Steve's Birding,Wildlife & Walking Blog: White-winged Scoter,The Big Twitch!.......Sunday 06.08.2017.

Monday 7 August 2017

White-winged Scoter,The Big Twitch!.......Sunday 06.08.2017.

After contemplating twitching the White-winged Scoter that has been present at Murcar on the Aberdeenshire coast,Tim,Andy and myself made the long journey overnight to Murcar,just north of Aberdeen in the hope of seeing this very rare seaduck and after seeing a shooting star on the journey up,it was certainly looking like the gods favoured us.

We arrived at the Murcar links golf course,just as it began to get light and the sun was beginning to break the horizon.A quick change of foot wear and a check to make sure we had all the kit we required and we where off and headed for the sea.

A juvenile Cuckoo watched flying along the edge of the golf course and then a cracking Osprey flying north along the dunes was a great start,but better was still to come!.

We arrived at the dune top to a flat calm sea and literally thousands of ducks,the majority being Eider,but several flocks of Velvet Scoter were close in and we began to scan through them in anticipation..

Within ten minutes,Tim had found the White-winged Scoter,get in!.At first Andy and myself struggled to get on it,but eventually after some time and when the light had improved we all settled into the routine of watching the bird.

It loosely associated with the Velvets,but seemed to just wander about on it's own diving for shellfish in between bouts of preening it's tatty wings.The bird is obviously in active moult and i wouldn't have thought it will be going anywhere in a rush at the moment.

It was interesting to note the distinct features of the bill structure on the bird,with its paler,pinker bill than the accompanying Velvet Scoters,with a raised knob on the upper mandible base,which Tim commented you could see light through and the feature which Tim had picked out the bird on,unfortunately with my 30x eyepiece i couldn't see the light through it..It also had a distinct pale patch on the upper mandible which was really noticeable when seen head on.

Another feature which stood out,was the more pronounced eye crescent than Velvet,with it having a more upturned kink and it was obviously longer also.

We carried on watching the bird at leisure,also seeing 2 drake Surf Scoters,an adult and an immature,which in itself was great to see and my first multiple sighting of the species,probably as many as 2000 Eider,100+ of the afore mentioned Velvet Scoter,50+ Common Scoter and at least 60 Red-breasted Merganser making for a very impressive sight indeed.

Other species observed while watching this productive area included a single Arctic Skua north offshore,several Guillemots with juvvies in tow,flocks of Kittiwakes and a hand full of Arctic and Sandwich Terns,what a fantastic place!.

After enjoying our fill we discussed where to visit next and Tim suggested we try and find Ptarmigan at Glen Shee,so this is where we headed.

After a very picturesque drive and a stop to admire the stunning River Dee where we saw a Dipper zooming past,we eventually made it to the Glen shee Ski Centre.

Out of the car again and scanning the mountains for Ptarmigan or a passing Golden eagle.

First birds seen where a party of 10 Ravens cronking over a nearby hillside,which in themselves are a joy to witness,Andy then spotted a party of 15 Red Grouse and Tim a lifer for both Andy and myself in the form of a Mountain Hare,things were just getting better,then suddenly,bingo,Andy spotted a party of 3 Ptarmigan,just fantastic!.

We all had a quick look through the scopes at these lovely Arctic Grouse and then after a bit of a conversation with the chairlift operator,we decided to go up the mountain and see if we could get closer to these beauties.

After an entertaining trip on the chairlift,we made it to the top and after a bit of searching managed to find 7 Ptarmigan.Point blank views where enjoyed and as we watched them they suddenly flew off.After a short while we managed to relocate them allowing more perfect views of these stunning birds,but they again flew and we decided not to disturb them again.

Some brilliant views of Mountain Hare where enjoyed at the top as well and this had been an animal i had wanted to see for a long time.

Sadly the weather closed in and we reluctantly made our way back down the mountain to the car park,but enjoyed more Ptarmigan and Mountain Hare views along with a juvvie Wheatear.In the end we managed to find 9 Ptarmigan,8 Mountain Hare and 12 Raven,this coupled with some distant views of about 50 Red Deer made for a superb visit.

After enjoying some food and a hot cuppa,it was time to make the long,400 mile journey home.

I would just like to say a big,big thank you to Tim for expertly driving again and to both Tim and Andy for some great company and i look forward to the next biggie.