News from the project

THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE PROJECT

The Autumn/Winter storm season 2026/27

Storm Boelo arrived on 24/25th October and the resulting changes to the estuary and coastline will soonn become evident.  Recently the WW2 pillbox at the end of the estuary, on the Forvie NNR side, has more or less disappeared under the sand.  Just a few years ago the whole structure could be seen above the sand, balanced on some of its understructure.  It may reappear again if the sand is blown further north.  Other changes include the appearance of the rocks on Newburgh beach at low tide, in front of the lower viewing platform.  These are probably glacial deposits from the last Ice Age which peaked 20,000 years ago.  The old WW2 tank traps nearby are now under the sand again.  The scouring of the sand has formed a steep drop down to the estuary from the beach, hazardous for anyone paddling or walking on the edge of the estuary.

"A dynamic interchange of sand occurs between the foredunes at Foveran and Forvie, the extensive beaches and the sand bars and spits at the mouth of the Ythan. Research has also shown that the River Ythan forms an integral part of the beach-sand dune system, with the position of the river outlet being of crucial importance in controlling the development of the bars and spits which provide sand to the beach and dunes. The sand sheet at South Forvie contributes to the circulatory sediment system. Dune migration to the west leads to sand losses into the estuary, resulting in sand being recycled by river and tidal flows back to the foreshore and subsequently blown from the beach back onto the sand sheet." (NatureScot - Site Management Statement).

The breeding season - August 2026

The breeding season from April through to August has seen high temperatures in July which encouraged the growth of flowers, and return of bees, moths and butterflies.The Ternery on the Forvie reserve has been full of black headed gulls and terns.  From April/May the terns and gulls were prospecting for a nest site, building nests and sitting on newly laid eggs.  The gulls are the first to hatch, followed by Sandwich Terns, Arctic and Common Terns and a few Little Terns.  Also in the Ternery are Eider Ducks and some Gadwall, who take advantage of the protection from predators that the area provides.  Its a very busy, noisy place!  By August many birds have left or are feeding up ready to leave, some flying south to Europe and eventually Africa to overwinter, others north to their homelands.  One way of seeing Forvie is as "a motorway service station" - a place to rest, socialise, refuel and move on again!  The estuary provides it all.

History being eroded at Forvie - May 2026

In May 2026 the aftermath of the winter storms became evident in the erosion of archaeological features on the Forvie side of the estuary.   On a walk along the estuary beach (parallel to the Dune Trail) you might have noticed the remains of an ancient well where a spring with fresh water filtered down through the soil from the heath above to the beach (see photos at top of page).  The well consisted of a lintel (large oblong stone) and a semi circular stone wall, partly visible through the surrounding vegetation.  This is where the early settlers who lived on the Forvie heath above, prior to the Middle Ages, would have found access to fresh water.  Over the past 2-3 years the erosion of the bank has now shifted what was left of the well (see photos above).  You may also notice the middens nearby, still visible from the estuary beach.  They are also being eroded. The  middens are an ancient accumulation of domestic waste e.g. discarded animal bones, mollusk shells etc which have been excavated by archaeologists from Aberdeen University in the past.  They showed that the people living at Forvie in the era from about 700 AD to the Middle Ages collected shellfish for both human consumption and trading as bait.  Relentless storms, high tides and winds mean the well and middens may one day disappear entirely.

1st anniversary of the project - April 2026

March 2026 marks a year since the project began and it would be interesting to reflect on what has been achieved.  A record of the changes in the estuary has been provided in photographs taken by many different members of the public.  We have a few regular visitors who take great, even beautiful, photographs that not only show the wonderful landscape features on the Ythan estuary, but also the changes from the action of wind, waves and tides.  Thus the aims of the project so far are being met. Over time the photographs will most likely demostrate very clearly the natural processes of land and seascape transformation.  If you have a favourite photograph, just let me know the date of the photograph and from which PhotoPost it was taken so I can feature this on the Home page!  

