Boatbirder.com: 📖 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.

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