Birds fae Torry (3 Viewers)

No sign of the Lap bunts this morning, although to be honest I was not looking particularly hard for them. I would not be surprised if they were still around.

A bit of passage offshore today, no seabirds (apart from a lone great skua) but a few common scoter and teal went north, and 4 whimbrel and a bar tailed godwit went south.

The weather looks pretty special for the weekend and beyond!

Obviously I should have looked harder...one lap bunt at least with meadow pipits at the battery, as per birdguides...

Fat Paul Scholes said:

Obviously I should have looked harder...one lap bunt at least with meadow pipits at the battery, as per birdguides...

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I had a look down at the Ness for any Laps today, but I also failed. The mist earlier on in the morning would have kept them there, but due to the rest of the day being virtually cloudless I should suspect they have moved on. Think it may just be a day or two earlier, and that as you said things will hopefully hotten up down at the Ness by the end of the weekend and early next week.

Failed to see any Black Guillemots as well today, but at least 50 Sandwich Terns, 10 Common Terns, 2 Dunlins and a single Purple Sandpiper were on the rocks at Greyhope Bay.

Joseph

3 lapland buntings again at the ness, at the eastern end of the south bank. They were feeding in heather and being very elusive! Luckily, when they fly they're calling alot, which makes it a bit easier!

Also 2 ruff in the walled garden.

Decided that the Ness was worth another check tonight, what with the low cloud descending over Aberdeen. It was fairly productive, with definite migrant activity - not very notable but still noticeable. I managed to come across a single Lesser Whitethroat in the scrub right at the back of Walker Park, which, after it was first seen, hopped over the wall and sat right in the open on a branch for about 20 seconds. It then dipped out of view, not to be seen again, but was heard in the gorse just beyond the wall. Unfortunately I left the camera in the car so was unable to photograph it.

Despite searching thoroughly, I failed to come across the Lapland Buntings. However a walk from the Battery down towards the sycamore resulted in me coming across another warbler. It was only seen dipping into a bush and didn't come out again, but it was definitely not a Phyllosc. Perhaps a Sylvia warbler, but I can't make too many assumptions on the views that I got.

So in all it was quite interesting down at the Ness tonight, and I suspect if conditions stay the same as they were tonight that we could be in for something more noteworthy.

ATB,

Joseph

I had a look yesterday for the Lapland Buntings but as far as I know I didn't see them. Lots of common stuff going about, a charm of about 100 Goldfinches, lots of Starlings, Swallows, Linnets and Meadow Pipits. And 8 Purple Sandpipers on the Skate's Nose.

Meanwhile, Joseph carries out a thorough search of the south bank in his desperate attempt to find the Lapland Buntings.......

As an expatriate Reed Lichtie who has birded the East Coast on return visits, Little Gull passage is due about now, which would be a nice addition to the Torry list...
My memories of Mannofield centre on cricket matches against AGS, but it was in the era of Rohan Kanhai who always umpired completely neutrally but coached all the batsmen of both sides!
After the matches, it wis mair the Torry Quines ah wis watchin' then...
MJB

We do occasionally get Little Gulls here in Torry, although they're nowhere near as common round here as they are around the Forth or the Tay. I always seem to be away for cricket matches at Mannofield - maybe next year I'll make it. Watch out for the Torry quines - make sure it's not Big Aggie.

Once again we saw some Lapland Bunting action today at Girdle Ness. A group of five were being 'mobile and elusive' around the southern side of the golf course. They were seen a few times in flight before eventually one showed fairly well in a small area of rough. They really do disappear into the grass though, and tend to be very tight sitting at times. I've attached a couple of rather rudimentary recordings. It was a bit windy.

That apart it was a bit quiet. A Black Guillemot was amongst the Eiders on Greyhope Bay, where there were also four Knot and 22 Ringed Plover. At least 20 Goosander were still on the river and a Wheatear was near the Battery. There was a bit of Red-throated Diver passage with 11 south. Also around 20 Wigeon and five Teal passed through and two Arctic Skuas were around the river mouth.

