Birds fae Torry (2 Viewers)

Andrew Whitehouse · May 25, 2019

I had a look around the Nigg Bay area this morning. The most surprising sighting came early with a single Redwing hopping about around the old people's home on Victoria Road. No idea what that was doing here in late May. A Garden Warbler was again singing along the railway embankment. As is the fashion these days, a Lesser Whitethroat was also singing along the embankment, a little bit further west by the school playing fields. I was pleased to see a family of recently fledged Long-tailed Tits, a species that now seems to be a regular breeder here.

Andrew Whitehouse · May 26, 2019

Rather rainy here today, so I didn't get out until the afternoon. A few waders were around, including a Whimbrel and two Purple Sandpipers on Greyhope Bay. A seawatch was reasonably productive. Among large numbers of commoner seabirds moving north were one dark phase Arctic Skua, one Bonxie, nine Manx Shearwaters and 27 Puffins.

Ian Bell · Jun 4, 2019

A bit of a strange one for me just now.20 Canada Geese just flew very low up Abbey Place and over Balnagask Road towards the Gramps.

Andrew Whitehouse · Jun 4, 2019

Ben Nevis said:
A bit of a strange one for me just now.20 Canada Geese just flew very low up Abbey Place and over Balnagask Road towards the Gramps.

Nice record! Presumably birds on moult migration to the Moray Firth. They usually go through around this time of the year.

Andrew Whitehouse · Jun 30, 2019

Hmm, a bit quiet on this thread lately. That's probably a reflection of the rather casual approach I've been taking to birding locally over recent weeks, as well as things being fairly uneventful. I'd hesitate to say it's been quiet, as there have been plenty of birds singing and breeding. It's good to live somewhere that bucks the general trend of declining wildlife. Everywhere around the Ness and Nigg Bay is thick with flowers, insects and nesting birds at the moment.

I'll offer a quick summary of recent events:
9/6: Bonxie and two Puffins offshore
15/6: Two Manx Shearwaters and 17 Puffins
16/6: Garden Warbler singing along the railway embankment
22/6: A few returning waders including a Dunlin. Also 10 Manx Shearwaters.
23/6: A pair of Lapwing around the waterworks
27/6: A later evening visit didn't produce many birds but there were plenty of bats around and also several 'lekking' Ghost Moths

Here a few pictures from 23rd.

Andrew Whitehouse · Jun 30, 2019

Here are some close-ups of a preening Willow Warbler, also from 23rd.

Andrew Whitehouse · Jun 30, 2019

Today was a bit still fairly quiet but a group of six Black-tailed Godwits flying over Aberdeen Bay were good, and an early sign of autumn. There were also several Painted Ladies around and both Common Blue and Meadow Brown were on the wing. A Puffin was offshore and the local Bottlenose Dolphins gave a good show.

delia todd · Jun 30, 2019

Beautiful pictures for you report Andrew.

Ian Bell · Jun 30, 2019

Some lovely photos there,Andrew

Andrew Whitehouse · Jul 7, 2019

Mostly still quiet here over recent days. On Thursday a juvenile Stonechat on the north bank was a bit of a suprise, as it's a while since I've seen any adults.

This evening I enjoyed a moderately engaging seawatch, with quite good numbers of seabirds moving. 100 Manx Shearwaters was a fairly high count and other species included four Puffins, one Red-throated Diver, 22 Common Scoters, six Red-breasted Mergansers and five Whimbrel.

Andrew Whitehouse · Aug 8, 2019

Had my first wander round the Ness for a while this evening. The most notable bird was a juvenile Shelduck, languishing among the infrastructure in Nigg Bay. A Dunlin was with a few Ringed Plovers on the breakwater. At least 70 Swifts were gathered over Torry towards sunset. I wonder if they'll move south ahead of the incoming storm.

Andrew Whitehouse · Aug 10, 2019

Had a fairly good look around the Ness this morning. Conditions have certainly been interesting over the past day or so but things were mostly quite subdued, with no evidence of any landbird migrants at least. There were one or two notable things about though.

