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| Stoat and Rabbit |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Waxwing |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Twite |
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| Peregrine |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Collared Dove & Stock Dove |
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| Harlequin Duck |
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| Harlequin Duck |
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| Brent Goose |
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| Black Tailed Godwit |
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| Hawfinch |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Bittern |
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| Black Grouse |
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| Carrion Crow & Osprey |
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| Water Rail |
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| Iceland Gull |
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| Coot |
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| Grasshopper Warbler |
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| Ring Ouzel |
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| Gadwall |
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| Woodcock |
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| Tree Pipit |
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| Snipe |
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| Woodcock |
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| Ring Ouzel |
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| Pied Flycatcher |
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| Barn Owl |
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| Shelduck |
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| Wigeon |
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| Dotterel |
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| Dotterel |
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| Little Egret |
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| Bottlenose Dolphins |
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| Treecreeper |
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| Cuckoo |
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| Wood Warbler |
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| Nuthatch |
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| Short Eared Owl |
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| Shoveler |
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| Garganey |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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| Stonechat |
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| Red Grouse |
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| Little Gull |
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| Skylark |
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| American Wigeon |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Herring Gull |
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| Short Eared Owl |
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| Spotted Flycatcher |
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| Whinchat |
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| Marsh Harrier food pass |
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| Jay |
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| Jay |
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| Red Fox |
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| Smew & Tufted Duck |
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| Temminck's Stint |
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| Adder |
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| Iceland Gull |
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| Diving Beetle |
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| Coot |
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| Red Throated Diver |
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| Stock Dove |
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| Wood Wasp |
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Dark Green Fritillary |
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| Linnet |
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| Surf Scoter |
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| Ringed Plover |
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| Kittiwake |
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| Swallow |
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| Stonechat |
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| Yellow Wagtail |
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| Cuckoo |
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| SwallowProminent |
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| Short Eared Owl |
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| Cormorant |
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| Little Stint |
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| Ruff |
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| Great White Egret |
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| Hooded Crow & Carrion Crow |
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| Red Backed Shrike |
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| Garden Warbler |
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| Lesser Whitethroat |
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| Dunlin |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Kestrel |
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| Swift |
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| Grey Heron |
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| Bar Tailed Godwit |
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| Whimbrel |
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| Whitethroat |
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| Spotted Redshank & Mallard |
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| Pectoral Sandpiper |
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| Curlew Sandpiper & Dunlin |
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| Long Tailed Skua |
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| Green Sandpiper |
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| Red Footed Falcon |
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| Mandarin Duck |
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| Salmon |
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| Great Crested Grebe |
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| Slavonian Grebe |
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| Merlin |
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| Barred Warbler |
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| Kingfisher |
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| Curlew |
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| Snow Goose & Pink Footed Goose |
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| Chiffchaff |
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| Peregrine & Redshank |
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| Crossbill |
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| Pochard |
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| Fieldfare |
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| Brambling |
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| Black Redstart |
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| Goshawk |
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| Bittern |
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| Bittern |
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| Snipe |
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| Snipe |
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| Greylag Goose |
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| Stonechat |
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| Snow Bunting |
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| Sparrowhawk |
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| Whooper Swan |
2015 started on a very low key note with a rather wet January 1st putting paid to the usual long walk, though I did venture out into the wet for a few hours walk locally. Herring Gull was the usual first species of the year and Dave the Diver was still at City Quay. Only 20 species seen despite the conditions. A trip to Guardbridge on the 2nd in far better weather with Steph Cowie resulted in great views of a Stoat with a freshly killed Rabbit (we heard the squeal) and a photo for Steph that gained her a fair bit of recognition through the year in various photographic competitions (and even an appearance in the newspapers at one point). A trip to Aberdeen with my pal, Rhona Forrester, for a Harlequin Duck on the 25th drew a blank, the first no-show day since it had been found early in the month in Seaton Park. However, a hunt for Waxwings was more successful and a stop in Montrose for Black Redstart and at the Basin for Twite were both successful. January ended on 79 species - a figure that I usually have after 3 or 4 days if I'm chasing a total. I had decided just to see what my total would be without actually trying too hard.
