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 Kingfisher, which I needed for my Scottish list, and it didn't take long to find one perched up low in the willows.
A good afternoon birding before meeting up with John Pegden and Neil Bostock on the boat to Lerwick.
Leaving Aberdeen on the overnight ferry to Lerwick