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 (!).