I WILL SURVIVE.....

23/06/10

A few years ago I saw briefly a tern on the Ythan estuary that I did not recognise. It was a big one with a big beak. At the time I wasn’t experienced enough to put a name to it. Now I think it may have been a Caspian Tern. But I’ll never know for sure. So, when the word was out of a Caspian Tern on the Ythan, then at Strathbeg, I was off. I left home in warm sunshine, and arrived at Strathbeg in cool misty conditions. Visibility was impaired, but I quickly spotted the three Spoonbills that have been there for a while. I settled down to observe them, recalling the apparent courtship displays I had seen them indulging in a couple of weeks ago when they were on the Ythan. No sooner had I started, than a man with a mower decided to do some vegetation trimming, close to where they were standing. Exeunt high and north three Spoonbills. I hung around for an hour or so, hoping the Caspian Tern would put in an appearance, but apart from the birds on the pools immediately in front of the visitor centre, there was little sign of any birds. Mower man droned on. I left.

I wondered if perhaps the tern had moved back to Meikle Loch or the Ythan where it had first been seen. It was foggy along the coast. Meikle Loch was just on the edge of it. I had lunch there. It was very quiet and peaceful, but not a lot of birds were to be seen. I drove past the Collieston crossroads, blissfully unaware that there was a Montague’s Harrier in the area at around that time. I discovered this when I checked the grapevine in the evening. Down on the Ythan, the fog was really quite thick. I could barely see across the river.

“My” Temminck’s Stint was now apparently at Cove, residing on Rigifa Pool. Hey, I thought that had been dry for years. Anyway, I thought I might as well have a look. At Murcar, I emerged from the fog and found Aberdeen basking in sunshine, apart from the very tip of Girdleness. I arrived at Rigifa, and indeed there was water. Lots of it, and a nice muddy margin. Lapwings, with chicks, and wagtails were plentiful. I scanned all round the pool several times but failed to find the stint. Must have moved on. But it was there, seen by not one but two birders, once again the information coming to me via the grapevine in the evening.
Still, they are nice people and I was pleased for them.

So ended a day of disasters and missed opportunities. I’d had enough and went home to watch some football on the telly. It wasn’t any more exciting. Enough. I will survive.