📖 Scotland Spring Stirrings: Peterhead - 22/02/26

Is spring finally knocking on the door of the northeast coast? After a dreary and miserable start to the year? Today, I led 22 members of the RSPB Aberdeen & District Local Group, and we were treated to a rare gift: glorious sunshine and a mild 11°C for our latest outing.

Our mission for the day was to track down white-winged gulls and waders, with Glaucous and Iceland Gull high on our radar.

Mediterranean Gull


The birding began before the official 10 AM start. Early arrivals at the mouth of the North Ugie Water were quickly rewarded when David Leslie located a Mediterranean Gull lounging among the usual suspects—Herring, Great Black-backed, Black-headed, and a few Common Gull.

Mediterranean Gull

As we strolled upstream, the riverside was bustling:

  • Goldeneye drake & females bobbing midstream.

  • A lone Curlew preening on the far bank.

  • A flock of 20 Redshanks accompanied by a single Dunlin.

  • Red-breasted Merganser, at least three Little Grebes, and a Moorhen soaking up the rays in the reedbeds.

A flash of wings over the golf course, scattering everything, caused a stir; while we couldn't clinch the ID, the speed suggested a Peregrine. Perhaps most heartening was the soundtrack: Song Thrush, Dunnock, Robin, Wren, and Great Tit were all in full song, providing a much-needed hint that winter is finally losing its grip.

After returning to the car park, we headed east along the seafront toward Buchanhaven, and the coastal specialists began to appear. A group of twenty or so Ringed Plovers landed among the rocks, perfectly camouflaged until they moved. This was actually my first of the year.

With the North Sea looking relatively kind, we set up the scopes. The highlights included:

  • Eiders: The males looked spectacular with their plumage glistening in the bright light.
  • Divers: One confirmed Red-throated Diver, while another, possibly a Great Northern, remained a "distant mystery."

  • Sea Ducks: A few Long-tailed Ducks and sawbill Red-breasted Mergansers.

  • The "Rock Stars": Turnstone, Purple Sandpipers, and Rock Pipits worked the shoreline, while a Shag posed perfectly on a rock with its wings outstretched—a classic photo op!

Shag

Rock Pipit

Purple Sandpiper

The Goose Chase at Rattray

After a quick coffee break, we made the 20-minute hop to St. Mary’s Chapel at Rattray. This spot offers a fantastic vantage point over the southern end of the Loch of Strathbeg, and we were hoping to catch up with a reported group of Taiga Bean Geese.

The fields were carpeted with Pink-footed Geese. While we definitely identified Bean Geese within the mix, the distance made it a classic birding debate: Tundra or Taiga? We’ll leave that one for the record books. We also added Greater White-fronted Geese and a single Barnacle Goose to our tally.

The final hour at the loch was the "cherry on top," featuring:

  • Smew (always a crowd favourite). Two females and a Drake.

  • Greater Scaup, Pochard, Pintail and more wildfowl.

  • A "ringtail" Hen Harrier glided effortlessly past to close out the day.

It was a fantastic day of birding with great company. To see so many top species in such spring-like conditions was exactly the tonic we all needed.

Subnote:


Today's Mediterranean Gull displayed a ring on its leg. I managed to get a photo of it - the code allowed us to check its history, finding out it was ringed as a chick in Leipzig, Germany, in 2022 and has been seen in the UK and Germany over the last few years, with the last sighting in Germany in May 2025 - fascinating to know how far some of these birds travel.
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