Nature in the Firth
(click on any image to see the larger picture)
The Cromarty Firth is an area of great natural beauty and teeming with wild-life. The many habitats in the Firth support a variety of marine life and wild birds, including bottle-nosed dolphins, one of only two resident populations in the United Kingdom - they can be seen elsewhere but are transient.
A map showing the areas of special interest is shown right. Click on the image to see the larger picture.
Wetland Bird Populations
The Moray Firth is the most northerly extensive estuarine complex in Europe, and due to its geographical position has long been recognised as internationally important for wintering waders and wildfowl.
Regular high tide Bird counts were first established in the Moray Firth in the winter of 1985/86 by members of Highland Ringing Group, as part of the British Trust for Ornithology's (BTO) Birds of Estuaries Enquiry. Coverage was expanded to include some of the rocky shorelines and nearby inland lochs in the early 1990s, and the counts were later incorporated into the national Wetland Birds Survey (WeBS). This is a partnership administered jointly by the RSPB, BTO, Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT).
The co-ordinated high tide counts have been carried out annually since 1985/86 by a dedicated band of volunteers, who are assisted and co-ordinated by a Moray Firth Monitoring Officer employed by RSPB North Scotland. The study area now comprises 60 sections of shoreline and six inland lochs, covering the entire Moray Firth coast from Brora in the north to Buckie in the east, with only a few small gaps, which are mainly rocky shores difficult to access.
These counts are carried out once a month in October, December, January and February. It can be difficult to separate out the Cromarty Firth in terms of bird movements as they often move in or out of other areas in the wider Moray Firth.
However, as the figures become available across the winter, it will be possible to get a clearer picture of bird movements. For example, a lot of wigeon arrive at Udale Bay in September and October - up to 10,000 or more, but then numbers decline in the Cromarty Firth as they relocate either elsewhere within the Moray Basin, or to other parts of Britain. This is because Udale is a first class habitat for wigeon, and they need to feed when they first arrive. Those that stay at Udale all winter are mostly adults nabbing the best habitat - the juveniles get pushed on elsewhere!
Archive for Surveys during the Winter of 2004/5
Click on this link to see the archive >>.
Surveys for Winter 2005/6
The main ‘occupants’ during these surveys were found to be the following:
• bar-tailed godwit - from Scandinavia and Siberia
• curlew - native of the U.K.
Oct - 1,374 (4,512); Dec - 547 (1,744); Jan - 999 (4,195); Feb - 935 (3,869);
• dunlin - native of the U.K.
Oct - 806 (1,703); Dec - 1,201 (6,185); Jan - 1,842 (9,580); Feb - 835 (5,393);
• grey plover - from the Arctic tundra
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• goldeneye - previously from Northern Europe, now a native of the U.K.
Oct - 19 (228); Dec -45 (243); Jan - 30 (313); Feb - 97 (585);
• golden plover - native of the U.K.
Oct - 623 (723); Dec - 554 (1209); Jan - 1 (128); Feb - 77 (177);
• goosander - native of the U.K.
Oct - 0 (6); Dec 0 (7); Jan - 0 (5); 0 (16);
• knot - most from Greenland, some from Siberia
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• lapwing - from Europe on their way south
Oct - 761 (4,018); Dec - 1,144 (1,816); Jan - 671 (1,584); Feb - 656 (1,518);
• mallard - native of the U.K.
Oct- 347 (2,023); Dec - 487 (2,537); Jan - 508 (2,969); Feb - 491 (3,171);
• mute swan - native of the U.K., this is the Firth’s resident population
)
merganser (male)
• oystercatcher - native of the U.K., these are joined by migrants from Iceland and northern Europe
Oct - 2,400 (8,898); Dec - 1,796 (8,526); Jan - 1,388 (8,957); Feb - 2,033 (9,517);
• pintail - generally from Iceland, northern Europe and northern Russia
Oct - 3 (337); Dec - 76 (569); Jan - 14 (604); Feb - 0 (531);
• purple sandpiper - mainly from the Arctic
• red-breasted merganser - native of the U.K.
Oct - 50 (263); Dec - 58 (115); Jan - 17 (114); Feb - 99 (211);
• redshank - native of the U.K.
Oct - 2,266 (5,670); Dec - 1,271 (4,043); Jan - 1,431 (4,087); Feb - 1,249 (3,856);
• ringed plover - from the High Arctic
• sanderling - from north of the Artic Circle
Oct - 0 (334); Dec - 0 (162); Jan - 0 (241); Feb - 0 (188);
• scaup - from Iceland and northern Europe
Oct - 99 (253); Dec - 179 (236); Jan - 400 (947); Feb - 354 (1,007);
• shelduck - native of the U.K.
