πŸ“– Scotland❄Aberdeenshire North-Coast 21/01/24

Tuesday 21st January 2025 ☀️12C ~ NW @ 3MPH ~ Today, it was my turn to drive, and I traveled a little further north to Fraserburgh and the nearby coastline with David Leslie and Mark Sullivan to search for winter gulls and to see what else was around.

A good place to start was Phingask Bay where a regular Iceland Gull normally hangs out. There was a good number of gulls to go through when we arrived but after a good trawl through there was no sign just Herring, Black-headed and Great Black-backed. There was plenty of waders and wildfowl about and these included Purple Sandpiper, Turnstone, Redshank, Curlew and Oystercatcher. Good numbers of Teal and Wigeon were feeding along the rocky shore, and Goldeneye, Long-tailed Duck and Eider were seen a bit further out. After scanning for a while, we decided to move on, but just before we left we noted a Grey Wagtail down on the rocks, there was also a Stonechat at the roadside.

Grey Wagtail, another year first. 

Our next stop was Sandhaven harbour but it was pretty quiet. To the west of the village, we did see a couple of Gannets fly past, my first of the year and a Guillemot was on the water, with a Black Guillemot sporting its greyish, white winter plumage nearby. At the west of Pitulie there were quite a few gulls on the rocks, and Mark did really well to pick out a Mediterranean Gull in amongst the dozens of Black-headed Gulls. It was half hidden to start with but soon moved out into the open so we could get a better view, and then flew down onto the water where you could see the structural differences between it and the Black-headed Gulls. We also spotted a winter plumage Puffin just offshore and a number of Red-throated Divers, along with plenty of Cormorants and Shags.

Marks photo of Mediterranean Gull (in foreground)

Next stop was Rosehearty. Another couple of Puffins were seen, as well as another Black Guillemot, and there were a lot of waders on the sheltered beach. Dunlin, Sanderling and Ringed Plover were all new for the day, as were a couple of Bar-tailed Godwits and a Common Scoter. The sun and lack of wind meant the day actually felt pretty warm by now, so we sat and had lunch overlooking the beach, watching the many Rock Pipits, Pied Wagtails and a Robin picking through the seaweed in search of insects. A small flock of Linnets was also feeding nearby.

Marks excellent image of a Bar-tailed Godwit during lunch

After lunch we nipped back to Phingask, but still no sign of the Iceland Gull, so we continued on to Kinnaird Head, which was quite quiet overall, but a scan of the calm sea saw us spot a couple of Little Auks fairly close in to shore. A real bonus of a bird and one I've only seen a couple of times actually on the water. As we were packing up to leave, a message came through to say that the Iceland Gull had been spotted in Sandhaven Harbour so we raced back there in time to see it perched up on the rocks. A head-on view meant the white wings weren't immediately noticeable, but we soon moved round and got a better view, and a few photos. After a really successful day in great company, we headed back home, adding a few more species as we drove, including Buzzard, Fieldfare and Golden Plover.


Iceland Gull at Sandhaven

Iceland Gull at Sandhaven - A real white-winger.

Iceland Gull - Cute face & bubblegum pink legs!