Boatbirder.com: September 2025

📖 Autumn Birding Update 2025

Since my last post on 14th September, the Pink-footed Geese have continued to arrive, with plenty of noisy skeins flying over the house. Normally, I don't put my bird feeders up until I return from Shetland around the second week of October, but this time I've decided to hang a single feeder filled with sunflower hearts. The response was immediate, with Siskin, Coal, Great, and Blue Tits all making the most of it. Naturally, the large House Sparrow population didn't waste any time either.

The return of the Pink-footed Geese

On Wednesday, the 17th, I took a local walk upstream along the River Don at Kemnay with David Leslie to see what we could find.

After parking at the Bridge Road car park and pausing to look from the bridge, we soon spotted a pair of Moorhens with two young chicks just below, clearly a late brood. In the hawthorn, a few smaller species were noted, including Chiffchaff, House Sparrow, Long-tailed Tit, and Robin. As we walked upstream, we scanned the north bank and spotted a large flock of about five hundred Greylag Geese, while a few Snipe flew out of a damp patch near the river as we got closer. Over the next 5-10 minutes, we observed around seventy Skylarks passing overhead, flying south, visible migration in action. On the wires, we saw a few Meadow Pipits, Reed Buntings and a Yellowhammer, and in the distance, we caught sight of a Red Kite over Bennachie. It was a bit melancholic to see the many Sand Martin nests along the banks, once so lively just a month or so ago, now empty as the birds have now moved south.

Chiffchaff

On our return downstream, we heard and spotted a flock of Pink-footed Geese, David's first of the season, with nearly 100 flying south. We then came across a small group of Common Gulls on the river. To our surprise, we spotted a single Ruff on the shingle bank—a species I hadn’t encountered in the area before, making it a patch tick. A few Swallows were flying over the river, and we noticed a Buzzard soaring over the nearby Fetternear woodland. A single Lesser Redpoll flew overhead, and back at the car park, a Common Crossbill passed over, calling. We ended the day with a coffee and cake at Cafe 83 in Kemnay, just as the rain began. Thanks to David for the wonderful company.

My first local Ruff along the River Don

I’ve done a couple of short sea watches at Girdleness recently too, but the winds haven’t been very favourable, mostly coming from the south. A brief shift to north-northwesterly didn’t bring much either. Still, I spotted a few Arctic Skuas, a Great Skua, some Common Scoters, and a single Velvet Scoter. Terns are still passing through, mostly Common and Sandwich Tern, along with plenty of Kittiwakes. The Gannets have been a real delight, especially with so many young birds around this year. As I write, we’re heading into a brief period of high pressure, but we really need some northeasterlies to get things moving.

Great Skua

The first Yellow-browed Warbler was reported this morning in Aberdeen, and a Snow Bunting on one of the breakers at Girdleness, which are good signs. I also noticed on BirdGuides a report of a Barred Warbler being photographed in a garden in Inverurie. I'm out with the RSPB Local Group at Girdleness on Wednesday, 24th, so let's see how it goes.

📖 Autumn Birding September 2025

The beginning of September has brought typical autumn weather, featuring a mix of beautiful sunny days and occasional heavy downpours, with brisk southerly winds still present. One evening, we even caught a fleeting glimpse of the Northern Lights as the nights are now growing longer. Unfortunately, I missed the lunar eclipse.

Northern Lights from the bedroom window just after midnight.

Friday, 12th September 2025, 🌤️ 15c ~ Wind SW @ 14mph ~With Dazza away in the highlands with her mum for a long weekend, I decided to prepare a packed lunch and head up the coast on Friday. I aimed to visit Cairnbulg and the Loch of Strathbeg on the northern coastline of Aberdeenshire. The weather was overcast when I arrived at Cairnbulg, and I immediately ran into Andy Carroll—not the footballer, but a local birder. After catching up and watching a lone Common Swift feed over the harbour for a while, Andy headed off for breakfast, and I spent a few minutes observing a Northern Wheatear before enjoying the next few hours taking in the sights and sounds of the tide rolling back in.

