A long weekend in Aberdeen visiting Dee's home town offers plenty of birding opportunities but today's weather left a lot to be desired! We had intended to visit Montrose basin but with strong winds and sometimes torrential rain the best option was to stay local.
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| Stonehaven harbour! |
We spent the early afternoon at Stonehaven enjoying the high seas and amazing breakers! On the drive down to the harbour we came across five
Pink-footed Geese grounded in a field. Plenty of
Gulls sheltering beyond the breakers with a single
Common Scoter, at least ten
Cormorant and two
Shag.
Redshank appeared in good numbers along with the odd
Turnstone and a single
Rock Pipit around the car park before we headed off further along the coast.
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| One of two White-fronted Geese today! |
Most surrounding fields were flooded so worth stopping occasionally for a look. Plenty of
Skylarks to be found, plus the odd
Curlew but one field came up trumps, with two birds Dee had spotted turning out to be
White-fronted Geese.
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| These two Barn Swallows seemed to be delayed in making their getaway! |
At a later stop driving down towards RSPB Fowlsleugh (where conditions proved too arduous) we were amazed to come across a couple of
Barn Swallows, which looked thoroughly damp perched up on the wires. With the horrendous conditions most birding was done in the comfort of the car and what sea watching we did manage produced endless
Gannets, with the odd
Auk Sp. passing through in the gloom!