First up was a thrilling patch record count of no less than six Pheasants in the grass and weeds near the Battery. All were young birds that I suspect will have been released somewhere. Maybe someone's developing a shoot at the Ness.

Second was a female Pochard lingering offshore with the Eiders. Only my fourth ever sighting here. The light winds offshore didn't produce too much passage but a Bonxie went north, as did a single Knot and two Common Scoter. Also around were one Dunlin and ten Ringed Plover on the breakwater and a gathering of at least 40 House Martins over the golf course.

Andrew Whitehouse · Aug 11, 2019

Had a bit of a seawatch today, although it was fairly quiet despite a brisk northerly wind. Four Bonxies and one Arctic Skua was about the best of it.

Andrew Whitehouse · Aug 17, 2019

It was a fine but breezy morning here in Torry, although it gave way to showers by early afternoon. A few waders were on the move, usually stopping off around Greyhope Bay. At least seven Knot included both adults and juveniles. A juvenile Sanderling was notable and there was also a Dunlin and six Ringed Plovers. A bedraggled looking Arctic Tern was on the rocks for a short time.

The best bird was a juvenile Black Guillemot off the Coo. It looked to be transitioning into paler first winter plumage. Probably the most enjoyable sighting was of a family of Weasels in Greyhope Bay. Two young ones were jumping about in the grass at the top of the beach while an adult prowled around the pebbles.

Andrew Whitehouse · Aug 18, 2019

Yesterday's juvenile Black Guillemot was again present off the Coo. A lot of Bonxies were around, both moving through and lurking about. A minimum of eight were counted. There were also two Arctic Skuas and a Manx Shearwater moving.

Waders included single Whimbrel and Knot. A juvenile White Wagtail was on the shore below the Coo. The highlight was a Merlin hurtling around Greyhope Bay before heading into the harbour. Today's top mammal action, in addition to some leaping dolphins, was a remarkably tame Common Shrew on the golf course. At one stage it even ran between my legs.

Ian Bell · Aug 19, 2019

A good weekend,then Andrew.
Especially your mammal encounters. :t:

Andrew Whitehouse · Aug 22, 2019

Had a slightly quirky sighting of a Whimbrel flying south over Victoria Road this evening. Also eight Sand Martins going purposefully in the same direction. There were still at least 16 Swifts gathering over Torry between 8 and 8.30. Similar numbers have been present every evening recently. They're staying remarkably late this year, though I'm not sure why.

Andrew Whitehouse · Aug 23, 2019

I had a scoot round the Ness early evening today, still in fairly warm conditions. A reasonable selection of waders included a Common Sandpiper, a Dunlin and five Knot. 58 Goosander were in the harbour and three Wheatears on the golf course. There were still 12 Swifts over Victoria Road at dusk.

Andrew Whitehouse · Aug 24, 2019

Had a look around the Nigg Bay area for the first time in a while this morning. The vegetation is very thick there and no doubt something interesting is lurking. I didn't see too much in the bushes although a Bonxie was picked out moving north offshore.

Six Swifts this evening. The numbers seem to be dropping now though.

Andrew Whitehouse · Aug 25, 2019

Had a good look round the Ness in pleasantly warm conditions with some promise in a light southeasterly wind. The migrants that seem to be turning up further south weren't much in evidence here however. Three Wheatears and three White Wagtails were the only obvious land bird migrants, although no doubt some things were lurking out of sight.

Ducks were moving a bit with 14 Teal and four Wigeon, one of which was resting on the rocks in Greyhope Bay. A Bonxie was offshore, bothering the loafing seabirds. Last weekend's juvenile Black Guillemot was again around, this time a bit closer in near the breakwater in Greyhope Bay. Some pictures for fans of record shots are below.

There weren't too many waders about but two Knot were below the Coo and then my first Bar-tailed Godwit of the year flew south over the golf course with a group of Curlew.

Three Swifts were still over Victoria Road in the evening.

Birds fae Torry (2 Viewers)

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