Protracted spring

Hello. There seems to be no end to this spring, with the lack in numbers of common migrants this year, being suitably replaced by the drawn out nature of the season.

Some of the weeks highlights were not entirely unexpected, with greenish warbler being found locally at Sumburgh hotel (I didn't see it though unfortunately) an almost annual migrant for June, in albeit small numbers.

On a personal note, it was great to enjoy crossbill in multiple locations throughout the week. A mass irruption of birds has been well noted along the east coast of the UK, so it was great that birds were following suit and arriving in numbers here too, with the backing of a quite pleasant at times South easterly wind.

                                                                                 Common crossbill
The protracted spring continued to throw up some surprises. A rather late wood warbler was nearby at Quendale, whilst a female red-backed shrike and black redstart occupied the quarry at Sumburgh.
A lesser grey shrike, also arrived late in the week, but news wasn't released until late in the day, and work commitments on Sunday meant I still hadn't managed to catch up with this bird, that would be a first for me in the UK. Until today!

                                                             Lesser grey shrike- near Maywick

                                                               Wood warbler- Quendale    


The week also contained an nice scattering of commoner migrants. Stepping out of the car for a morning walk at Geosetter, to be greeted by singing quail is always a good start to the day. And rather unusually for quail it actually appeared briefly too.

The working week consisted of northbound trips to Unst and Fetlar to continue with our surveying for the season. It was encouraging to witness lots of breeding activity from some of our star priority Shetland species, red-necked phalaropes and red-throated divers.
Breeding waders were widespread with lots of encouraging signs in the form of wader chicks being noted. My journey south was topped off with great views of a single Humpback whale off Sandwick.

An early start tomorrow, with Fetlar beckoning again. Hopefully more updates to bring you all soon.

Spring seems to be never-ending, with more surprises I am sure still to come!

June surprises

The general theme of the week was mist. After a few fantastic days of glorious sunshine, the inevitable mist that follows the warm days rolled in. This sort of weather, and lack of visibility made the planned start to the red-necked phalarope monitoring, somewhat disjointed. Despite this, I did manage to finally get north to help with the start of the phalarope season.

Before the northward journey the start of the week still held some surprises, as migration continued and not just birds, with a small influx of Silver Y moths and red admiral butterflies certainly more abundant. In terms of birds, Foula seemed to be dominating the highlights with a nice scattering of scarce migrants, until Fair Isle stepped up with a green warbler!

Locally, migrant birds were still around, with a mirrored picture of the influx of marsh warblers down south, also hitting Shetland. The 17th saw a rarity arrive in Lerwick, which I didn't go up for due to the travel distance restrictions for non-essential travel. A Moltoni's warbler was found in Phil and Becca's garden, a female which thankfully called to seal identify of the normally tricky genus. An unseasonal waxwing and a small scattering of crossbills added to the mix.
A reed warbler and a couple of common redpoll were also new for the spring closer to home.

The 18th, I was finally able to head north to start red-necked phalarope monitoring, and it was great to be out in the field, with the patchy mist allowing monitoring to take place. Not only was it brilliant to record decent numbers of red-necked phalaropes, it was superb to find the first chicks of the year too. These tiny bumble bee type fluff balls, have to be one of the cutest wader chicks around. A successful day surveying 3 sites, and heading back south by mid-afternoon.

Arriving south I headed out with the family locally to Virkie, to enjoy nice views eventually of another rarity- a Paddyfield warbler found earlier in the day by Roger. It was joined in the willows by both reed and sedge warblers. With the Savi's warbler still present in Scatness, a couple of decent rarities locally. On the way home we diverted past Spiggie to check on the curlew chicks (all present and accounted for) and great to see the Whooper swans with their brood of 5 cygnets.
In the fields, flocks of gulls were worth going through, and it was relatively easy to relocate the Ring-billed gull that had been around for a while, so that was nice to catch up with.

The garden is starting to look better, with more trees planted and a lovely abundance of wild flowers adding a splash of colour to the garden.

                                                                                  Birds foot trefoil

                                                                                   Nearly midnight      

                                                                   Isabelle- on the cliffs behind the house

                                                                                 Sumburgh head

The mist is lifting and the sun is shining, so the week ahead will hopefully allow more outside monitoring. And I am sure a few more surprises too!

Another Killer week

Hello, another week packed with a mixture of jaunts out locally pre and post work, and a welcome continuation of some fieldwork too.

On the eve of my last post (6th) my first swift of the year was gliding around the Sumburgh hotel,
with the following day seeing my second of the year from the front room window.
The rest of the day was spent enjoying family walks locally, for which we are incredibly fortunate to have many.

Monday (8th)  turned into a great day, with a fantastic start. A pod of Killer whales (orca) were heading towards the section of coast behind our house, so much like the Humpback sighting the previous week, I delayed breakfast for a trip to the cliffs.

It was fantastic to watch them slowly making their way South, where later in the day they were seen to make a kill off Sumburgh Head. The rest of the day was spent planning for work.