Monitoring erosion - March/April 2026

Three major storms from the SE occured during January 2026 - Goretti, Ingrid and Chandra.  These storms have caused bank erosion and sand movement.  A monthly measurement of the bank erosion on Newburgh golf course is being made from Post 3 to the edge of the bank using a small red/white marker stick.  The first measurement on 29 January was 2.70m.  Measured again on 15 March at 2.66m - rate of erosion 4cm in 17 days.  On 25 April there had been no further change.

Biomedia discs reappear...2026

Following the spill of biomedia discs from Ellon Water Treatment Works (Scottish Water) there is obviously an ongoing problem of pollution.  The discs continue to reappear after storms and high tides, often from where they were buried in the marram grass and sand along the estuary.  In December 2025 there were beach cleans by volunteers from Newburgh and Forvie NNR on both sides of the estuary and hundreds of discs were found and collected for safe disposal.  Scottish Water have been informed of the problem.

Big December tides 2025

Noticing the big tides lately? December full moons often bring some of the strongest tides of the year.

With the Sun and Moon both near their closest points, their combined pull accentuates both the high and low tides at the coast.

Those deep low tides expose parts of the beach we rarely see, while the extra-high tides can push water into spots that are usually dry.  Take a photo for this website and also upload to the CoastSnap app to capture these unusual moments while they're happening!

October 2025

With the end of summer comes a change to the weather and also the wildlife you can see along the estuary.  The seals are still present with their numbers changing due to some grey seal females departing to give birth to their pups elsewhere, often quieter and less exposed parts of the coast, between November and February.  Birds are arriving from the mountains to the north and west, and also from Scandinavia, Iceland and Eastern Europe to overwinter at Forvie.  There are sometimes rare sightings of birds from as far away as Greenland, Canada, North America and even Siberia!  Its well worth following the Forvie NNR social media for more information about the autumn/winter wildlife along the estuary:  https://www.facebook.com/ForvieNNR and. https://forvienationalnaturereserve.home.blog

August 2025

After the first 6 months of the project we have received 143 photographs in total.  PhotoPost 4 seems to be the most used (55 photographs), on the Forvie NNR side of the estuary along the Dune Trail.  This followed closely by PhotoPost 2 on the upper boardwalk on the Newburgh side (39 photographs).  The Gallery has been edited now to show the most relevant photos from the first 3 months March-May, but copies of all photos will be kept archived.  

FREE COURSE AVAILABLE:   If you are interested in learning more about coastal erosion and landscape change on the estuary you can follow a FREE Open University course of 3 hours self study which you complete in your own time.  It gives a wonderful background to the changes you can see here on the Ythan estuary and the consequences of increases in sea level and temperature on the landscape, marine life and human activity.

https://www.open.edu/openlearn/nature-environment/environmental-studies/managing-coastal-environments/

July 2025

The first two weeks of July saw above average temperatures on the estuary, rising to 23-25c, with little rainfall. Localised haar around 12th July.  Over 100 photographs have been submitted to the project.  Thank you so much for contributing. Every 3 months the photographs which best illustrate the changes in the estuary are selected to remain on the Gallery pages (April-June;  July-September;  October-December;  January-March)

June 2025

This month started with huge swells at sea, gales from the SW, electrical storms and lots of marine life swept along the coast and onshore, jellyfish in particular, along with movements of sand.  See Photo Gallery post 2 for a good overview of the estuary.  The SW gales eased by June 8th and fine weather was predicted at last.  Thanks for all the photos, keep sending them!

May 2025

Wow, an amazing number of photographs submitted by 65 members of the public over the past 2.5 months - THANK YOU!  It has been an interesting time at the estuary with some very high and low tides, very little rainfall so low water levels and some very warm weather too. 

At the end of June we shall choose 4-6 photographs from each post that best illustrate the changes from March/April/May to remain on view.  This will be done every 3 months to keep the number of photographs manageable and most informative for the project.

March/April 2025

The PhotoPosts are now installed and ready to use!  Some visitors have made use of the posts already to take photos with their mobile phones of the estuary and seal haul out.  Hopefully visitors will continue to send in their photographs to enable a collection to be compiled over time.  This will help to record the changes to the coastline and estuary in a systematic and interesting way through future months, seasons and years.  Photographs are shown in the Gallery pages for each PhotoPost in monthly order.         Date: 17 March 2025