Birds fae Torry (6 Viewers)

Andrew Whitehouse · Apr 1, 2018

Quite pleasant in Torry today, after a rough period of weather. Around the Nigg Bay marsh a Woodcock was seen flying into the planted trees. A pair of Long-tailed Tits were along the railway embankment and a Goldcrest was still around in the small conifers.

Offshore, two Sandwich Terns went north and a female Red-breasted Merganser was in Greyhope Bay. Skate's Nose held 208 Purple Sandpipers, 52 Turnstone and a single Knot.

Andrew Whitehouse · Apr 26, 2018

Had my first wander around the Ness in a few weeks this evening, in rather chilly conditions. To be honest, if you took out the Herring Gulls, there weren't a lot of birds around. I thought for a while that I might not see any summer migrants at all, but eventually a Wheatear was found trotting about Walker Park. A single Swallow zipped about the lighthouse. There wasn't a lot else.

Andrew Whitehouse · Apr 28, 2018

A few more migrants were around today. Plenty of Willow Warblers are in: at least 17 singing, mostly in the Nigg Bay area. Almost all that I saw were at the cold grey-brown end of the spectrum. Three Blackcaps were along the railway embankment. I was a bit more surprised to see my first Whitethroat of the year by the railway bridge. Several Swallows and three House Martins were also about. Two Yellowhammers and a pair of Coal Tits (maybe another colonising breeder?) were also around, and six Long-tailed Ducks were on Nigg Bay. Late in the afternoon a Redpoll was flying south over Greyhope Bay.

Andrew Whitehouse · May 1, 2018

Have been out a couple of times in the past few days, in clear but quite cold conditions. On Sunday there was a good range of species about but there still weren't a lot of migrants in. Willow Warbler, Blackcap and Chiffchaff were singing around Nigg Bay. Two Siskins flew over, a pair of Long-tailed Tits were along the railway embankment and a late Snipe was in the marsh. A pair of Long-tailed Ducks were in the bay. Otherwise, three Wheatears were in Walker Park. The best sighting was of a Weasel along the north bank.

Yesterday evening a Wheatear was still in Walker Park and three Whimbrel flew north offshore. It looks as though the weather should be warmer by the end of the week, so hopefully a few more migrants will be in by then.

Andrew Whitehouse · May 5, 2018

Quite pleasantly warm here in Torry now, and there were more migrants about today as a consequence. Two Sedge Warblers were singing in the marsh, along with larger numbers of other warblers. The best migrant was a very active Spotted Flycatcher along the railway embankment. Two Snipe were still about, including one flushed from quite a dry patch of grass.

A wander around the Ness in the evening turned up a White Wagtail on the breakwater, 45 Purple Sandpipers in Greyhope Bay and an impressive 16 Wheatears. Several Sand Martins were back at their nests on the north bank. As the sun dropped two Swifts appeared for a minute or two over Torry. Hopefully more will be on their way soon.

Andrew Whitehouse · May 6, 2018

Pleasantly warm and sunny again in Torry today. Things were a bit subdued in Nigg Bay, aside from plenty of warblers busying themselves establishing territories. Most notable sighting was of a male Pheasant flying in off Tullos Hill.

Here are a few pictures.

Andrew Whitehouse · May 13, 2018

An interesting weekend in Torry, although perhaps not quite as good as might have been hoped given the time of year and some favourable weather conditions.

Yesterday, two Siskins were a bit of a surprise along Abbey Road. A White Wagtail was on the golf course and my first Common Sandpiper of the year was around the harbour mouth. A couple of Common Terns were in the same area and I picked up two Arctic Skuas heading north. A Wheatear was at Walker Park and 40 Purple Sandpipers were still about, as was a single Snipe along the Tullos Burn.

Today was a bit rainy at times, which was promising but there didn't seem to be any obvious influx of migrants. At least six Whimbrel were around the golf course. Otherwise things were slightly uneventful until I was heading for home along Abbey Road. I looked up to see an Osprey circling overhead - pretty much over my house in fact. After getting a bit of attention from the crows it headed north.

Kincraig · May 14, 2018

I was out in this area yesterday for a while in the afternoon, killing time when one of my children was at a birthday party at the beach. Before reading this thread I wouldn’t have given the area much of a thought with regards to nature-spotting, but the mix of habitats and surprising calm over the area makes it relatively species-rich.
I walked through the light rain over the golf course, down to the harbour mouth, along the shore upstream to the allotments and back to the golf course car park. I was hoping to see some redpoll but didn’t – plenty of linnets but no redpoll. Apart from that there were the usual skylarks, thrush, goldfinch, swallows and the like, plus a couple of twite in the bushes by the shore at the harbour, the first that I have positively identified. Finally, as I got back to the car, a sparrowhawk flew over the golf course scattering birds in all directions before sitting on the ground at the crest of the hill. It was a good way to spend an hour, far better than observing the human wildlife on the other side of the river.

