Trip reports
 | Monday, 2 January 2012 Ythan Estuary - 2nd January 2012 44 species found on a clear January day......plus 300 seals.... More... |
 | Saturday, 12 November 2011 KINNAIRD HEAD: 12 November 2011 .......in quick succession a Stonechat on a woody stalk, a Purple Sandpiper amongst boulders on the beach, a Little Gull flying in and a Red-throated Diver on the sea. A Merlin burst over the beach,....... More... |
 | Tuesday, 1 November 2011 RED SQUIRRELS:01 November 2011 The Forestry Commission regards the red squirrel as a key woodland species for conservation...The project to protect the reds in Grampian was launched in 2009 with the aims of controlling the population of greys, preventing their colonisation of new areas and managing forests to the advantage of reds.... More... |
 | Monday, 17 October 2011 Dumfries & Galloway Group Weekend Trip A very successful weekend away - here is what you missed More... |
 | Wednesday, 28 September 2011 ANGUS COASTAL OUTING - Wednesday 28th September 2011 We were met by Bob McCurley.....the group checked out the foreshore habitat ..... 21 species , the highlight being an adult Mediterranean Gull , picked out amongst a small group of Black Headed Gulls . More... |
 | Wednesday, 24 August 2011 A gorgeous late summer's day.......highlighted by excellent views of some of our most spectacular raptors.... More... |
 | Wednesday, 24 August 2011 Midweek outing: ST CYRUS NATURE RESERVE A gorgeous late summer's day ....... highlighted by excellent views of some of our most spectacular raptors. More... |
 | Wednesday, 6 July 2011 ....everyone donned their waterproofs and we set off looking like an advertisement for Gore-tex.... More... |
 | Wednesday, 8 June 2011 RSPB Aberdeen Local Group Trips to Glen Tanar: 8th and 9th June 2011 ...the first group took the high road through some wild hill country and saw a good herd of Red Deer. The driving pace was slow due to the very rocky track and the many Red Grouse chicks on the road... More... |
 | Sunday, 5 June 2011 Perhaps not a vintage day in terms of the number of species seen but nevertheless rewarding in relation to good sightings of Ring Ouzel and Cuckoos. More... |
 | Sunday, 29 May 2011 Outing to Dinnet Oakwood, Ordie Moss and Loch Kinnord, Deeside A 4.30am ..... "just after dawn" chorus was added by popular request and the lure of breakfast at Hilary's......some great views in a variety of habitats. The species total was 52. More... |
 | Sunday, 29 May 2011 Dinnet Oakwood, Ordie Moss and Loch Kinnord, Deeside A 4.30am ....... "just after dawn" chorus and the lure of breakfast at Hilary's ..... some great views in a variety of habitats. The species total was 52. More... |
 | Wednesday, 4 May 2011 Midweek Group Outing - Longhaven SWT Nature Reserve An intrepid band of 8 assembled at Longhaven and braved the warm Spring sunshine to enjoy a walk along the cliffs at Longhaven SWT reserve observing the sea-birds and animals that live on and around these cliffs. More... |
 | Wednesday, 20 April 2011 Cruden Bay & Slains Castle : A Misty Day! The man on the wireless promised a beautiful day for the whole country, except maybe the NE coast of Scotland where the haar would take time to burn off....our final tally of 49 species ...not bad for a misty day! More... |
 | Tuesday, 19 April 2011 Indoor Meeting - Mark Sullivan - BIRDS OF ARCTIC EUROPE Mark Sullivan spent several years working in Norway and has made several trips to within the Arctic Circle to watch birds. More... |
 | Sunday, 10 April 2011 ......our worst fears were realised as the beach was crowded ..........Warm, sunny weather is pleasant, and can bring some birds out; it also entices out day-trippers and dog walkers! More... |
