Birds fae Torry (2 Viewers)

[Andrew Whitehouse]

A mostly pleasant, mild day here in Torry, at least after the early morning rain cleared. I had a good look around Nigg Bay in the morning. Thrushes were again conspicuous with a Mistle Thrush, 33 Redwing and 12 Fieldfares. A male Great Spotted Woodpecker was near the railway embankment. Other stuff included a flushed Water Rail, a Snipe, a Teal, a Chiffchaff, two Stock Doves, three Goldcrests and six Siskins.

The headland in the afternoon was mostly quiet, although four Goldeneye flew in over the harbour mouth. We also had some purposeful movement on the Purple Sandpiper Totaliser:

171

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I had a pleasant look round the Nigg Bay area in the middle of the day in lovely weather. A Siberian Chiffchaff was again present, showing quite well at times near the railway embankment. Other stuff included four Water Rails (with one seen), a Snipe, three Teal, a Common Chiffchaff, 13 Redwings, two Mistle Thrushes and seven Siskins. 22 Moorhens was, for me at least, a record count.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I had a pleasant afternoon wander around the headland but it was fairly quiet for birds. That meant all eyes were on the Purple Sandpiper Totaliser and it didn't disappoint:

223

Straight in at number one with a bullet! Plenty of Pink-footed Geese were also heading south at dusk, with 263 counted in various flocks.

 

[Ian Bell]

I had a pleasant afternoon wander around the headland but it was fairly quiet for birds. That meant all eyes were on the Purple Sandpiper Totaliser and it didn't disappoint:

223

Straight in at number one with a bullet! Plenty of Pink-footed Geese were also heading south at dusk, with 263 counted in various flocks.

223.That's an Impressive total,Andrew. :t:

 

[Ian Bell]

Two Ring necked Parakeets flew over my head,calling this morning on Balnagask Road,heading In the direction of the Torry Gramps.
I have read of a single bird In the Bridge of Dee area recently,so perhaps It has found a partner,If It Is the same bird.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Two Ring necked Parakeets flew over my head,calling this morning on Balnagask Road,heading In the direction of the Torry Gramps.
I have read of a single bird In the Bridge of Dee area recently,so perhaps It has found a partner,If It Is the same bird.

Wow! First local records I would think.

 

[Ian Bell]

Wow! First local records I would think.

I have to be honest,I was a little taken aback.I have no previous knowledge of this species and heard them calling first.I actually thought they could be raptors,given the strange call that I heard before seeing them.
Once seen,they could not be mistaken for anything else,due to the colour and length of tail feathers.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

A mix of weather over the weekend, being reasonably fine yesterday but murky and grey today, with a hint of easterly offering some promise.

Yesterday morning I looked around Nigg Bay. The usual stuff was in evidence such as three Teal, two Siskins, a Common Chiffchaff, two Goldcrests, a Fieldfare and 11 Redwing. Three Stock Doves were on Tullos Hill and a male Blackcap was in the bushes near the railway bridge.

An afternoon walk around the headland produced another Blackcap, this time a female, on Abbey Road. A Common Scoter was offshore.

This morning around the headland was interesting. A Lapwing flying south was a bit of a surprise. Two Wigeon and a Common Scoter were offshore and two male Goldeneye flew into the harbour. Two Fieldfares and four Redwing gave hints of migration. A better hint was of a very confiding and slightly knackered looking Black Redstart. It was initially hopping about on the shore near the banana pier before heading up towards the allotments.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

An interesting day here in Torry, in initially quite murky conditions. I got a call from Mark to say he'd found a Short-toed Lark in Nigg Bay. I soon headed out there and found Mark still watching the bird as it hopped about along the path on the north side of the waterworks. It seemed a bit incongruous in a fairly 'wooded' location but was finding food along the edges of the track. As the sun began to penetrate the cloud it began to look a bit perkier. At one stage it actually walked closer towards us, seemingly fairly oblivious to our presence. It eventually flew off when a dog walker came through but was refound on the bare ground by the old football pitch. It was a bit bedraggled looking and was a fairly greyish individual, perhaps indicating an eastern origin. It's my second record of this species here.

