Monday 4 November 2013

1st November 2013 Cove, Aberdeen W6 Clear

Pink-footed Goose c.500 as we drove north
Siberian Chiffchaff 1 ex.
Chaffinch 10
Brambling h
Rustic Bunting 1 ex.
Yellowhammer 1



Rustic Bunting at Cove (lower two courtesy of JFC)
The last time I visited Unst our 600 mile overnight drive was rewarded with finding a Greater Sand Plover during a look at the Ythan Estuary north of Aberdeen http://eastsussexbirding.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/1292008-ythan-estuary-se-1_14.html . This time we tried our luck at Cove, where JFC quickly found this gem. Whilst the upper two images reveal more plumage detail, the lower hints at what a strikingly beautiful bird this was. Being only the fourth record for Aberdeenshire, and the first for twenty years, it is surprisingly even rarer in this County than in Sussex!