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Birds fae Torry (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Andrew Whitehouse
- Start date
Helenelizabeth2
What?!?
Andrew will be back in a few days. You need to try a little harder to find something to grip him off with while he's away.
Andrew will be back in a few days. You need to try a little harder to find something to grip him off with while he's away.
Shall try my best in the morning Helen.How does Harlequin Duck sound to you ?
Helenelizabeth2
What?!?
Shall try my best in the morning Helen.How does Harlequin Duck sound to you ?
Superb. Just as long as it doesn't stick around long.
amilne
Well-known member
I have visited the Coo several times recently to look for the King Eiders. My skill level is such that I have not been certain which of the Eiders is a King Eider, or even which of the "different looking" Eiders is the Prince and the Queen. No-one who has been there when I am has been able to assist me.
My new camera does not seem to be able to use to digiscope, but I have taken some photographs, which I attach a few, and the others can be found at
http://www.amilne.co.uk/indiabirdreport2007/TheTorryCoo/index.html
None of them is sufficiently detailed to provide a good photograph, but as a whole they may enable an expert to tell me if I have been photographing the right birds, and which one is the male. I have tried since again since these were taken, but the light has been poor for photographing at these distances with my kit.
All except No 11 have has image/adjust/automatic levels in Xnview to enhance the colours.
I also attach a photograph of the Coo, and would ask if it was any of the readers here who tried to park next to it on Xmas day? 3
Thanks in advance and a Happy New Year.
Alex
My new camera does not seem to be able to use to digiscope, but I have taken some photographs, which I attach a few, and the others can be found at
http://www.amilne.co.uk/indiabirdreport2007/TheTorryCoo/index.html
None of them is sufficiently detailed to provide a good photograph, but as a whole they may enable an expert to tell me if I have been photographing the right birds, and which one is the male. I have tried since again since these were taken, but the light has been poor for photographing at these distances with my kit.
All except No 11 have has image/adjust/automatic levels in Xnview to enhance the colours.
I also attach a photograph of the Coo, and would ask if it was any of the readers here who tried to park next to it on Xmas day? 3
Thanks in advance and a Happy New Year.
Alex
Attachments
Hi Alex - all of the pictures you've attached (apart from the trashed car one) show at least one of the King Eiders.
1. The two right hand birds, with the drake top.
3. Shows the drake.
4. Drake right and female left. This one shows the head and bill profile well, particularly on the female.
5. The two dark birds, with the drake top.
That trashed car's making me feel homesick. I was quite a few hundred miles away on Christmas day by the way!
1. The two right hand birds, with the drake top.
3. Shows the drake.
4. Drake right and female left. This one shows the head and bill profile well, particularly on the female.
5. The two dark birds, with the drake top.
That trashed car's making me feel homesick. I was quite a few hundred miles away on Christmas day by the way!
Just keeping this thread to the forefront! Went to the Torry Coo today (idiot that I am) looking for the king and queen eiders. There were a few eiders on show but I couldn't claim any of them were the royals. The conditions were really bad, gale force wind and rain and freezing. BTW, a second metal post has been removed from the fence around the Coo (it wasnae me honest) so it is now easier to get inside where it can be a bit more sheltered, but with a restricted view.
Hi Ken - according to his blog Mark Lewis didn't see them on New Year's Eve so perhaps they've departed. I'm back in town now, so will have a look when I'm able. The forecast looks a bit grim for tomorrow though!
edenwatcher
Well-known member
Into the maelstrom!
I see nobody managed to find anything rare while I was away, despite Helen's instructions.
I had a quick look from the flat yesterday morning but didn't see much apart from a Kittiwake.
This morning it was looking decidedly rough. In fact, the harbour was actually closed today, and it's easy to see why from the pictures below.
Something I shall be keeping an eye on over the coming months is the colony of gulls that nest on the roof tops behind my flat. Over recent weeks a few Herring Gulls have been prospecting their nesting sites. I shall keep you informed of their progress via the medium of the photograph (see the first picture).
