Aberdeen and Musselburgh 19 -25 September 2022

A quick trip to Scotland to visit family provided us with a few, limited, opportunities for birding but, brief as they were, we got some good sightings and a few year ticks.

We stayed with family near Ellon and on a couple of brief visits to the Ythan Estuary I managed to get a good range of birds including ducks, geese and waders etc. There were very large numbers of Eiders on the estuary and a fair number of Goosanders. I only viewed the estuary from two points for relatively short periods of time but I am sure that if I had stayed longer I would have seen a lot more. Both spots (see map) are very good for birding but the small parking area on the estuary (near Vegan Day Baker) is a bit dependent upon tide and water levels; if it is too high the birds move on down the estuary. The spot near the Golf Club is always reliable and, at the right time of year, is also good for seals. I did see one seal but earlier in the year there are dozens.

The Eiders were a year tick for us and the other year tick was a single Bar-tailed Godwit. There were lots of Curlew, Dunlin and Redshank and smaller numbers of Sanderling. There were decent numbers of Ringed Plovers, Oystercatchers and Lapwing. There were still two House Martins flying around. (Where we stayed in Ellon, their garage had been occupied by a pair of breeding House Martins that were still flying around the house. There were also large numbers of Linnets feeding off the field opposite). There were good numbers of Starlings and everywhere we drove there were big flocks of them; added together they must have amounted to thousands in the area. We also got a single Brent Goose.

Bird Sightings : Ellon and Ythan Estuary 22-23 September 2022

We left Aberdeenshire and drove down to Musselburgh to see other branches of the family and had a couple of opportunities to do a very little birding at Fisherrow Harbour and Musselburgh Lagoons. At the former, I saw the largest group of Bar-tailed Godwits I have ever see – at least fifty of them on the mud just beyond the harbour wall on the south side. There was also a pair of Eider on the water and the usual gulls and large numbers of Oystercatchers and good numbers of Redshanks.

By far the best place for birds, though is Musselburgh Lagoons. Unfortunately, the path to the car park is very potholed and it is perhaps better to park lower down the road to the hides and walk the rest of the way – quite a long walk but easier on your car. When you get there, though the Lagoons are full of birds. There were prodigious numbers of Oystercatchers – too many to count really – but also a single Greenshank, plenty of Dunlins and Redshanks, a pair of Ruff and some Curlew. I didn’t have my scope with me which was a pity because I am sure there were other species of wader that I just couldn’t quite make out. I would have loved to stay there longer but time didn’t permit so we only stayed about half an hour.

Bird Sightings : Fisherrow Harbour and Musselburgh Lagoons 25 September 2022

So we managed to get 29 species over the two areas and also a couple of year ticks. We could have spent so much longer in both places but our aim was to visit family and birding opportunities were minimal.