St Andrews Links Blog

Exciting bird sightings

There’s a great grey shrike in the area! And short eared owls too. These are both magnificent birds which are always great to watch but the highlight of this past fortnight has to be the kingfisher which has made itself at home in the Swilcan Burn. We are trying our best to catch a photo of this beauty but it seems to be rather elusive – watch this space! The temperatures around here have been quite warm of late so we are unlikely to see the elusive snow bunting for a few weeks.

Now, back to the shrike, the bird has been sighted by numerous sources and a big giveaway that we’ve had one on the Links is the fact that they collect their prey (usually smaller birds) and then deposit them on a thorny bush where they will return at a later date to feed on.

We will do our best to snap the kingfisher but for now here’s an equally eye-catching bird which has paid a visit to the Home of Golf this year; a male stonechat. They get their name from the sound they make which is akin to stones being struck together and can be seen on or around the dunes of the Jubilee Course.

The golf courses aren’t the only place you will find wildlife here at St Andrews Links – there is a marvellous bird feeding station outside the Eden Clubhouse (header image) where you might find finches, sparrows and even a pair of woodpeckers!

In terms of our environmental work on the courses, the team are working their socks off collecting heather seeds whilst they remain on the stalk. These seeds won’t be here for much longer so we will concentrate our efforts on these for the next fortnight or so. Here’s the team in action.

Words by James Hutchinson, Environmental Officer