STONEFACTION BIRDING: 0196 : The Longest Day (22/8/15)

0196 : The Longest Day (22/8/15)

A trip to Loch of Strathbeg always feels more like an expedition, rather than 'just' a day out birding. It also rarely fails to deliver at least something good, usually at least a year-tick, whether at the reserve or at one of the stops on the way up, such as Rigifa pool outside Cove, or the Ythan estuary at Newburgh. There is usually a target species involved when a trip to the reserve is planned. More often than not a long staying 'lifer' for me. It is a long drive, and invariably a long day, for whoever is driving on the trips to the far northeast of Aberdeenshire. With a lingering Black Stork as bait, myself and Nat planned a trip to Strathbeg. With waders on the move there was a chance of one of the less common migrants. Although trafficin Aberdeen on a Saturday can be quite busy we hoped by leaving early enough and taking our time coming home we'd avoid the worst of it.

Great White Egret

The Black Stork had been seen on the Thursday, but there was no report of it on the Friday. However, as there had been a bit of a migrant fall in that part of the country I suspected that the Stork was neglected by local birders who had likely already seen the bird, in favour of the new arrivals. It would be a long way to go to 'dip' on the bird, but there would surely be some sort of compensatory sighting even if we did. Fingers were crossed when Nat arrived to pick me up slightly earlier than our usual departure time.Birds were in short supply on the way up towards Aberdeen with a measly 6 species seen - Starling and Woodpigeon near home, Carrion Crow and Swallow before we reached Forfar and Jackdaw and Buzzard further on.

Rigifa Pool is a large flooded area in a field on the outskirts of Cove, just south of Aberdeen. Being so close to the coast it seems to attract a good selection of waders as they pass through the area. At the right times of year, it is well worth a quick check. Our last trip here gave me and Nat a lifer each in the shape of an American Wigeon. A few Linnets were around as we got out of the car to scan across the area of the pool. It was more a collection of puddles and muddy ridges and dips than it had been. This made looking for waders a bit trickier than just scanning around the edges. However, nothing ventured, nothing gained....

I found a few Mallards near the rear of the pool, and a pair of Ringed Plovers a lot closer. There were also at least 4, possibly more, Ruff. A Magpie flew past, and a calling Siskin passed over us. More scanning found a few Dunlin and a small party of well camouflaged Snipe. A Tree Sparrow perched along from the car, on the fence. A few House Martins and Swallows swept through the area, hawking for insects. Nat found a male Wheatear at the left hand edge, and a trio of Grey wagtails also dropped into that area. A mixed flock of gulls on a roof beyond the pool, held Black Headed, Common, Herring and Lesser Black Backed Gulls.

I spotted a small wader near the Dunlins. It looked smaller, and 'cleaner'. I suspected Little Stint, a species I'd only seen well once previously, at Easthaven a few years ago. Photos and video confirmed the identification and we had our first good bird of the day, and at our very first stop too. At around 10am we headed onwards in the direction of the harbour mouth and Torry. We stopped briefly in Greyhope Bay where Curlew, Grey Heron, Oystercatcher and Redshank were all seen on the rocky shore. Out over the sea we could also see a few Gannets and a Fulmar. A pair of Great Black Backed Gulls calling behind the car gave us another bird for the list. Just as we were about to move off I noticed a Herring Gull on the metal railing with a yellow ring on the left leg, which was mostly hidden from our angle by the right leg. Nat reversed the car for a better angle and I read off the code (T-159 on a yellow ring). I suspect it is probably a locally ringed bird and I've reported it, so will wait for confirmation.

Another brief stop around the north side of the headland added a few more species, with Cormorants on the breakwater, and Eiders along the shore. A few Guillemots could be seen out on the water, while Kittiwake and Shag both flew by. With the time now around 1020 we decided to push on to Strathbeg, missing out the Ythan estuary on the way up, with the intention of popping in there on the way back down the road later in the day. We added Mute Swan and Goosander as we crossed the bridge over the river Dee before we headed along Beach Boulevard and out of Aberdeen to the north. Goldfinch and Kestrel were our only additions before we made it to our destination just before noon.

Into the visitor centre we went, hoping that the Black Stork would be around, and visible. Two birders with scopes were looking at something. We asked if it was around, and were told that they had it in their scopes. We were offered a look, and we gratefully accepted. A lifer for us both, even if it was rather distant. With our target species safely on the list, I took a few record shots with the P900, through the rather dirty window and using teh digital zoom, intending to get a few DSLR shots when the opportunity arose. I checked out the other birds visible around the pools. Lapwings in good numbers, a few Greenshanks, a few Snipe, Ruff

and Dunlin.

An Osprey was pointed out to us, near where the Black Stork was, giving us another new species for the day. An adult and juvenile Common Tern circled around above the pools and we spotted a distant Sparrowhawk, and a Buzzard. The other birders moved on elsewhere. Checking back for the Stork, we were disappointed to see that it had vanished, and that we had no idea in what direction it had gone. A few more birders dropped in hoping to see the Black Stork, disappointed with the news that it had disappeared. Hopefully it would reappear. With the visitor centre getting a bit busy we decided to try the Tower hide, in the hope that the different angle would show the bird out in the open.

Reaching the hide after the walk up, we found a large bird out front, stood in a pool, with a curious cow edging closer and closer. This wasn't the Stork but a Great White Egret, a species I didn't have a decent photo of. I got a few as well as a video clip before the cow got too close and the bird was lost to sight, quite possibly joining the Black Stork in some ditch hidden from view.Feral Pigeon and Rook were seen from the hide as well as a number of Teal and Mallards. We headed back to the Visitor Centre again, stopping to watch a Kestrel perched up on the wires behind the buildings. Nat grabbed a quick bit to eat back at the car while I scanned the pools again. This time I found a small group of Golden Plover that had either been missed first time around, or had only recently arrived. Hopefully the latter.