| Tuesday, 29 March 2011 Evening Meeting - RAPTORS AND BIODIVERSITY ON ANGUS MANAGED GROUSE MOORS Mike Groves of the Tayside Raptor Group gave a well illustrated talk in two halves on the impact of grouse moor management in Angus on biodiversity....... More... |
 | Sunday, 27 March 2011 MONTREATHMONT FOREST AND BALGAVIES LOCH ....We set off up the track and immediately heard a Green woodpecker calling, eventually spotted in a distant tree. Further up the track we could hear three woodpeckers yaffling and eventually got good views of the birds... More... |
 | Thursday, 10 March 2011 Forvie Field Trip - March 2011 .....we avoided Hackley Bay........ due to the undeniable risk of being blown off the path down to the shore about 200 feet below..... More... |
 | Sunday, 27 February 2011 SCONE PALACE AND LOCH KINNORDY In total we saw 44 species and had some wonderful views of Hawfinch and so mission accomplished!! More... |
 | Tuesday, 22 February 2011 Local group member Hilary MacBean gave a talk based on her visit to New Zealand ...., spending five weeks on South Island and two weeks on North Island.....The theme of her talk was paradoxes, interventions and conservation.... More... |
 | Thursday, 10 February 2011 The final entertainment of the day was watching two drake Mallards attempting Sumo wrestling by pushing and shoving each other after which the 'victor' attempted to have his way with the loser! More... |
 | Wednesday, 26 January 2011 Two of the Crossbills, a male and female, were already in full breeding plumage.....Everyone got stunning views of both males and females perching in the sunshine, a first sighting for at least two people in the party.... More... |
| Tuesday, 18 January 2011 Indoor Meeting - Graham Rebecca -MERLIN, HEN HARRIER AND RING OUZEL STUDIES IN NORTH EAST SCOTLAND Graham has worked in the North East for over 20 years and is a founder member of the North East Scotland Raptor Study Group. He has studied Merlin and Hen Harrier for all of that period, and Ring Ouzel for the last 12 years. More... |
 | Sunday, 2 January 2011 ....The birding, however, proved to be rewarding. Large numbers of Dunlin and several pairs of Red breasted Mergansers were seen immediately, as well as Eider in various states of plumage..... More... |
 | Wednesday, 24 November 2010 MIDWEEK GROUP OUTING: Donmouth .......we spent an hour.....surveying the river and threatening to walk out to the river mouth if the snow went off. This was quite productive and, with good light between snow showers, we were able to see at close quarters most of the anticipated species. More... |
 | Tuesday, 16 November 2010 Indoor Meeting - Cliff Davies - THE SEX LIFE OF BIRDS Cliff Davies studied zoology at the University of Oxford and then carried out research into bird biology under the mentorship of the famous behaviouralist, Niko Tinbergen. He subsequently lectured at a number of universities...... More... |
 | Sunday, 14 November 2010 WEEKEND GROUP OUTING: Kinnaird Head ........the weather had improved beyond wildest hopes, and the sunshine through magnificent cloud formations provided interesting colour effects. There was still a cold wind, though - well, it was Fraserburgh! More... |
 | Wednesday, 20 October 2010 OUTDOOR MEETING - LUNAN BAY AND MONTROSE BASIN ........an excellent day's birding, with beautiful, clear weather, great company and 59 species. More... |
 | Friday, 15 October 2010 "A TICK TOO FAR"- report of a trip to Northern Argentina .....our visit to Northern Argentina provided us with a new tick list - how many living ticks can one person accumulate?! More... |
 | Tuesday, 12 October 2010 Indoor Meeting - Jeremy Greenwood -"HOW TO CHANGE CONSERVATION POLICIES THROUGH BIRD WATCHING" ...... an inspiration to amateur bird watchers, the main theme being that most of the scientific research done by the BTO and others depends heavily on the efforts of the enthusiastic amateur More... |
