Birds fae Torry (21 Viewers)

[Cucurrucucu]

Are you venturing out in this? (My Beloved fell over badly on Victoria Bridge on his way back from the train last night. Struggled to get up because of the slippery ice.)
Will Bert blow in some migrants? Wrong direction?

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Are you venturing out in this? (My Beloved fell over badly on Victoria Bridge on his way back from the train last night. Struggled to get up because of the slippery ice.)
Will Bert blow in some migrants? Wrong direction?

I shall venture out when I have time. Things could be interesting over the next few days, although I suspect mainly on the sea.

It is a bit slippery out there, and may get worse before it gets better.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Still cold here, though most of the snow had gone by today. I had a look around the headland. Seawatching was quiet but I saw one reasonably close Little Auk, which flew north before ditching on the sea. Four Harbour Porpoises were also quite close to the foghorn. Not much else was around, although I picked out four Goldeneye in Aberdeen Bay.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

The rain hadn't quite arrived first thing this morning, although it was still very windy and I knew the rain was on its way. I headed out earlier to catch the 'best' of the weather and spent most of the time seawatching. There wasn't a vast amount moving, although what there was moved at a rapid pace with a strong tailwind. Three Long-tailed Ducks and three Common Scoters went north, as did a few Gannets and Kittiwakes. In an hour, I saw four Little Auks, most hurtling northwards like bullets, but one went south and gave better views as it was slowed by the wind.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

A fair bit milder today with a strong SW wind but a lot of sun. I did a bit of seawatching with others who had the same idea. I saw three Little Auks, but others saw more. There was a fairly good passage of Gannets but I didn't see much else.

St Fittick's had the usual suspects including a calling Chiffchaff, three Teal, and two Water Rails.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Quite a pleasant, mild day in Torry. I had a look around St Fittick's in the morning. It was generally the usual stuff, but I flushed at least two Woodcock and a Snipe. Other birds included a Chiffchaff, Great Spotted Woodpecker, six Teal, four Pheasants, a Redpoll and a Buzzard. Siskins have been scarce lately but there was a flock of at least ten around.

I continued on around the headland. Things were very quiet. A roost of 131 Purple Sandpipers included a Dunlin and a colour-ringed bird. As usual, it's quite hard to work out which scheme its from, but I'll see if I can find out anything.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

A fairly low key day, which was a bit gloomy in the morning but brightened up later and became fairly pleasant. The big news was from solid action on the Purple Sandpiper Totaliser:

256

Two Long-tailed Ducks and five Common Scoters were scoped distantly in Aberdeen Bay. St Fittick's was quiet but did feature Great Spotted Woodpecker, Teal and two Chiffchaffs.

 

[Cucurrucucu]

St Fittick's was quiet but did feature Great Spotted Woodpecker, Teal and two Chiffchaffs.

You did better than we did. You see the teal we could hear. Hardly any free space left now to catch a glimpse.
Started out today but rain and wind in my face, I gave up before I had warmed up.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Back birding in Torry today, in sunny, calm but rather cold conditions. Things seemed to be fairly quiet, although I scoped eight Long-tailed Ducks in Aberdeen Bay. It looked as though it would be quiet offshore too, but on reaching the foghorn I met with some immediate success. Almost the first bird I saw was a splendid immature Black-throated Diver swimming just off the rocks. This was my first here for a couple of years and it's always a rare species. This one gave very good views, although it dived a lot and swam quickly southwards towards the mouth of the new harbour. Probably the best looks at this species I've ever had here.

 

[Cucurrucucu]

I'm jealous of you even getting out of the house. The cold and a cold has kept me in all week. (A rabbit of negative euphoria, as Douglas Richardson would say. Not a happy bunny.)
Only thing of interest through the window has been our first blackcap of the winter. Usually there's a female but not this week.
View attachment Garden 24,12,11 male blackcap 5.JPG

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Cold and calm again today, but a bit cloudier. Fairly quiet with three Long-tailed Ducks and two Sanderling scoped in the Aberdeen beach area. Three Harbour Porpoises were offshore, along with five Red-throated Divers.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Another fairly pleasant day here, beginning cool but getting a bit milder. I scoped six Long-tailed Ducks in Aberdeen Bay. Relatively little was offshore but I did find a Puffin - not a bird I often see in December. Three Harbour Porpoises were again about. St Fittick's was fairly quiet, but I did see a couple of Water Rails, which I've generally only heard in recent times. Other birds here included a Buzzard, a Pheasant, and six Teal.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Milder and breezier here today, but still quite sunny. I saw a Puffin again, this time beyond the North Pier. Ten Sanderling were also picked out on Aberdeen beach. I also a Black-throated Diver again in Greyhope and assume it was the same bird as the other day. It was diving almost constantly, often only coming up for a few seconds. That may not be a good sign, as it's probably desperate for food. Other birds included a Long-tailed Duck and some very slight movement on the Purple Sandpiper Totaliser:

257

Slow and steady wins the race. I had a quick look around St Fittick's too. Things were quiet but I heard a couple of Water Rails and there were five Teal.

