Cotehill Migs

Bits and pieces around Cotehill today included a tree pipit, yellow wagtail and a yellow browed warbler being very vocal in the front garden.

The loch is fairly quiet with the water levels having risen such that there is now no muddy edges and now no waders... Pity.

Late news

Yesterday there was a Yellow-browed warbler in the 1st plantation on the back road, so maybe a new bird. Also a Chiff-chaff and 2 Blackcaps were seen. (PS) . Blackbird and Robin numbers were increased, with small mobs of them scattered in various locations.
Expect more today and tomorrow as the wind drops and it becomes brighter.

And yet more...

Still at least one Yellow-browed Warbler in the roadside trees at Kirkton yesterday morning, along with a few Redwing and a Brambling. This morning there was a Yellow-browed Warbler calling in the second plantation along the back road, maybe the same one that was seen at the weekend, or maybe not...weather looks amazing for a fresh arrival of migrants over the next 2 days. High pressure firmly embedded over the continent and a low over the Atlantic, SE winds whistling away currently with rain.

Another Yellow-browed...

There was a lovely Yellow-browed Warbler in willows by the Heath Trail on North Forvie this morning, calling frequently when gently encouraged (a soft pssshhhhh pssshhhhh etc did the job!). Also my first Redwings of the autumn. Meanwhile, a lone Whooper Swan remains on Cotehill Loch.

Brown Shrike pictures

Negative news on the Brown Shrike today I believe. Harry Scott, one of the Editors of Scottish Birds  (Birding Scotland), has kindly passed some  shots to me, though we are saving the best for the SOCs and his publication. Also one shot from co-finder Pete S.
 Thanks due to HS for all the time he put in yesterday to make sure we had enough pictures of this extremely, at most times at least, elusive and flighty bird.

Brown Shrike, Collieston 28-29th September, ( Harry Scott)





 



Picture Pete S.




 

Brown Shrike update

Yesterday, the 29th, the Brown Shrike showed intermittently and between late morning and early afternoon, pretty well.
It commutes between the lower part of the Cransdale gully, by the remains of the old house, and back up into the long hedge in Kirkton. To view the hedge best to stand on the side of the road just west of the Glebe and look back. The bird prefers the shelter from the wind in that corner.
Many thanks are due to the nearby residents for their patience.
I won't have a chance to check for the bird today. I know of some good photos courtesy of Aberdeenshire birder HS, so I expect to get my hands on one for the blog shortly.

Meanwhile more counts of Yellow-browed Warblers came in, and it appears there were at least 7 in the village over the weekend!
Migrant numbers appeared to have dropped overall yesterday, but the winds continue to be in the East, with rain mid week, so there maybe more excitement towards then.

Pink-footed Geese continue to pour through the area, with counts at times in the 10,000s around the Meikle area.

Brown Shrike stars!

A 1st year Brown Shrike was a bit of a surprise in the village today. Found at just before 10.00 am in the gully down to Cransdale head, it then led myself and PS a merry dance. Surprisingly elusive , it would fly very low and fast between perches, and then sit  very low in the vegetation. It disappeared for 20 minutes at a time on a number of occasions. Each time it flew it raised our hopes with very rich brown upperparts, and very dark and clear mask, prominent supercilium, no white in the wing or tail, and also a very distinctive , long , pendulous tail. Any barring appeared mainly limited to the underparts. We were unable to get good perched views at this point. In the end  however CNG arrived and with the extra pair of eyes we are able to pin it down for long enough to see the short primary projection, and short outer-tail feathers that confirmed the ID.  The whole process had taken in excess of 2 hours.
Early to mid-afternoon very good sustained views were obtained in the long hedge at Kirkton until fighting dogs scared it off.
Lets hope for a cloudy night so it can be re-found in the morning. Interestingly there is another Brown Shrike down at Fife Ness today, and 2 on the Northern Isles.
Also around the village and nearby areas today up to 5 Yellow-browed Warblers, Redstart, Lesser Whitethroat, Whinchat, and a Great-spotted Woodpecker. Pictures of the Brown Shrike will hopefully appear in the next day or two, I didn't manage to get any.
Other news includes the Ring-necked Duck showing intermittently on Meikle Loch. A Little Stint there as well.
Other sightings of Yellow-browed Warbler reported in the reserve as well.

Tomorrow could be interesting, as the weather still looks very good to bring in more delights.

Great Spotted Woodpecker, Kirkton, Collieston..