I was asked why I hadn't done a blog recently

Someone asked me the other day why I had not done a blog for a few weeks.  I have to confess to being a bit flattered.  I didn't know my #My200BirdingYear would be missed.  
All the excuses I that sprang to mind seemed a little weak.  I had a cold at the beginning of July (no that was probably in June).  My sister and her partner visited ( not a good reason as we did some bird watching.  Jill's Buchan Birds and Beasts Studio was open to the public last week end and I was doing lots of work to help her prepare (not good enough - that week I saw a Green Sandpiper that was a new tick for the year list)
I think the real reason was that I had spent a lot of time going to places and not seeing the target bird (Green Sandpiper being the exception) so a blog would have been 'went there, didn't see a lot, came home' and quite boring.
So when I didn't have a cold at in the middle of the month I was going on my morning walks and seeing the usual sort of birds and wildlife 

Spotted Flycatcher

Fox

Female Bullfinch

Juv. Dunnock

When my sister visited we went to the Ythan and the Bullers of Buchan

Common Seal

Curlews

Juv. Kittiwake

Arctic Tern

Sandwich Tern

During the month everyone seems to have been seeing Manx Sheerwaters off the coast so I have spent the odd half hour at Kinnaird Head looking out to sea through my telescope and not seeing any at all.  
The other bird I did not see in July was a Mediterranean Gull.  Word came out the Margaret had seen it at Cairnbulg Harbour.  I go there nearly every day when I go to get the daily paper and hadn't seen one.  I was making special trips to the harbour to find it on 'my patch'.  On one occasion it was to meet Margaret who had just seen it.  No luck no Gull.  Later it came through the internet that it had been seen just a couple of miles  (if that) down the coast at Inverallochy Golf Course.  I had a few more goes at finding the bird in both locations without success.  I gave up when a report came through that it had been sen at the Loch of Strathbeg Lagoon on the 27th.  No one has seen it since.  On one of the days I did get a good Arctic Skua photo

Arctic Skua

The other birding thing to report is that I found a few colour ringed birds at Cairnbulg.  One was a Sanderling - third bird from the left in this photo.

Sanderling

 I have reported the sighting and been told that it the white one with a little flag could be an American ring.  I haven't had any feedback yet.

I found two Black-headed Gulls with rings.  One was a juvenile the other an adult, with a long lens and a heavy crop it is possible to read the lettering on the ring. 

Ring on an Adult Black-headed Gull

I have had feedback:-
'This bird was ringed by Grampian RG as age at least 2 years, sex unknown on 17-Jul-2014 23:00:00 at Ythan Estuary, Newburgh, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, UK'

The one success has been the Green Sandpiper.  On 23rd (the same day I took the Arctic Skua photo) I got a message from Jimmy that there had been a 'possible' sighting of one at the Loch of Strathbeg.  When I got there the visitors centre was shut, I had to peep through the artistic screen to see what was on and around the Starnafin Pool.  Here is an image of the screen I took a long time ago.

Trying to find one of those cut-outs at the right height for a telescope is not easy.

Not long after I arrived Alex turned up.  He had got the same message from Jimmy.  It was staring to get gloomy.  A midst was coming down and we were not finding the Green Sandpiper.  From the scene there was one patch of ground that we could not see.  It would have been foolish if we had left and not tried to find a view point that covered that bit.  We did find such a place by skirting round the barn and trampling through the undergrowth to a fence that provided the vantage point we were looking for.  But the Green Sandpiper was not to be seen.  Visibility continued to deteriorate.  We were just on the point of calling it a 'lost cause' when Alex saw the bird fly into the very patch of ground we had moved to cover.  It was not there long enough for either of us to get a photograph.  It flew further away to one of the islands in the wet ground beyond Starnafin Pool.  That flight was enough to confirm that it was indeed the Green Sandpiper, its white rump and two tone body clearly visible.   Again it did not stop there long but flew even further away.  There it settled down and there we were able to get a photo albeit leaving a lot to be desired.

Green Sandpiper

 Alex and I were able to leave Starnafin with a bit of a smile on our faces.

As is the way of these things the following day several people went to Strathbeg to see the Green Sandpiper but were not successful.  And as id the way of such things over the next few days I saw the bird on three different days during my early morning walk round Lonmay.

Total on list 198




 

Onehundredandeighty!!

Sunday 14th May started out well.

I came home from my morning walk with a tick for the year list.  It was just a 'heard' tick.  I did not see the Blackcap that was singing away.

Once I had got home I got the call that there was a Pied Flycatcher at Rattray.  Rattray is not far away so off I went.  No Pied Flycatcher in fact nothing of note to see unless you count the others who were looking for it as well.

