📖 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Rattray ~ 26/09/2023

 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Tuesday 26th September 2023 🌤️  10C ~ Wind S @ 10MPH ~ I went to Rattray in the mid-morning in the hope of finding at least one decent autumn migrant, but unfortunately, the barren period continues. I couldn't find any despite thoroughly searching around the lighthouse cottages, it's been a poor autumn thus far! The only exception was a single Wheatear that I spotted along the fence line. However, a flock of around 500 Pink-footed Geese in the adjacent fields, along with twenty or so Barnacle Geese is always a treat to see at this time of year.

During the visit, the best sighting was a juvenile Arctic Skua flying south at a close distance during a short sea watch. 

Just about managed to point the camera before these Bar-tailed Godwits made off!

A few Sandwich Terns passed south and at one stage a group of seven Bar-tailed Godwits dropped onto the beach but moved off pretty rapidly. Also of note were plenty of Gannets, three Red-throated Divers and the usual hoard of Shags & Cormorants on the lighthouse gantry.

Arctic Skua...

📖 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Collieston & Girdleness ~ 21-24/09/2023

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Thursday 21st September 2023 🌤️ 💨 18C ~ Wind SW @ 25MPH ~ I arrived at Cransdale Car Park in Collieston at approximately 9:45 a.m. to meet David Leslie, the chairman of our local RSPB group. Our intention was to explore the surrounding area for a few hours, hoping to spot some autumn migrants. Despite the dry weather, the stiff southwesterly breeze made the conditions quite challenging. The wind was strong enough to whip up a considerable amount of sea foam, which floated over some parked cars just as I arrived!

As we were ascending the hill towards the parish church, a Wheatear suddenly appeared and flew over the nearby scrubland. Along the way, at least four Stonechats, including an adult male and three juveniles. Additionally, several Meadow Pipits and Goldfinches were noted along the route. David then caught sight of an adult male Common Redstart which perched briefly on rocks before disappearing into the willows at the churchyard, we never did manage to relocate. 

A single Curlew Sandpiper feeding just below the car park. 

A circular walk up to Forvie around the sand loch and back to the car park in strong winds made birding very challenging with nothing of any great interest to report so we decided against a sea watch and instead headed over to the 'Snub' car park for a look over the Ythan. Here, as per usual a good selection of waders with several Whimbrel among the Curlews and a single Curlew Sandpiper. Also of note before calling it a day: (2) Little Egret, (11) Black-tailed Godwit, (11) Greenshank, (4) Bar-tailed Godwits and various numbers of Dunlin, Redshank, Ringed Plover and Lapwing. 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Sunday 24th September 2023 ☁️ 15C ~ Wind S @ 13MPH ~ An RSPB Aberdeen & District Local Group outing to Girdleness today with 30 members in attendance. After a beautiful day yesterday weatherwise it was back to clouds and a stiff breeze today. I arrived shortly before the group at around 08:15 for a spot of sea-watching and a stroll along the shoreline to the allotments. 

A selection of Barnacle Geese from several skeins heading south today. 

The sea was pretty quiet with just a few Manx Shearwaters and an Arctic Skua of note but it was good to see several large skeins of Barnacle Geese, maybe 2/300 in total. These were likely from the Svalbard population heading down to the Solway Firth for the winter.

Juvenile Black Tern along the southern breakwater at Girdleness.

Due to the numbers, it was decided to split the group into two. My particular group took a circular walk along the shoreline below Greyhope Road and then after meeting back up over lunch, some of the members headed over to Nigg Bay. A selection of waders included Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Knot, Ringed Plover, Turnstone, Redshank and Curlew. As we were observing a group of terns along the southern breakwater a Black Tern dropped in. Up against a nearby Sandwich Tern,  the size difference between the two was quite noticeable. As we reached the harbour entrance three Common Sandpipers were feeding along the shoreline. There are still plenty of Swallows, along with the occasional House Martin moving through and juvenile Common Terns, Arctic Terns and Sandwich Terns were all noted today.

Red-throated Diver

A half dozen Red-throated Divers were also seen today including the above almost summer plumage bird within the harbour walls. To be honest, it was a very quiet outing overall with no passerines of note, the highlight of the day for me was the juvenile Black Tern along the southern breakwater and of course the excellent company.

📖 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Autumn Update ~ 20/09/2023

On the morning of Monday, September 11th I travelled south for an hour just across the border into Angus & Dundee, for a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper which had been found northeast of The Slunks at Montrose Basin. Although I arrived just prior to high tide, which was not an ideal time, I did manage to catch a brief glimse of this elusive bird as it fed within the reedbed. Shortly after I got my best views as the bird took flight from where it had been feeding, flying directly overhead before circling once or twice and relocating to the far side of the reserve. Although it was not a perfect sighting for me, I am happy to have ticked it off as a lifer. There's an excellent photograph of the bird on the Birguides Review (11-17 September) taken by Dan Pointon.

So far early autumn has remained pretty uninspiring along the Aberdeenshire coastline with little to get excited about in the rarity department. That is unless you're an ardent sea watcher with some excellent passage on Sunday 17th. A short period of easterlies produced an array of species along our coastline, including Long-tailed Skuas, a few Sabine's Gulls, two Storm Petrels at Girdleness and the odd Balearic Shearwater. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get out on the day and enjoy the spectacle which was somewhat disappointing. 

A group of Sandwich Terns before the rain arrived at Rattray.