As we were watching the lark, lots of thrushes were piling over. Blackbirds were particularly numerous. I counted 120 but that was doubtless an underestimate. Also about were 30 Fieldfares, 35 Redwing and two Song Thrushes.

A wander around produced four Woodcock, a calling Common Chiffchaff, a Teal, 35 Siskins, three Goldcrests and four Bullfinches. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was again about near the school field. Today's bird was a female so there seem to be at least two about. In the marsh, there were two Jack Snipe and a single Common Snipe.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I was only able to get out for the last hour or so of the day but it was still a little bit interesting. There weren't too many migrants in evidence, but a Chiffchaff was in the willows on the north bank. A female Stonechat was nearby. Of most note were a flock of five Brent Geese that flew into the harbour before going back north along Aberdeen beach. Perhaps they're some of the birds that have been on the Ythan Estuary recently. I managed a spectacularly under-exposed picture of them. I know some of you miss bad photos on this thread, so I thought you'd like to see it. I also saw what I suspect was a Black Redstart on the buildings between the allotments and Inverdee House. It was more-or-less dark when I briefly saw it though, so I'm not certain.

 

[delia todd]

:-O

Yeah... I had almost felt like going back to the beginning of this thread and reading it again Andrew. I must admit I was beginning to feel a bit inadequate!

 

[Ian Bell]

I felt a bit nostalgic on seeing your photo Andrew
Almost a case of deja vous

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I had a pleasant walk around in mild conditions this morning, mainly in the Nigg Bay area. The clearer skies seemed to encourage a bit of movement, including a large group of 24 Redpolls heading south. Four Mistle Thrushes were also on the move. Other birds included four Snipe, three Teal, nine Siskins, three Redwings, two Fieldfares and a Common Chiffchaff. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard calling near the waterworks.

I took a detour on the way home to follow up my hunch from Tuesday afternoon. Sure enough, a female-type Black Redstart was hanging around the MAREX building between the allotments and Inverdee House. It was out of sight most of the time but appeared quite nicely on the edge of the roof at one stage.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Today was pretty grey and breezy. It was fairly interesting bird-wise. A look around Nigg Bay in the morning, produced the usual stuff including four Teal, a Snipe, a Goldcrest, three Mistle Thrushes, a Redwing, two Grey Wagtails, 20 Siskins and this interesting warbler. A male Great Spotted Woodpecker
was feeding on hazelnuts near the railways embankment. A group of six Crossbills went south along the coast.

In the afternoon, I headed round the headland. I looked again for the Black Redstart at the MAREX building and was quite surprised to see there were now two together. Both were female/immature types. I think that's the first time I've seen more than one in Scotland. There wasn't too much else in the gloom around the headland, although 97 Purple Sandpipers were roosting.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

A fairly grey day in Torry today, although conditions let up during the middle of the day so I had a look around the headland. I briefly saw one Black Redstart on the MAREX building (others saw two). Later I also had fleeting views of another along the north bank near Skate's Nose. It got chased off by a Robin towards the breakwater. I wonder if it's a third bird or one of the MAREX ones?

The big news was on the Purple Sandpiper Totaliser, which soared up to:

260

We're in the big leagues now.

 

[delia todd]

The big news was on the Purple Sandpiper Totaliser, which soared up to:

260

We're in the big leagues now.

WOW!!! It seems they may have had a good breeding season then... what do you think Andrew?

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

WOW!!! It seems they may have had a good breeding season then... what do you think Andrew?

Maybe. The numbers seem to have been getting higher in recent years, which is encouraging after a period of decline. I suspect the count might improve again over the next few weeks. I wonder if the 'magic 300' might be broken this winter.

 

[delia todd]

Cor!!! That'd be something to aspire to Andrew.

Fingers crossed.

 

[Ian Bell]

Whats the record number for the Totaliser,Andrew ?
250 Is brilliant

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

Whats the record number for the Totaliser,Andrew ?
250 Is brilliant

278 from Janaury of this year. Only 19 more to beat it!