Back home again and another call out.  This time it was a Wood Sandpiper at the Loch of Strathbeg.  Strathbeg is even closer to home than  Rattray so I had to go.  This time I was lucky.  The Wood Sandpiper was still there and I also saw a Ruff - one tick for the year list.

In the absence of any photos of the days ticks here are some others I took

Willow Warbler

Buzzard

Rabbit with nesting material

Female Bullfinch

Common Tern

Mute Swan and Cygnets

On 17th May I went to the Ythan Estuary to try out my new telescope and tripod.  Alex picked me up in the morning and as we both had to be back by lunchtime the time there was limited.  Alex's ulterior motive in doing the driving was three fold.  He wanted to see what the 'scope was like before he took the plunge to upgrade his equipment and he wanted to see if he could find a Roseate Tern among the Common. Arctic and Sandwich in the colony.  He also wanted to give he car a run as it was overheating.

It was a windy day and not very warm and soon our eyes were watering making it extremely difficult to see clearly.  The birds were not cooperating either.  They were mostly resting the sand with their heads tucked under there wing.  One of the main ways of telling Common, Arctic and Roseate terns apart is by bill colour and that was not possible.  The other trick that the terns played on us was to rise up into the air en mass, fly around and land again taking up their original posture of hiding their bill.  But they didn't land in the same place so you had to start again looking through the birds trying to find the Roseate.  It was a bit like a pack of cards being shuffled before you had a chance to see them all.  I haven't got a photo of the terns but i do have one of the seals that haul out at the mouth of the estuary.  The tern colony has been out of bound to the public for a long time the seal haul out area has only recently (this year) been designated as such and therefore officially out of bounds.  There has been a growing problem of people, some with dogs, trying to get close to the seals to take photos.  So close in fact that they have put themselves at risk and the disturbing the seals.  To find out more about the Ythan seals go to the Ythan Seal Watch Facebook page.

Seals at the Ythan Estuary

Anyway the good news about the trip was that I saw Little and Arctic Terns for the first time this year.

Total on list 180

Jimmy's Lucky 'Scope

Yesterday I took the opportunity to follow up on reports of a Spotted Redshank on the Ythan and went to have a look for myself.  When I got there three birders were just leaving.  One of them, Jimmy told me how to get close'ish to the bird.  And that was just as well because to reports description of its location was a little vague and I would have gone to the wrong place.  A bit like the hunt for the Great Grey Shrike (see the post 'Third or forth Time Lucky' on 4th March).

But this time I found the bird on my first attempt.  It was with Redshanks and was a good opportunity to see the differences not just in plumage but in overall shape and looks.  The Spotted Redshank was a longer legged bird more elegant in its behaviour but not a elegant as the Greenshank I saw latter that day from Waulkmill hide.

Spotted Redshank

Spotted Redshank in front of  Redshank.

The other observation of note was the presence of a flock of Pink-footed Geese.  I haven't seen any on my morning walks for a week or so and had presumed that they had all flown of to their Iceland breeding grounds.

Today, despite the strong North-Westerly wind to look for Divers in the Moray Firth.  Last month a boat trip to look for divers had been cancelled because of the weather and other trips along the coast had not been successful.  However the 'divers off the coast season is nearly at an end and they won't stay around waiting for me to see them on a calm day.  My first stop was at Portsoy.  A White-billed Diver had been been there yesterday.  Portsoy has a lovely little fishing harbour and holiday destination famous locally for its Ice Cream and which every year has tens of thousands of visitors flocking to the Boat Festival (24th and 25th June this year).

Portsoy Harbour

Portsoy Harbour

Today it was cold and windy.  I could not find a place of shelter that looked out over the sea.  After fifteen minutes of not seeing any birds I gave up the sea watching and took photos of the harbour that Jill had asked for.

The other report of a White-billed Diver that came in yesterday was from Cullen, a larger fishing and holiday town further along the coast famous for its fish soup, Cullen Skink.  In the village centre I met Jimmy a birder who was frustrated last year because his year list stood at 239 all December and he could not get it to the 240 mark.  Anyway we had a chat, a cup of coffee and he lent me his Optricon telescope to look for the divers off shore.  Jimmy's 'scope is a lot better than mine I was able to find Great Norther Divers and Black-throated Divers with Jimmy's scope mine didn't find anything at Portsoy.  Maybe if I had borrowed someones even more expensive 'scope I would have found a White-billed Diver as well.  I didn't so that will have to wait for another day when its calmer and brighter and in the not too distant future because they will be leaving soon.  The birds were a long way out to sea and a telescope was essential.  I could not even see a bird through the camera view finder.  I did take some general pot luck shots of the sea to see if they showed anything when zoomed in on the computer.  This is all I got. A pair of Eider and a something!