After this morning's rain subsided, I set off for a walk around the Ness. The wind seemed to be keeping everything on the move as great swirls of gulls were whisked about the river mouth. Unfortunately there was nothing white-winged amongst them. A lot of Eiders were sheltering on the harbour but I couldn't find either of the Royals amongst them. It looks like these aren't around at the moment, but perhaps they'll return. Also on the harbour were 9 Red-breasted Mergansers. Otherwise most birds seemed to have been blown away or were seeking shelter elsewhere. Four Purple Sandpipers were on Greyhope Bay, a Rock Pipit and a Lapwing were in the lighthouse field. From the foghorn one Red-throated Diver went south and there were quite large numbers of Fulmars and a few Kittiwakes lingering offshore.
The car has now been removed, but signs of its presence remain (see picture 5 below).
I see nobody managed to find anything rare while I was away, despite Helen's instructions
.I had a quick look from the flat yesterday morning but didn't see much apart from a Kittiwake.
This morning it was looking decidedly rough. In fact, the harbour was actually closed today, and it's easy to see why from the pictures below.
Something I shall be keeping an eye on over the coming months is the colony of gulls that nest on the roof tops behind my flat. Over recent weeks a few Herring Gulls have been prospecting their nesting sites. I shall keep you informed of their progress via the medium of the photograph (see the first picture).
After this morning's rain subsided, I set off for a walk around the Ness. The wind seemed to be keeping everything on the move as great swirls of gulls were whisked about the river mouth. Unfortunately there was nothing white-winged amongst them. A lot of Eiders were sheltering on the harbour but I couldn't find either of the Royals amongst them. It looks like these aren't around at the moment, but perhaps they'll return. Also on the harbour were 9 Red-breasted Mergansers. Otherwise most birds seemed to have been blown away or were seeking shelter elsewhere. Four Purple Sandpipers were on Greyhope Bay, a Rock Pipit and a Lapwing were in the lighthouse field. From the foghorn one Red-throated Diver went south and there were quite large numbers of Fulmars and a few Kittiwakes lingering offshore.
The car has now been removed, but signs of its presence remain (see picture 5 below).
Attachments
Dave Kennedy
Well-known member
Andrew - take a look at these two from, I think, the 1920's. I actually remember the crane, if not the incident!
Regards,
Dave Kennedy
PS - I see I got them the wrong way round - but i am sure that you can figure out that the big splash is the first one. That's what did the damage.
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Last edited:
Jane Turner
Well-known member
Oh my I LOVE seas.... it a bit calm here...
I wish it looked like this out of my bedroom window just now
I wish it looked like this out of my bedroom window just now
I like the old photos. Any more of the area would be good to see.
The waves were still very high today, but I was further north for most of the time. It was a good day for gulls and I had good views of adult Little Gull and Iceland Gull in Fraserburgh and the Bonaparte's Gull in Peterhead. I'll try and get out around Girdle Ness tomorrow, to see if anything similar has made it down here.
The waves were still very high today, but I was further north for most of the time. It was a good day for gulls and I had good views of adult Little Gull and Iceland Gull in Fraserburgh and the Bonaparte's Gull in Peterhead. I'll try and get out around Girdle Ness tomorrow, to see if anything similar has made it down here.
Helenelizabeth2
What?!?
Tsk. And there was I struggling to find a Herring Gull in Peterborough.
Dave Kennedy
Well-known member
Old Aberdeen
I have been writing, purely for personal reasons, an account of Aberdeen as it was in the 1940's and 1950's. I contacted the University of Aberdeen for help with illustrations, particularly concerning the harbour and fish market area. They very kindly sent me a great deal of material from their archives, and that is where I found those pictures.
I have attached two more, one more showing how we used to get about Aberdeen, and the other showing Andrew the road to Torry over 60 years ago.
Best wishes,
Dave Kennedy
I have been writing, purely for personal reasons, an account of Aberdeen as it was in the 1940's and 1950's. I contacted the University of Aberdeen for help with illustrations, particularly concerning the harbour and fish market area. They very kindly sent me a great deal of material from their archives, and that is where I found those pictures.
