Happy New Year from a beautifully snowy Aberdeenshire! As you might have seen in the news, some areas are buried under nearly half a metre of snow, so my 2026 birdwatching adventures have so far been limited to home and the nearby surroundings. While I write this post, we’re in the middle of our third round of Amber Warnings with no end in sight, and Aberdeenshire Council has just declared a major incident. The local community here in Kemnay has been incredible, with farmers out in tractors clearing roads and residents pitching in wherever they can to help remove snow and trapped vehicles.
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| My garden |
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| View from Kemnay Bridge over the River Don |
The garden feeders have been very busy, with a large number of
Chaffinches visiting. I've also had at least ten
Blackbirds making quick work of the apples I provide. Today, I recorded my first sighting this year of two
Bramblings. However, species like
Fieldfares and
Redwings, usually regular visitors to the garden, have been noticeably absent, which is quite unusual for this time of year, especially considering the current conditions. Other missing regulars include
Redpoll and
Siskin have also been scarce. A
Sparrowhawk has been through the garden on two occasions but left empty-handed both times.
I've added several photographs below; those of the birds are taken from my office window.
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| Brambling on the feeders |
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| A very stern-looking Greenfinch |
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| Siskin - Normally a regular but unusually scarce at the moment |
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| Brambling |
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| Siskin |
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| Brambling |
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| Brambling |
.JPEG) |
| Fetternear Estate |
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| The main road through the village |
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| The River Don from Kemnay Bridge |
Major Incident - 06/01/26
.JPEG)
