📖 Comfort Birding - 04/11/25

Although my ankle issues persist, I’ve been making the most of local birding from the comfort of my car. There are plenty of nearby spots ideal for sea watching, allowing me to enjoy my time in any weather. On October 24th, I even joined our latest RSPB group outing to Loch of Strathbeg. While I spent most of the time seated on a stool in the nature centre, which luckily provides excellent views of the reserve, I was still able to drive to the southern end of the loch with the group. A full report is available on our local group website. HERE.

Group members overlooking the south end of Strathbeg (David  Leslie)

Great Egret just below the Nature Centre at Strathbeg

On the 29th, I decided to join Mark, David, and Rob on a trip to Montrose Basin, just over the Aberdeenshire border into Angus. I decided to meet them there as I was unsure as to how much walking would be involved. Our two target species for the day were Long-billed Dowitcher and White-rumped Sandpiper, which had been reported daily for several days and would be a couple of Scottish ticks for me.

It was an enjoyable morning with minimal walking. We parked at Tayock at the North East of the basin and headed along to look at the channel for the Long-billed Dowitcher. We couldn’t immediately see it, and a bit of confusion with the BirdGuides app meant we actually started to head away before realising we were in the right place. Thankfully, Mark spotted the Dowitcher feeding out on the mudflats near a Black-tailed Godwit. The size and structure were obviously different, and it was good to get a good comparison.

Mark's image of the Long-billed Dowitcher feeding on the mudflats.

After our success, we drove round to the Lurgies and had lunch in the pleasant sunshine. Luckily, we almost immediately had good scoped views of a White-rumped Sandpiper on the opposite bank. A couple of Grey Plover were nearby, Lapwing and Redshank were numerous, and a few Greenshank were also feeding in the vicinity. At least 6 Little Grebes were in the channel, and they were joined by a Long-tailed Duck, with a Canada Goose downstream beside a couple of Goldeneye. We also added to the Egret list, with a Great Egret towards the visitor centre and a fly-by Little Egret. A lovely few hours in great company, with just over 50 species seen. David has put a full report on his Facebook page: Aberdeenshire Bird Tours. 

Things are calming down a bit as we move into the latter part of autumn, but there have been a few noteworthy sightings across the extended patch. A Surf Scoter was spotted at Collieston on the 26th, a Velvet Scoter was seen at Loch of Strathbeg, and a Redhead Smew was noted on the River Ythan at Logie Buchan. Additionally, on October 30th, five Waxwings were observed on Abbey Road in Aberdeen, which piqued my curiosity and warranted some investigation. So on the 31st, I decided to drive over to Abbey Road to see if the Waxwings from yesterday were still around. 

Redwing new arrival.

It’s just around the corner from Girdleness, so I could easily make a morning of it. While I was at Abbey Road, I noticed a large number of Redwings, Fieldfares, and Blackbirds, all taking advantage of the berry trees scattered around the neighbourhood. It was clear that there had been an influx of these birds overnight. Andy Carroll also messaged me, saying that birds were arriving off the sea further up the coast at Kinnaird Head, including a Ring Ouzel. I spent an hour watching the thrushes, but there was no sign of any Waxwings, so I moved around to Girdleness.

A likely newly arrived  Blackbird taking advantage of the bumper berry stocks around Abbey Road.

It was a delightful 90 minutes, with countless thrushes arriving from the sea. Witnessing migration up close was truly amazing. There were other sightings too: several Bottlenose Dolphins were active just below the foghorn, eleven Common Scoters headed south, along with three Red-throated Divers and five Red-breasted Mergansers. But the real highlight was watching the thrushes complete their journey from Scandinavia, looking remarkably unfazed by their travels and disappearing swiftly into the many gorse bushes for cover.

As I looked over the rocks at Greyhope Bay, I noticed many resting Kittiwakes and several species of waders, including Redshank, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Curlew, Turnstone, and Purple Sandpipers, beginning to increase as the birds return for winter.

Purple Sandpipers at Girdleness.

Another highlight of the past couple of weeks was seeing a remarkably approachable Cattle Egret, a rare visitor in this area and only a short 30-minute drive from home at Udny Station. I saw the bird yesterday without even leaving the car—an effortless twitch and just my second sighting in Aberdeenshire.

Cattle Egret near Udny Station, Aberdeenshire, taken from the car window.

Subnote: A slight adjustment to my Shetland list for 2025. The long-staying Western Subalpine Warbler at Lavenwick, Mainland, has now been confirmed through DNA analysis by Martin Collinson and his lab in Aberdeen to be a nominate Eastern Subalpine Warbler (S.c.cantillans). Thanks to Paul Cashmore for the update.