Looks good for the week ahead.

Andrew Whitehouse said:

We do occasionally get Little Gulls here in Torry, although they're nowhere near as common round here as they are around the Forth or the Tay. I always seem to be away for cricket matches at Mannofield - maybe next year I'll make it. Watch out for the Torry quines - make sure it's not Big Aggie.

Once again we saw some Lapland Bunting action today at Girdle Ness. A group of five were being 'mobile and elusive' around the southern side of the golf course. They were seen a few times in flight before eventually one showed fairly well in a small area of rough. They really do disappear into the grass though, and tend to be very tight sitting at times. I've attached a couple of rather rudimentary recordings. It was a bit windy.

That apart it was a bit quiet. A Black Guillemot was amongst the Eiders on Greyhope Bay, where there were also four Knot and 22 Ringed Plover. At least 20 Goosander were still on the river and a Wheatear was near the Battery. There was a bit of Red-throated Diver passage with 11 south. Also around 20 Wigeon and five Teal passed through and two Arctic Skuas were around the river mouth.

Looks good for the week ahead.

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Andrew,
Have you had any Buzzard passage? Over the last week here in Norfolk & Suffolk, we've had unusually high numbers (not sure if any confirmed vulpinus), but I wonder where they hit UK from Scandinavia & points east?

MJB said:

Andrew,
Have you had any Buzzard passage? Over the last week here in Norfolk & Suffolk, we've had unusually high numbers (not sure if any confirmed vulpinus), but I wonder where they hit UK from Scandinavia & points east?

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I've not seen any Buzzards myself over recent days. Phil Wilson had a group of five over the city on 28th August but I've not heard of any other movements. There was a huge movement at Spurn the other day.

Had a good look around this morning. A Lapland Bunting was heard briefly on the south side but I couldn't find any others. My first Whinchat of the year was nearby. Off shore were a juvenile Arctic Skua, a flock of 27 Wigeon, and seven Teal. Greyhope Bay held two Knot, two Dunlin and 26 Ringed Plover. A Common Sandpiper was on Skate's Nose and a Wheatear on the north bank.

Migrants ahoy!

Lesser whitethroat, reed warbler (which was very difficult!) and whinchat all at the ness, along with good numbers of wheatears and a few robins.

Hopefully, more to come as well!

Andrew Whitehouse said:

I've not seen any Buzzards myself over recent days. Phil Wilson had a group of five over the city on 28th August but I've not heard of any other movements. There was a huge movement at Spurn the other day.

Had a good look around this morning. A Lapland Bunting was heard briefly on the south side but I couldn't find any others. My first Whinchat of the year was nearby. Off shore were a juvenile Arctic Skua, a flock of 27 Wigeon, and seven Teal. Greyhope Bay held two Knot, two Dunlin and 26 Ringed Plover. A Common Sandpiper was on Skate's Nose and a Wheatear on the north bank.

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Andrew,
Thanks for the Buzzard info.The winds then were northeasterly, but tomorrow we expect in Norfolk very strong winds from ESE; perhaps Baltic passerine passage could be diverted - millions pass through Estonia from about now onwards.

MJB
PS Thanks for the warning about 'Big Aggie'! I rather think I met in the 1960s the type specimen for the mother of Alexander McCall Smith's 'Big Lou' of Arbroath - that was 'Big Shona', fierce but kind-hearted, but hewn frae Red Sandstone!

More stuff in at the ness...although undoubtedly a lot of stuff went undetected because of the conditions. A couple of redstarts, lesser whitey, blackcap, garden warbler, and best of all, a yellow wagtail that flew around the sycamore and over the allotments.....a pretty good bird for up here.

A good selection of birds at the ness this morning:

Allotments - 3+ redstart, blackcap, garden warbler, pied fly, willow w.

North bank and sycamore - 3 garden warbler, blackcap, willow w, 1st w barred warbler...also greenshank and bar tailed godwit on the shore.

