I'll definately be tempted to venture to Portsoy harbour on Sunday if that lot stick around! What a sight they must have been.
Hi, I'm staying at Newburgh over the weekend, and will be visiting the Ythan estuary for the first time on Sunday. Were would I need to go to have the best chance of seeing the King Eider? Also, where are the other top birding spots on the estuary? Thanks for any help and advice. I only get the one day birding, so I'd like to make the most of it.
after 15 minutes or so I managed to find one summer plumaged White-billed Diver pretty distantly, its yellow bill standing out a mile.
My Dad and I finally managed to make it up to Portsoy today for a look for the White-billed Diver(s). Parking up at the west end of the harbour and up onto the higher ground, we found the sea to be pretty calm. Despite the idyllic conditions, I wasn't that confident that we'd be successful, but after 15 minutes or so I managed to find one summer plumaged White-billed Diver pretty distantly, its yellow bill standing out a mile. It was watched swimming for about a minute alongside a Cormorant which it was quite a bit larger than, and then dived. Despite meticulous searching it wasn't seen to re-surface and wasn't re-found, so the likelihood is that when it did re-surface that it was beyond the scope's magnification and thus not visible. The wind also strengthend shortly after this and the sea became choppy, so this made it increasingly difficult to re-find it. What a fantastic bird though!..........
Great stuff! I hope to make it's acquaintance on Sunday. I've only seen 1 White-billed Diver before, and that was a 1st winter bird off Filey about 20+ years ago. Don't know which I'm more excited about, King Eider or White-billed Diver! It would be nice to get both! I assume that the Bonapartes Gull has not been seen recently?
Thanks for the advice BTW.
Colin
The Bonaparte's Gull was reported around Ythan mouth on Wednesday evening, so it's quite likely to still be around. Also 11 Dotterel nearby at Collieston Crossroads.
Great stuff! I hope to make it's acquaintance on Sunday. I've only seen 1 White-billed Diver before, and that was a 1st winter bird off Filey about 20+ years ago. Don't know which I'm more excited about, King Eider or White-billed Diver! It would be nice to get both! I assume that the Bonapartes Gull has not been seen recently?
Thanks for the advice BTW.
Colin
I also managed enjoyable views of the 11 Dotterel at Collieston Crossroads this afternoon. I reckoned there were five females - quite a mixture of plumages really, with some birds only just developing breeding plumage. I had prolonged but distant views of the Bonaparte's Gull on the Ythan, from the northernmost lay-by. Also six Greenshank, a Whimbrel, two Pintail and several Little Terns on the estuary. I completely failed to find the King Eider, although it was seen by others today.
Just got back from a very brief visit to Aberdeenshire. I met a lot of nice people who were very friendly and helpful! Sunday morning was exceptional. I'd found the King Eider by 8am at the mouth of the Ythan with very little trouble, and following the advice of a local birder, I'd even managed to pick out a potential Northern Eider (Borealis) displaying its sails as it displayed to a female Eider. By 10am I'd seen the Bonaparte's Gull well from the layby and five Dotterel at Collieston! I couldn't quite sustain the pace after that, and dipped on the White-billed Diver at Portsoy, but I did at least get summer plumage Great Northern and Long-tailed Ducks there, and finally I finished the day at Forvie Sands NNR and saw a few decent sea birds, including 4 species of tern.
The mouth of the Ythan was a magical place I thought, I've never seen Eiders in such big numbers, and the air was full of their calls and mixed in with the cries of terns (mainly Sandwich). Great weather as well, I didn't realise that Aberdeenshire was the UK Riviera
Thanks to everybody who helped out here, and all of those I met if you read this :t:
As for the great weather at the moment, it's a very rare thing in this neck of the woods, can't remember the last time that we had a spring as lovely as this - although that maybe because I am too young to remember equally nice springs!
It's a very rare thing! I've just checked the met office stats (http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate/uk/datasets/#), and it was the warmest and 2nd sunniest April in east Scotland since records began (in 1910). Only the 18th driest though (I think we had some heavy downpours early in the month?). Seems like the rain is returning at the end of this week though.