Nick Littlewood

Presumed Herring Gull perched on rocks showing apparent white wing-tips. In this pic, with three normal Herrings.

Presumed Herring Gull perched on rocks showing apparent white wing-tips. Out-of-focus Heron immediately behind.

Presumed Herring Gull perched on rocks, croiching and spreading wings.

Presumed Herring Gull perched on rocks showing apparent white wing-tips.

An eye-catching "white-winged" gull at in gathering darkness at Portsoy. Appeared to be missing longer primaries on right wing but left side looks more in tact.

Presumably a Herring (on structure). Slightly darker mantle so maybe 𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘴.

#PWC2026 #BirdingScotland

Ropey fuzzy long-range digiscoped pic of a winter-plumaged White-billed Diver on the sea, facing right.

A porpoise moving right dorsal fin and upper part of body visible above the water, showing the paler flank.

White-billed Diver off Portsoy this afternoon (and four Great Northerns). Also a porpoise - fairly frequent here but they stay similarly well offshore.

#PWC2026 #ScottishBirding

Front cover of North-East Scotland Bird Report 2024, with a photo of a drake Bufflehead

The report opens at the start page of the 2024 NE Scotland mammal report, showing title details and start of introduction.

Just out: 𝘕𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩-𝘌𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘚𝘤𝘰𝘵𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘙𝘦𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵 2024. Includes 20-page mammal report based on 8000 records submitted by an incredible 1000 observers in 2024.

The mammal report will also be online in due course, but the full report is a bargain at £8.50 including p&p - so highly recommended.

#mammal

This one was going for a walk (others were all static still) so perhaps Larches wake up earlier...?

10-spot Ladybird under an overhang on a gravestone

chequered form of 10-spot Ladybird in a hollow within a gravestone

2-spot Ladybird on a gravestone

Larch Ladybird, among green lichens on a gravestone

An hour in Nellfield Cemetery, Aberdeen, produced the usual dominance of 2-spot Ladybirds, a handful of 10-spots (including a striking chequered form) and the first Larch Ladybird I've seen here.

@ukladybirds.bsky.social
#cemeterywildlifewatch

A Brent Goose flying left, with sea in the background.

A #PatchTick Brent Goose (pale-bellied) flying west past Portsoy today. Onto 81 species for the year.

#BirdingScotland #PatchBirding

Pale Brindled Beauty moth, resting on dark wooden panel.

And we're off. First night this year for the garden moth trap and a Pale Brindled Beauty prevented an early Wogan.

Portsoy, VC94 (Banffshire)
#teammoth

Twenty-six species and counting – recording mammals at Red Moss of Netherley When we took on the volunteer convenor role for the Scottish Wildlife Trust reserve at Red Moss of Netherley, in 2010, the site’s mammal list stood at three species; Fox, Badger and Roe Deer. Over …

Let me count the ways to record thee…Find out how long term recording takes a mammal site list from three to 26 in our latest blog.

nesmamnet.org/2026/02/20/t...

@scotwildlife.bsky.social

A drake Goosander on the sea, side on facing left

First White-billed Diver of the year today off Portsoy was too far out to even attempt digiscoping. Earliest record here but not a surprise given Firth of Forth's WBD fest.

Goosander in Links Bay was a scarcer bird for here.

#patchbirding #birdingscotland

Adult argentatus-type Herring Gull, side-on, sat on the sea.

Adult argentatus-type Herring Gull, hanging in flight, leg dangling, over the sea.

Adult argentatus-type Herring Gull flying away to right, showing upperside (head hidden behind wing)

Adult argentatus-type Herring Gull flying right over the sea, showing underside of near wing.

An especially eye-catching 𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘴 Herring Gull - dark upperparts and restricted black in primaries - at Portsoy this afternoon.

#PatchBirding #BirdingScotland

An Audiomoth acoustic recorder in green plastic outer casing strapped to the lichen-coated tree trunk in bright sunny conditions. Further trees in background.

BirdNET has been a huge leap forward in #bioacoustics. Analysis from the WABAD collaboration, shows high precision (proportion of predictions that are correct) though modest recall (proportion of calls detected). Predictive power is highest in Europe, N. America and Oceania.

doi.org/10.1016/j.ec...

A Woodcock in flight, heading right and slightly away, with wings lowered showing upperside of right wing. Out-of-focus background of grassy field with patchy snow and a couple of fence posts.

Two Golden Plover, in grassy field, both facing left though one at a slight angle towards camera. Some small snow patches in field.

A grainy pic of a Snipe in a rough grassy field with small snow patches. Bird is angled away though looing to left. Lower part of body and the legs are concealed among the grass.

The relatively less server weather compared to elsewhere continues to produce some bonus waders here at Portsoy. Three each of Woodcock and Snipe today and two small flocks (22 + 42) of Golden Plover (which was new for patch last week).

@patchbirding.bsky.social #PWC2026

A brambling on snow-covered ground with out-of-focis female Chaffinch behind.

A Tree Sparrow on snow-covered ground with out-of-focus female Chaffinch behind.

Two Siskins, one on each side of a hanging feeder stocked with sunflower seeds. Female on left, male on right. Snow is falling.

A Yellowhammer stood upright facing towards camera, on snow-covered ground.

Busy in the garden. Brambling was useful @patchbirding.bsky.social Portsoy-year-list species (only see them here when snow pushes the odd one into garden). Yellowhammer was new for garden (though is common close by).

