Carry Forth Tradition

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Visit to RSPB Fowlsheugh Nature Reserve 11 Oct 2020 by Eddie

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Information sign at the entrance gate. A bright sunny Autumn day where most of the resident nexting birds are absent but a few surprises in this dramatic sea cliff location.

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Looking down from the top of this 60 metre cliff, glad the wind was only a gentle breeze though chilly.

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Unusual rock strata and at the top some sandy burrows, perhaps Puffins will return here in the spring. Note the bench and information sign top left. Another good but precarious vantage point.

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Herring Gulls resting on the ledges

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Great Black Backed Gull looking out to sea from the lower ledges

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Another rocky promentary with many ledges likely filled with seabirds in the spring.

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View from the top of the cliff shown in the last photo looking back to where we were.

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Seven Pigeons roosting on the ledges, can you spot them?

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Wind turbines on the horizon, Dunnottar Castle beneath and Stonehaven Golf Club from our craggy viewpoint.

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Local fishing boat heading along the coast to check his tackle

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Islands and cliffs, note the small burrow botom left, we will return in the spring to see the difference with thousands of birds, their calls and spectacle of hundreds on the wing.

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Red Campion adds some colour to the grassy clifftop

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Farmlands and small wooded boundaries behind the cliffs

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Lone Raven looks down from his ledge

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Common Buzzard landed near us and we got this nice shot

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Common Buzzard joined by 2 Jackdaws ready to harass after take off

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Short video of the cliffs and Grey Seals on the rocks below

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Cliff top hide, funded in memorial to a couple of local bird watchers who wished to help others to enjoy the place they spent much time at

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Cliffs and a cave overlooked by the hide, where many seabirds will likely raise their young in the spring

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Close up of the cave

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Gulls and Jackdaws fly around the cliffs

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Cliff top hide, funded in memorial to a couple of local bird watchers who wished to help others to enjoy the place they spent much time at.

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Stoney cavern at the base of the cliff. Note the Herring Gull bottom right and noses of Grey Seals in the water, bottom left

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Warning sign amid the gorse, whin and grass of the cliff top

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Meandering stream (or burn as it’s known in Scotland) flowing towards the waterfall

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Looking over the edge above the waterfall, while a Hering Gull leaves its roost on the cliff opposite

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Short video of the waterfall, dropping into the North Sea

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Feeding frenzy on the water survace off the cliffs. Can you spot the young and adult Hering Gulls, Great Black Backed Gull, Guillimots and Razorbill?

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Common Buzzard hunting along the cliff top

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Common Buzzard resting on a ledge

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Panoramic view of the bay at the South side of the reserve

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Through the keyhole view of the cliffs to the South

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Masonry gable ruin of an old croft house and the bay behind

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Is it my imagination or is this sheep laughing at my photography efforts?

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Skylark in the air above the clifftop fields. One of many we saw but usually to far away or moving too fast to capture.

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Meadow Pipit resting on a fence post, an insect eater, usually always on the move

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A Robin joined us as we made our way back past the nearby houses

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A Brown Hare, larger than a rabbit with black tips to the ears

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Typical Autuminal farmland scene with hay bails after the harvest and sheep grazing in the field beyond

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A flock of Hawfinch passed over the fields as we left for home.