I set the alarm early this morning as I wanted to get up to Aberdeen and do some birding before I got on the ferry to Lerwick on my annual pilgrimage to Shetland. I left the Wirral at 4.00am and made good progress north and arrived at Cameron Reservoir in Fife just after 11.30am, where I was hoping to see a Spotted sandpiper that had been present for the last couple of days. The juvenile showed well on arrival at the north end of the dam and was a good addition to my Scottish list.
Spotted Sandpiper
Cameron Reservoir
Moving on from here, I called in at the Montrose basin in Angus, where a good variety of bird species were seen. My target bird was the Kingfisher, which I needed for my Scottish list, and it didn't take long to find one perched low in the willows.
A good afternoon of birding before meeting up with John Pegden and Neil Bostock on the boat to Lerwick.
Leaving Aberdeen on the overnight ferry to Lerwick