STONEFACTION BIRDING: 06/16/15

0169 : Lucky Thirteen (7/6/15)

There are times when I head out birding without a particular plan for the day, with only a vague idea of where I'm going and what I might see along the day. There are other times when I do have a definite destination and target species for the day. One of the places I like to try and get to once a year is the Ythan estuary in Aberdeenshire. There are two reasons to go to the Ythan estuary in summer. One is the tern colony where among the more numerous Arctic and Common Terns are usually a few Little Terns. These diminutive summer visitors are hard to see anywhere else along the east coast. They have bred in the past at Montrose but no longer unfortunately. Reason two is the much rarer and far more colourful Elvis. Elvis is a King Eider drake and he spends a large chunk of the year among the far more numerous Common Eiders on the estuary.

Skylark

With both these species in mind a plan was drawn up with birding buddy, Nat, to attempt to get north to the Ythan. Within striking distance of the Ythan, the RSPB reserve at Loch of Strathbeg is always worth a visit too. If we had enough time there were a few other locations to visit - Rigifa Pool (a small pool/large puddle near Cove), the Bullers of Buchan (a seabird cliff colony near Cruden Bay) and Aberdeen harbour (for possible Dolphins). Although it would be a long day, and a lot of driving for Nat, if our luck was in, we would see some great wildlife.

Nat picked me up at 8am as usual. A Blackbird flew up from in front of me as I walked to the car, a Lesser Black Backed Gull flew over the street, a House Sparrow chirped from the edge of the roof and a few Swifts zipped over like sleek, dark, miniature jet fighters. On our way out of Dundee we added House Martins over Clepington Road, and Carrion Crow near Mill O'Mains. Northwards we went adding Starling, Rook, Oystercatcher and Black Headed Gull from the road. Swallows over a field, Jackdaws in another, an overflying Mistle Thrush and a Buzzard on a fence post all joined the other species on the list before we reached our first stop at Rigifa Pool, near Cove, although the area had changed somewhat since my last visit, making it a bit trickier to find than I remembered. We stayed in the car and had a quick scan for waders, seeing only a few Lapwings and Oystercatchers around the pool. A few Mallards were noted on the water and Sand Martins fluttered and swooped over the water. Failure to pay proper attention to the ducks possibly lost us a decent find, as we were to find out later in the day.

A Magpie flew by as we headed round the coast road to overlook the mouth of the river Dee and Aberdeen harbour from Torry. On the water when we parked up were a number of Eiders, Cormorants stood on the breakwater, Herring Gulls in a flock were on the rocks nearer us, along with a single Great Black Backed Gull. A pair of Sandwich Terns flew upriver, and a Shag splashed down offshore. A Gannet wandered in off the sea and surprisingly seemed to head further upriver towards the harbour. There was no sign of any Dolphins however, but a Skylark over the golf course was a late addition before we set off again. Feral Pigeon and Chaffinch were jotted down as we headed towards Newburgh and the Ythan estuary and hopefully our target birds.

House Martins and a single Swallow collected mud from a puddle in the car park at the Ythan, and a Yellowhammer sang from a small shed roof. We wandered through the dunes and gorse to the river where we scanned through the Eiders on the opposite shore and on the water to look for Elvis. We drew a blank, so we walked on further to try again from a different viewpoint. Again, nothing. We spotted a birder scanning through a scope and wandered over to ask if he had seen Elvis. The birder sounded French and he eventually got us onto the King Eider which was happily swimming around in an area we had checked through. We thanked the birder and wandered a bit closer. We had decent views and I shot a few video clips and got a few photos.

With the King Eider in the bag it was time to try for Little Tern. Normally it doesn't take much effort as the birds hunt up and down the river. For some reason the Terns weren't fishing and those few that were were doing so close to the colony. Between us and them there was a large expanse of soft, sticky mud. It wasn't going to be easy to spot a Little Tern. There was also heat haze to contend with and birds feeding on the mud between us and the river. Rather than risk disturbance, we walked around by the edge of the golf course to scan through the birds. Lack of a scope would make this even trickier, but we would just have to make the best of things. I scanned through the birds on the ground, looking for any that were visibly smaller but found none.

Something put all the terns up into the air but there were no obvious Little Terns among the flock. Another scan when they settled again drew a blank. Among the few birds hunting along the river I spotted one whose flight style was a bit different. I couldn't see much detail but it was east to pick out by the style of flight alone. I got Nat onto the bird and took a few photos, hoping to be able to see enough detail to confirm. Yellow bill, black tipped and a white forehead confirmed Little Tern, target number 2, even if the photos were all a bit blurred at best. Linnets, a Wren on a gorse bush and another few Yellowhammers were added as we made our way back to the car.

We made a few extra stops along the Ythan on our way out of Newburgh, adding Shelduck, Curlew and Grey Heron. Mute Swan and Pied Wagtail were both seen from near the bridge. Goldfinch was the only addition before we reached our next stop at the Bullers of Buchan. There were plenty of Guillemots visible on the cliffs, including a few 'bridled' birds. A few Razorbills were spied among them both on the cliffs and in the water. Kittiwakes kept up a constant cacophony as we walked along the narrow path atop the steep cliffs above their nests. A single Shag's nest held a couple of youngsters as well as an adult bird. Nat found a Puffin down on the water below the cliffs and a Rock Pipit gave a short display flight. After we had something to eat we continued north again to spend the afternoon at Loch of Strathbeg RSPB reserve.

