📖 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.