Something

Pair of Eider

My big surprise of the trip was a Red-legged Partridge in the middle of Cullen as I went back to Jimmy's to return his 'scope. (It was so good that yesterday, even before I had tried out Jimmy's I ordered one, and a tripod to go with it.  It should arrive by the end of the week.)

Why did the Partridge Cross the Road?

Only the Partridge Knows

Total on list 172

A Sunday Jaunt

I got two messages about rare(ish) birds at Loch of Skene to the west of Aberdeen. on Saturday.  One said that a Green-winged Teal and a Black-necked Grebe were there in the morning.  The other reported that they were still there in the evening.

On Sunday mid morning after our weekend guests (Daughter and three grandsons) had left for Edinburgh I took off to the Loch of Skene to find these birds.  I was expecting a largish crowd of birders to be there and that they would have found the birds and would be able to point them out to me without much hassle.  But life is never that easy.

There were two birders there who were on their way home.  They told me that they hadn't seen the birds and that earlier visitors had failed to find them.  This meant that I had to scan the loch just in case they had been overlooked.  I hunted through scores of Tufted Ducks and Goldeneye but there was not sight of a Grebe.  I found a small group of Teal but not one was the Green-winged Teal I was looking for.  All this took me beyond lunch time so I stopped off in Westhill to get a sandwich, a drink and I have to confess a blueberry muffin. I decided to go to the Ythan to park up with a view of the upper estuary to eat lunch and watch for an Osprey or two to turn up for their lunch.  Unfortunately it was high tide and it is my experience that the Ospreys fish the Ythan at low tide.  And this was born out.

I did think that I could not go home without at least one more tick for the year list.  The Bullers of Buchan is sort of on the way home from the Ythan and here I should be able to find a Puffin or two at this time of the year.  It did not take long to find them.  Not at the nest site but on the water at the bottom of the cliffs so about 150 feet away.

One Puffin

Three Puffins

One thing I learnt was that Puffins mate in the water.  That is what is going on in this next photo.

Puffin mating

 There were a few other bird around a well.

Guillemots, Razorbills and Kittiwakes

Kittiwake

Fulmar

 When I got home I read through my emails and found one timed an hour before I left for the Loch of Skene that said that neither the Green-wing Teal nor the Black-neck Grebe had been seen that morning.  If I had seen that when it was sent I may not have gone out for the day and had a good though frustrating days birding



Total on list 142 

Ythan and Smew

On Monday I got messages on the local rare bird messaging app. that  Smew and a King Eider were on the river Ythan.  There was nothing I could do about it at the time but in any case in previous years the King Eider has stayed around all summer.  He is such a regular that he is called Elvis.  The Smew is one of those birds that are here one day and gone the next and there has been one or two around so I may have a better chance of another Smew later. That is why I decided to go to Strathbeg not the Ythan yesterday..

This morning another message came through that a Green-winged Teal, a North American bird, was on the Ythan.  Now this is another bird that can be here on day and gone the next but it also a bird that may not be around again this year.  That is why I decided to go to the Ythan today. And who knows I might see the Smew and the King Eider.

I got to the spot where the GWT was last seen at about 14.30 and it had been seen at 13.20 so there was every chance of success.  There were three other birders at the car park each with telescopes trained on Inch Geck, the island where it had been seen.  None of the three had found he bird.  The general opinion was that because of the high tide it had gone elsewhere.  I searched the river banks further up stream but was unable to find the Green-winged Teal.  I did find, at Inch Geck, the Smew.

It was a female/1st winter one.  The weather had closed in it was misty and a long way off and only visible through the telescope so I'm sorry to say no photo and I haven't got one on file. So here is one I took from Wikipedia.

Smew

In fact the conditions were such that it was entirely possible that the Green-winged Teal was there.  Lets see what reports come in.  I'm free on Friday to give it another go!

In any case I found 27 different species including a couple of Greenshank and a vast number of Shelduck.

Total on list 138

Ythan

Before I go any further Congratulations to daughter Amy and her partner Jonathon on the birth of their third child, another boy, mine and Jill's sixth grandchild today.

The other night I was late to bed. I had been taking photos of an Aurora

This is the 'normal view you get in the NE of Scotland.  Occasionally the Aurora goes a bit mad and you see pillars of light, red and magenta colours as well as the green, but not on the night of 18/19th.  This photo, like many other Aurora photos I take is from the patio doors at the back of the house.  But that is not what this blog is about it is about birds.  As I said I was late to bed and at a quarter past midnight I heard a Tawny Owl to add to my year list.

The entry onto my year list is on the basis - if the British Trust or Ornithology 's BirdTrack  accepts the bird it goes on.  Hearing birds is allowed.

