Mark Lew1s
My real name is Mark Lewis
Not around this lunchtime...
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Birds fae Torry (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Andrew Whitehouse
- Start date
Mark Lew1s
My real name is Mark Lewis
A very confiding common crossbill in the battery willows this lunchtime
Mark Lew1s
My real name is Mark Lewis
Teamscotch
Well-known member
Thats awesome! Can you point it at the spruces in Nigg Caravan site? Ta!
That's a cracking picture Mark.
Mark Lew1s
My real name is Mark Lewis
Bit of a barren spell for BFT!
Sea watching has improved over the last week, with decent numbers of manxies passing (including a flock of 62 on Monday morning) and several Arctic Skuas attending the large flocks of kittiwakes.
Wednesday evening saw the first juv sandwich tern in greyhope bay along with 4 Dunlin and a purple sandpiper.
Best of the week was today though - a flock of 5 gadwall and a widgeon flew down the river dee.
Sea watching has improved over the last week, with decent numbers of manxies passing (including a flock of 62 on Monday morning) and several Arctic Skuas attending the large flocks of kittiwakes.
Wednesday evening saw the first juv sandwich tern in greyhope bay along with 4 Dunlin and a purple sandpiper.
Best of the week was today though - a flock of 5 gadwall and a widgeon flew down the river dee.
Mark Lew1s
My real name is Mark Lewis
A few waders around this morning - increasing numbers of oyc, curlew and redshank with dunlin, turnstone and common sandpiper. 2 arctic skuas in the harbour mouth harrassing sandwich terns. Goosander flock got up to 44 birds over the weekend.
In the evening, I spent a great half hour watching some ringed plover chicks - 4 in all, and had manxies, a few Arctic Skuas, and two great looking brick red knot offshore.
In the evening, I spent a great half hour watching some ringed plover chicks - 4 in all, and had manxies, a few Arctic Skuas, and two great looking brick red knot offshore.
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Mark Lew1s
My real name is Mark Lewis
Good numbers of waders grounded by the fog/rain today. 107 knot (more than I've ever seen here before) 28 ringed plover, 21 dunlin, 3 golden plover, and higher-than-before numbers of redshank and curlew.
Mark Lew1s
My real name is Mark Lewis
Some more wader passage this lunchtime. 10+ dunlin in Nigg bay, and a golden plover over, and turnstone and purple sandpiper in greyhope bay. Probably about 15 ringos scattered around.
Also, my first small copper of the year.
Also, my first small copper of the year.
markhammonds
Well-known member
Black Redstart on rocks west along low path from the Battery (and also on the breakwater), first seen at lunchtime but still there around 6pm. Looked like an immature male. Seems early for one of these to turn up...
Dunlin and a flock of about 25 Knot also seen.
Dunlin and a flock of about 25 Knot also seen.
Mark Lew1s
My real name is Mark Lewis
I had a yellow wagtail fly past the battery at about 7 this morning - in the bins it looked like a blue headed but the views I had were much too short and poor to be sure of this. Still, not a bad bird...
Teamscotch
Well-known member
A Greenish Warbler enlivened a family visit to Doonies Farm this afternoon!
So, Birds fae Torry: a bit quiet on here lately. It seems to have been quite a good week here though, particularly if your name's Mark Lewis. My name isn't but, after some time away, I had quite an interesting, if rather damp, day.
Waders were diverse and included Sanderling, Purple Sandpiper, two Dunlin and three Common Sandpipers. A fairly outstanding 25 Bar-tailed Godwits were at the south end of Aberdeen beach - easily the biggest group I've ever seen here. A nicely marked juvenile Black-tailed Godwit was strutting around the golf course. A Bonxie and five Arctic Skuas were out to sea and six of the latter went south over the golf course in two groups.
I was of course looking for migrants but, despite some good birds being seen over the last day or so, initially I didn't see very much. A Whinchat along the north shore gave some hope. Then on the south bank a Pied Flycatcher popped up in the gorse a few seconds before a gingery head poked above one of the bushes to reveal a juvenile Red-backed Shrike. It zipped around the large mound for a few minutes before disappearing off. I think it was eventually refound by others somewhere near St Fittick's church.
Other bits and pieces included four Swifts, three Wigeon, a Rook, a Goosander, two Wheatears, five Willow Warblers, six Whitethroats and nine Sedge Warblers.
Here are some slightly fuzzy shots of the shrike, including a flight shot (!).
Waders were diverse and included Sanderling, Purple Sandpiper, two Dunlin and three Common Sandpipers. A fairly outstanding 25 Bar-tailed Godwits were at the south end of Aberdeen beach - easily the biggest group I've ever seen here. A nicely marked juvenile Black-tailed Godwit was strutting around the golf course. A Bonxie and five Arctic Skuas were out to sea and six of the latter went south over the golf course in two groups.