I have attached two more, one more showing how we used to get about Aberdeen, and the other showing Andrew the road to Torry over 60 years ago.
Best wishes,
Dave Kennedy
Attachments
The Return of the King
Fantastic pictures Dave. It's changed a bit hasn't it.
Today was a remarkable contrast to recent days, with only a whiff of a breeze, calm seas, blue skies and pleasant temperatures. A fine day for a wander around the Ness in fact.
I skirted the allotments and then headed down to the north shore. There were plenty of gulls feeding on the small beach next to the inner pier but these all took off and settled in the water on my approach. All, that is, except for a quite splendid 1st winter Glaucous Gull, which remained on the beach with a flock of Turnstone and continued to pick about the washed-up seaweed as I stood by taking pictures. At one stage it found a small worm-like thing that it set about delicately swallowing. A Herring Gull eventually came up onto the beach, and it became clear that it was at least as bothered by the Glaucous Gull as it was by me. The Glonk just sat by and glowered at it all the other gulls.
178 Purple Sandpipers were roosting on the old pier, so no change to the totaliser there, and a drake Long-tailed Duck flew into the harbour. There was a decent flock of waders in, of all places, the lighthouse field. Recent rains have made it nicely marshy and amongst the Oystercatchers, Turnstones and Starlings were four Dunlin and a patch tick - a rather warm and buffy looking juvenile Bar-tailed Godwit.
Then to the foghorn and, unlike recent days, there were plenty of birds on the sea. There were lots of Eiders and eventually I located the 1st winter drake King Eider, whose bill is now starting to look properly orangey. Who knows where he's been over recent days, or where the Queen is for that matter, but it was good to see him back in place for 2008. There were around a dozen Red-throated Divers and an excellent Great-northern Diver, as well as good numbers of auks. There wasn't too much moving further out though.
I had a look for the Glaucous Gull later on but it had disappeared from the shore. There was some potential for it to reappear as a house tick, or so I thought, but I couldn't see it perched up on any of the piers of loafing about on the water. Perhaps it headed up to Donmouth where several hundred gulls could be seen distantly near the beach, probably feeding amongst material washed up by the recent rough weather.
Fantastic pictures Dave. It's changed a bit hasn't it.
Today was a remarkable contrast to recent days, with only a whiff of a breeze, calm seas, blue skies and pleasant temperatures. A fine day for a wander around the Ness in fact.
I skirted the allotments and then headed down to the north shore. There were plenty of gulls feeding on the small beach next to the inner pier but these all took off and settled in the water on my approach. All, that is, except for a quite splendid 1st winter Glaucous Gull, which remained on the beach with a flock of Turnstone and continued to pick about the washed-up seaweed as I stood by taking pictures. At one stage it found a small worm-like thing that it set about delicately swallowing. A Herring Gull eventually came up onto the beach, and it became clear that it was at least as bothered by the Glaucous Gull as it was by me. The Glonk just sat by and glowered at it all the other gulls.
178 Purple Sandpipers were roosting on the old pier, so no change to the totaliser there, and a drake Long-tailed Duck flew into the harbour. There was a decent flock of waders in, of all places, the lighthouse field. Recent rains have made it nicely marshy and amongst the Oystercatchers, Turnstones and Starlings were four Dunlin and a patch tick - a rather warm and buffy looking juvenile Bar-tailed Godwit.
Then to the foghorn and, unlike recent days, there were plenty of birds on the sea. There were lots of Eiders and eventually I located the 1st winter drake King Eider, whose bill is now starting to look properly orangey. Who knows where he's been over recent days, or where the Queen is for that matter, but it was good to see him back in place for 2008. There were around a dozen Red-throated Divers and an excellent Great-northern Diver, as well as good numbers of auks. There wasn't too much moving further out though.
I had a look for the Glaucous Gull later on but it had disappeared from the shore. There was some potential for it to reappear as a house tick, or so I thought, but I couldn't see it perched up on any of the piers of loafing about on the water. Perhaps it headed up to Donmouth where several hundred gulls could be seen distantly near the beach, probably feeding amongst material washed up by the recent rough weather.
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