We had a free Sunday and the weather forecast was positive. It had been a while since we had ventured beyond our local haunts for birdwatching purposes. To that end, we drove up the M90 and A91 to Guardbridge, which sits at the mouth of the River Eden. A spacious bird hide overlooks the tidal estuary - a designated nature reserve. Entry can be gained by obtaining the keypad code from Fife Countryside Trust. Usually there is someone already there who can let you in, as was the case today. The facilities include a flushing toilet!
The bulk of the reserve is made up of rich intertidal mud and sand flats, home to millions of tiny plants and animals. This food source supports a huge variety and volume of bird life. Notable visitors include godwit, grey plover, redshank, shelduck and red-breasted merganser. There is also the chance of spotting marine mammals including otter and common seal. Dolphins have also been known to venture into the estuary. The best time to visit is when the incoming tide pushes the wading birds on to the sand bank in front of the hide. We spotted a great variety through our binoculars and a fellow enthusiast allowed us to look through her scope, which was trained on a ruff. Neither Nicole nor I had seen one before. This medium-sized wader stops over in late summer, en route from Scandinavia to Africa. Closer to the hide, we observed a kingfisher fly back and forth, a flash of electric blue. It paused periodically on a branch and it's once of our favourite birds to spot. Not rare, but sightings are limited. We also watched an eider duck tussle with a crab. For a while, it seemed as if the crustacean was too big to swallow but the eider persevered and finally got it down the hatch. Another person arrived and told us the kingfisher had also been sighted by the footbridge in the village centre and we wandered along for a look. Guardbridge is situated just a few miles from St Andrews and a railway once passed thorough. It left the main line at Thornton, looped around the Fife Coast and re-joined the Dundee route at Leuchars. The tracks were severed in 1965, leaving stubs in place at Leven and St Andrews. This arrangement was swept away in 1969 but the Leven link is in the process of being restored. While welcome, this still leaves the absurd situation of St Andrews, home of golf and a world-famous university town, bereft of a rail service. Let's hope the campaign to revive the connection eventually bears fruit. Leven was always the more likely of the two corridors to get first dibs as the tracks had been left in place to transport coal to Methil Power Station (now demolished). As for the middle section through the Fife fishing villages, too much of the original formation has been lost. A shame, as it would be regarded today as one of the great scenic Scottish journeys.
The stumps of the Eden railway crossing can clearly be seen in Guardbridge. The modern road bridge dates from 1938 while the original Guard Bridge now carries pedestrians and cyclists. This historic stone structure is over 800 years old and features six arches. The roadway is just 12 and a half feet wide, which would have been fine for horses and carts but could not have coped with the demands of post-war traffic. Many pilgrims passed through Guardbridge over the centuries, making their way to the holy shrine of Saint Andrew. The recently-created Fife Pilgrim Way takes a different route but Guardbridge still sees many walkers as the Fife Coastal Path goes through the village. The kingfisher was indeed present and sat atop one of the railway bridge supports. As we were leaning over the parapet of the footbridge, I saw a sign saying "Eden sweet shop" that prompted further investigation. Part of a complex containing a coffee shop and antique centre, the sweet shop was well stocked with goodies. I purchased a bag of jazzies for my dad and a quarter pound of chocolate raisins for myself. From this side of the Eden, we were looking towards the former paper mill, closed suddenly in 2008. The industry is water intensive, hence the riverside location for the premises. Like most paper plants in Scotland, Guardbridge was forced out of business due to competition from the far east in a globalised market. The buildings have been redeveloped over the years and St Andrews University have their Eden Campus here. Also present is the Eden Mill brewery and distillery, who produce craft beer along with artisan whisky and gin. I did a tour of the brewhouse a few years back. It was time to move on and we drove up to Morton Lochs Nature Reserve on the fringes of the sprawling Tentsmuir Forest. The three ponds were artificially created by the Christie family in 1906 and stocked for private fishing. In 1952, the area was designated as a nature reserve and the woodland is a haven for red squirrel. Bird hides overlook the lochs and wildfowl are commonly sighted. Another observation area is located in a small forest clearing and we had previously seen jays and squirrels here. All was quiet today as the feeders had been taken down and no grain was on the tree stumps.
We were joined in the small hide by a professional photographer pulling a small trolley laden with his equipment and bird treats. He sprinkled a few nuts and seeds outside and also set up a standpipe, complete with tap! This was a prop he used to provide an extra dimension to the pictures. We were treated to a slideshow of his work via Facebook and I must admit it was striking. You meet all sorts while out birding! A coal tit and chaffinch came to check out the tap, meanwhile we moved on to the first loch. Alongside the usual mallards and swans, we watched a juvenile grebe being fed. Probably almost ready to live independently. Much of the surrounding woodland has been cleared after suffering major storm damage. I hope our secret mushroom patches survived. An old stone railway bridge stands by the car-park, indicating that trains once hurtled through this quiet corner of Fife. Before the firths of Forth and Tay were bridged, passengers and freight wagons had to be taken across the estuaries on ferries. A through route from Edinburgh was in place by 1850 with roll on, roll-off river crossings between Granton / Burntisland and Tayport / Broughty Ferry. When the Tay Bridge was opened in 1878, it was connected to a new railway from Leuchars and the Tayport line became less important, although it was soon needed again after the disastrous collapse of the lengthy bridge. A new improved structure opened in 1887 and the Leuchars to Tayport rail link faded into obscurity, being singled in 1929 and dismantled 30 years later.
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