Page 6 - Out Birding Feb 2025

Harrier quartering the marshes in the distance. The fields and hedgerows on the walk back held Yellowhammer and Reed Bun􏰀ng, Tree Sparrow and, unexpectedly, a Lesser Whitethroat.
We con􏰀nued to the main loch and visited two hides where we could see Goldeneye and Tu􏰁ed Duck and a few more Pintail. Wigeon were the most abundant duck here and sported a range of plumages as, collec􏰀vely, they emerged from their moult. We moved on to Fraserburgh, where a Snow Goose had been reported among a large flock of Pink-footed Geese. We found the flock but could not see the all-white Snow Goose. Meanwhile, news had been trickling out about a wheatear at Collieston that had good creden􏰀als for being an Isabelline. It was on our way home, so it would have been rude not to take a gander. And there it was, feeding from fence posts in front of a small crowd of birders. There was a range of opinions among those assembled, but more were plumping for it being an ISABELLINE WHEATEAR, a new species for all of us and for the GBC UK List to boot. We arrived back in Portlethen where George had prepared a delicious tea to cap an excellent day
We went to the Ythan Estuary the next day with the weather forecast promising us foul condi􏰀ons for later. The weather did not disappoint as we sheltered in the car while overlooking the estuary. We managed to see a few different wader species and waterfowl in between sweeps of the windscreen wipers, including some Greenshank, Snipe and a Grey Plover sheltering from the wind. We took the sensible decision to re􏰀re to a local café which served excellent lunches and hot chocolate. The weather improved slightly so we ventured out to look at more parts of the estuary. Unfortu- nately, many birds were pushed off the estuary by a premature high 􏰀de and the foul weather, so we missed out on a few species here. We took a look at Meikle Loch, where there were some Wigeon and Tu􏰁ed Duck. We had run out of op􏰀ons by this point, so we returned to Old Portlethen.
Special thanks to Jules, John, Gavin, Graeme and George for making it a special week- end. Poor John and Gavin had their return flight cancelled by BA and their rebooked flight as well.
Andy Webb
6
Isabelline Wheatear