![AUTUMN TRIP TO NORTH BERWICK [24-27 September 2010]](/groups/images/aberdeen_04052011231520_90.jpg) | Friday, 24 September 2010 AUTUMN TRIP TO NORTH BERWICK [24-27 September 2010] The Group's Autumn Trip for 2010 was based at North Berwick and took in the magnificent and famous birding venues at Musselburgh, Gosford Bay, Aberlady Bay, Gullane, Tyninghame Estuary, Barns Ness, Dunbar and last but by no means least, the Bass Rock. More... |
 | Thursday, 9 September 2010 Jack Snipe, Barred Warbler, Pied Flycatcher, Grasshopper Warbler... and other migrants More... |
![Indoor meeting: ECUADOR AND CENTRAL AMERICA [01 December, 2009]](/groups/images/aberdeen_28042010101350_90.jpg) | Wednesday, 28 April 2010 Indoor meeting: ECUADOR AND CENTRAL AMERICA [01 December, 2009] Mark Caunt is a semi-professional wildlife photographer who has travelled extensively. In this talk he showed photographs from a trip to South and Central America..... More... |
 | Friday, 23 April 2010 What You Missed: JULY - DECEMBER 2009 .......it was Strathbeg that produced the star attraction for me, a beautiful summer-plumage Stilt Sandpiper found on the 9th and showing well until the 11th. Whilst visitors were watching this bird, a Pectoral Sandpiper and a Little Ringed Plover were also seen.... More... |
 | Friday, 23 April 2010 Autumn Weekend, Based at Nairn, Moray Firth. (25 - 28 September, 2009) .....there were thousands of birds here and a lot of oil rigs! The dominant species was Wigeon, three, four thousand? Maybe more....... More... |
![GIRDLENESS [23 February 2010]](/groups/images/aberdeen_28042010125239_90.jpg) | Tuesday, 23 February 2010 .a temperature of -3 oC at the beginning of the walk soaring to +4 oC at the end. Just to help matters along a biting wind added a wind chill factor and underfoot conditions were icily treacherous. More... |
![SCONE PALACE AND LOCH OF KINNORDY [21 February, 2010]](/groups/images/aberdeen_28042010124556_90.jpg) | Sunday, 21 February 2010 SCONE PALACE AND LOCH OF KINNORDY [21 February, 2010] Bitterns, Nuthatches & Bearded Tits were all birds we hoped to see on our outing to Scone Palace and Loch of Kinnordy - but didn't! However, we did manage to clock up no fewer than 50 species.... More... |
![MONTROSE BASIN [15 January, 2010]](/groups/images/aberdeen_28042010124001_90.jpg) | Friday, 15 January 2010 MONTROSE BASIN [15 January, 2010] Sometimes the most inauspicious birding outings turn out to be wonderful successes, and the Montrose basin on Friday January 15th proved to be one such occasion......an excellent day with 56 species identified. More... |
 | Saturday, 2 January 2010 I slid the eighteen miles to the Newburgh golf course car park on roads covered in ice three inches thick......Our final tally was 44 species. All in all a day when we should all have had a long lie in bed. More... |
![Indoor Meeting:ECUADOR AND CENTRAL AMERICA [01 December, 2009]](/groups/images/aberdeen_28042010111414_90.jpg) | Tuesday, 1 December 2009 Indoor Meeting:ECUADOR AND CENTRAL AMERICA [01 December, 2009] Mark Caunt is a semi-professional wildlife photographer who has travelled extensively. In this talk he showed photographs from a trip to South and Central America.... More... |
 | Sunday, 22 November 2009 ....the light was fading, so we decided to call it a day, satisfied with the sixty-two species we'd seen, and knowing afresh that Kenny's fame for finding the birds is well founded. More... |
 | Thursday, 5 November 2009 During the walk which lasted about three hours, we saw a total of 43 species which was fairly reasonable considering we blanked out on the seawatch... More... |
 | Tuesday, 3 November 2009 Indoor Meeting: RSPB TAYSIDE RESRVES - TWO VERY DIFFERENT WETLAND RESERVES [03 November, 2009 ] The Loch of Kinnordy and the Tay reed beds are important nationally and internationally......Hannah's informative presentation highlighted the need for constant work to maintain two habitats to provide optimum conditions for the target species More... |