 

[Ian Bell]

A walk around snow covered St Fittick's Park this morning,reminded me of Noah's Ark,as things were being seen ln two's.
Two Roe Deer were beside the burn,opposite the Pond,followed by two Water Rail calling from different parts along the burn.A walk to the Concrete Bridge flushed two Teal.
Small birds were absent,with only Blue Tit and Goldfinch encountered.Perhaps the patrolling,female Sparrowhawk had something to do with lt.
The Rowan trees at the old Infant School on Girdleness Road,had a single Fieldfare and 4 Redwing on them,as l made my way home.

 

[Scotlandbirds]

As I've recently moved house, I thought I'd start a thread detailing what I see from my new place. I'm now living in Torry, on the south side of Aberdeen harbour, and from the bedroom of my third floor flat I've got great views over the city and out to sea. I'll also mention any birding I do in the nearby area, which in this case is Girdle Ness - the peninsula that runs out from Torry and into the North Sea.

After a week in the flat, my house list has climbed up to 45. Not too bad, particularly considering the conditions haven't been all that favourable. Here's a preliminary house list to get us started:

Red-throated Diver
Manx Shearwater
Gannet
Cormorant
Shag
Grey Heron
Mute Swan
Pink-footed Goose
Mallard
Eider
Common Scoter
Sparrowhawk
Oystercatcher
Knot
Common Redshank
Turnstone
Arctic Skua
Great Skua
Black-headed Gull
Common Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Kittiwake
Sandwich Tern
Guillemot
Razorbill
Woodpigeon
Collared Dove
Swallow
House Martin
Rock Pipit
Meadow Pipit
Pied Wagtail
Robin
Blackbird
Blue Tit
Magpie
Jackdow
Carrion Crow
Starling
House Sparrow
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Linnet

So some good birds there, although nothing that's surprised me too much and plenty of easy things still to get. It's relatively easy to see quite a few seabirds, although the open sea is the best part of a mile away. Arctic Skuas have appeared three times, harrassing the terns and Kittiwakes that frequent the harbour mouth. A Bonxie drifted through on one occasion and a single Manx Shearwater flew north well out to sea. Commoner seabirds are often closer in, with good numbers of auks in the harbour at the moment and lots of gulls, Cormorants and Shags. Waders have been a bit harder to see, and there's only really one quite distant area - a concrete platform by one of the harbour breakwaters - where they can be seen feeding. Today I managed four species there, including four Knot. There was a little bit of evidence of visible migration early in the morning, with a few Meadow Pipits going over. Yesterday I saw the first flock of Pink-footed Geese, coming in off the sea and over Girdle Ness. Perhaps the most impressive sight so far have been the Bottle-nosed Dolphins. These are regularly found around the mouth of the harbour and at least half a dozen, including a mother and calf, have been scything through the waters over the past couple of days, attended by a crowd of gulls.

I'll post a few pictures later, together with some thoughts on what I might manage to see in the future.

bro go to deeside, the long valley that runs from aberdeen to braemar. Its one of the best places in scotland for birds and nature.
Also in aberdeen theres a peregrine falcon but it might not be easy to see

 

[Scotlandbirds]

A fair bit milder today with a strong SW wind but a lot of sun. I did a bit of seawatching with others who had the same idea. I saw three Little Auks, but others saw more. There was a fairly good passage of Gannets but I didn't see much else.

St Fittick's had the usual suspects including a calling Chiffchaff, three Teal, and two Water Rails.

lovely oystercatchers, such a cracking bird

 

[delia todd]

bro go to deeside, the long valley that runs from aberdeen to braemar. Its one of the best places in scotland for birds and nature.
Also in aberdeen theres a peregrine falcon but it might not be easy to see

LOL SB.... that was the first post in this thread and Andrew started it over 17 years ago!!!

This thread is solely for Torry and Girdleness.

 

[Scotlandbirds]

LOL SB.... that was the first post in this thread and Andrew started it over 17 years ago!!!

This thread is solely for Torry and Girdleness.

my apology

 

[delia todd]

my apology

No worries LOL

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Have been back at home for a few days now but haven't done any proper birding yet. I did, however, see a couple of notable birds from home today, both of which were useful patch year ticks. First up were a pair of Mute Swans flying over the harbour - a species I only saw once last year. Later, a Canada Goose was swimming around the harbour, which was a bit of a surprise. Suspect that might be my first January record here.