TRAVEL The Urban Birder ç DON’T DIP ON DIPPER Fast-flowing rivers such as the Dee are perfect for this unusual semi-aquatic bird
THE
ê RESERVOIR DUCKS Strong numbers of Wigeon can be found at Inch Garth Reservoir
URBAN BIRDER
T R AV E L FAC T S
David Lindo The Urban Birder is a familiar face on TV screens and is behind the Vote National Bird campaign
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ê FIRST STOP If Aberdeen gets load of Waxwings, then your patch might, too...
86 August 2015
Aberdeen
DAVID
Nearby is the locally famed YellowSAYS KEY SPECIES browed Warbler Tree, a solitary The best way to DIPPER Sycamore that also has had more improve your birding is to It is the Dipper that I than its fair share of oddities – go birding! Look at everything think best not to mention Yellow-browed you come across and study it. No one represents Warblers! becomes an expert overnight and Aberdeen. When Girdle Ness is a real patch even experts make mistakes. you look closely at watcher’s site that will not Indeed, the more you this unique bird it will be necessarily give up its secrets on the make the better very apparent that it really first visit. During migration, the North you get. does look like the lovechild of and South embankments are a must for a thrush and a wren. Our British migrants, so be sure to work them. dipper is officially known as the So to conclude, there is certainly nothing grey Eurasian Dipper or White-throated about Aberdeen – well, not if you are a birder. Dipper, but Dipper will do for us. It is
Famous allotments have hosted a heady roll call of good birds... Bluethroat, Barred Warbler and Desert Wheatear spring to mind
OTHER SITES Allanvale Cemetery This is a real hotspot for winter visiting Waxwings. They are regular visitors to the plentiful Rowan bushes and in good invasion years upwards of 500 birds can be found. Ringers often frequent the cemetery during these times, catching the birds in order to ring them. So if you are in the right place at the right time you could catch sight of one of these absolutely gorgeous birds in the hand.
the only passerine that actively immerses itself in water as part of its daily life. As a result, it sports a denser plumage and a large preen gland for waterproofing its feathers. Its wings, although short, are strong and can be used for underwater propulsion.
Seaton Park Situated on the north side of the city and is a typical urban park. However, the big attraction with this site is that the River Don flows through it, attracting Grey Wagtail and Dipper. There is also a good range of woodland birds to be found including the common warblers and tits and nearby, gulls use the football pitches to loaf. WEBSITES David flew to Aberdeen with British Airways, britishairways.com
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I
F ABERDEEN is deemed a grey city in the media, City tour then to a birder, grey is the new black. This Aberdeen has two main rivers: the Dee and the Don. Scottish city offers urban birding par excellence if The Dee flows from south of the city into the centre and you are prepared to put in the time and legwork. then out into the harbour. It is a wilder, more upland Aberdeen is, of course, also famously nicknamed the river than the Don, with rapids and a stoney riverbed. Granite City after the rock used in some of its imposing Almost any stretch of it is worth a gander for birds. architecture. A more less well known fact is that it is Given its more untamed nature, it would be advisable also famous for its roof-nesting Oystercatchers and to keep a keen lookout for that classic rapid river Common Gulls that raise their families on schools and specialist, the Dipper. This aquatic songster can even occasionally on homes with flat-roofed garages. be found living near the centre of the city. During the However, the bulk of the nesting occurs in the more summer they share the shoreline with Common industrial areas that have an abundance of flat roofs. Sandpipers. Kingfishers have also been known to nest Situated on coastal eastern Scotland Aberdeen is well and indeed they were among the most northerly of placed for incoming, and outgoing, migrants. their species in the UK. However, the cruel winter of It should be relabeled as Britain’s Waxwing 2010/11 put paid to the majority of the population. barometer. Many observers further south watch with There are perhaps a few pairs remaining but they are great interest the numbers of these Scandinavian understandably less frequently seen. Goosanders are beauties that touchdown here on the Rowan and other also worth looking for too, as they nest along parts of favoured berries in early winter. It seems as though the river. During the winter, these sawbills, along with Aberdeen is the first main port of call for Waxwings numbers of Wigeon and Tufted Duck, gather in the and the larger the flocks the more likely there will evening light on favoured areas of the river. be a subsequent invasion further south. One to The River Dee also flows to the south of Inch keep an eye on this winter... DAVID Garth Reservoir (known locally as Cults SAYS Reservoir). It is a small body of water that Aberdeen is full of offers the expected riparian habitat. In interesting sites, so if you addition, there is a nice block of are visiting don’t be afraid to surrounding woodland. Waterfowl explore places that are not currently are the order of the day during the on the ornithological radar. winter, with good counts of Remember, today’s famous Goosander. Wigeon are also a good sites were unknown until bet here during the colder months, with people started upwards of 200 birds grazing on the watching grassy banks. The regular coverage of this them. working reservoir has paid dividends for the birding faithful, with quite a few rarities and local scarcities being discovered, such as the lost Leach’s Petrel that made an unexpected appearance recently. More expected are divers and grebes including regular Red-necked and the occasional Slavonian. Nestling on the northern edge of the Dee is Duthie Park, a large grand Victorian park that has recently gone through a bit of a facelift aimed at returning it to its former glory. It’s well worth a little stroll around, as some of the landscape looks conducive for finding birds. Visiting the edge of the river on a winter’s afternoon could reward the observer with a good gull roost to sift through, especially if the tide is low. During the summer, Common Sandpipers and Goosander breed in the vicinity, while Cormorants and Grey Herons can be seen flying up and down the river. For me, Aberdeen’s jewel in its crown is the harbour by Girdle Ness. During migration it is well worth parking by the famous allotments that have hosted a heady roll call of good birds over the years. Bluethroat, Barred Warbler and Desert Wheatear spring to mind.
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David Lindo says you should start making plans for a trip to Aberdeen
Special thanks to Mark Sullivan, Aberdeen & District RSPB Members Group rspb.org.uk/groups/aberdeen geolbird_abz@btinternet.com
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