar Loch and a Long-tailed Duck was also an unusual find at Gillingshill Reservoir. Seen over Ferry Hills were three Twite, 14 Crossbills and 250 Fieldfares and a ringtail Hen Harrier was seen at Arncroach.
A Black Redstart was on the roof of a barn at Balcomie (22nd), with a Redstart and a Crossbill seen in Denburn, a Pomarine Skua was also seen on the rocks at Fife Ness, a very unusual occurrence. The run of migrants seen at Ferry Hills continued with a Hawfinch, two Twite, one Short-Eared Owl, 48 Crossbills, 68 Bramblings, one Black-throated Diver and one Great Northern Diver, the Great Grey Shrike showed for a fortunate few at Boarhills, where one Short-eared Owl, four Crossbills, three Chiffchaffs, two Blackcaps and two Jays were also noted, at Out Head the two Snow Buntings were still present and two Little Egrets were at Tentsmuir Point NNR. A Firecrest was an excellent find at upper Kilminning and was a popular bird for the many birders present, another Firecrest was also seen at Chance Inn, Crail that day. Another Black Redstart was seen at Crail Airfield and at St Margaret’s Marsh, Rosyth a Snow Bunting was seen a scarce bird for west Fife. Due to the weather conditions, there had been a noticeable number of sightings of the Continental race of Coal Tits, so it was good to see Fife getting in on the act with one seen in the patch at Fife Ness. Seen off Kinghorn were one Little Auk E, one Great Northern Diver W, five Red-throated Divers, one Velvet Scoter, 45 Common Scoters, c10 Little Gulls, four Whooper Swans S and four juvenile Gannets E. Watched at Ferry Hills (23rd) were two Hawfinches NW, four male Bullfinches, showing characteristics of the northern race, 124 Redpolls SW, 41 Bramblings SW and 47 Crossbills SW, a Black-necked Grebe, one Red-necked Grebe, five Slavonian Grebes and 60 Twite were at Ruddons Point, two Marsh Harriers were over Mugdrum Island and off Kirkcaldy (24th) was a Black Tern, feeding along the surf line, 19 Little Gulls, nine Kittiwakes two Red-throated Divers, two Purple Sandpipers, five Turnstones, two Razorbills, five Guillemots, one Gannet, 27 Long-tailed Ducks and six Common Scoters were watched from Kinghorn, a single Waxwing went over St Andrews. And still the migrants arrived, with two Mealy Redpolls and one Merlin at Boarhills, a Little Bunting, two Black Redstarts, 19 Mealy Redpolls, three Waxwings, one Merlin, three Bramblings, one Garden Warbler, five Blackcaps, c50 Blackbirds and 20 Mistle Thrushes were at Kilminning and seen in the patch at Fife Ness (25th) were one Hawfinch, one Short-eared Owl, one Woodcock and one Mealy Redpoll. Upper Kilminning had a Yellow-browed Warbler, five Mealy Redpolls, three Chiffchaffs, one Woodcock and three Blackcaps, whilst a Redstart was seen in the lower area and another three Waxwings were seen going over Ferry Hills and noted in Denburn Wood were a Mealy Redpoll and a Woodcock. An obliging male Ring Ouzel was seen well in Dreel Park, Anstruther (26th), 21 Waxwings were near the car park at Morton Lochs NNR and from Edenside, one Red-throated Diver, seven Slavonian Grebes, two Great Crested Grebes, two Little Grebes, two Goldeneye, six Little Egrets and c10 Twite were seen. At upper Kilminning (27th) a Mealy Redpoll was seen, with at least three seen in the patch at Fife Ness and seen from Dalgety Bay were one Little Auk E, three Bonxies, one Great Northern Diver and 12 Common Scoters. There was a good count of Corn Buntings at Randerston, near Crail (28th), with c70 noted, also noted there was a female Merlin and c150 Skylarks, a Black Redstart and one Woodcock were at Pittenweem and noted at Wormiston were a male Ring Ouzel, one Brambling and c75 Blackbirds. A female Northern Bullfinch and a Firecrest were seen at lower Kilminning, with the Firecrest surprising most birders present by being seen feeding on the ground amongst the Goldcrests and Chiffchaffs. One Ring Ouzel, one Crossbill, two Bramblings, three Blackcaps, two Chiffchaffs and eight Waxwings were also around the upper part of Kilminning. Along at Boarhills a male Snow Bunting, one Merlin and one Brambling were seen, with one Ring Ouzel, c10 Blackbirds, five Redwings, c20 Robins and c15 Goldcrests noted at Boarhills Pond, the Waxwings flock at Morton Lochs NNR had dropped to 15, but a flock of 12 Bramblings were a bonus. In an autumn of unusual sightings, a Slavonian Grebe in a puddle next to the road at Leuchars, is right up there! Seen from Kinghorn were a Great Northern Diver and one Little Auk and at St Margaret’s Marsh, Rosyth were one Slavonian Grebe, two Red-throated Divers, two Shags, one Rock Pipit, one Grey Wagtail, one Kestrel, 32 Mallards and 43 Black-headed Gulls. Seen at Cameron Reservoir were six Waxwings in the garden, one Slavonian Grebe and eight Crossbills, a juvenile Pomarine Skua, seven Little Gulls and one adult Mediterranean Gull were seen from Hawkcraig Point (29th), with 18 Little Gulls and three juvenile Gannets seen off Carlingnose Point. A Continental Coal Tit, eight Woodcocks and three Blackcaps were in the patch at Fife Ness, three adult Mediterranean Gulls were seen in Rosyth and the Firecrest was still showing well around lower Kilminning. Seen from Fife Ness were a Little Auk N and 2S, also three Kittiwakes, seven Bramblings and a Peregrine were at Shell Bay and in Cowdenbeath 22 Waxwings were seen at the Leisure Centre. Not content with a Firecrest at lower Kilminning (30th), a Pallas’s Warbler was a great find there, a true gem of a bird! Also noted there were one Northern Bullfinch, one Mealy Redpoll, two Lesser Redpolls, three Woodcocks and one Chiffchaff, off Kinghorn were 21 Little Gulls, 27 Kittiwakes, one juvenile Gannet, four Red-throated Divers, one Great Crested Grebe, three Long-tailed Ducks, 105 Common Scoters, c278 Eiders, one Goldeneye, six Razorbills, two Guillemots and a Peregrine. The Snow Bunting was still present at St Margaret’s Marsh, Rosyth and nearby at Dalgety Bay, two Little Auks E and 30 Common Scoters were counted. A total of 23 Waxwings were seen in two gardens in Cellardyke (31st), another Slavonian Grebe turned up in an unusual location, this time at Beveridge Park, Kirkcaldy and 20 Waxwings were seen in Leven, with the 22 still present in Cowdenbeath also.