#PWC2026 #birdingScotland

A Treecreeper on a green-lichen-covered tree trunk.

A male Bullfinch, on the brown seadheads of a dock plant.

A couple more for the @patchbirding.bsky.social year list this lunchtime at Portsoy. Treecreeper was just my second here on patch.

#BirdingScotland

A very distant and grainy photo of an adult Medierranean Gull on the sea, with a Black-headed Gull to the side.

A Mediterranean Gull made up for the dark and sleety conditions on today's lunchtime walk at Portsoy.

@patchbirding.bsky.social #BirdingScotland

Yep - lots of snow inland but still clear here on the coast (just windy and sleety so far).

A distant Golden Plover flock in flight against the sky with two telegraph poles and a line of Gorse bushes in foreground.

A distant Golden Plover flock in flight againt the sky.

Patch ✔️

Over two years since moving to Portsoy without a Golden Plover and then a thousand come along at once. Murmurating at dusk.

@patchbirding.bsky.social

Two Purple Sandpipers and two Turnstones on seaweed-covered rocks.

New Years Day on patch at Portsoy. Wind, rain, hail, sleet and snow thwarted any expectations of getting the year list off to a flying start. Just 30 species, including Purple Sandpiper - low single figures winter here, but not always easy to find.

@patchbirding.bsky.social

Many thanks. This one was a chance encounter but I must try sweep netting some likely spots for them.

An adult 𝘊𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘢 𝘳𝘶𝘧𝘢 (Red Marsh Ladybird) on a dead plant stem.

Finishing the year with a new ladybird for Red Moss of Netherley: 𝘊𝘰𝘤𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘢 𝘳𝘶𝘧𝘢 - Red Marsh Ladybird. Seems to be widespread but few Aberdeenshire records. This one was tucked away between the clasp and body of an Audiomoth case.

@ukladybirds.bsky.social

A group of 20 or so 2-spot Ladybirds together on a gravestone.

A head-on pic of a Harlequin Ladybird on a gravestone. This one has red background with black spots.

Quick recce in an Aberdeen cemetery in prep for fieldwork with students in the new year.
This is best place I know for 2-spot Ladybirds, with hundreds massing in one small section. A Harlequin was still a novel sight for me here (and here's hoping they remain novel).

@ukladybirds.bsky.social

How do we tackle the substantial and growing threat to sensitive habitats from Sitka Spruce? Useful commentary on key issues...

An adult Herald moth, in torchlight, clinging to a concrete ceiling.

An adult Herald moth, in torchlight, with large spider adjacent, both settled on concrete wall with lines of brown staining.

Adult Peacock butterfly in torchlight, hibernating (so just underside of wings visible) settled hanging from concrete ceiling.

Chance meeting with @kattyponder.bsky.social reminded me to check two culverts in Aberdeen that usually have low single figures of #HibernatingHeralds. First was a blank (though a Peacock was present). Second culvert more than compensated, with a record 12 Heralds.

#TeamMoth

Effect of bulb type on moth trap catch and composition in UK gardens We analyse 10 years of records Garden Moth Scheme (GMS) to estimate the effect of bulb and trap type on the number of moths caught by moth traps. We find that brighter, higher wattage bulbs collect ...

Interested in moth trapping?

Wondering which trap to use? Or if different bulbs collect different species?

Using 100k samples from @gardenmothscheme.bsky.social our new paper looks at these questions and more! With with Bill Kunin and @katatrepsis.bsky.social

#mothsmatter #teammoth

Six people stood inside for group photo.

The successful student with suction sampler in dwarf shrub vegetation.

Person cutting a caterpillar cake

The successful student, standing in the dark in a field with a sweep net

Huge congratulations to @bats-n-bugs.bsky.social: PhD viva passed with ZERO corrections - an amazing (and well deserved) achievement. 🍾🎉

Thesis covered bats and insects on farmland. Read a moth chapter here - doi.org/10.1016/j.ag.... More to follow.

@srucnews.bsky.social @kirstyjpark.bsky.social

One week remaining. Applications need to include two references, so don't leave it too late to apply for this @srucnews.bsky.social CASE partnership with @ptes-org.bsky.social.

Details: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Huge congratulations to our SRUC winners at the Crichton 25th Anniversary Awards! 🎉

Lucy Thornton – SRUC Staff Member of the Year
Plus a big shout-out to our finalists: Gemma Higgins and Ely Blyth.

Your hard work and passion make us proud.
Read more 👉 www.sruc.ac.uk/all-news/cel...

A Hedgehog on a stoney/mossy ground against a stone wall.

Two weeks left to apply for #PhD on declines in rural #Hedgehogs.
🦔
This is a @srucnews.bsky.social EastBio CASE project in partnership with (and co-supervised by) @ptes-org.bsky.social.
🦔
Details: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
🦔
Applications close 15 December
🦔
📷 Silviu Petrovan

a 1st-winter Mediterranean Gull flying left against a grey sky.

Med Gulls never lose their appeal - this 1st-winter in last of the light at Portsoy was highlight of an otherwise quiet weekend, birdwise.

@patchbirding.bsky.social #patchbirding

An ariel view shows the stark boundary between farmland and woodland.

New paper 🪶

Proximity to woodlands may be reducing the effectiveness of conservation interventions for farmland waders

Read on for a summary

Or find the full paper here:
doi.org/10.1111/1365...

@kirstyjpark.bsky.social
@naturescot.bsky.social
@stir.ac.uk

📷Ben Andrew