Tree Sparrow
Well-known member
You're very welcome Joseph. I really enjoyed myself too. It was lovely to see you and your Dad again and to meet Gus and Alex. It seemed quite odd to have so many people in the area as it's normally so quiet lol.
Fiona
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Wild in Aberdeen - City and Shire (9 Viewers)
- Thread starter Ken Hall
- Start date
You're very welcome Joseph. I really enjoyed myself too. It was lovely to see you and your Dad again and to meet Gus and Alex. It seemed quite odd to have so many people in the area as it's normally so quiet lol.
Fiona
Joseph N
Lothian Young Birder
Yes, it seemed positively lively at points I must admit. :-O It was great to see you again too, and I'm sure we'll see you again some time in the future. I won't be getting out birding in Aberdeenshire now for nearly a month, but in a couple of weeks I will be heading down to England, where I will be staying in Portland, as well as spending a little time in Bristol and in Somerset.
gus guthrie
gus guthrie
sHRIKE MEETING !
Hi there, was good to meet you Joseph with your dad & Fiona. Many thanks for the help in locating the Shrike, a beautiful bird ! Sadly didn't see the King Eider but did add Redpoll, Red Kite and Hooded Crow to the yearlist.
Hopefully meet you all again before too long.
regards, gus & alex
Hi there, was good to meet you Joseph with your dad & Fiona. Many thanks for the help in locating the Shrike, a beautiful bird ! Sadly didn't see the King Eider but did add Redpoll, Red Kite and Hooded Crow to the yearlist.
Hopefully meet you all again before too long.
regards, gus & alex
Joseph N
Lothian Young Birder
No problem at all about the Shrike. Unlucky about not seeing the King Eider. Nonetheless, that's a good range of birds that you have seen there, including the Shrike which you saw with us. Will be looking forward to seeing you again, and will get in contact with you about spending a day down your way for Golden Eagle + a general day out in the future. 
Cheers,
Joseph
Cheers,
Joseph
gus guthrie
gus guthrie
Black redstart
Black Redstart !!!!!! now you tell me ....... that would be a lifer ! Sadly have to work tomorrow Ken or I would be up the road like a shot !
Hopefully see you before too long.
Black Redstart !!!!!! now you tell me ....... that would be a lifer ! Sadly have to work tomorrow Ken or I would be up the road like a shot !
Hopefully see you before too long.
Tree Sparrow
Well-known member
Good luck Ken, hope you get to see both. Wish I had the time to pop down to see you there but after going two days I really must catch up with work.
Fiona
Tree Sparrow
Well-known member
What a shame you didn't see the King Eider but sounds like you had a good day anyway.
Just wondered if you saw the Hooded Crow a couple of miles out of Dufftown on the Elgin road? I keep seeing one there.
Fiona
gus guthrie
gus guthrie
Hi Fiona, we saw 3 Hooded Crows fairly close together on that road, I can,t remember the exact place .Not common down our way at all, only saw one in a field down at Montrose last year.
Tree Sparrow
Well-known member
I bet it's the place I see them, you've beaten me with 3 though as the most I've seen there is only 2. Got one knocking around close to home but other than that and the ones on the Elgin road, I very rarely see them.
gus guthrie
gus guthrie
Hi Fiona, the Hooded Crows were in a grass field next to the road, I spotted one in a small tree and stopped so Alex could see it, then we saw 2 more further over the field on the ground with ordinary crows.
Happy to say I found the shrike. Because of the wind it was sheltering behind a willow bush a long way from the car park, only just seeable (?). Then I went for a drive around, the rain got heavier, I found half a dozen Black Grouse, had lunch listening to Curlews, Oystercatchers and Lapwings, the wind dropped a bit so I went back to the shrike. This time it was nearer so I managed a photo. I'll see if they are worth posting. I decided against going to Rosehearty for the Black Redstart - too far, I'm trying to be greener this year.
Joseph N
Lothian Young Birder
Thank you simeon, I really enjoyed myself.
Well done Ken, a good job. It's certainly worth the trip there. The Black Grouse and the Shrike are fantastic to behold, as well as the scenery itself, which is beautiful. :t:
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Thanks Joseph. I think you had the better weather though to enjoy the marvellous scenery. That's two more for the year list, two I usually struggle to get, so I'm well pleased. Now for the lousy photos, remember it was wet and windy!
Fiona, yes it was a shame we couldn't have met, never mind, there will be another time.
Ken
Attachments
Tree Sparrow
Well-known member
Excellent, I'm so glad you saw the Shrike. Shame about the weather today, it did get better this afternoon.
I wish I'd known you didn't go for the Black Redstart, even though I was busy at home you would have been very welcome to pop in for a cuppa. I'll have to hope that another interesting bird turns up in the area lol.
Fiona
Tree Sparrow
Well-known member
I promised Joseph a couple of pics of what the area where the Shrike is looked like in the snow.
The first photo is the forest we walked in and the second is the road we drove along looking for other birds.
They were taken on the 22nd Feb and a couple of days later we had another big dump of snow and the roads were closed again.
Fiona
The first photo is the forest we walked in and the second is the road we drove along looking for other birds.
They were taken on the 22nd Feb and a couple of days later we had another big dump of snow and the roads were closed again.
Fiona
Attachments
Joseph N
Lothian Young Birder
I am very pleased too Ken, as I doubt I'll be bumping into either species for a while now. Although, I will probably return to the area in search of the Grouser again. Fiona, thank you very much for those photos, I'll make sure that I keep them in a place where I can admire them. Very nicely taken too. The Clasindarroch and the moorland around Rhynie look fabulous.
Now for a wee plea. :-O I would like to ask of you both (Ken and Fiona) if I could use your photos for my blog, as I am currently writing about my experiences of seeing the Shrike and the Black Grouse. Fiona, of your photos is it ok if I use your one of the Great Grey Shrike? If you agree, thank you very much! And Ken, is it possible I can use both of yours? The reason I would like to use your photos is to enhance the evocativness of my blog entry, so the reader can really imagine what I am experiencing and can see for themselves the pictures of the birds that I'm seeing. I'll make sure that I credit you both in my blog entry if you agree. Countless thanks if you do. Once I have completed the entry, you can read it if you wish.
All the best,
Joseph
Now for a wee plea. :-O I would like to ask of you both (Ken and Fiona) if I could use your photos for my blog, as I am currently writing about my experiences of seeing the Shrike and the Black Grouse. Fiona, of your photos is it ok if I use your one of the Great Grey Shrike? If you agree, thank you very much! And Ken, is it possible I can use both of yours? The reason I would like to use your photos is to enhance the evocativness of my blog entry, so the reader can really imagine what I am experiencing and can see for themselves the pictures of the birds that I'm seeing. I'll make sure that I credit you both in my blog entry if you agree. Countless thanks if you do. Once I have completed the entry, you can read it if you wish.
All the best,
Joseph
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Tree Sparrow
Well-known member
Of course you can use the photo Joseph. Can you copy it off here or do I need to e-mail it to you?
I'm really pleased you liked the area so much. You can see why it takes quite a lot to get me to the coast lol.
Fiona