 | Sunday, 1 November 2009 What You Missed: January - June 2009 Mid May ....... our coast saw a major fall of rare migrants ... More... |
Saturday, 31 October 2009 Shaken and Stirred: - A Visit to Brazil On 8th October 2009 Dave Gill and I set off for Brazil......164 species were recorded, most of which were new to us....Do not expect luxury and opulence. They are in short supply in rural Brazil, but you will have an experience of a lifetime to look back on More... |
![FIFE NESS [18 October 2009]](/groups/images/aberdeen_28042010120331_90.jpg) | Sunday, 18 October 2009 .......Here was a whole range of birds - Dabchick, Moorhen, Herring, Black-headed and Common Gulls, Wigeon, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Goldeneye, Mute Swan....... More... |
 | Tuesday, 6 October 2009 Indoor meeting: SPECIES PROTECTION IN SCOTLAND: AN UPDATE The poisoning of a Golden Eagle in the borders promoted a major debate in the Scottish Parliament, resulting in a report with twenty recommendations. More... |
 | Friday, 25 September 2009 Autumn Weekend, Based at Nairn, Moray Firth. 25 - 28 September, 2009 ......A good assortment of waders, some in large numbers, Curlew, Knot, both Godwits, Oystercatchers, Redshank, Dunlin, Lapwing, etc, etc. Other species included, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Shelduck, and pale-bellied Brent Geese. The numbers were astonishing! More... |
 | Thursday, 10 September 2009 Tim spotted a Merlin flying fast, demonstrating its speed and manoeuvrability as it pursued a small bird. Its intended prey dived into a bush, followed closely by the Merlin...The Merlin ... reappeared ...quickly got above a small bird, stooped, caught it and ....... More... |
![OUtdoor meeting: BALMEDIE [19 August, 2009]](/groups/images/aberdeen_28042010114211_90.jpg) | Wednesday, 19 August 2009 OUtdoor meeting: BALMEDIE [19 August, 2009] .....As time passed a few more birds appeared, a Guillemot, a Cormorant and a Common Scoter and two Gannets..... More... |
![Outdoor Meeting: YTHAN [09 August, 2009]](/groups/images/aberdeen_28042010112201_90.jpg) | Sunday, 9 August 2009 Outdoor Meeting: YTHAN [09 August, 2009] The birding was rather routine for the Ythan, but if you judge a good day's birding by the number of birds viewed then it was a very good, the Ythan being alive with waders More... |
 | Wednesday, 22 July 2009 Outdoor meeting: FORFAR LOCH & LOCH OF KINNORDY 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... |
 | 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... |
 | Sunday, 14 June 2009 Outdoor Meeting:TAY REED BEDS AND VANE FARM 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... |
 | Tuesday, 9 June 2009 Outdoor Evening Meeting: NTS DRUM CASTLE .... an enjoyable walk through delightful mixed, mainly deciduous, woodland... More... |
 | Sunday, 31 May 2009 Outdoor Meeting: NTS LEITH HALL ...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... |
![Lesvos [May 2009]](/groups/images/aberdeen_28042010131012_90.jpg) | Thursday, 28 May 2009 The annual spring migration to the Mediterranean ...we enjoyed a flock of Greater Flamingoes, many Avocets, Black-winged Stilts, Wood Sandpipers, Kentish Plovers, Little Terns fishing and Bee-eaters...it was a hugely successful week... More... |
 | 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... |
 | Thursday, 30 April 2009 Outdoor Meeting: DINNET AND ENVIRONS ...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... |
 | Sunday, 26 April 2009 Outdoor Meeting:LUNAN BAY AND MONTROSE A lovely day in the sunshine and 62 or 65 species seen, depending on the list recorder! More... |
 | Tuesday, 7 April 2009 Indoor meeting:THE PANTANAL THE BIGGEST WETLAND IN THE WORLD 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... |