Andrew Whitehouse · May 14, 2018

Kincraig said:
I was out in this area yesterday for a while in the afternoon, killing time when one of my children was at a birthday party at the beach. Before reading this thread I wouldn’t have given the area much of a thought with regards to nature-spotting, but the mix of habitats and surprising calm over the area makes it relatively species-rich.
I walked through the light rain over the golf course, down to the harbour mouth, along the shore upstream to the allotments and back to the golf course car park. I was hoping to see some redpoll but didn’t – plenty of linnets but no redpoll. Apart from that there were the usual skylarks, thrush, goldfinch, swallows and the like, plus a couple of twite in the bushes by the shore at the harbour, the first that I have positively identified. Finally, as I got back to the car, a sparrowhawk flew over the golf course scattering birds in all directions before sitting on the ground at the crest of the hill. It was a good way to spend an hour, far better than observing the human wildlife on the other side of the river.

Glad you enjoyed your day out Kincraig. If you're looking for Redpoll your best bet is around the Nigg Bay marshes. They're sometimes around there but aren't all that easy to find.

Are you sure about the Twite? That's quite a rare bird here - I've not seen one here for maybe 4 or 5 years and I don't know of anyone else seeing them much in the intervening time. If we do get them it's normally in late autumn/ early winter rather than this time of year. Linnets are much commoner and can sometimes look very similar.

Kincraig · May 14, 2018

The birds had no red colouring on them, a distinctive speckled pattern on the breast and a distinctive grey bar on the wing when it was closed. It was these three characteristics that led me to identifying it as a twite and not a linnet. However, I would accept that I could be wrong; I’m no expert, just an interested amateur.

Andrew Whitehouse · May 14, 2018

Kincraig said:
The birds had no red colouring on them, a distinctive speckled pattern on the breast and a distinctive grey bar on the wing when it was closed. It was these three characteristics that led me to identifying it as a twite and not a linnet. However, I would accept that I could be wrong; I’m no expert, just an interested amateur.

The description could probably fit a female Linnet as easily as a Twite. This is a female Linnet:
https://www.treknature.com/gallery/photo203185.htm
It's certainly confusable with a Twite. One other thing is that you mentioned them being in a bush. Although Twite will sometimes go in bushes, they much more often tend to be on the ground, whereas Linnets are frequently in bushes. On the occasions I've seen Twite in coastal Aberdeenshire, they've almost always been on or close to the ground.

Kincraig · May 14, 2018

They were on the ground, not in the bushes, and there was two together. They could have been female linnets but I suspected that they were a pair, male and female, since they landed together and took off together. I was pretty close to them, <20m, and managed to view them for a good minute. All that being said, I would still accept that I could be wrong.

Andrew Whitehouse · May 19, 2018

Rather a quiet day in Torry today, in mild, breezy conditions. The only migrants were a couple of 'Northwestern' Wheatears in Greyhope Bay.

It's maybe worth mentioning how things are looking for summer migrants, particularly given there being a bit of discussion elsewhere about numbers of certain species being down. Swifts came in on time but rather gradually and numbers seemed low, but 13 last night was a more normal total for early summer.

More concerning are the low numbers of hirundines. Over recent years we've had some good Sand Martin colonies develop but the numbers this year are much lower than the past couple of years, despite conditions for breeding seeming similar. House Martins have increased a lot as a breeding bird over the past few years, mainly due to some new houses being suitable for them. Numbers seem lower this year and I'm not seeing them that much around the usual colony areas. Swallows are harder to judge because they're not as colonial but I've yet to see any substantial numbers and a few regular breeding spots don't seem to occupied.

Other migrants seem to be around in reasonable numbers. Most warblers are about as numerous as last year. I've yet to hear a Garden Warbler, which is a species that seemed to be getting established here over the past few years.

Otherwise numbers of breeding birds seem okay, with fairly good numbers of Reed Bunting and Yellowhammer, both of which are much commoner than they used to be. I suspect Moorhens are breeding again, although they've become elusive over recent weeks.

Andrew Whitehouse · May 26, 2018

Today was a bit frustrating in some respects, with a distinct lack of rare warblers singing or pink starlings kicking about. The Nigg Bay area was pretty quiet all told. The best bet was seawatching, although I didn't really stick it out for too long. An Arctic Skua went north, as did my first Arctic Tern of the year. A pair of Velvet Scoters went through at fairly close range and a late Wheatear was near Skate's Nose.

Otherwise it felt like summer, the smell of barbecue fires hanging in the air and, across the Dee the sound of a Fratellis tribute band playing in the distance. It makes you pause for a moment, just the idea of such a thing.

I did take loads of photos though. Here are some of them.

Andrew Whitehouse · May 26, 2018

And some more.

Andrew Whitehouse · May 26, 2018

And some more. Stop me if you're bored.

Andrew Whitehouse · May 26, 2018

The last bunch.

Andrew Whitehouse · May 27, 2018

A Lesser Whitethroat was heard singing briefly around the waterworks this morning. It wasn't seen. More showy was a male Bullfinch by the railway embankment.

Some more pictures, though not as many as yesterday.

Ian Bell · May 27, 2018

Some great pics,Andrew.
Changed days from when you were well known for the Household Item pics from round there.

Jimmycq · May 28, 2018

Some nice shots there Andrew, what camera are you using? Just me being nosey!

Birds fae Torry (6 Viewers)

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