Oct - 79 (111); Dec - 304 (605); Jan - 254 (880); Feb - 258 (1,069);
Oct - 141 (3,563); Dec - 488 (5,228); Jan - 372 (5,785); Feb - 352 (4,478);
• tufted duck - native of the U.K., these are joined by migrants from Iceland, Scandinavia and northeast Europe
Oct - 2 (292); Dec - 7 (202); Jan - 0 (320); Feb - 5 (273);
• turnstone - mainly from Greenland
Oct - 26 (534); Dec - 15 (396); Jan - 28 (488); Feb 30 (471);
• wigeon - from Iceland, northern Europe and Russia
Oct - 12,652 (33,409); Dec - 5,351 (19,817); Jan- 2,837 (18,364); Feb - 1,549 (15,495).
This web site wishes to express enormous gratitude to the RSPB Scotland and to the WeBS Project for the provision of this wealth of information.
Review of October 2005 Statistics
Numbers were generally below average for October. The total for dabbling ducks (those that usually feed on or near the water surface) - wigeon , teal , mallard and pintail - was well below average for the last ten years.
Wader counts were generally onthe low side, with the lowest counts of oystercatcher and ringed plover and the second lowest count of dunlin recorded for October during the last ten years. The timing of the arrival of dunlin from their Russian or Siberian breeding grounds and the moulting areas of the Baltic Sea vary from year to year. This low count is therefore not unduly worrying. The low counts of oystercatcher and ringed plover are more difficult to explain, however. Whilst no count figure should be used in isolation, these species may have to be monitored closely in future years. On a brighter note, the highest ever count of sanderlings was recorded. This is a species which is wintering in increasing numbers in the Moray Firth, perhaps in response to generally milder winters.
The combined wader total was well below average, with most sections returning below average counts.
Review of December 2005 Statistics
Numbers were generally well below average for December. The total for dabbling ducks is the lowest December count during the last ten years.
Wader counts were also generally on the low side. Oystercatcher , curlew , redshank and turnstone all recorded the lowest December count since at least 1994, with ringed plover and dunlin recording the second lowest counts. The timing of the arrival of dunlin from their Russian or Siberian breeding grounds and the moulting areas of the Baltic Sea vary from year to year. This low count is therefore not unduly worrying in itself. However, the low counts of oystercatcher and ringed plover continue from very low counts in October. This may be a temporary 'blip' but these species may have to be monitored closely in future years. On a brighter note, the second highest December count of golden plover was recorded.
The combined wader total was well below average, with most sections returning below average counts.
Review of January 2006 Statistics
Most wildfowl counts were quite high, with scaup recording the second highest count since 1997. Tufted duck recorded the highest count since 2002, a welcome upturn for a species that has shown a long term decline. The total for dabbling ducks was slightly above average.
Amongst the waders, oystercatcher numbers were down once more, with the second lowest total in the ten-year period. Ringed plover , purple sandpipers and redshank also showed low counts. Lapwing and sanderling , however, had high counts, all reaching a new maximum in the current ten-year period.
The combined wader total was slightly below average. The count in the Cromarty Firth was the lowest in the ten-year period, mirroring a very low count last January (see the archive mentioned above).
Review of February 2006 Statistics
Amongst the wildfowl, widgeon , teal and scaup were well above their monthly averages for the last ten years, whilst tufted duck and, particularly, goldeneye appear to be at a very low ebb. The scaup count was the highest ever recorded during a WeBS count, although 2400 were counted in the Inverness Firth a couple of days after severe gales swept across North Scotland in January 2005. The high wigeon count is interesting and presumably suggests that more birds than usual remained in the Moray Firth throughout this winter, rather than dispersing further south and west which is the norm.
Virtually all the waders were present in below average numbers, especially dunlin which recorded their lowest February total since this study began in 1985/6. The exceptions were lapwing , which continue to winter in increasing numbers, and sanderling .
Amongst other records, the black-throated diver count was the highest for several years, but numbers of great northern divers and slavonian grebes were disappointingly low given the good counting conditions.
Where to see Wetland Birds
Udale Bay - the Bay is an extensive area of mudflat, salt marsh and wet grassland on the Cromarty Firth. From late summer to April the reserve supports large numbers of wildfowl and wading birds. Best visited within two hours of high tide, there can be spectacular views of flocks of birds. In autumn, up to 5,000 wigeons feed on the beds of eel-grass. Late summer is a good time to see fishing ospreys. For more information, visit the RSPB Scotland web site by clicking this link.
Nigg Bay - the Bay is an extensive area of mudflat, salt marsh and wet grassland on the Cromarty Firth. Large numbers of wading birds, such as bar-tailed godwits and knots , use the bay for feeding and roosting from October to March. A new wet grassland is being created to attract lapwings and redshanks. For more information, visit the RSPB Scotland web site by clicking this link.