When Nat joined me again, I pointed out the Plovers, as well as the Snipe. Nat found another Sparrowhawk, as well as a male Pheasant. With still no sign of the Black Stork we decided to head over to the airfield hides instead. The drive round didn't give us anything new, neither did the walk along the boardwalk. From the first hide there were plenty of distant birds out on the Loch, mostly ducks of various species. Mallard, Teal, Wigeon and Goldeneye as well as Mute Swan and a single Whooper Swan. I snapped a quick photo of a duck as it flew past. This turned out to be a Shoveler.

The fixed scope in the hide proved to be very useful for checking out the 'island' where a large number of birds were congregated. A few Coots were visible using the scope, as was a single Pintail, though I failed to get Nat onto the bird when it disappeared into the mix of ducks roosting. With nothing too exciting to be seen we headed off to the second hide. Nat spotted a Great Tit in the trees along the boardwalk as well as a Wren, both new birds for the day. It was more of the same from the second hide, so we didn't stay long, deciding instead to head back towards the Ythan estuary. House Sparrows were seen bathing in the roadside dust as we made it back to the main road through the village.

Checking for Aberdeenshire sightings on Birdguides, we discovered that a Red Backed Shrike had been seen again in Collieston where it had been for a few days. As Collieston was only a few miles north of the Ythan it was a 'no-brainer' to at least try for it. It didn't take too much effort to find the nature reserve that the bird was onthough all we knew was that the bird had been seen at Sand Loch. Thankfully a map on an information board pointed us towards the right part of the reserve, though after that we were flying blind.

Arriving a few minutes later at the Loch I was surprised to see a Hooded Crow (maybe a hybrid) sharing a tree across the other side with a Carrion Crow. With Shrikes liking a prominent perch we set about scanning the tops of all the bushes around the Loch, as well as fence posts and any other likely spot. I spotted a small bird flitting around among some weedy vegetation. I thought we had our bird until I spotted a second bird near the first. Whinchats was what they were, quite likely migrants as with the Shrike, just passing through. A few Tufted Ducks were out on the water. We were joined by a local birder with a scope who set about hunting among the bushes for the bird. We decided to try a little further round, but soon discovered that the bushes were mostly around the northern end of the Loch. We did find a Willow Warbler before we decided to head back to the birder with the scope to see if he'd had any luck.

Just as we reached him, he said 'got it' and we raised our binoculars as he gave us directions to get onto the bird. Thankfully it stayed put long enough for us both to see it, and he let us see it through the scope once he'd adjusted the height. Nat and I decided to try and get around to nearer where the bird was, having noticed that it was unfazed by people walking nearby. By following the route taken by dog walkers we made it the area the bird was frequenting. A Reed Bunting was picked up among the bushes. Eventually after a bit of effort we relocated the Shrike in a small shrub further round than we had been searching. We watched the bird for a while before realising that we had probably move on if we wanted to pop into the Ythan estuary for a worthwhile amount of time.

Blackbird (at last) and a Yellowhammer were seen on the road out, while a pool in the roadside field seemed to be full of Coots and nothing else. When we reached the Ythan estuary, just past the turn for the Waulkmill hide, we found a place to pull in and check through the numerous birds strung out along the edge of the water. Among the Redshanks, Dunlins, Golden Plovers, Grey Herons and gulls were a single Little Egret and a ringed Black Headed Gull (yellow leg ring coded 2XNK). An Eider was further upstream. Midgies biting put paid to the scanning, though we did catch a group of Greylags just before they flew over the crest of the hill behind.

We wandered down to the beach from the car park near the golf course and found a lot of birds. Mostly species we had already seen but still plenty of activity. Hundreds of gulls, hundreds of Eiders and large numbers of waders on the shore. A small group of Arctic Terns were the only new addition but we were treated to some good views of various flocks when walkers across on the other side of the river (are they allowed there? I assume restrictions may only apply to the breeding season?) spooked every bird along that shore as well as the gulls in the middle of the river. With the time now approaching 1930 and with still a long drive home ahead of us we called it a day, after stopping to add one final species with a juvenile Stonechat atop the hut at the end of the car park.

A really good expedition to the far northeast with a grand total of 73 species seen. Quality as well as quantity. A lifer for me plus 3 year ticks (in bold), and 3 lifers for Nat. Well worth the 13 and a half hour round trip.

Species seen - Arctic Tern, Black Stork, Blackbird, Black Headed Gull, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Common Gull, Common Tern, Coot, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Eider, Fulmar, Gannet, Golden Plover, Goldeneye, Goldfinch, Goosander, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Tit, Great White Egret, Greenshank, Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, Greylag, Guillemot, Herring Gull, Hooded Crow, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Kestrel, Kittiwake, Lapwing, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Linnet, Little Egret, Little Stint, Magpie, Mallard, Mute Swan, Osprey, Oystercatcher, Pheasant, Pied Wagtail, Pintail, Red Backed Shrike, Redshank, Reed Bunting, Ringed Plover, Feral Pigeon, Rook, Ruff, Shag, Shoveler, Siskin, Snipe, Sparrowhawk, Starling, Stonechat, Swallow, Teal, Tree Sparrow, Tufted Duck, Wheatear, Whinchat, Whooper Swan, Wigeon, Willow Warbler, Woodpigeon, Wren, Yellowhammer.