Mid-June heralds the start of red-necked phalarope monitoring, so lots of planning and preparations ahead of the forthcoming fieldwork. Our reserve monitoring takes place in the north, predominantly on Fetlar, so Tom our assistant warden will have the enviable role of carrying out the bulk of these surveys.

A lot of monitoring has been missed this year, due to lockdown restrictions, but now they are being slowly eased, I have been able to get out to some of our sites to pick up some wader monitoring. It is always superb to be out in the field observing breeding curlews, oystercatchers, redshanks and snipe.

Monday also saw the arrival of another new bird for my Shetland list, a Savi's Warbler arriving in a garden at Scatness. Although it wasn't the showiest of birds it did give brief views as well as intermittent bursts of its reeling song. Also in the garden keeping the Savi's company, was a blackcap and a marsh warbler.

A busy week of work followed with planning for the year ahead, and looking at what might happen if restrictions are eased further, with the potential of tourism returning late in the summer.

In between the desk based tasks, it was great to see our first butterflies in the garden with a red admiral, and a large white flitting through the garden. A hedgehog in the garden and a few frogs in our new pond, added to the diversity around. It was also great to see the range of plant life beginning to bloom, with ragged robin, birds foot trefoil and a few orchids starting to flower (not my strong point, so I'll work out what species we have in the garden).

A further splash of colour was added towards the weeks end, with a Rose-coloured starling alongside Loch of Spiggie, it always remained distant feeding in fields, but it was great to finally catch up with one this year, after their current inlux into Western Europe.

                                                             Rose-coloured starling 

 

This weekend, we have enjoyed some nice coastal walks as well as a trip up to Sumburgh Head to get our puffin fix too.

Just this morning while attempting to post this blog, I nipped out for a morning wander. Adding another new species to my Shetland list with a local singing Quail. Just over the bay at Boddam, right in front of Paul's house. If I strain my ears, you never know it might make it onto the garden list! 

That's more like it!

What a week!
A flurry of new migrants and one of the best wildlife moments I have ever had. The weather forecast looked promising, so I took a few days holiday to try and spend more time in the field and go out with the family, now that we can make short drives for exercise.

The end of the weekend had a nice scattering of birds, and this continued into the start of the week, and locally some scarce migrants started to arrive. A Common rosefinch at Sumburgh hotel was a nice start to Sunday morning (thanks Gary), feeding amongst the dandelions in the horse paddock.

     Common rosefinch- Sumburgh hotel

Finally some commoner migrants were also arriving with spotted flycatchers in multiple locations, and my first lesser whitethroat of the spring too. On the rarer side of things, a Blyth's reed warbler was trapped and ringed locally, and an Icterine warbler was present at Quendale.

June began in style with the first real rarity for a while, a singing Booted warbler found by Rob Fray in his garden. Watching this bird. singing away, brought back memories of Kazakhastan, the only place I have seen this eastern vagrant before. It put on a fine performance, and was a clear arrival along with a nice pulse of other birds. 

Booted warbler- Bakkasetter

Whilst heading out with the family, we got good views of a male Hen harrier, being harassed by hooded crows. Add to that some more spotted flycatchers, another common rosefinch and my first yellow wagtail of the spring- a blue-headed flava at Quendale.

The following day saw some more new birds, but the real excitement was a Humpback whale seen close to our section of coast, although we had no joy looking for it in wild conditions that evening. Other good local birds included, great crested grebe and a female bluethroat found by Andrew Harrop at Grutness. 

3rd June- I had only just woken up and about to have breakfast, when news of the Humpback whale 300 metres behind my house came through. Off I went, and was soon enjoying superb views of my first ever Humpback. It fed circling for around twenty minutes, before finishing with an unbelievable full breach! A moment that will stay with me forever! The rest of the day was rather slow, but a trickle of migrants were still evidently arriving, my first common whitethroat of the spring testament to this.

                                              Humpback whale- Dalsetter

The following day I finally managed to see my first Red-backed shrike of the spring after missing 2 others that day. But a male Red-backed shrike is always worth the wait.

                                                        Red-backed shrike- Durigarth

Other migrants had arrived in the evening, including a singing marsh warbler just around the bay from home in Boddam, but the weather wasn't great that evening. 

                                                                   Spotted flycatcher- Durigarth

Over the next few days, some new species for the year list were added, with Blyth's reed warbler, singing briefly from dense cover, but giving good views in between showers. A frustrating visit to Geosetter, with a garden warbler and lesser whitethroat present, but a small warbler (chiffchaff or willow warbler) flew into deep cover, along with a very probable Icterine warbler, but despite walking the area for 30 minutes, there was no further sign

This morning the likely Icterine warbler from yesterday gave itself up, and Rob Fray, had good views as it popped up on the fence. I went down to enjoy brief views again. 

                                               Icterine warbler- Geosetter- One that got away for me unfortunately

On the way back home, it was fantastic to hear marsh warbler singing. Its range of mimicry superb to listen to.

So back to work, this week. With updates to come on what we have planned for the next few months, as well as any other sightings to tell you about too.  

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