 | Sunday, 15 March 2009 Outdoor Meeting: FINDHORN AND ROSEISLE FOREST ...a Pied Wagtail started our list....two Slavonian Grebes, one in winter plumage the other coming into summer plumage, swam close inshore.... More... |
 | 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... |
 | Tuesday, 3 March 2009 Indoor Meeting: RSPB LOCH OF STRATHBEG RESERVE Dominic Funnell gave an account of the recent major transformation of the RSPB Loch of Strathbeg Reserve. More... |
 | Tuesday, 24 February 2009 Indoor Meeting: CORN BUNTINGS AND OTHER FARMLAND BIRDS OF EAST SCOTLAND 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... |
 | Sunday, 22 February 2009 Outdoor Meeting:SCONE PALACE AND VANE FARM .....a total of 43 species seen or heard, including excellent views of Hawfinches More... |
 | Friday, 13 February 2009 Outdoor Meeting :STONEHAVEN AREA 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... |
 | Tuesday, 20 January 2009 Indoor Meeting: SPIRIT OF SHACKLETON 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... |
 | Tuesday, 13 January 2009 .....a very pleasant January outing although not many species. More... |
 | 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... |
 | Tuesday, 16 December 2008 Indoor Meeting: CONSERVATION OF BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS 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... |
 | Saturday, 22 November 2008 LOCH OF SKENE AND DUNECHT ESTATE .....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 Indoor Meeting - "From the Cape to The Falls" 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... |
 | Tuesday, 28 October 2008 Indoor Meeting: What's Not That Bird 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... |
 | 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... |
 | Friday, 19 September 2008 Autumn Trip to Skye: 19-22 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... |
 | 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... |
 | Friday, 29 August 2008 Many hundreds of Curlew, eight Snipe, a family of Wheatears, Redshanks, Ruffs, Lapwings, Black-tailed Godwit and a Heron... More... |
 | 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... |
 | Friday, 11 July 2008 Variety of birds at Longhaven, Strathbeg, Forvie More... |
 | Sunday, 6 July 2008 Wheatears, Whinchats, Peregrines More... |
Sunday, 22 June 2008 Rain!! More... |
Wednesday, 4 June 2008 Pipistrelle Bats More... |
 | 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... |
 | Sunday, 11 May 2008 Cuckoo, Swallows More... |
| Sunday, 20 April 2008 Goldeneye, Dipper, First Willow Warbler More... |
Thursday, 17 April 2008 Imperial Eagles and Flamingoes More... |
 | Wednesday, 16 April 2008 Woodland Birds, Reed Bunting, Kestrel, Razorbill More... |
 | Tuesday, 25 March 2008 Red Troated Diver, Long Tailed Ducks, Bewick swan amongst Whoopers More... |
 | Sunday, 16 March 2008 MONTREATHMONT FOREST AND FORFAR LOCH Lesser Redpolls, Siskins , 3 Raptor species More... |
 | Sunday, 24 February 2008 Tay Reed Beds RSPB reserve, Foxes, Snipe, Scone palace, Hawfinch, Snowdrops More... |
| Monday, 11 February 2008 Sunshine. Strathbeg, New Tower Hide: ducks and geese, Bank Hide: Ermine Stoat, Carnbulg More... |
 | Thursday, 17 January 2008 Rain/Sleet, Feterresso, Cowie Harbour, Best bird?: Crossbills More... |
 | Wednesday, 2 January 2008 Bracing Weather! Redshanks, Knot, Oyster Catcher, Pale Bellied Brent Geese More... |
 | Sunday, 25 November 2007 Windy, Storm Petrel, Iceland Gull, Little Auks, Crimond Church Clock More... |
 | Monday, 12 November 2007 Cloud Formations, Little Auks flypast, Reed Buntings and Flocks of Yellow Hammerts More... |
 | Sunday, 7 October 2007 Nettles, House Sparrows, Grey Partridge,Kestrels More... |
| Tuesday, 11 September 2007 Fine weather, Arctic Skua, Red Throated Diver More... |