Week 44

29 October - 4 November 2025

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

November 2 - Day 306: 205

Today, Raymond, picked me up to go to Girdleness. When we arrived, the wind was quite cold, despite it being a southerly. We went into Walker Park, where we saw some Skylarks, Linnets and Goldfinches. We decided it was too windy to set up the net, so we went back towards the battery, along with Steve, who had just arrived. When we walked up to the back of the battery, we saw a Woodcock fly out of the vegetation, and down towards the sea. We then walked back up to the car, stopping to check the colour-ringed Shags on the South Pier. We argued over some of them before heading off to Cove Bay, where dad and my sisters would join us. Meanwhile, Raymond, Vicky and I went for a quick wander to see if any birds, were about. We saw a few Shags resting on the rocks in the distance, and to our surprise, a pair of Ravens. We then walked back to the car and drove down to the harbour at Cove. We had some cakes, before heading out onto the pier. We saw a Guillemot and a Shag, but it was very windy and a lot of froth was coming in off the sea. In the early afternoon, news came out of a Cattle Egret at Tillyeve junction, near Udny Station. Later on, at 3pm, we would be attending the annual Logie Buchan Kirk service, and since it was on the way, we decided to give it a go. We parked at the junction and started walking a bit further up the road, but, half way there, my dad convinced us to drive instead. So we went back to the car, and drove up. We saw Mark Sullivan's Car and some birders with large cameras point at a white dot in the field. I saw the Cattle Egret for barely half a second, since we couldn't find anywhere to park nearby. At least we managed to make it on time for the church service, even spotting the female Smew on our way. After the service, one centred around nature, we went for some food and drinks at the Logie Buchan hall. We ate loads of delicious sausage rolls and admired the pieces of art installed around the hall, from paintings of Herons and Long-tailed tits, to sculptures of Puffins and Corncrakes. Thanks to the Buchan family, of Auchmacoy House and Estate for hosting this event and providing the food.