Monday, 27 January 2025

Week 4 - Scotland Big Year

Week 4

21 – 28 January 2025

During my big year, I will update my blog most weeks. This is the fourth week's recap. January has nearly ended and February is right around the corner already. The number next to the day indicates my year list at the end of that day. Birds written in italics indicate year ticks.

Day 24:

As I write this post, I can hear the wind blowing outside. Today is a Friday so normally I would be at school, however, due to the winds, both my sisters' school and mine have closed. The Met Office has issued a red alert for the central belt of Scotland and Northern Ireland. Gusts across the British Isles have reached over 115mph. Sadly, even though I missed school, because of the wind, we weren't allowed to go to Sandhaven to see the reported Iceland Gull. Indeed, if not for my physics homework on pressure, I would not have even stepped outside today! With such wind, our bird table fell down, but I still saw a male Blackbird on our bird feeder, hanging on for its life!

Day 25:

Today is the day we have all been waiting for... The RSPB's "Big Garden Birdwatch" has been running since 1979 and over 1 million people from all across the UK participate in one of the largest public wildlife surveys in the world. This survey provides vital information on garden bird populations trends in the UK. Not to forget, today is also Burn's Night 2025. Robert (Rabbie) Burns was a famous Scottish poet born in Ayr. He wrote many much-loved poems such as "a Red, Red Rose" and others. In order to celebrate Burns, every year on January 25, people in Scotland and all over the world, eat Haggis and drink Whisky as well as other Scottish foods and drinks.

We chose the hour between one and two p.m. To seem more appealing to my sisters, we advertised it as a chance to ride our bikes. We spotted many common birds such as Goldfinches, House sparrows, Blue tits, Great tits, Woodpigeons and Blackbirds. I soon also spotted a Wren flying between the bushes. Before long, I found the regular Stock doves of Victoria Park, however, this time a third individual joined. I finally managed to count Herring Gull and Carrion Crow, since I spotted a few on the tops of some houses. Back at the feeders, I saw a Chaffinch and saw 2 Robins have a battle with another one spectating from the sidelines. I also picked out 2 Dunnocks feeding on the ground with a tiny Wood Mouse. After a while, a flock of 16 Redwings landed in the lawned areas with a Pied Wagtail.

Day 26: 94

Today was the RSPB outing to Girdleness. Before that, my dad and I went to drop off my grandparents at the airport to take the plane back to their house in Békéscsaba. In the end, we arrived a few minutes late, but managed to catch up to a part of the group that would be going towards the foghorn and to St Fittick's. Near the lighthouse, we saw large numbers of auks, mostly Guillemots with one Razorbill. In the distance, we spotted a Gannet being harassed by some Herring Gulls. At the foghorn, we found a Red-throated Diver and met Mark Lewis, who had been doing some seawatching in the blistering cold. He hadn't seen much, so we kept walking to keep warm. On the way down to St Fittick's we had a flyover flock of Linnets. Away from the coastal wind, and in between the trees, we were much warmer at St Fittick's. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to spot any Snipe from the reed beds. As we walked down to the concrete bridge, we had a Sparrowhawk fly in front of us and into some trees. At the bridge, we didn't have to wait long before the Water Rail came right out for the mealworms that we had put out. Before long, a second Water Rail came out from another part of the reeds. Despite the large group, these water rails were just as confiding as last time, coming right out into the open. It's a shame we didn't bring the camera! Make sure to check out Keith's blog "Boat Birder " to see some great pics! As we walked back to the car park we found some wader species, with a few Turnstones, a Ringed Plover and a Redshank. Back at the car park, we spotted a large flock of roosting Oystercatchers and Purple Sandpipers.

After warming up and having lunch at a coffee shop, we did our weekly shopping and I managed to convince my dad to take a short detour down to Loirston Loch, in order to find Coot. As we first passed the lake, I scanned as fast as I could, picking up number 93: Tufted Duck. On the way back north past the lake, we stopped in a lay-by, so I got out and started scanning. I saw many Wigeon, Tufted Ducks, Goldeneyes, Mute Swans, Cormorants, and, in the distance, 2 Coots.

Day 25: https://ebird.org/tripreport/S210776703

Day 26: https://ebird.org/checklist/S210752090 ; https://ebird.org/checklist/S210752816

The worst of Storm Éowyn off Ireland

(Windy.com)

Not much better in the North Sea!

(Windy.com)

Our Big Garden Birdwatch results

Total List of 17 species

(Stock = Stock Dove

Car Crow = Carrion Crow

W pig = Woodpigeon

B Bird = Blackbird)

Wednesday, 22 January 2025

Week 3 - Scotland Big Year

Week 3

14 – 21 January 2025

During my big year, I will update my blog most weeks. This is the third week's recap. The number next to the day indicates my year list at the end of that day. Birds written in italics indicate year ticks.