Northern Wheatear

I spent an enjoyable few hours watching a small flock of waders feeding contentedly right in front of me. The group consisted of eight Dunlin and at least five Little Stints, occasionally joined by the odd Turnstone, Curlew, Redshank, Ringed Plover and Oystercatcher.

One of five Little Stints at Cairnbulg.

As the tide came in, a few Bar-tailed Godwits tirelessly fed along the water's edge, occasionally venturing into the sea, while further out, numerous Gannets plunged into the water, creating the usual mesmerising spectacle! At one stage, three noisy Sandwich Terns passed through, and a Red-throated Diver flew south.

Bar-tailed Godwit at Cairnbulg.

After about an hour, another local birder, Tom Kirkpatrick, joined me. After chatting for a while, we noticed a significant influx of Swallows arriving from over the sea. Shortly afterwards, we were treated to the sight of at least a dozen Swifts! It was an impressive show for mid-September. We spent quite some time, now in the sunshine, watching them feed over the harbour, but despite our efforts, we couldn’t manage to spot a Pallid Swift amongst them! After a short sea watch with nothing of note, I headed over to Strathbeg.

I spent an hour at the bench overlooking Stranafin Pools, which, though somewhat overgrown, still offered a fantastic view. I was amazed by the number of waders present—over forty Ruff, along with fifteen Black-tailed Godwits, four Greenshank, two Snipe and twelve Golden Plover. Highlights of my visit also included three Spoonbills, three Marsh Harriers (all cream heads), five Great White Egrets, which have bred here again, and a single Little Egret. Unfortunately, I failed to locate any Cranes, which have been regular here over the past month. I also watched eleven Pink-footed Geese arrive over the loch, my first of the autumn and from here on the numbers will build.

An amazing count of Ruff at Strathbeg.

On Saturday 13th, I spent the afternoon at Girdleness with Ruth Howie, another member of the RSPB Local Group committee. Although a southerly breeze was still blowing and I didn’t expect much, we were pleasantly surprised. We enjoyed watching a steady flow of Gannets, with many black juveniles, Kittiwakes, Common Terns, and Sandwich Terns. At one point, five Common Scoters flew south, and there are still good numbers of Guillemot and Razorbill passing through.

Kittiwake

The highlights of the day were spotting a couple of Arctic Skuas and a couple of Pale-bellied Brent Geese, which are uncommon in Aberdeenshire. The birds initially flew south but soon returned, settling just off the harbour entrance near the southern breaker. We ended with coffee and cake at Greyhope Bay Centre, watching the Bottlenose Dolphins.

A couple of Pale-bellied Brent Geese passing the foghorn at Girdleness.

This morning, Sunday the 14th, I drove over to Loch of Skene, about a 15-minute drive, to catch up with a Black Tern, which I needed for my Scottish year list. The bird showed well, although always distant.

A few more Recent Images...

Dunlin.

Little Stint.

Bar-tailed Godwit.

Arctic Skua past Girdleness.

Grey Heron at Girdleness.

Pale-bellied Brent Geese.

📖 Musselburgh Weekend 6/7th September 2025

Autumn is my favourite time of year, and from a birdwatching perspective, the season started off slowly, but things are looking promising. Unfortunately, I missed a brief sighting of a Wilson's Phalarope on the Ythan Estuary on the 2nd by about half an hour.

My annual October trip to Shetland is just around the corner, and thankfully, I'm now beginning to walk a bit farther with less discomfort. Since I had already planned a weekend getaway in Lothian with the RSPB Aberdeen & District Local Group this weekend, I decided to give it a go, of course, accompanied by my brilliant wife, Dazza. It turned out to be a fantastic weekend filled with some great birds, including a lifer, wonderful company, and even some excellent food. We were based around Musselburgh, which proved to be an inspired choice!