I was of course looking for migrants but, despite some good birds being seen over the last day or so, initially I didn't see very much. A Whinchat along the north shore gave some hope. Then on the south bank a Pied Flycatcher popped up in the gorse a few seconds before a gingery head poked above one of the bushes to reveal a juvenile Red-backed Shrike. It zipped around the large mound for a few minutes before disappearing off. I think it was eventually refound by others somewhere near St Fittick's church.
Other bits and pieces included four Swifts, three Wigeon, a Rook, a Goosander, two Wheatears, five Willow Warblers, six Whitethroats and nine Sedge Warblers.
Here are some slightly fuzzy shots of the shrike, including a flight shot (!).
Attachments
Teamscotch
Well-known member
We found a new (brighter) Greenish Warbler at Doonies this morning...just behind the Loirston CP car park. Mark was walking past on the coast road and dropped by to sandwich it in between his 1st and 3rd Greenish of the day. Madness..!
Another day of high intrigue here in Torry. Things started fairly quietly in the mist, although a couple of Treecreepers off Victoria Road were locally scarce. Around Nigg Bay it was a struggle to see anything much, even once I'd met up with Mark, who's like total scarce magnet at the moment. We got a bit interested in a warbler flock after hearing a promising call but all we saw were Willow Warblers.
Mark headed off to the Battery and I pottered about on the beach in Nigg Bay looking at Pied Wagtails. Mark predictably found a Greenish Warbler so I headed over to the Battery. The bird wasn't apparent at first but then I found it feeding in the hogweed between the Battery and Greyhope Bay. It showed really well for quite some time. Migrants suddenly started to appear in the same area: two Lesser Whitethroats, a Pied Flycatcher and a Whinchat.
Then we got a call about a Black-headed Bunting that had apparently been seen somewhere on the north shore. We went to look but didn't find anything (except for Mark who saw a Wryneck!). It's not so surprising that we didn't find it, as it turned out to have been seen about four hours earlier. All a bit quirky.
I popped back out early in the evening but didn't see too much in the way of migrants, with the wind having picked up a bit. Other stuff today: 47 Goosander, two Common Sandpipers, two Purple Sandpipers, 13 Dunlin, 19 Ringed Plover, 67 Turnstone, three Whimbrel, one Wheatear and one Grey Wagtail.
1&2. Greenish Warbler
3. Lesser Whitethroat
Mark headed off to the Battery and I pottered about on the beach in Nigg Bay looking at Pied Wagtails. Mark predictably found a Greenish Warbler so I headed over to the Battery. The bird wasn't apparent at first but then I found it feeding in the hogweed between the Battery and Greyhope Bay. It showed really well for quite some time. Migrants suddenly started to appear in the same area: two Lesser Whitethroats, a Pied Flycatcher and a Whinchat.
Then we got a call about a Black-headed Bunting that had apparently been seen somewhere on the north shore. We went to look but didn't find anything (except for Mark who saw a Wryneck!). It's not so surprising that we didn't find it, as it turned out to have been seen about four hours earlier. All a bit quirky.
I popped back out early in the evening but didn't see too much in the way of migrants, with the wind having picked up a bit. Other stuff today: 47 Goosander, two Common Sandpipers, two Purple Sandpipers, 13 Dunlin, 19 Ringed Plover, 67 Turnstone, three Whimbrel, one Wheatear and one Grey Wagtail.
1&2. Greenish Warbler
3. Lesser Whitethroat
Attachments
Teamscotch
Well-known member
I put up a Wryneck from the path between the railway foot bridge and the road above the Nigg Bay STW this evening. It went into the strip of scrub between that path and the one that runs behind the works.
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Mark Lew1s
My real name is Mark Lewis
From the last two days:
Red backed shrike in the allotments yesterday lunchtime. In the evening a few whinchats, more wheatears than over the weekend, and still a few phylloscs. Others were reporting an icterine warbler and a nice chap I met at the battery had seen a bunting spp (presumed reed) by the battery willows.
This morning, a spotted flycatcher in the rough ground on abbey rd, and a wryneck at the west end of the North bank (exactly the spot where I nearly stood on one on sunday at lunchtime. A green sandpiper flew up the river and through the harbour at about 11:30.
Red backed shrike in the allotments yesterday lunchtime. In the evening a few whinchats, more wheatears than over the weekend, and still a few phylloscs. Others were reporting an icterine warbler and a nice chap I met at the battery had seen a bunting spp (presumed reed) by the battery willows.
This morning, a spotted flycatcher in the rough ground on abbey rd, and a wryneck at the west end of the North bank (exactly the spot where I nearly stood on one on sunday at lunchtime. A green sandpiper flew up the river and through the harbour at about 11:30.
Mark Lew1s
My real name is Mark Lewis
Reed warbler at the battery this lunchtime, pheasant in the allotments this morning!