Day 18: 86

While my dad was in London for work, my grandparents from Hungary came over to take care of my sisters and I. For the past week, Hawfinch records from Fetternear Bishop's Palace and the Kemnay area have been coming in daily. After lunch today, my mum and I drove up to try to see the birds. 30 minutes later, we arrived at the nearby business centre, where we parked. In the fields, we spotted a Yellowhammer and got an alert saying the birds had been seen 10 minutes ago. We saw a large flock of Pink-footed Geese fly over while we were making our way across to where they had been seen. When we arrived, I found a few Long-tailed Tits but no Hawfinches. After waiting for about 15 minutes, we met Sailaja again. She said that she had not seen them yet. We started to get quite pessimistic about seeing the birds. We walked up to the Palace and met another birder who hadn't seen them neither. Soon, we were joined by a few other birders, none of which had seen the birds. As my mum and I walked back up and down the trail, we heard a rather strange sound coming from the tops of one of the trees. When I saw a small bird hop across some branches, I didn't expect to lift my binoculars and watch a female Hawfinch sitting on a branch! The bird soon flew, and I could see the characteristic wing bar. Unfortunately, the other birders didn't arrive soon enough and they didn't see it. On the way back to the car, we accidentally flushed a flock of Linnets from the fields nearby.

Day 18: https://ebird.org/checklist/S209760716

Wednesday, 15 January 2025

Week 2 - Scotland Big Year

Week 2

08 – 14 January 2025

During my big year, I will update my blog most weeks. This is the second week's recap. The number next to the day indicates my year list at the end of that day. Birds written in italics indicate year ticks.

Day 11: 82

Today we had planned to go to Montrose Basin after our weekly karate lesson since a Snow goose and a Green-winged Teal had been seen the day before. We left at around 10:00AM. After the 50-minute drive, we were in Montrose. We quickly stopped to get ourselves some pastries for lunch. When we arrived at the visitor centre, we paid the £5 fee. We were very quickly pointed in the direction of a flock of Pink-footed Geese on the shoreline. As we looked through the scopes, we spotted the Snow Goose standing out with its white plumage. As I turned around, I spotted a Collared Dove in a tree next to the bird feeders. While I was scanning the basin, I saw 2 male Goldeneyes flying across the water. Between some of the gulls, I also found a Shelduck flying over the basin. Soon after, the flock of Pink-footed Geese and the Snow Goose with them, flew off to go foraging in the fields. While I was scanning the shoreline for the Green-winged Teal, I spotted several Greenshanks feeding with a few Redshanks. A decade ago, Greenshanks wouldn't winter in this part of the world. With a warming climate, birds like Greenshanks are wintering as far north as the Ythan Estuary. This became even more apparent when I found a Great White Egret in the SE corner of the basin. While I was searching for the GWT, I saw a small bird diving near the Teal. Under closer inspection, it turned out to be my first Little Grebe of the year. I was enjoying views of a Water Rail and a Snipe in the same scope when I spotted a Sparrowhawk dash across the pools in front of us. It hid for a while behind a fence post, where we could just make out the shape of its head moving around. It soon flew to the top of another fence post and flushed a couple Snipe while doing so. The bird was showing well, and we could identify it as a male because of its size and its barred, orange chest. We kept checking, again and again, every Teal to try to find the scarce American visitor hidden between them. After waiting for another 20 minutes, we gave up and decided to head to the Ythan Estuary for either of the two Green-winged Teals that have been seen there for a few days. While we were driving back towards the main road, we saw a large group of ducks out on the water. We found a place to park and scanned the birds, finding several Grey Herons, a Great Black-backed Gull, Mallards, a Wigeon, tens of Teal but no GWT

We raced against the already fading light to arrive at Inch Geck island before sunset. When we arrived, we saw another birder scanning the island, he told us that the GWT was over at the Snub Lay-by. While we were scanning the island, my sister, Maya, spotted Raymond Duncan (the chairman of the Grampian Ringing Group) driving past in his car! He turned around and parked next to us. After a quick chat, we drove up to the Snub Lay-by and started scanning the many Teal out on the mudflats. I thought I spotted it before they all got spooked by a passing Goshawk! The birds landed again a bit further out, so Raymond took out his scope. Before long, he spotted the Green-winged Teal and got us onto it, too! I got a few digiscoped photos through his scope and found it in my scope as well.

Day 12: A adult male Scaup was seen at Inchgarth Reservoir on the 10th of January and later on the 11th, too. Since we already had plans for the 11th, we decided to maybe go to Inchgarth on the 12th. We arrived in Cults at around 10:30 and started walking towards the reservoir. On the way, spotting a Red Squirrel climbing up a tree. The reservoir was nearly completely frozen, apart from a small area where many gulls were congregating, at first glance we didn't see any ducks but headed across to the south side anyway. When we arrived, we saw a rather large group of Wigeon that were hidden behind the gulls but no sign of the Scaup. As I scanned the gulls, I saw 2 Great Black-backed Gulls, as well as many Common Gulls between the ubiquitous Herring Gulls. While we were watching the many gulls and the Wigeon, two male Goosanders flew overhead. As I scanned the gulls again, I saw that one of them was a bit different. It seemed to be an immature Great Black-backed gull, but the bill was too narrow. It had a grey back, paler than GBBG but darker than Herring. The slate-grey mantle reminded me of LBBG, a rarity in winter in the North-East. The feet were a dark pink. As we walked back to the car, we passed the River Dee, seeing a Little Grebe and a Grey Heron. Over in Cults, we saw a few more Fieldfares, a Bullfinch flew over and I heard a Collared Dove.