Birds fae Torry (26 Viewers)

[Ian Bell]

I dont know for certain what is going on but there has been a large Digger,digging up the ground at the south-west end of St Fitticks Park,for the past couple of days,in an area that becomes flooded after heavy rain.There also seems to be a crew of 4 or 5 working there as well.Could this be the flooded area or new ponds ?

 

[Mark Lew1s]

I dont know for certain what is going on but there has been a large Digger,digging up the ground at the south-west end of St Fitticks Park,for the past couple of days,in an area that becomes flooded after heavy rain.There also seems to be a crew of 4 or 5 working there as well.Could this be the flooded area or new ponds ?

From the cooncil....

Apparently they are capping the old Ness landfill site.

Nothing quite as glamorous as a pond. At least not yet.

 

[Mark Lew1s]

some interesting bits n bobs down the ness this morning, a woodcock along the railway embankment, a couple of snow buntings over Nigg Bay, and a great northern diver north past the foghorn. An 'eider with sails' was displaying off the foghorn (yup, it's that time of year again) but perhaps the most interesting bird was a partially albino/heavily worn kittiwake that went south. It was quite distant but had no black on it's wingtips at all. It was definitely a kitti though, despite my best efforts to make it into something much rarer!!

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I took it upon myself to traverse the Ness this afternoon. Few birds of note were forthcoming. The Freak was on the breakwater pier, where there was a (normal looking) juvenile Kittiwake. Three Red-throated Divers were on the sea. That was about it.

The sea looked good though - all silvery and foaming.

 

[Mark Lew1s]

Anyone go to the tree planting thing? I had a look round the St Fitticks area on Sunday and, unless I had my head completely in the clouds, there was no 'new forest' of 200 freshly planted trees.

It would be a shame if it hadn't gone ahead.

 

[Ken Hall]

Of slight concern today, around lunch time, was a seal pup lying on the rocks at Greyhope Bay. It was right in front of the car park, on what is probably the highest rock there, although that is not very high. It seemed quite content though. I would guess it came ashore there at this morning's high tide, and hopefully it will have managed to get off the rocks by now. If anyone's down there tomorrow morning, might be worth a look to see if it is still there. There was a very nice Stonechat flying around, and the Eider count seems to be on the increase.

 

[Ian Bell]

Of slight concern today, around lunch time, was a seal pup lying on the rocks at Greyhope Bay. It was right in front of the car park, on what is probably the highest rock there, although that is not very high. It seemed quite content though. I would guess it came ashore there at this morning's high tide, and hopefully it will have managed to get off the rocks by now. If anyone's down there tomorrow morning, might be worth a look to see if it is still there. QUOTE]

Dont worry too much Ken.Seal Pups have been a regular occurance around the Girdleness area,since I was a young lad.A long time ago,I hasten to add.I would Imagine it shall be OK.

 

[Mark Lew1s]

very quiet down the ness this morning.....470 (ish) eiders off the foghorn included a 'withsails', and there was an argentatus herring gull hanging around as well.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

As Mark suggests, whilst others are singing carols and wishing goodwill to all men, we here in Torry are resorting to looking for Eiders with sails. I saw three yesterday. I expect I could have seen more if I tried. There wasn't much else except for a lone Bottlenose Dolphin patrolling the harbour mouth and a female Stonechat at St Fittick's. The weather was nice and crisp, if a bit parky.

 

[Mark Lew1s]

periferal to todays eider with sail fest at the ness were 2 each of song thrush and redwing. Also a few red throted divers around the eider flock and three goldeneye went north.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I also had a refreshingly crisp wander around the Ness this morning. It was interesting in the non-rare sense of the word. Quite a few passerines seemed to be around that might not normally be here in the middle of winter. Like Mark I saw several Song Thrushes and Redwings, and also a few Blackbirds, several Meadow Pipits, a Linnet, a few Skylarks going over, a female Stonechat and a Reed Bunting on Greyhope Bay and three Lapwings going south. A male Sparrowhawk flew over the golf course before settling in welcoming limbs of the Tree. Two Red-throated Divers were off the Coo.

Here's some (slightly) snowy pictures.

 

[Birdspotter]

Always look on the bright side of life!
Think Ivory Gull

 

[Mark Lew1s]

Happy new year all,

Loads of thrushes down at the ness today, mainly fieldfares, with at least 35 birds feeding on the golf course (but probably well more, 35 was the highest count visible at one time) at the very least 3 mistle thrushes, and a single redwing.

Not much else going on though, a few redthroats offshore, 2 goosander went north, and a massive flock of common gulls feeding a long way off.

 

[Ian Bell]

On ABZ that Andrew had 3 Smew off the Ness this pm.Good bird for the Ness and a good Patch tick for him.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

The New Smew

As Ben suggests, it was an interesting day here in Torry. Looking out from the flat this morning I noticed that several Redshank and a few Fieldfares were feeding on the golf course. Then I noticed a Mistle Thrush hopping about on the warehouse rooves down towards the harbour - only the second time I've seen one from the flat.

