Sunday, December 03, 2023

πŸ“– 🏴󠁧󠁒󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 πŸ‚ The Mini-freeze πŸ₯Ά

It's unusual for November, but the temperatures have plummeted here in Aberdeenshire. The lowest recorded on my personal weather station over the past week is a chilly -8°C. Currently, we're struggling to get above zero even during the daytime. However, with the clear blue skies and low sun, the days are wonderfully crisp and stunning.

As the sun begins to set, the view from Dalmadilly Ponds overlooking the River Don ~ iPhone

The nights can also produce some amazing sights and on Friday evening the Aurora Borealis once again lit up the skies.

View from the bedroom window looking across towards the Bennachie Hills at 10pm ~ iPhone

Recently, due to the conditions, I have been limiting my birding activities to my local patch. However, I did venture out a bit further afield to Corby Loch in Aberdeen for a few hours of birding with David Leslie, leader of our RSPB local group. Despite the occasional snow flurries, it was an enjoyable few hours with some interesting birds such as a Peregrine, a couple of Sparrowhawks, a Kingfisher and many skeins of Pink-footed Geese passing noisily overhead.


Not my best image of Brambling but I'm always amazed how well they blend in when feeding in the leaf litter.

🏴󠁧󠁒󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Monday 27th November 2023 🌀️ 4C ~ Wind ENE @ 4MPH ~ A pleasant walk around Fetternear Woodland produced eleven Brambling, mostly ground feeding on the beech mast. A few Roe Deer were also dotted around the farmland but no further sign of the four Hawfinch we spotted during our RSPB walk on the 23rd. There were the usual winter finches and thrushes, Goldcrest & Treecreeper, plus a group of around 100 Pink-footed Geese on the nearby farmland and at the Netherton Business Centre car park (8) Tree Sparrows

Roe Deer at Fetternear.

🏴󠁧󠁒󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Friday 1st December 2023 ☀️ 0C ~ Wind N @ 2MPH ~An hour spent at Dalmadilly Ponds on a beautiful winter day revealed the east pool was surprisingly ice-free. A pair of Teal were scarce visitors along with (4) Goldeneye (3 Drake) and (13) Greylag Geese. A flock of around (20) Siskin and (7) Bullfinch, plus Sparrowhawk and Great Spotted Woodpecker before I hit on a single Chiffchaff


A possible Siberian Chiffchaff at Dalmadilly ponds.

Being this pale and buff coloured with next to no yellow showing, I'm pretty sure this must be an eastern intergrade. Sadly the bird didn't call which would have been the real clincher but possibly a Siberian Chiffchaff?

A small flock of Siskin at Dalmadilly.

Redwing
Tree Sparrow

Saturday, November 25, 2023

πŸ“– 🏴󠁧󠁒󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 πŸ‚ RSPB Local Group Outing ~ 23/11/2023

🏴󠁧󠁒󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Thursday 23rd November 2023 🌦️πŸŒ‚πŸ’¨ 13C ~ Wind NNW @ 30MPH ~ Today I was delighted to guide 25 members of the RSPB Aberdeen & District Local Group around my local patch at Fetternear Woodlands and Dalmadilly Ponds, Kemnay.

A beautiful Beech lined avenue at Fetternear ~ Great for Brambling feeding on the Beechmast!

A full report of the outing can be found HERE on the group's website. Highlights included several Brambling, no less than 4 Hawfinch, one a stunning male and a Greenland White-fronted Goose at Dalmadilly Ponds. A returning bird which I believe has visited for the past 3 winters.  

A few images of the day...

Brambling

Brambling

Bullfinch

Greenland White-fronted Goose at Dalmadilly ~ With drake Goldeneye

Greenland White-fronted Goose

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

πŸ“– 🏴󠁧󠁒󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 πŸ‚ Cairnbulg & Strathbeg ~ 22/11/2023

  🏴󠁧󠁒󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Wednesday 22nd November 2023 🌀️  14C ~ Wind W @ 5MPH ~ With the weather settled for the day I decided to drive across to St. Mary's old church at Rattray. The church overlooks the southern end of Loch of Strathbeg. I chose to start here as I had heard that a couple of redhead Smew had been spotted earlier and I wanted to add one to my year list. When I arrived, there were already a couple of local birders present. After catching up briefly with Tom and Tim, it didn't take long for me to spot one of the two birds just off the reedbeds. Also of note good numbers of Whooper Swans, Wigeon, Tufted Duck plus a single Scaup.

