Trip reports

Outdoor Meeting: CRUDEN BAY

Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com)

Wednesday, 4 March 2009

"There!.. quite low down, ..near the white gable end, ..." and as we focussed on the strangely orange cap of the motionless Great Spotted Woodpecker we felt sure the hugely experienced caller hadn't been fooled either by the plastic bird - or had he? By then we had noted several garden birds including Starling, Jackdaw, Blue, Great and Coal Tit, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Blackbird and Robin from the overgrown path between houses and gardens leading to the Castlewoods.

We paused to watch and listen to the chattering rookery, before continuing on the farm track leading to Slains Castle. As we left the wood, Goldfinch, Yellowhammer and Wren were identified in the bushes to the left, while on the right 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. Six roe deer on the other side of the field seemed unperturbed, while the spring air trilled to fluttering Skylarks.

At the castle, Jackdaws, Feral Pigeons and a few Fulmars were the only birds seen on the walls, while large numbers of Herring Gulls and a few Greater Black-backs were on the rocks below. Eiders occupied the nearby waters. Most saw Rock Pipit, Oystercatcher, Cormorant, Gannet, Razorbill and Guillemot, but those who started back for the car park to escape from the cold wind missed the Red-throated Diver and Common Scoter. The scrub and trees bordering the Laeca Burn are worth checking for resting migrants a little later in the season, but on our visit were very quiet. A Dunnock was the only addition to our list.

Lunch by Cruden Bay harbour revealed Shag, Red-breasted Merganser, Redshank, Turnstone and some thirty Purple Sandpipers, but no sign of the Long-tailed Ducks seen in the bay the previous week.

Prompted by Dave Gill's report of recent sightings of a White-tailed Eagle fraternising with some thirty-five Buzzards near St Fergus, most of the group set off after lunch for the ruined Kirkton church and cemetery. On the flat partly flooded fields behind the sand dunes we saw good numbers of Lapwing, Curlew and a few Dunlin amongst a huge flock of Golden Plover, while other treats included twenty-seven Whooper Swans, a Stoat and many Buzzards, but sadly no Eagle.

Paddy Grant