I finally managed to get out on Monday 18th beginning with an early morning visit to Rattray. There had certainly been an arrival of thrushes overnight with several Redwings as I drove along the track to the lighthouse cottages. A search of the immediate area produced (5) Stonechat along the fences and a few Meadow Pipits but little else. Unfortunately when I reached the lighthouse the heavens opened and the wind got up but before retreating back to the car I did manage (3) Red-throated Divers (south) and a single Manx Shearwater.

In the gloom, a trio of Common Terns take a breather at Cairnbulg. During my stay, there was a constant flow of Sandwich Terns, Common Terns and the odd Arctic Tern.

As the rain grew heavier, I decided to head to Cairnbulg. After parking strategically to face away from the wind but still have a view of the wreck, I was able to enjoy a few hours once the rain abated. Some of the highlights out to sea included Arctic Skua, (5) Manx Shearwater, Great Skua, Velvet Scoter, (22) Red-throated Diver (all south) (9) Pale-bellied Brent Geese, (22) Common Scoter, as well as approximately 40 Wigeon and 20 Teal. There was a constant passage of Gannets today with a high percentage being juveniles which was good to see.

One of two Wheatears in off the sea at Cairnbulg.

As the tide came in a couple of Wheatear suddenly flew in off the sea, a surreal sight but lovely to watch them for a while catching flies among the seaweed before heading south.

Grey Plover at Girdleness ~ One of two seen today.

After heavy rain last night, I took a walk along the shoreline of Girdleness, from the allotments to the southern breaker. Halfway through, a very pristine-looking Grey Plover feeding along the shoreline. Not much else was happening in the surrounding scrub, except for a male Blackcap. I spent a short time sea-watching at the foghorn, despite the challenging conditions. During this time, a Minke Whale, whose dorsal fin rose above the waves several times, which made it identifiable was a real treat along with several Manx Shearwater moving rapidly in the strong southwesterly wind, as well as a single Arctic Skua and (6) Red-throated Diver (all south) Eventually, I had to give in to the elements and call it a day.

📖 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Autumn Arrives ~ 10/09/2023

Autumn is here my favourite time of year, but the summer weather seems to be taking revenge after an underwhelming July. Almost everywhere in Europe it has been sunshine as far as the eye can see, with highs exceeding the 30s in some parts of the UK. Thankfully up here in the northeast of Scotland, we've hovered around the 25C mark and unlike further south the night temperatures have dropped to more comfortable levels and even below double figures on a few occasions.

Apparently, we can thank an 'omega weather pattern'. A phenomenon visible on weather maps of high altitude, basically a look at the atmosphere at an altitude of 5.5 kilometres. As the image above shows high pressure gets stuck between two lows and comes to a standstill as the systems block each other. They can last for days or in some cases even weeks!

Great White Egret ~ Two now regular at Strathbeg and becoming a little less uncommon to the area.

Since my last post, I've visited my usual birdwatching spots such as Loch of Strathbeg, Rattray, and the Ythan Estuary. There was a lot to see, including Cranes, Marsh Harriers, Great Egrets, Ospreys and plenty of returning waders including a Spotted Redshank, Ruff and many Greenshank but nothing particularly noteworthy to get excited about. I think the weather is to blame for the lack of interesting migrant birds visiting the Aberdeenshire coastline. However, at the end of August, I had a good sighting of a female Red-crested Pochard at the south end of Loch of Strathbeg. Although it was only visible from a distance, it was a great addition to my Aberdeenshire birding checklist.

Lesser Whitethroat ~ A lucky shot taken from the car window as I was parking at Rattray.

On a particularly quiet visit to Rattray on September 2nd the highlights were a Lesser Whitethroat and just a single Wheatear along the beach. There was little passage past the lighthouse, the exception a steady trickle of Sandwich Terns.

Northern Wheatear ~ A lone bird along the beach at Rattray.

On the evening of Sunday, September 3rd, I was sitting in my garden when I saw two swifts flying high over me. I got quite excited since our local swifts departed a few weeks ago and at this time of year there's always the possibility of an Alpine Swift, but they turned out to be Common Swifts. Nonetheless, it was my latest record since I moved north. The following evening, I saw the first skein of Pink-footed Geese flying over towards Bennachie, autumn has definitely arrived.

Another car window photo ~ one of the two Curlew Sandpipers.

On Wednesday 6th, I added two Curlew Sandpipers to my year list while I was at the Ythan Estuary near Foveran Burn. I had stopped my car along Inch Road in Newburgh for a first look around when I noticed the two birds feeding contently on the receding tide below. 

Plenty of Sanderling scurrying along the tideline at Blackdog.

Yesterday I went to Blackdog for my last trip of the week with the RSPB Aberdeen & District Local Group. Blackdog is a beautiful area of coastal dunes and beaches, which is about a half-hour drive from my home. Today's plan was a walk along the beach south towards Donmouth. During the trip, we mainly aimed to spot Waders, sea ducks like Scoters and Eiders, as well as Divers. If we were lucky, there's always a possibility of being able to see Skuas.

Knot with Sanderling in the foreground.

With a turnout of thirteen, we had a very enjoyable day in glorious weather. The highlights were large rafts of Common Scoter and many Common Eiders along with occasional small groups of Red-breasted Merganser, Teal and Wigeon. Try as we might not a single Velvet Scoter to be found but several Red-throated Divers heading south along with Sandwich & Arctic Terns. Waders for the day list included Sanderling, Knot, Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Curlew and Bar-tailed Godwit. An account of the visit can be found HERE on the RSPB Aberdeen & District Local Group Website.

Bar-tailed Godwit