Birds fae Torry (4 Viewers)

Andrew Whitehouse · Jul 25, 2020

A rather wet day in Torry today, with frequent and sometimes thundery downpours. Birding was restricted to periods between these. In the morning I had a quick look round Nigg Bay. Redpolls and Bullfinches were both about and it was nice to see a bold adult Fox on the school field. I'm still seeing the young ones round the corner quite regularly (two this evening) but it was interesting to see one elsewhere.

An evening walk round the Ness was mostly quiet but the Black Guillemot was still in Nigg Bay and there was also a Common Sandpiper there. Three Manx Shearwaters and two Puffins went north. 50 Swifts were over Torry.

Andrew Whitehouse · Jul 26, 2020

A much brighter day in Torry. A wander round Nigg Bay in the morning was farily routine, although quite a few butterflies were on the wing including my first Small Copper of the year. Despite searching, there were no Odonata at all. A new brood of Mallard and several young Moorhen were in the wetlands. A Grey Wagtail was my first locally for quite a few months.

An evening walk round the Ness produced a few waders, including a Dunlin on Skate's Nose and a couple of Common Sandpipers. Not too much was moving offshore but 33 Common Scoter went north in two groups, as did two Manx Shearwaters and a very close Bonxie.

Andrew Whitehouse · Jul 28, 2020

After yesterday's washout, today the theme was wind as a vigorous northwesterly was rattling across the Ness. I had to take evasive action at one stage after the metal sheet from the safety conscious 'Footpath Closed' sign by Skate's Nose was lifted up by the wind and carried at 40 mph about a metre past me and into the North Sea. It's probably in Norway now.

The birds were a bit hard to find in the conditions. Offshore, a Bonxie went north, as did three Arctic Terns. A Dunlin also passed through close in. Another Arctic Tern was in Greyhope Bay. Three Common Sandpipers were together along the north shore.

Here are a couple of recent moths: Yellow Shell and Shaded Broad-bar.

Andrew Whitehouse · Jul 29, 2020

The best things were seen from home today. Two Bonxies went north mid-afternoon. Early evening I again saw two youngish looking Otters playing about together by the north pier.

A wander round the Ness after that was pretty quiet, with nothing much moving out to sea. Four Dunlin were on Greyhope Bay.

Andrew Whitehouse · Jul 31, 2020

Rather quiet in the strong SE wind this evening. Surprisingly little was moving at sea and waders were fairly routine, with three Dunlin the best of it. 67 Goosander and 57 Swifts were good counts.

Ian Bell · Aug 1, 2020

Nothing ground breaking but being on holiday,I have noticed a few things around my house this week.
On Thursday,a Great spotted Woodpecker was on a tree on Balnagask Road.
I have seen a male Sparrowhawk three times this week flying around or over Balnagask Road.Twice carrying prey and heading In the direction of the Gramps at the back of Tullos School.Suggesting breeding has taken place up there.
Lastly,the House Martins on Balnagask Road are now feeding their 3rd brood of young.

Ian Bell · Aug 7, 2020

I had a walk from the SEPA building,along to the "Torry Coo" this morning.Nothing much unusual but there were large numbers of Goosander,between SEPA and the Skates Nose.So much so,I actually lost count.A male Sparrowhawk was using "The Sycamore" as a base to attack from,where his targets were the hirundines flying around.
As expected at this time of year,things have gone a bit quiet and the absence of Warblers for the first time In a few months and the build up In flocks of Linnets and Goldfinch suggest the breeding season Is over for another year.A quick seawatch from the Coo,again revealed very little but a nice walk,In cracking weather.

Andrew Whitehouse · Aug 9, 2020

Thanks for keeping the thread up-to-date BN. I'd heard another report of a Great Spotted Woodpecker recently, so it seems as if one has been hanging around.

I had a good wander around today, in pleasant and fairly warm conditions. A look from home produced a group of 11 Teal going south around the harbour mouth. The morning around Nigg Bay was fairly busy. A juvenile Stonechat was feeding in the reeds. At least 16 Moorhen were counted, many of them juveniles. There could easily be double that number lurking about in the marsh. It's been a poor year for Odonata so far but today I saw my first Common Darter of the year and four Emerald Damsels. Up to four Redpolls were also in the area and a notable sighting was of a juvenile Goldcrest, giving further evidence that they've bred here this year. A Buzzard showed well over Tullos Hill.

The combination of good weather and local lockdown meant that the Ness was busier than I've ever seen it during the afternoon. The small beach by the breakwater probably had close to a hundred people on it. In fact almost every bit of shoreline seemed to have somebody lurking about, which was bad for finding the waders I was hoping to see. The most notable sighting was of a Speckled Wood butterfly flying over the rocks in Greyhope Bay. I've no idea what it was doing there but I think that's my first local record. 96 Goosander in the harbour was a very high count.

Ian Bell · Aug 10, 2020

Lovely photo of the juvenile Stonechat,Andrew. :t:
Also,well done on counting the Goosanders.Everytime I had a number In my head,I would go round a bend and they kept appearing.Maths was never a strong point during my Torry Academy days

Andrew Whitehouse · Aug 10, 2020

Thanks BN!

Quite a bit was turning up on the east coast today, so I set off late in the afternoon for a thorough look around. It turned out to be very good but not in quite the way I expected.

I had a good look around the allotments and the north bank but there was no evidence of any landbird migrants. I was counting the Goosander around Skate's Nose (there were 83 altogether) when I was quite astonished to see a single Coot standing on the edge of the pier preening itself, in amongst the assembled Eiders. My first ever here and not how expected to get one.