One of nine Long-tailed Ducks actually within the harbour walls.

From here I headed over to Cairnbulg to take a look at the many Long-tailed Ducks currently around the Aberdeenshire coast. Surprisingly there were nine birds of different ages feeding within the harbour walls and I enjoyed a good half hour photographing them from the car. 

A 1st winter Long-tailed Duck at Cairnbulg

After parking, I managed a brief walk around the harbour finding two Red-throated Divers more Long-tailed Ducks, Eiders, a few Rock Pipits and a huge amount of Starlings feeding on the seaweed. The tide was well out but feeding in the shallows Redshank, Sanderling, KnotCurlew and Dunlin

Velvet Scoter ~ Although settled I think he knew I was there!

As I walked back past the harbour walls a lone Velvet Scoter was feeding close to the wall where I'd originally stopped. Likely obscured from my view earlier. I managed a few shots hiding behind the harbour wall before leaving the bird in peace. This was likely a bird that was reported a few days previous and still hanging around.

Hen Harrier at Loch of Stratbeg

As the light faded I decided on a quick visit to the Nature Centre at RSPB Loch of Strathbeg and dropped lucky. As I was viewing a Marsh Harrier a second harrier suddenly appeared and turned out to be a juvenile ringtail, Hen Harrier. A good end to an excellent few hours.

A few more images of the afternoon...

Hen Harrier

Hen Harrier

Long-tailed Duck

Velvet Scoter

Monday, November 20, 2023

πŸ“– 🏴󠁧󠁒󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 πŸ‚ Nights Draw In ~ 19/11/2023

 πŸ΄σ §σ ’󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Sunday 19th November 2023 🌀️  10C ~ Wind Var @ 3MPH ~ As we move towards the winter solstice next month, the nights are getting longer. We're losing approximately 4 minutes of daylight each day, and currently have only 7 hours and 45 minutes of daylight in Aberdeenshire. Dark nights have their advantages, and one of them is the opportunity to witness the Aurora Borealis. While the photograph below taken from the dining room window captures some of the beauty of the aurora, I couldn't actually see that much detail with the naked eye.

Aurora from my bedroom window taken on my iPhone with a 5-second exposure.

There is a common misconception when people see photographs of the aurora on TV. They often assume that the images show exactly what the observer would see with their naked eye. However, this is not always the case. The photographs are taken using a long exposure to capture and absorb the light. While it is true that the aurora can be seen along the Aberdeenshire coastline on occasion in such detail, it is actually a rare phenomenon but when it shows it truly is a breathtaking sight to behold as the new blog cover picture shows.

One of at least seven Short-eared Owls in Aberdeen today.

Anyway, to the birding and after a Waxwing invasion it now seems we have a Short-eared Owl invasion. Well locally at least with no less than seven birds quartering the Kings Links golf course in Aberdeen this afternoon. The Waxwings are still around in good numbers locally too and even today as we left the house their distinct calls could be heard as a few birds passed overhead. Unfortunately after a brief search of the treetops we never managed to connect and get the sort after 'garden tick'.


Having arrived in Aberdeen it wasn't long before we spotted our first Short-eared Owl and we enjoyed a fantastic hour watching the birds in the late afternoon. A surreal sight in the city as dog walkers and golfers went about their business. I took over 200 shots and just a few of the ones I've processed are above and below. 




Stunning Shot-eared Owls at Kings Links golf course Aberdeeen.

Wednesday, November 08, 2023

πŸ“– 🏴󠁧󠁒󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 πŸ‚ Waxwings Abound ~ 08/11/2023

 πŸ΄σ §σ ’󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Sunday 5th November 2023 🌀️  12C ~ Wind Var @ 3MPH ~ During my absence from home, the big news was the appearance of a 1st-winter Red-flanked Bluetail at St. Peter's Cemetery in Aberdeen. I'd also missed a Grey Phalarope at Cairnbulg but my attention was drawn to the Bluetail as it was still being reported the night before my flight home from Malaga. Unfortunately when I saw the local weather forecast for Friday night, which reported clear skies and light winds my hopes of seeing it upon my return early Saturday morning were somewhat dashed! And so it turned out, the bird likely took advantage of the break in the weather to continue its journey south. The bird was reported on Birdguides today Wednesday the 8th as being seen on Monday the 6th. Still, I'm pretty sceptical as there were several good birders over the weekend reporting no sign of the bird. 