On Saturday morning, we began our outing at the old scrapes at Levenhall Links, where we enjoyed excellent views of Dunlin, Snipe, Ruff, and Little Stint. After some time, we moved to the sea wall to scan the Firth of Forth, where we quickly located a Red-necked Grebe, one of our target species. We also observed a significant number of Velvet Scoter, some surprisingly close to the shore, which allowed everyone to appreciate the plumage details. Unfortunately, we were unable to locate the Surf Scoter and White-winged Scoter reported the previous week. There were plenty of Gannets, Eider, Guillemots, Razorbill and a few Red-breasted Mergansers.

A couple of Velvet Scoters on the move.

At the mouth of the River Esk, hundreds of birds were gradually pushed along by the tide. Among them were five species of gull: Herring, Common, Black-headed, Great Black-backed, and Lesser Black-backed, along with Goosander, Curlew, Turnstone, Dunlin, and Tufted Duck. A large flock of Mute Swans included a solitary Whooper Swan, and both Bar-tailed and Black-tailed Godwits were spotted.

Lesser Black-backed Gull parenting.

Then the excitement kicked in! A Marsh Sandpiper had been sighted at one of the pools about 2 kilometres east of the reserve. This was going to be a real test for my ankle! I think David Leslie felt like running, but as the designated guide for the weekend, he held back and stayed perfectly professional.

Marsh Sandpiper

The trek to the Marsh Sandpiper spot was tough, and Dazza and I ended up being the last ones there. Luckily, as I scrambled up the bank, the group already had the bird in the scope—a lifer for all of us! From what I know, this is only the 10th record for Scotland. Everyone in the group got to enjoy the sighting, along with a great lineup of Wood Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Ruff, Snipe, and Dunlin.

Some of the group at the Marsh Sandpiper.

After such a great morning, the afternoon seemed hard to top. However, after a quick lunch break, we made our way to Aberlady Bay, where the high tide had drawn in an impressive number of birds along the edges. We spotted at least nine Little Egrets, a single Wheatear on the grassy shore, and flocks of Greylag Geese, Lapwing, Redshank, and Starlings. While the group ventured off for a walk around the reserve, I chose to stay on a bench and skip the walk, as my ankle was feeling a bit sore and swollen. I did get good views of a Sparrowhawk, which scattered the flocks.

We continued our journey to Gullane Point to scan the Forth. We spotted many Common Scoters, and hundreds of Gannets passed by and fished offshore, although it was generally quiet overall. Several members of the group returned to their accommodation before dinner, including Dazza and me.

On Sunday morning, we met at Dalmeny for a walk to Hound Point. Leaving the cars, we quickly spotted plenty of Fulmars near the Forth Bridge and Common Tern and Sandwich Terns offshore. In the wooded area, we added Coal, Great, Blue, and Long-tailed Tits, along with a Treecreeper and a Chiffchaff in the same feeding flock. Surprisingly, a Chaffinch was our first of the weekend! Near the point, we scanned the beach and spotted Bar-tailed Godwits and a few Dunlin, while offshore, both Great Skua (Bonxie) and Arctic Skuas were harassing other birds to steal their catch. A flock of Wigeon flew by, led by a lone Pintail, and on our way back through the woods, a loud call alerted us to a Nuthatch. The group spotted at least two high up in a beech tree, along with some other small birds.

An Arctic Skua passes Hound Point.

Our final stop of the weekend was Loch Leven RSPB Reserve on the route back to Aberdeen. The area around the centre was pretty quiet, but scanning the loch, we spotted Tufted Duck, Pochard, Little and Great-crested Grebe, Mallard, Gadwall, Wigeon, Teal, and Goldeneye. A Marsh Harrier was seen over the reeds, and an Osprey made an appearance, later seen carrying a large fish. We walked out to the hides, where a Moorhen was about the only new species we added, and we returned to the visitor centre just as the rain began. It was an excellent weekend, with a great number of species spotted, including some species harder to find in Aberdeenshire. A brilliant weekend was enjoyed by all.