I managed to get out for a wander in the afternoon. Walking about in Aberdeen at the moment is a rather challenging activity. We may not have much snow but we have plenty of ice, particularly on pavements. I managed to just about remain on my feet through the duration of my walk, but it was touch and go on occasions. At the allotments there were good numbers of Linnets - perhaps touching 40. Normally these are pretty scarce at the Ness in the winter. Thrushes were a big feature. I should really tot up the totals but I managed around 30 Fieldfares, probably at least 5 or 6 more Mistle Thrushes, 2 Redwings, a Song Thrush and a few Blackbirds. A Reed Bunting was in the grass at St Fitticks and I flushed a Snipe from behind the breakwater pier. The Purple Sandpiper roost was up to 212 on the Skate's Nose and a single Harbour Porpoise was off Greyhope Bay.

Up at the Coo the usual large gang of Eiders were swirling around offshore. Then: are they what I think they are? Smew! Three of them in fact: two redheads and a drake. They were a bit further out than the Eiders and swimming towards Nigg Bay, but were, of course, rather unmistakeable. I've seen quite a few over the past week down in the Midlands but was really astonished to find some here at Girdle Ness. I'd be interested to know how many have been seen here in the past - I suspect not many. Not too much else was on the sea except for a couple of Red-throated Divers and a Guillemot. Quite a good start to the year though.

 

[Helenelizabeth2]

I managed to get out for a wander in the afternoon. Walking about in Aberdeen at the moment is a rather challenging activity. I managed to just about remain on my feet through the duration of my walk, but it was touch and go on occasions.

Quite a good start to the year though.

I know you're trying very hard to pretend you're Scottish these days but even they have usually sobered up by the 4th.

 

[Joseph N]

As Ben suggests, it was an interesting day here in Torry. Looking out from the flat this morning I noticed that several Redshank and a few Fieldfares were feeding on the golf course. Then I noticed a Mistle Thrush hopping about on the warehouse rooves down towards the harbour - only the second time I've seen one from the flat.

I managed to get out for a wander in the afternoon. Walking about in Aberdeen at the moment is a rather challenging activity. We may not have much snow but we have plenty of ice, particularly on pavements. I managed to just about remain on my feet through the duration of my walk, but it was touch and go on occasions. At the allotments there were good numbers of Linnets - perhaps touching 40. Normally these are pretty scarce at the Ness in the winter. Thrushes were a big feature. I should really tot up the totals but I managed around 30 Fieldfares, probably at least 5 or 6 more Mistle Thrushes, 2 Redwings, a Song Thrush and a few Blackbirds. A Reed Bunting was in the grass at St Fitticks. The Purple Sandpiper roost was up to 212 on the Skate's Nose and a single Harbour Porpoise was off Greyhope Bay.

Up at the Coo the usual large gang of Eiders were swirling around offshore. Then: are they what I think they are? Smew! Three of them in fact: two redheads and a drake. They were a bit further out than the Eiders and swimming towards Nigg Bay, but were, of course, rather unmistakeable. I've seen quite a few over the past week down in the Midlands but was really astonished to find some here at Girdle Ness. I'd be interested to know how many have been seen here in the past - I suspect not many. Not too much else was on the sea except for a couple of Red-throated Divers and a Guillemot. Quite a good start to the year though.

That's a good spot, Andrew, well done. It'll be interesting to see if they are just passing through or if they'll continue to hang around by the Nigg. If they do hang around it'll be lovely to see them. Smews are one of my favourite species of ducks, and I've only seen them on one occasion at Strathbeg.

 

[StuartReeves]

Up at the Coo the usual large gang of Eiders were swirling around offshore. Then: are they what I think they are? Smew! Three of them in fact: two redheads and a drake. They were a bit further out than the Eiders and swimming towards Nigg Bay, but were, of course, rather unmistakeable. I've seen quite a few over the past week down in the Midlands but was really astonished to find some here at Girdle Ness. I'd be interested to know how many have been seen here in the past - I suspect not many. Not too much else was on the sea except for a couple of Red-throated Divers and a Guillemot. Quite a good start to the year though.

Smew is a very good bird for Girdleness. Off the top of my head I only know of one other record; a flyby redhead I had on a spectacularly diverse November seawatch many years ago.

 

[amilne]

Walked from Cove bay to Aberdeen today and only fell twice. First trip out for a while so I was wondering what I would see. The cold meant that everywhere there were more land birds than usual, but again as normal for me each identification took some time and may well be suspect. Several mixed flocks of around 20 smaller birds, mainly Linnets were seen. Near Doonies Farm I saw at least 20 Snow Buntings. Fieldfares seemed to be the main thrush seen, again in flocks of around 20, but I'm pretty sure there were small numbers of thrushes heading South generally, as well as the feeding birds.
Light snow was falling as I reached the lighthouse so I pushed on more quickly from there.
A pleasant walk with the addition of more birds to add to the usual suspects, and no broken legs either.

 

[Ian Bell]

Walked from Cove bay to Aberdeen today and only fell twice. First trip out for a while so I was wondering what I would see. The cold meant that everywhere there were more land birds than usual, but again as normal for me each identification took some time and may well be suspect. Several mixed flocks of around 20 smaller birds, mainly Linnets were seen. Near Doonies Farm I saw at least 20 Snow Buntings. Fieldfares seemed to be the main thrush seen, again in flocks of around 20, but I'm pretty sure there were small numbers of thrushes heading South generally, as well as the feeding birds.
Light snow was falling as I reached the lighthouse so I pushed on more quickly from there.
A pleasant walk with the addition of more birds to add to the usual suspects, and no broken legs either.

Youre a brave man walking in this weather.However,you were rewarded with some nice birds.