Jared Wilson

eBird Checklist - 6 Mar 2026 - Buckhaven Shore - 11 species (+1 other taxa) Submitted by Jared Wilson.

Some more truly dreadful video and stills from this morning here:
ebird.org/checklist/S3...
#birdingFife #rarebirdsUK

I’m waiting for someone to get a photo’ of it where there’s some certainty that colouration and pattern aren’t lighting/blur artefacts. Views today were in good light but bird not particularly close- stills and video reflect bill pattern through ‘scope (pale=yellow)
#birdingFife #rarebirdsUK

The bill on this bird consistently appears to show lots of yellow-from tip to nostrils- and lacks the patterning and colouration of ad or imm male Stejneger’s. Is anyone aware of Stejneger’s with such a Velvet-like bill pattern/colour?
#birdingFife #rarebirdsUK

Velvet x Stejneger’s Scoter again at Buckhaven #birdingFife #rarebirdsUK

Nice to see the Bridled Tern write-up in the new issue of Scottish Birds @scottishbirding.bsky.social #birdingFife #rarebirdsUK

So THE SALT ORACLE is a finalist for the BSFA awards! And my amazing designer, Sam Gretton is a finalist for the cover too! 🙌🏽

Truly delighted for Sam & very, very grateful to everyone who voted for my strange, briny why-pick-one-genre-when-you-can-pick-four book 🤗
@solarisbooks.bsky.social 🖤

A note’s on the ‘wreck’ is being written up for Scottish Birds. Lots of questions…

A sad end for another White-billed Diver, this one at the Eden Estuary #birdingFife #rarebirdsUK

The Stejneger’s x Velvet Scoter-thing @ Buckhaven this morning. Remarkably tricky (distant) getting actual bill pattern and colouration- yellowish towards tip grading to some reddish tones towards the nostrils today’s best guess, pattern still not fitting Stej #birdingFife #rarebirdsUK

Just the 45 years too early 😀

Does anyone have or is anyone aware of any photos or sightings of juvenile/ 2nd calendar year White-billed Divers during Jan-Feb 2026 from E Scotland or NE England? #birdingScotland #NEbirding #rarebirdsUK

I’ve not birded in England very much at all for a long time so still think of the east coast as being ‘awash’ with Twite, Snow Bunting and Lapland Bunting (and I’m not going to mention Cattle Egret). The eBird data map isa bit of a shocker

Graph of the number of Lapland Bunting in Fife each year from 1980-2026. Very low numbers in most years with very obvious spikes in the late 1980’s, 2010/11 and 2020/21

This is Lapland Bunting in Fife 1980-2025. Spikes in the late 1980’s, 2010/11 and 2020/21. Observer effort/coverage will have varied considerably across the decades but the patchiness of occurrence years I think reflects the general pattern here

chatterstanes.wordpress.com/2026/01/23/a...

We get a good autumn/ winter every now and then but otherwise really tricky, so a bit feast or famine here

#birdingFife #birdingUK #rarebirdsUK

A Review of Scarcer Bird Species in Mainland Fife and an Updated List of Locally Rare Species Requiring Descriptions Records of bird species that are nationally or locally rare are assessed by record committees. In Scotland the most well known of these are the British Birds Rarities Committee (BBRC) and Scottish …

The write-up is here:

rb.gy/ndqrwu

Some headlines are Smew, Little Tern, Wood Warbler & Lapland Bunting are added, whilst Long-tailed Skua and Roseate Tern are removed. Balearic Shearwater remain on the description list (just) and Cory’s Shearwater would likely be removed very soon if it hadn’t only just been taken of the SBRC list

So I reviewed the frequency of locally scarce species in Fife and applied a standard set of criteria to update the Fife local description species list.
#birdingFife #birdingUK #rarebirdsUK

#rarebirdsUK

Person facing away pointing a camera towards the sea in the background, with a White-billed Diver visible on the sea

Fife Ness getting in on the White-billed Diver action this weekend. Nice to appear in a photo with one! (photo courtesy of Will Cresswell) #birdingFife

19 European White-fronted Geese at Cameron Reservoir this morning was a 90 minutes of scanning the 2000+ Pinkies well spent #birdingFife

We’re gonna need a bigger boat

The hybrid Velvet x Stejneger’s/ White-winged Scoter still in bay between East Wemyss and Buckhaven. Quite distant but good diffuse light and pale areas of bill still appear to be yellow #birdingFife #rarebirdsUK

The review of the week slightly off the mark for Fife, with 9 different White-billed Diver on the 13th and 2 adult male White-winged Scoter (simultaneous sightings of birds at Leven and Carrick Villa) also on the 13th #birdingFife

A distinctly clawless Little Egret at Cameron Reservoir at the weekend #birdingFife

A pleasant mid-afternoon break in the sunshine to see the Common Crane that was found just outside St Andrews by the Uni Bird Club #birdingFife

Extensive yellow in good light today with lack of red. I think some (most) of the images may be misrepresenting the bill colour/pattern.

The eBird gallery has a good selection of ages. In terms of bill shape, it’s not that the Wemyss bird is “knobless” (it isn’t), it’s “hornless”

Ah okay, assumed they were online somewhere

Any pics of that bird? Nope, pics still rather poor