Trip reports

What You Missed: January - June 2009

Sunday, 1 November 2009

Mid May ....... our coast saw a major fall of rare migrants ... More...

Outdoor meeting: FORFAR LOCH & LOCH OF KINNORDY

Wednesday, 22 July 2009

there were numerous Mallards, many with families ranging from ducklings only a few days old to fully grown juveniles....Everybody had excellent views of a pair of Great Crested Grebes with three young, sometimes sitting on the back of one of the parents. More...

Outdoor Meeting: TROUP HEAD

Sunday, 5 July 2009

....we were greeted by the smell of hundreds of nesting birds; Gannet,Guillemot, Puffin, Razorbill, Fulmar and Kittiwake were all wheeling about the cliff colony...Then the call went up - minkie whale! More...

Outdoor Meeting:TAY REED BEDS AND VANE FARM

Sunday, 14 June 2009

As the Tay Ringing Group were working the beds, it gave us a rare opportunity to see Bearded Tits [or Reedlings] close up in the hand More...

Outdoor Evening Meeting: NTS DRUM CASTLE

Tuesday, 9 June 2009

.... an enjoyable walk through delightful mixed, mainly deciduous, woodland... More...

Outdoor Meeting: NTS LEITH HALL

Sunday, 31 May 2009

...a number of young and recently fledged birds about....proved to be a theme of the outing....a Tawny Owl...our best bird of the outing.. More...

OUtdoor Meeting : ARBROATH

Thursday, 21 May 2009

....eight members gathered on a lovely sunny morning on the esplanade at Arbroath.......the old Raven's nest had been taken over by a pair of Fulmars. They looked ridiculous perched on the top of this huge nest... More...

Outdoor Meeting: DINNET AND ENVIRONS

Thursday, 30 April 2009

...a cry of 'Osprey' went up and everybody had super views of an Osprey carrying a large branch in its talons.......On the walk through Dinnet Oak Wood...Redstart - very good views ... More...

Outdoor Meeting:LUNAN BAY AND MONTROSE

Sunday, 26 April 2009

A lovely day in the sunshine and 62 or 65 species seen, depending on the list recorder! More...

Indoor meeting:THE PANTANAL THE BIGGEST WETLAND IN THE WORLD

Tuesday, 7 April 2009

Eric McCabe, a professional wildlife photographer, treated us to an account of a visit he and his wife made to Brazil where he began his trip with a visit to the Pantanal, the biggest wetland in the world More...

Outdoor Meeting: FINDHORN AND ROSEISLE FOREST

Sunday, 15 March 2009

...a Pied Wagtail started our list....two Slavonian Grebes, one in winter plumage the other coming into summer plumage, swam close inshore.... More...

Outdoor Meeting: CRUDEN BAY

Wednesday, 4 March 2009

Linnets and Yellowhammers flitted between the dyke and the ploughed field. A Pheasant, Rooks and Gulls were obvious, and a little patience also found Reed Bunting amongst the furrows , while the spring air trilled to fluttering Skylarks. More...

Flock of pink-footed geese at dawn over Loch of Strathbeg

Tuesday, 3 March 2009

Dominic Funnell gave an account of the recent major transformation of the RSPB Loch of Strathbeg Reserve. More...

Indoor Meeting: CORN BUNTINGS AND OTHER FARMLAND BIRDS OF EAST SCOTLAND

Tuesday, 24 February 2009

Nineteen species are classed as farmland bird indicators........taken together, farmland birds have declined by 50% in the past twenty-five years.......the specialists have shown the greatest loss in numbers.Tree Sparrow numbers have declined by 90%. But they respond well to management and are now increasing...... More...

Outdoor Meeting:SCONE PALACE AND VANE FARM

Sunday, 22 February 2009

.....a total of 43 species seen or heard, including excellent views of Hawfinches More...

Outdoor Meeting :STONEHAVEN AREA

Friday, 13 February 2009

Lots of snow and ice underfoot but glorious weather that got better and better as the day advanced.....a total of 51 species was seen. More...

Indoor Meeting: SPIRIT OF SHACKLETON

Tuesday, 20 January 2009

Nick Picozzi, formerly an ecologist at the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology at Banchory, fulfilled a long-held ambition when he embarked on a trip to the Antarctic. More...

GIRDLENESS

Tuesday, 13 January 2009

.....a very pleasant January outing although not many species. More...

Staff Matthew Tickner surveying birds at Bann Estuary, Northern Ireland

Friday, 2 January 2009

....two pairs of Scaup hidden among the Eiders and some Sanderling scurrying along the beach. A little later two splendid Long-tailed Ducks were spotted on the sea. More...

Indoor Meeting: CONSERVATION OF BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS

Tuesday, 16 December 2008

Mark Young gave an account of some aspects of the conservation of butterflies and moths, referring to problems such as loss and change of habitat due to climate change......We were treated to a delightful account of lives and changing distributions of some butterflies and moths. More...

Long-tailed tit perched on branch

Saturday, 22 November 2008

.....on the Loch were Whooper and Mute Swan, Tufted Duck, Greylag and Pink footed Geese, Mallard, Coot, Goldeneye, Wigeon, Shoveler and Little Grebe.... followed by a walk through the lovely early winter setting of the tree-lined policies of the Dunecht House Estate... More...