A trip to Tentsmuir in early February was also very productive giving most of the target species - Raven, White Tailed Eagle, Snow Bunting, Green Woodpecker and a bonus Jay. A second attempt at the Harlequin Duck with Rhona the following day looked to be drawing another blank when suddenly someone spotted the duck just downstream from where we were. We were then treated to great views of a bird that I wanted to see, but never expected to without a trip to Iceland. Although it was a young male and not nearly as spectacular as in breeding plumage it was great to see so close. Red Kite in the glens and a Barn Owl at Kinnordy were added on the way home. I had my closest views yet of a trio of Brent Geese at Out Head, St Andrews the day after that. Hawfinch was seen at Scone Palace and a ringed bird I photographed was at the time the oldest known of the species in Britain at just under 8 years since it had been ringed. Unfortunately a slightly older bird was found down south a few months later and my 'moment of glory' came to nothing as the BTO website wasn't updated until after the 2nd bird was found. Ah well.
I finally found the Caird Park Kingfisher late in February before a trip to Kinnordy with Steph got me a lifer when Steph spotted the Bittern in flight over the reeds. Although we only had it in view for around 45 seconds or so, I managed some reasonable photos considering the distance. Rhona chanced upon a Nuthatch in Dunkeld during a conference on the Beaver in Scotland. We headed back to try to see it and succeeded. A Mealy Redpoll at Loch of the Lowes with some Lessers was a nice find even though the Osprey didn't show for us. A Chiffchaff at Scone Palace as well as a Hawfinch for Rhona rounded of the day.
The summer migrants started to return in early April with Osprey on the 3rd, then Little Ringed Plover, Marsh Harrier at Kinnordy as well as Water Rail on the 10th. Swallow and House Martin were next a few days later in Fife along with the first Ruff of the year at Letham Pools. An Iceland Gull showed well in Arbroath from mid-month and lingered well into June before heading north with a brief stop at Lossiemouth. The same bird reappeared in Caithness in December so it will be interesting to see if it continues south again. A trip to Lothian with Nat got us distant views of Surf Scoter and a bonus Whimbrel. The Tay reedbeds with Steph gave us reasonable views of Grasshopper Warbler as well as distant views of a few Bearded Tits.
A productive trip to the Crail and Fife Ness area with my new Nikon P900 bridge camera allowed me to get some nice video clips including a singing Corn Bunting and a male Sparrowhawk at a nest In Ddenburn Wood. A surprise at Kilminning was a rather loud Ring Ouzel male. Riverside Nature Park got a new species taking the total to 137 with a few Gadwall around over a few weeks including a pair which showed well on the Lochan. Trips up to the Angus glens were next though it took quite a few attempts to get all the specialties - Redstart, Tree Pipit and Common Sandpiper were all added on the 26th April. The first Swift of the year overflew at Forfar Loch. The only views of Lesser Whitethroat at Riverside Nature Park came on 4th May with 2 birds seen and a probable 3rd heard. They proved to be very elusive after that.
Pied Flycatchers showed up at Kilminning and with a reduction to my working week to 4 days and every Wednesday off, myself and Nat were able to go and see them. Garden Warbler was also seen. Wood Sandpiper was seen at Kinnordy on an evening visit with Nat on the 7th May and a Tawny Owl was seen near Glamis as we headed down the road at dusk. A trip of Dotterel were seen near Kirriemuir on the 9th but I was unable to get to them. Thankfully, Nat was free on the Sunday and we headed up to try for them despite rather wet weather. There was no sign of the birds so we went to Kinnordy instead. Graham Smith and Keith Edwards arrived soon after and told us they had seen a few Dotterel and Golden Plover in a different field and gave us directions. Off we went and after a bit of hunting -success. A pair of lifers for Nat and 2 year ticks for me, thanks to Graham and Keith.
A week off work to try and add some migrants began with a trip to Montrose on the Monday where a Little Egret showed well in front of the centre. Common Tern and Purple Sandpiper were both seen near Ferryden and I had great views of Dolphins coming up the river as far as the houses in the village. Arctic Tern at Fife Ness as well as a Spotted Flycatcher at Kilminning were seen a few days later. Cuckoo at last and close views of Whinchat were had the next day. A trip to Killiecrankie with Nat for Wood Warbler was successful and we had great views of a bonus Nuthatch too (the 3rd of the year - 2nd was in Lothian). Taking a scenic route home gave us nice close views of a hunting Short Eared Owl. A text message about a Garganey drake at Kinnordy gave us another species to try for and after lots of scanning we found the bird which showed for less than a minute before putting its head back down and going back to sleep among the weeds.
