The big day was so 'big' I was too tired to write it up last night! Things begin just after 4pm and finished at 9.20pm. I walked 18 miles around Torry and Girdle Ness and had the aim of beating last year's total of 80 species. The weather was rather similar to last year, with fairly calm conditions through the morning but the wind picking up a bit in the afternoon and evening.
I began at dawn in St Fittick's. A good selection of the usual stuff was singing and I was pleased to hear a couple of vocal
Water Rails in the marsh, a species I missed last year. I continued over the headland to the foghorn, getting good views of a
Yellowhammer on the way. The sea was very busy, as it was all day. The only problem was looking into the sun. Seawatching was important for the day list, as it's often the best source of 'quirky' birds that aren't expected. The early morning watch was productive, featuring three
Arctic Skuas, six
Whimbrel, two
Red-breasted Mergansers, 23
Common Scoters, two
Puffins, 35
Manx Shearwaters, seven
Arctic Terns and a somewhat random
Mute Swan. I mopped up a few more things around the headland and, after five hours of birding, returned home for breakfast on 70 species. I knew the hard part was coming next though.
I decided to head along the River Dee next, as I knew a few things might be possible there that I wouldn't get around the headland. A male
Grey Wagtail showed nicely by the footbridge and a
Buzzard soared in the distance, bringing me to 72. I continued downstream back along the north shore of the headland. This eventually proved productive with a
Black Guillemot flying into Greyhope Bay, where both
Dunlin and
Sanderling were along the shore. Perhaps the most surprising birds of the day were picked out north of the harbour: a pair of
Wigeon resting on the sea. Quite an unexpected species in May.
I was now on 77 species and it was only mid-afternoon. I headed back to St Fittick's, where there were a few more possible species to look for. I soon found two:
Bullfinch and
Redpoll. I was hoping my 80th species would also be the 80th and last species I saw last year: Long-tailed Tit. Sadly, there was no sign. They're often hard to find at this time of year. I still had the evening to add to the total and decided it was best to go around the headland again, since there were a number of possibilities. Unfortunately, none of those possibilities showed up. Sometimes the birds just aren't there. The shedloads of common seabirds moving offshore didn't include anything new, although 44
Manx Shearwaters took the day total up to a decent 79.
This was still a pretty successful day, although I missed more of the 'regular' species than I did last year. You can see my full list (minus Common Scoter and Purple Sandpiper, which are concealed).