Tuesday, 11 November 2008

Mark Caunt is a professional wildlife photographer who went to South Africa for a guided sightseeing trip ..... and amassed a list of over two hundred species.......We were delighted by the excellence of the slides that were witness to the Mark's photographic skills. More...

Saturday, 1 November 2008

Our latest expedition took us for the first time to South America, for three weeks at the end of October and the beginning of November 2008. With hindsight, we should have learned Spanish...... More...

Nuthatch on branch

Tuesday, 28 October 2008

Jonathan Osborne of RSPB Scottish Headquarters in Edinburgh gave the inaugural talk of the season. Over the years he had collected many stories about birds being identified wrongly. More...

Sea cliffs near Upper Killeyan, Mull of Oa, Islay

Sunday, 12 October 2008

......two to three hundred Golden Plovers on the foreshore... followed by the more attractive option of a sea cliff walk through the Seaton Cliffs Nature Reserve managed by the SWT..... and not only Common Scoters [the majority] but also significant numbers of Velvet Scoters and one Surf Scoter.... More...

Crested tit on branch

Friday, 19 September 2008

A lot of driving - but worth it for Twite, Crested Tit, Brent Geese, Black-throated and Red-throated Diver, Peregrine Falcon, Sea Eagle... and 14 Golden Eagles More...

Swallow perched on wire fence in Spain

Tuesday, 9 September 2008

Kestrel and Stoat in the dunes, Martins and Swallows hunting all around, Arctic Skuas and Manx Shearwaters far out to sea .... More...

Curlew standing on weed, County Cork, Ireland

Friday, 29 August 2008

Many hundreds of Curlew, eight Snipe, a family of Wheatears, Redshanks, Ruffs, Lapwings, Black-tailed Godwit and a Heron... More...

Osprey in larch tree

Thursday, 17 July 2008

Hundreds of Redshank, Grey Plover in immaculate summer plumage, scruffy Mallards in eclipse, Osprey, Arctic & Great Skuas, and Manx and Sooty Shearwaters... More...

Adult black-tailed godwit in summer plummage, at the RSPB Snettisham nature reserve, Norfolk

Friday, 11 July 2008

Variety of birds at Longhaven, Strathbeg, Forvie More...

Wheatear in spring

Sunday, 6 July 2008

Wheatears, Whinchats, Peregrines More...

Sunday, 22 June 2008

Rain!! More...

Wednesday, 4 June 2008

Pipistrelle Bats More...

Little ringed plover wading in shallow water

Thursday, 22 May 2008

Blazing Gorse, Linnets, Herring Gull, Fulmar, Cormorant, Common, Arctic and Sandwich Terns, Turnstone, Sanderling, Red-breasted Merganser - and so many Ringed Plovers More...

Cuckoo perched in tree

Sunday, 11 May 2008

Cuckoo, Swallows More...

Male goldeneye

Sunday, 20 April 2008

Goldeneye, Dipper, First Willow Warbler More...

Thursday, 17 April 2008

Imperial Eagles and Flamingoes More...

Male greenfinch perched on rhododendron bush

Wednesday, 16 April 2008

Woodland Birds, Reed Bunting, Kestrel, Razorbill More...

Adult whooper swans feeding in fields

Tuesday, 25 March 2008

Red Troated Diver, Long Tailed Ducks, Bewick swan amongst Whoopers More...

Adult male siskin on feeder

Sunday, 16 March 2008

Lesser Redpolls, Siskins , 3 Raptor species More...

Mudflats at sunset in Myroe, Lough Foyle RSPB reserve

Sunday, 24 February 2008

Tay Reed Beds RSPB reserve, Foxes, Snipe, Scone palace, Hawfinch, Snowdrops More...

Flock of pink-footed geese at dawn over Loch of Strathbeg

Monday, 11 February 2008

Sunshine. Strathbeg, New Tower Hide: ducks and geese, Bank Hide: Ermine Stoat, Carnbulg More...

Female house sparrow perched on dead branch

Thursday, 17 January 2008

Rain/Sleet, Feterresso, Cowie Harbour, Best bird?: Crossbills More...

Male wigeon swimming

Wednesday, 2 January 2008

Bracing Weather! Redshanks, Knot, Oyster Catcher, Pale Bellied Brent Geese More...

Binoculars

Sunday, 25 November 2007

Windy, Storm Petrel, Iceland Gull, Little Auks, Crimond Church Clock More...

Views of beach, RSPB Loch of Strathbeg nature reserve

Monday, 12 November 2007

Cloud Formations, Little Auks flypast, Reed Buntings and Flocks of Yellow Hammerts More...

Great tit perched in small tree

Sunday, 7 October 2007

Nettles, House Sparrows, Grey Partridge,Kestrels More...

Male greenfinch perched on rhododendron bush

Tuesday, 11 September 2007

Fine weather, Arctic Skua, Red Throated Diver More...

Views of beach, RSPB Loch of Strathbeg nature reserve

Monday, 20 August 2007

Wind, Waders and Risso's Dolphins More...

Cup of tea

Sunday, 22 April 2007

18 of us have a splendid day at this beautiful reserve. More...