A trip to Perthshire in early June found a hunting Hen Harrier but we lost sight of it twice before being able to stop the car so no photos were got. A rather productive trip to Strathbeg and the Ythan estuary with Nat gave me another 5 species - Elvis the King Eider and a very distant Little Tern on the Ythan with Little Gull and Great White Egret at Strathbeg. A drake American Wigeon failed to show but checking emails on the way home gave us a chance at the species with a female at Rigifa Pool. When we arrived there was no sign of the bird but after a brief heavy rain shower the bird swam into view and I managed a few photos that showed the white armpits. Another lifer for me. A trip to Loch Leven for a Temminck's Stint on the 24th June also gave us a big surprise in the shape of a rather unseasonal female Smew. The Stint also showed well for us eventually before disappearing again out of sight to the disappointment of a few birders that arrived later.
July added only Crossbill to the list, while August proved a bit more productive with Manx Shearwater past Fife Ness on the 1st. A trip to St Cyrus on the 12th gave us another surprise find - a Yellow Wagtail which wandered around on the track ahead of us with a few Pied Wagtails and a Wheatear for a minute or so. Unfortunately a couple of women with toddlers coming along the track behind us spooked the birds and off it went out of sight. Dave the Red Throated Diver at City Quay eventually made it into full breeding plumage in his 3rd summer. At Swannie Ponds a pair of Coots bred and raised a pair of youngsters, the Moorhens managed a single youngster, a pair of Tufted Duck youngsters were successfull but the local Mute Swans failed and Mallards seemed to be in short supply. A Portuguese ringed Lesser Black Backed Gull was a surprise find here.
Late August saw another trip north with Nat to Aberdeenshire to try for the Black Stork at Strathbeg. A morning stop at Rigifa Pool found a Little Stint with some Ruff, Snipe and Dunlin. When we arrived at Strathbeg the Black Stork was in sight albeit distantly and a couple of locals allowed us a look through their scopes at the bird. When we checked a minute or so later it had vanished and possibly wasn't seen again. More views of Great White Egret were had and on the way home we found that a Red Backed Shrike had been seen at Collieston so we diverted there with only vague directions as to where the bird had been seen. A few Whinchats were seen before a local found the Shrike in a bush on the opposite side of the small loch.
A few days later another lifer was added after a lot of effort at a new site in Fife - Boarhills Pond. Visiting birders from England had found a few good migrants the previous day at least 3 of which would be lifers fro me. Unfortunately when I arrived there was nothing to see. I went exploring and found Rab Shand when I arrived back at the pond. He'd seen one of the birds but all I could find were Chiffchaffs and Garden Warblers. I met Nat at lunchtime and we headed back down to try again. We did find Pied Flycatcher, Lesser Whitethroat and Redstart in the afternoon. The English birders showed up later in the afternoon and eventually got us a few seconds view of Icterine Warbler before we had to head for home. A Bean Goose at Montrose Basin with a pair of Pink Footed Geese was a nice bonus bird on a visit with Steph.
September proved to be a really good month with numerous highlights and right place/right time moments. A trip to Fife on the 2nd with Nat saw us in the right place to see a Spotted Redshank at The Wilderness. While we were there, Harry Bell found a Pectoral Sandpiper and we found a pair of Barnacle Geese as well. A Curlew Sandpiper at Balcomie gave us a target for the afternoon and despite forgetting to take the scope from the car I eventually found the bird but failed to get Nat onto it. We walked back to get the scope and when we set it up and pointed it at the beach amazingly found the Sandpiper right in the centre of the eyepiece view. Mission accomplished. A week later a Bonxie was seen at Fife Ness. A trip to Kinghorn for skuas gave us a distant Long Tailed Skua just as we were about to pack up. A Green Sandpiper was still around at Cullaloe LNR giving us 2 new birds in 1 day.
One of the highlights of the year came about owing to a change of plan. A planned trip to Lothian was ditched in favour of the slightly closer prospect of a Red Footed Falcon in Aberdeen. Within 90 minutes we wee getting out of the car at Girdle Ness and I immediately spotted a bird hovering over the golf course. 1 Red Footed Falcon as easy as that. Local Crows then chased it away. Thankfully it came back and we decided to chance a closer look from on the golf course with Aberdeenshire birder Jimmy Mair. Amazingly the bird flew towards us, hovering quite close before dropping to the ground to feed on something. When it flew up again, it came even closer and hovered directly above us, peering round and past us at the ground looking for something to eat. Incredible views in great light and an unforgettable experience. I got some nice video clips as well as plenty photos and even took some iphone footage to show just how fearless the bird was. We left the bird in peace as fog rolled in and the blue sky disappeared.