Battery - 4+ blackcap, 2+ redstart, garden warbler, 2 willow w,

Golf course - loads of alba wags, mepits, good no's of wheatear and 2 yellow wags.

Greyhope bay - whinchat, reed warbler.

South bank - 2 whinchat, willow w, garden w, blackcap.

Nigg bay - 4+ whinchat

So (probably conservative) totals of: 7 Blackcap, 7 whinchat, 5 garden warbler, 5 willows, 5 redstart, 2 yellow wags, reed warbler, pied fly and barred warbler.

A very enjoyable mornings birding! Also a little stint reported on the north shore.

And from elsewhere in torry...I just spent 5 minutes pishing (binocular free) in the corner of the wasteground behind the school on Viccy road. 3 chiffs, 3 phyllosc spp (poss a few more) blackcap, garden warbler, redstart and spotted flycatcher!

Action

While everyone else was seeing loads of migrants on Tuesday and Wednesday I was languishing in Lothian. Happily I got back last night and was still able to enjoy loads of migrants in much nicer weather. It was really enormously pleasant most of the day (apart from a bit of a downpour late afternoon) and, although some people seemed to be saying there wasn't as much about as there has been, I didn't exactly get bored at any stage. The big problem with migrants, I find, is that they all turn up at once and this means that some otherwise good birds are mere footnotes in my account of today, reduced to raw numbers. So, those raw numbers were along the lines of: Blackcap (3), Willow Warbler (13), Garden Warbler (6), Redstart (10), Spotted Flycatcher (3), Pied Flycatcher (2), Whitethroat (2), Wheatear (15). And some rarer stuff.

I started off along Abbey Road where plenty of Willow Warblers were moving through, and there was a general impression through the morning of birds moving quickly inland. This meant that areas a bit further west seemed to be busier. At the allotments I was almost immediately greeted by a big, scruffy looking warbler preening itself on the fence: a Barred Warbler. It continued to be a bit of a tart for several minutes, looking dishevelled after presumably bathing. I got some nice 'mystery photo' style pictures. Redstarts were very common and included some nice fresh-plumaged males. A Spotted Flycatcher zipped about and there were also Garden Warblers and Blackcaps. On the north shore there were five Goosanders and a Common Sandpiper. Lots of Wheatears were along the shore. Otherwise it was more of the same really, with the Battery being a bit quiet.

I reckoned that I might find a few more birds in the thicker cover slightly further inland so headed for the sycamores by the Golden Tee pub in Torry. This is a really good spot that I always reckon must pick up a lot of migrants when conditions are right. It's just a hundred yards or so from the golf course but has several mature sycamores and patches of scrub. What's most helpful is that the trees surround a small mound, which you can climb up to get yourself to mid-canopy level. It proved to be the liveliest spot of the day. The best bird appeared in a small elder bush at the base of the mound - a medium-sized warbler that I quickly realised was an Icterine Warbler. It cavorted about rather gamely for a couple of minutes before zipping off, sadly just as I was about to get some shots of it. A nice plain-faced bird with a good wing panel. Mark sadly turned up after it had gone, although I think I may have seen it again briefly while he was there (sorry I couldn't get you onto it Mark!). He did manage to find a Pied Flycatcher in the trees and there were also more Spotted Flycatchers, Redstarts, Garden and Willow Warblers.

I had to go to work this afternoon (hard life that I lead) but managed to get out again for the last hour or two of the day. Another Pied Flycatcher was just off Victoria Road in Torry and Spotted Flycatcher, Redstart and Garden and Willow Warblers were again by the Golden Tee. A Sparrowhawk, no doubt with as keen an eye for migrants as I had, flew into one of the trees and quietened things down a bit. I also had brief views of what appeared to be a Reed Warbler, again in the elder that the Icky had been in. I think it probably was one (it looked pretty rufous) but I'd have liked a better view. I then headed down to the allotments where I soon picked up two flava Wagtails flying about with some Pied Wagtails. I assumed these were the birds that Mark's been seeing over the past couple of days but which haven't been showing well on the deck. Happily they came down close by this time and I was able to get some decent views and some pictures (which aren't really that decent). One was a female/immature type but the other was a nice male Grey-headed Wagtail thunbergi. A really cracking bird - not one I've seen in the UK before.