Today I went to the Ythan estuary.  The Ythan is a river that rises somewhere near Fyvie Castle and empties into the North Sea at Newburgh, north of Aberdeen.  It's estuary has been well studied by Aberdeen University for decades a permanent field station was first established in 1958.  On the North side of the estuary is Forvie Sands National Nature Reserve.

The reason for going was that a Kingfisher was known to hang around where the Foveran Burn enters the Ythan in the village of Newburgh.  No sooner had I got there than I saw the Kingfisher resting on the prow of a catamaran just meters from the road.

Kingfisher

It was only there for a few minutes but long enough to take this photo and another one

Kingfisher

It is a female.  You can tell that by the red base to the lower mandible

This quick capture of my target bird for the day (I had been prepared to wait around that area for some time) allowed me to explore other parts of the Ythan estuary.  The tide was well out leaving a lot of exposed mud,shingle and sand.  There were plenty of waders around.  The estuary is well known for its breeding Eiders (the largest colony in the UK) and there were plenty of them.  For the last few years they have been joined by a King Eider.  Two days ago a King Eider was seen 25 km North at St Combs.  There was speculation that the Ythan King Eider nicknamed 'Elvis' had returned.  I was unable to find it this morning.  The Ythan and Forvie NNR are also known for the seal colony and the four types nesting Terns.

On my way back North to Fraserburgh I stopped at the Snub car park where I picked up a second bird for the list - Golden Plover. Every year in November a flock of Golden Plover take up residence in a field just up the road.  I pass it every day on my way to the shops in Fraserburgh of to get the paper in Cairnbulg.  Frustratingly, for the purposes of year listing this flock moves on before the end of December so Golden Plover is a bird to seek out, or to wait for in anticipation of its return at the end of the year which of course may not happen.

My BirdTrack up load from the Ythan contained 30 species.  Here are a couple of them

Grey Heron

Red-breasted Merganser

Curlew

Wigeon

There is no doubt that I will be returning to the Ythan quite a few time during the year. 

 Total on list 105 

2nd January River Ythan

I had decided that in order to reach my target of 200 birds for 2017 I would have to get out and do a lot more birding.  Every year on the 2nd January that RSPB Aberdeen And District Local Group go on a birding ramble to the River Ythan.  This was advertised as an opportunity to get your year list off to a flying start.  Well I had to go didn't I.  I got to the Ythan, about 20 miles away,  ten minutes after the advertised start time of 10.00.  I thought that I would have problems catching up with the group.  There was no such problem.  I wasn't the last to arrive and in any case the group was some thirty strong and impossible to miss                                                                                                             

Now I knew why there were so few people at Strathbeg the day before.  They had not stinted their Hogmany celebrations to get out on New Years Day.  They were saving their efforts until the 2nd. The ramble, or wander as they called it was led by my mate Dave.  Mark was there and a few other familiar faces.  There were lots of new faces as well.  Just as many men as women were there, good to see in a pastime that is considered to be male dominated. And a good few young people as well.  But the most striking division was not male/female, young/old, it was photographers /non photographers.  I was there with my camera and big lens and binoculars, others had a big telescope and binoculars.  I don't recall anyone with both big 'scope and camera.  But no problem.  the 'scope set were quite happy for anyone to look through their optic and the happy snappers were more than willing to share the LCD screen of their latest capture.  The day started well weather wise.  The tide was out so there was a lot of mud and a lot of wading birds.  I was quite pleased with myself for being the first to see the Peregrine rise up from the mud and shingle to fly rapidly up river.

Sanderlings and an Oystercatcher

 

The other interest at the Ythan is the seals

Grey Seal

The event was well advertised as I added several new birds to my year list.
For lunch we went on the the Snub car park.  I had my sandwich to be followed, quite unexpectedly by some Christmas cake that one of the birders had brought for everyone. At the Snub everyone got into a state of great excitement.  Someone had spotted a bird he could not identify at the other side of the river.  The 'experts' like Mark had not stopped for lunch so the rest of the group were floundering.  At first it was thought that the bird was a Phalarope because of the way it was moving.  The bird books were brought out and consulted,  could you see the dark patch at the back of the eye?  was its bill as long and pointed as the books suggested  was sported by a Wilson's Phalarope? It was difficulty too big a bird to be a Red- necked Phalarope..... so the debate went on.  In the end it flew off and the marking on it's back revealed its true identity an Greenshank much more common than any of the Phalaropes but nevertheless a new bird for my year list

Greenshank

But the excitement for the day was not yet over.  Kenny and Alex had not stopped at the Snub for long.  They had a call that there were Iceland Gulls at Cruden Bay ten miles up the road and had gone off to find them.  Cruden Bay was my next port of call.  At the harbour Kenny and Alex were still looking for the Gull.  I was able to add four more birds to my list, but not Iceland Gull.  Three were distant views but the Razorbill came close enough to photograph.

Razorbill

Total on list 54