A spot of seawatching didn't give us much so we popped along to Johnston Gardens in the city to try for Mandarin Duck. A slightly less than pristine drake showed well, if a bit shyly. A stop at Arbroath on the way home gave us another Skua species as an Arctic Skua cruised along the edge of the rocky shore. The following week at Lunan Bay I finally managed distant views of my bogey bird - Pomarine Skua as one chased a Kittiwake out over the bay. Nat missed it as she was walking the dog she was doggy-sitting for the day that had been a bit restless in the hide. One of the few species I saw that she failed to see this year (though she did have a few that I didn't get also).
September wasn't finished and a text about there being no sign of a reported Black Scoter off St Andrews mentioned there being 3 Scaup offshore. As this was one species I hadn't seen in 2015 we headed for St Andrews. After much searching we eventually found them. The postponed trip to Lothian for Red Necked Grebe eventually took place on the 24th September and although things didn't look promising we eventually succeeded in getting both Red Necked and Slavonian Grebe before heading for home. A trip to the Lurgies in early October saw us bump into Graham Smith and Keith Edwards again. They wandered ahead of us and Graham called us over to say he had a possible Merlin in his scope. A bird I needed for the year. The heat haze was atrocious and made getting confirmation difficult but I eventually got a few photos which showed enough to confirm the ID. My 200th species of the year.
My record for a year was 205 in 2010 and there were still a few species I hadn't managed to see so the prospects of beating my personal best looked reasonably good with almost 2 months left. A trip to Kilminning on 7th October found Willie Irvine in the rain and we all had fleeting views of Yellow Browed Warbler before the rain got really heavy. With a week off work to try to bump up my total I had to hope that September's luck continued into October. Rather than joining the ADBC outing to Fife Ness we went on ahead of them finding our own Yellow Browed Warbler. A text message about a Barred Warbler at Kingsbarns gave us something to try for and when we arrived we found Fife Bird Club chairman, Keith Ballantyne already there looking for the bird. He'd seen a Yellow Browed Warbler. Another birder appeared from the golf course and told us where the Barred Warbler was showing. We headed up and eventually were rewarded with views of the bird. Keith spotted a flyover Short Eared Owl which was another nice bonus.
I spent the morning of the 12th at Guardbridge and had distant views of White Taled Eagles out in the estuary. Nat was meeting me there early in the afternoon. Word of a Snow Goose at Usan came through. When Nat arrived I suggested going for it and off we went. We found plenty Pink Footed Geese and even 2 or 3 Barnacle Geese but the Snow Goose proved surprisingly elusive. In our defence it was a blue morph bird so only the neck and head were white. We got the scope from the car and triedto avoid spooking the flock feeding in the fields either side of the railway line. Eventually I found the bird and we both had decent views and succeeded in not spooking the flock. Despite much hunting for a rarity on the 13th October (having had Red Flanked Bluetail in 2013 and White Billed Diver in 2014) I drew a blank. We did add a single Brambling at Kilminning on the 15th with a flock of Chaffinches before having to cut short our birding for the day due to me feeling unwell.
November brought a nice surprise bird to equal my personal best when Nat spotted a raptor in flight at a site in Angus. A female Goshawk. Bird number 205. A week later despite heavy rain being forecast we headed to Pitlochry in the hope of seeing a Ring Necked Duck on a pond in the Perthshire town. Success within minutes of arriving. The light was poor and the bird was on the wary side so kept its distance. Still I'd broken my record. The following day at Kinnordy we had amazingly close views of the Bittern in flight, not once but twice, as well as Great White Egret. We did try for Great Grey Shrike a couple of times but failed to see the species. An attempt to get Snow Buntings for Nat at Out Head was successful when I heard the birds calling in flight and we watched them land on the beach in front of us. The light wasn't great but we watched the pair feed for a while before giving up. Trips out in December were in short supply because of the weather and other factors.
For a year that had started in such an understated fashion it ended up being a classic year, due in large part to my reduced hours at work and Nat's willingness to get out birding with me every Wednesday. Without her help it is unlikely I would have even reached 200 for the year, so big thanks to Nat and every one else who has found and reported the birds that I've been lucky enough to see in 2015. Here's hoping 2016 delivers more of the same (and more of the different).