With a total absence of migrants and very few waders, most of the remaining time was spent seawatching. This proved pretty decent. The highlight were two Sooty Shearwaters heading north at medium distance. One caught the light well enough to show a loverly silvery underwing. Also moving were 46 Manx Shearwaters, four Arctic Skuas, a Bonxie and two Puffins.

46 Swifts were still over Torry in the evening.

Andrew Whitehouse · Aug 11, 2020

Another interesting day here, with some more unexpected patch gold action. The weather was pretty misty most of the day with the odd spot of light rain. Migrants weren't really in evidence, although a couple of Willow Warblers were probably on the move. A Red-throated Diver was hanging about well into the harbour, which is unusual for the time of year.

The sea was fairly busy again, with 41 Manx Shearwaters, six Bonxies and three Puffins north. While I was seawatching, I noticed a surprisingly colourful looking bit of the rocks below the foghorn and then realised I was looking at only my second ever patch Kingfisher. It was in pretty much the same spot as my previous one.

Waders seem a bit thin on the ground at the moment but there was a summer-plumage Knot flying through Greyhope Bay with a group of Oystercatchers.

On my way back home, another 'patch second' appeared: a juvenile Cuckoo that appeared over the north bank as if it had just arrived and then sped over the golf course. It alighted for a short time in a gorse bush before disappearing.

Andrew Whitehouse · Aug 12, 2020

Today looked potentially very interesting. As you will have seen (very tragically) on the news, this area was hit by substantial thunderstorms during the early part of the morning. The combination of heavy rain and the earlier easterlies looked full of promise, but it turned out to be very quiet in almost every way during a very warm day.

There was one notable bird, a lovely juvenile Greenshank on the north shore. I guess this was the one Mark saw yesterday evening. Otherwise there was no trace of any landbird migrants and not much was moving out to sea.

Andrew Whitehouse · Aug 13, 2020

The weather was back to cool, dull and breezy this evening. Birds were a bit thin on the ground but I eventually had some success. A Wheatear on the golf course was my first of the autumn. Not too much was out to sea except for a single Bonxie north.

I was walking back along the north shore as the light began to fade when a small passerine hopped along the shore. I was surprised to see it was a female-type Black Redstart. I'm not sure I've seen one here in August before. There were also three Common Sandpipers along the shore and the Red-throated Diver was again showing well in the outer harbour.

Ian Bell · Aug 14, 2020

Despite being "a bit thin on the ground" some good birds there,Andrew.
Sadly,It won't be long until the darker evenings arrive.

Andrew Whitehouse · Aug 14, 2020

The darker evenings are coming pretty rapidly it seems. Things were fairly quiet this evening. At sea six Manx Shearwaters, a Bonxie and seven Arctic Terns were on the move.

Ian Bell · Aug 15, 2020

Is the Red throated Diver still around,Andrew ?
A lad mentioned It on social media yesterday

Andrew Whitehouse · Aug 15, 2020

Ben Nevis said:
Is the Red throated Diver still around,Andrew ?
A lad mentioned It on social media yesterday

Yes, it was around yesterday evening near the banana pier.

Ian Bell · Aug 15, 2020

Andrew Whitehouse said:
Yes, it was around yesterday evening near the banana pier.

Thanks Andrew

Andrew Whitehouse · Aug 15, 2020

I was out quite a bit today and there were a few interesting birds about. The weather was cool with a touch of drizzle in the morning but brighter and quite pleasant in the afternoon with a gentle SE wind. I often judge the start of autumn by Robins beginning to sing again, which a few were doing today. It'll all be kicking off from now on.

I spent the morning around Nigg Bay, where there was still a bit of floodwater around in various places. The highlight was my first Great Spotted Woodpecker of the year, flying around near Tullos School. I guess it's the one a few others have seen recently. A glance out to sea got me onto an Arctic Skua harrassing the Kittiwakes.

I had a good look around the Ness in the afternoon. A Teal flew into the harbour and the Red-throated Diver was again showing very well. Offshore, a couple of Bonxies were lurking and eight Common Scoters went south. Probably the best birds were a flock of four Black-tailed Godwits also going south. On the way back home I picked up a flock of nine Canada Geese heading up from the southwest before continuing north up the coast.

Andrew Whitehouse · Aug 16, 2020

It was another interesting day here today, with similar weather to yesterday. A few small waders were darting about the harbour, with one Sanderling and a group of three Dunlin looking for somewhere to land. The Red-throated Diver and 74 Goosander were also in the same area.

In Greyhope Bay, the Kingfisher appeared for a short time, calling loudly as it flew from rock to rock. Also on the rocks was a smart juvenile Whinchat, my first of the year.

Vast numbers of auks and gulls were feeding offshore but not too much was moving, except for a Bonxie and two Manx Shearwaters. A couple of Harbour Porpoises surfaced a few times.

A sharp call overhead revealed a Black-tailed Godwit flying south over the golf course. I then found it with another, roosting on the shore of Nigg Bay. Later (and perhaps most interestingly), they went to feed on 'the scrape' that has appeared by St Fittick's Church in recent days. It might be worth keeping an eye on that area!

A juvenile Stonechat was on the south bank and I then picked up an Osprey, gliding about with the gulls over the south side of Torry before drifting inland. The gulls gave it some stick as it floated about with them.

This afternoon, two more Bonxies were seen flying north from home.

Birds fae Torry (4 Viewers)

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