Despite my disappointment, we move on and I'm happy to report that Waxwings are abundant throughout Aberdeenshire and the possibility that this could be one of the best years for these charismatic birds in recent times. It didn't take me too long on Sunday morning to catch up with a flock of around fifty birds just a 10-minute drive from home.

More Waxwing Images...





Saturday, November 04, 2023

πŸ“– πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡Έ ~ Spain Autumn 2023 Final

Arrived back in Aberdeenshire early this morning (4th November) on the final Ryanair flight of the season from Malaga. Apologies to my reader for the late posting of the final few days in Andalusia.

Since my last post on October 27th, I birded locally from the villa, revisited Guadalhorce and Zapata and also made a return visit to Sierra Loja in Granada province. Unfortunately, this visit proved frustrating as it was a national holiday in Spain, which meant that I had to deal with climbers, cyclists, foragers, and, regrettably, hunters! I knew the risks of birding anywhere in Spain over weekends and holidays, but it was my only day left with favourable weather conditions to get up to the high tops.

Five Black Wheatears were seen during my visit to Loja

Suffice it to say I did have some success with (5) Black Wheatears, (3) Black Redstart numerous Thekla Larks and Crested Larks, plus a couple of Rock Sparrows. At higher levels, around 4,000ft there were good numbers of Red-billed Chough.

Red-billed Chough are quite common at higher levels of the Sierra de Loja.

One of my main reasons for visiting here in the autumn is the many Ring Ouzels that feed on the hawthorn at higher levels before moving on to their wintering grounds in the mountains of Morocco and Tunisia in north-western Africa. I'm sorry to say that due to the disruption, I didn't come across any birds today, which was disappointing but hardly surprising. 

Ring Ouzel high in Sierra Loja during an autumn visit in 2017

As regular readers of my blog will know one of my favourite areas around Mijas, Cantera los Arenales (site details HERE) was devasted last year by huge wildfires and sadly the site remains inaccessible due to forestry work. So as an alternative, I investigated a few habitats around the Coin area which sits on the northern foot of the Sierra de Mijas and came across a good piece of scrubland that appeared to be very productive. Here I enjoyed good views of Dartford Warblers and also encountered several Crested Tits and Sardinian Warblers during my brief walk. I'll certainly be investigating further come the spring.

Sardinian Warbler while investigating scrubland near Coin 

Dartford Warbler is always a treat to find.

At Laguna Grande in Guadalhorce, there was ongoing disruption with lots of digging and scraping, but it was unclear what the plan was. Nonetheless, I am eager to see the outcome when I visit next year. With the disruption, I did spend a little longer in other areas of the reserve, in particular sea-watching at the de Aves Marinas. Despite the generally calm conditions during my visit, it did produce a couple of Arctic Skuas, which came in occasionally to harass groups of Mediterranean Gulls and passing Sandwich Terns.

Arctic Skua at Guadalhorce.

During my recent visits to Guadalhorce, I noticed a few Orange Tip butterflies on the wing. Initially, I thought they were the common species I usually encounter each spring so didn't bother investigating them further. Fortunately, John Coakley, one of my birding buddies from Warwickshire, suggested that I take a closer look. To my surprise, it turned out to be a lifer for me! These were in fact Desert Orange Tip butterflies and my thanks to JC for pointing me in the right direction.

Desert Orange Tip at Guadalhorce

The Desert Orange Tip is principally a North African species although it has established itself in the extreme south and southeast of Spain in very hot low-altitude habitats where it is however rare and hard to find and of variable abundance from one year to the next.

Desert Orange Tip ~ A lifer for me at Guadalhorce.

My final visit to Zapata for this autumn was typical of this wonderful little gem of a habitat with Common Sandpiper, Black-winged Stilt and Green Sandpiper feeding at the ford. Occasionally, a Grey Wagtail would join the birds that are already present here, which include one of three Kingfishers. As the local sheep herd passes through, at least a dozen Cattle Egrets can be seen around. The reedbeds are home to Cettis Warbler, Bluethroat, and Common Waxbills, but I didn't spot any Penduline Tits this year. However, a juvenile Black Stork surprised me when it suddenly dropped into the reeds, my final record for Andalusia Autumn 2023.

A selection of images from the final week...

Common Sandpiper at Zapata

Cattle Egret at Zapata

Black-winged Stilt at Zapata

Juvenile Black Stork at Zapata

Kingfisher at Zapata

Grey Wagtail at Zapata

Green Sandpiper at Zapata

Thekla Lark at Seirra de Loja

Clouded Yellow butterfly at Guadalhorce

Hoopoe 

Another Arctic Skua from Guadalhorce