We popped into the visitor centre first of all to see what was around. The tern island held Common Terns as usual with a few Black Headed Gulls also. Scanning around found Gadwall and Shoveler pairs. An adult Little Gull by the tern island was a surprise and a couple of younger birds were asleep on a small island further over. A Tufted Duck flew out from behind the island. We chatted to a birder in the centre who told us that there was an American Wigeon drake somewhere out in front of the centre but hidden out of sight somewhere and proving elusive. Also that a Great White Egret had been seen and also a summer plumaged Grey Plover.

As we scanned across the reserve I spotted something white in a weedy ditch. The birder with the scope got onto the bird just as it took flight showing that it was indeed the Great White Egret. Nat's first and only my second ever. The Grey Plover was the next addition for the day and was another new species for Nat. Although it was rather distant the black belly was very noticeable. We decided to head around to the other hide, hopefully for better views of the Egret. A Reed Bunting was the only addition on the way. From the hide itself most of the birds were very distant and the Egret wasn't seen, though a bird which we couldn't be sure of the identification may have been the Great White Egret or a Little Egret, but as it was obscured by vegetation and heat haze it went unidentified.

On our way back to the visitor centre we stopped to watch a singing Corn Bunting on a fence, with Tree Sparrows a little further along the track. A quick check at the visitor centre didn't produce the American Wigeon drake and so we drove around to the airfield side of the reserve to see what we could add round there. A Fox jogged across the concrete track ahead of us at one point which was a nice surprise. A Willow warbler sang from in the trees as we walked along the boardwalk to the first hide. A Little Gull flew low over the water with lots of Swifts overhead and a few Common Terns passing over. A Whooper Swan stood out on the far shore in front of the reeds was an out-of-season surprise and a Pink Footed Goose on the island with the Cormorants was likewise around later than it should be.

We had better views of the Whooper Swans from the second hide but only a Great Tit was a new species for the day from here. We had heard a Grasshopper Warbler reeling briefly as we reached the car from the first hide, and it was much louder when we reached the car after visiting the second hide. I ventured back down the track to try and see it, but despite it sounding like it was coming from a bush near the path, I couldn't spot it. We headed off back down the road around 1730 or so. A Pheasant was seen, at last, as we headed past St Fergus. I decided to check Birdguides to see if there was anything interesting that had been seen that was on our way home, not really expecting anything. Rather surprisingly, and slightly annoyingly given our earlier visit, a female American Wigeon had been found that morning at Rigifa Pool.

We retraced our route through Aberdeen from earlier in the day back round past the harbour entrance hoping for Dolphins but saw none. However as we crossed the railway line further on we both were aware of something breaking the surface out on the sea but close in to shore. We pulled into a small car park when we could and watched the sea. Sure enough we had a few brief glimpses of Dolphins which looked to be heading north towards the harbour mouth area. Having both seen Dolphins before we decided not to backtrack to see them, instead choosing to push on to Rigifa Pool for the duck.

On arrival, we got out of the car to scan over the pool. A small group of drake Mallards were all we could see. I spotted a pair of Teal much further round just as a heavy rain shower began. We hurried back to the car but chose to wait out the passing shower. As the rain began to peter out, I spotted a duck which looked slightly smaller and a different shape to the Mallards. With the sun shining on the water from behind the bird it was hard to make out any detail but it looked promising. I got out for a better look when the rain went completely off, finding a Skylark perched within a few feet of the car on a rock giving short snatches of song while watching me. I took a few photos then edged away from the still perched bird. A few Linnets flitted around in the field and a Yellowhammer showed in some gorse.

I watched the duck swim around, its head below the surface most of the time, looking for food. Changing the exposure compensation on the camera meant that I could make out some detail on the bird and I could see that it was certainly a Wigeon. I knew that American Wigeon should have white axilliaries ("armpit" feathers of sorts) and I managed a few photos which showed this feature. Unknown to me at the time I also managed a few photos which showed extra white on the upper wing, another feature of American Wigeon. When the bird stood on a stone to preen out on the water I was able to see that it was unringed. The drake at Strathbeg was supposedly a ringed bird, a probable escapee. With an unringed bird the chances of a genuine transatlantic vagrant was much increased, and a lifer for both myself and Nat.

With time getting on we headed back down the road with a rather nice haul of birds for what turned out to be a rather lucky 13 hour round trip. It isn't every day you get 4 year-ticks AND a lifer (all in bold) in June.

64 Species seen in total - American Wigeon, Arctic Tern, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Common Tern, Cormorant, Corn Bunting, Curlew, Eider, Gadwall, Gannet, Goldfinch, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Great White Egret, Grey Heron, Grey Plover, Guillemot, Herring Gull, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, King Eider, Kittiwake, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Gull, Little Tern, Magpie, Mallard, Meadow Pipit, Mistle Thrush, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pink Footed Goose, Puffin, Razorbill, Reed Bunting, Feral Pigeon, Rock Pipit, Rook, Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Shag, Shelduck, Shoveler, Skylark, Starling, Swallow, Swift, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Tufted Duck, Whooper Swan, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.