Somewhere New, Somewhere (very)Old

15/05/09

Somewhere New, Somewhere (Very) Old
28th April 2009. A bit of variety today. Having said that, I started out as I so often do, at Girdle Ness. Apart from a solitary Northern Wheatear looking suspiciously at me, Walker Park was devoid of birds. It was cold and windy at The Coo, but I stuck it out for a bit. Lots of Common Scoters were trampolining on the swell, more than 400 of them. I took a couple of turns around The Battery - surely there would be a migrant or two. But no, only the Linnets and Meadow Pipits. Above my head, a sea of Skylarks poured down their endless song from somewhere in the low scudding clouds.

I took a stroll around the Sewage Treatment Works, with its willows and other scrubby trees. Here at last were some summer songsters, even if they were only Willow Warblers. I reckoned on seven singing birds at least. A Magpie erupted from a bush as I walked past. The gulls have taken to the flat roofs of the buildings in a big way. I counted about a hundred of them lounging around, with twelve sitting on nests. As I left, I spotted The Freak (albino Oystercatcher) flying along the shoreline.

I headed off to the Ythan, hoping for a Whimbrel or five, but I have to admit it was disappointingly quiet. Still, it was nice to see three Pintail ducks, a male and two females. Since it was so quiet, I took off to Collieston, parked at the far end of the village, and started out along the path along the clifftops. Lots of Meadow Pipits kept me company as I made my way to Hackley Bay, a new place for me. It is a lovely half moon of gently shelving sand, with rocky headlands at either end. There was said to have been a Glaucous Gull seen there a few days before, and of course I kept an eye open for it. I squatted down among the prickly marram grass, and scanned through hundreds of gulls and Fulmars, but no Glaucous. A stoat came jinking along the path towards me, then vanished.

My attention was caught by a disturbance among some of the gulls on one of the stacks. Two of them were engaged in a serious fight, on a ledge above the swirling swell. One of them had grasped the other's bill in its own bill, and the two of them were flapping and straining furiously. I don't know what it was all about, but I don't suppose it was a bit of french kissing. Two other birds were close at hand watching the action. One of them then grabbed the tip of the outstretched primary of one of the fighting birds and began to tug vigorously at it, so that the poor gull was being stretched in both directions. The arguments went on for about ten minutes, until both protagonists, in a crescendo of flapping, fell off the ledge into the boiling sea. I didn't see what happened after that, as they were out of sight.

On my return to Collieston, I saw two Peregrines flying along the cliffs. One of them was carrying what appeared to be a small bird in its talons. It flew off, presumably to devour its catch, leaving the other to fly up and down.

On my way home, I decided to have a look at Danestone Country Park, on the outskirts of Aberdeen. It is situated on the banks of the River Don, and sixty years ago it was the playground of my boyhood. I've been back a few times, because it is a good spot to find Stock Doves, and sure enough I soon saw two of them, The river used to be heavily polluted from the effluent from the paper mills, but that was cleaned up some time ago and now the river runs clear and sparkling again. It is also good for Grey Wagtails and Dippers. A family of Mallards, ma, pa and six weans paddled along the water's edge. All the commom woodland birds were there, and it was nice to be back and relive some of my boyhood adventures.

As a last call, I stopped at the Loch of Skene. Lots of Swallows were hawking for insects over the water, but too far away to count. Then, an Osprey came into view, had a look around, and flew off behind the trees. Driving along one of the back roads after I left, a Red Kite drifted across the road in front of me, rounding off a very mixed, and eventful day.