I've got a bit more time tomorrow but it'll probably be rubbish then.

Here's some pictures:
1. Barred Warbler (really)
2. Redstart at the allotments
3-5. Some Grey-headed Wagtail action. Anyone want to have a go at the female/immature bird? I've got more pictures if you're really keen.

Wow! That wagtail is not the same as either of the ones I saw the other day! I wish I'd come to see it now...... Nice Find!

Another day of high drama here in Torry. The weather was a bit of a mixture of rain and sun, but there were still quite a few migrants around. Maybe not as many as yesterday but they're still out there. I got out for an hour or so in the morning before the rain set in and then spent much of the afternoon trudging round the Ness and Nigg Bay with Mark. Here are some of those raw numbers:
Reed Warbler (4), Willow Warbler (10+), Spotted Flycatcher (7), Pied Flycatcher (1), Blackcap (2), Garden Warbler (2), Redstart (5), Wheatear (8), Whitethroat (3).

Reed Warblers were a bit of a feature of the day. One was along Abbey Road and then another was at the Golden Tee this morning. In the afternoon one was at Nigg Bay by the waterworks and another was at the Battery. I bet there's loads more out there too. There still seemed to be a lot of Spotted Flycatchers about but there were fewer Garden Warblers and Redstarts than yesterday. The Icterine Warbler was again at the Golden Tee. I saw it quite well in the morning as it spent a couple of minutes in the same small elder that I saw it in yesterday. I then saw it briefly in the same bush at around 2pm and then in the sycamores at around 5.45. There's a report on Birdguides from 5.30 which wasn't from me, so I guess somebody else managed to catch up with it. After I saw it briefly at 2 I spent about an hour hoping it would reappear so I could get a picture for you to all enjoy. It didn't.

The other bird of the day was a Curlew Sandpiper which we saw twice flying around Nigg Bay, once rather briefly over the waterworks and then for longer as it sped off to the south. A patch tick for me. Most intriguing bird of the day was a large warbler that we saw briefly along the north bank before it mysteriously disappeared, perhaps into some sort of underground bunker. It looked decidedly interesting. Maybe it'll be there tomorrow.

Just because some of us like to keep track of these species, I should add that there was a single Purple Sandpiper on Greyhope Bay and seven Goosander on the river.

Here are some pictures I took in the Icky bush while I was waiting for the Icky to appear.
1. Spotted Fly
2. Willy Wobbler

In all the recent excitement I've neglected to mention the large numbers of migratory butterflies that have been around over the past few days: loads of Red Admirals and also a few Painted Ladies. Yesterday there were also a couple of Common Darter dragonflies by the sewage works on Nigg Bay.

Today I didn't wander too far. After the mid-morning downpour had relented I went to the Golden Tee sycamores. There were some actual other birders there this morning and I was told that the Icterine Warbler had been showing. It didn't take too long for it to reappear and I had some reasonable views of it as it dashed about the tree tops. I even managed to get one beautifully evocative shot of it (see below). There were still quite a few other migrants around: three Spotted Flycatchers, a Redstart, two Garden Warblers, a Blackcap and four Willow Warblers.

I then headed down the hill to Abbey Road. A curious development yesterday was that the area of waste ground along the road became occupied by our friends from the travelling community. This meant that today the gate was wide open, so I walked in! I managed to have good views of a Reed Warbler in exactly the same place I saw one yesterday. Also a couple of Willow Warblers. Careful scoping of this area from the flat has enabled me to add Willow Warbler and Spotted Flycatcher to my house list over recent days.

Some pictures:
1. It seemed as if I was just photographing leaves...
2. ... but then when I looked closer - cracker!

Andrew Whitehouse said:

Some pictures:
1. It seemed as if I was just photographing leaves...
2. ... but then when I looked closer - cracker!

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Nice