Shetland Birding

'Northern' Eider

2012-02-12T17:31:00.000Z

Light south-westerly winds with some showers. While scanning through Eiders at the Catch I came across a drake showing characters of the northern sub-species 'borealis' (i.e. the prominent scapular 'sails'). Also at least 40 Iceland Gulls, including a 2nd winter 'Kumlien's Gull', and 2 Glaucous Gull at the Catch. Elsewhere there were 6 Great Northern Divers off Kettla Ness, Burra, and the hybrid drake wigeon was again at Papil Water. 2 Woodpigeons, 3 Robins and 20 Chaffinches were seen at Wester Quarff.

'Borealis' - type Eider

2nd winter 'Kumlien's Gull'

White-winged melee!

Looking south from Kettla Ness towards Maywick

Saturday 11th February

2012-02-11T18:30:00.002Z

23 Iceland Gulls seen at the Catch included a 3rd winter bird showing characters of Kumlien's Gull. Elsewhere another Iceland Gull was at Melby while c.150 Wigeon and c.30 Teal were on the Sandness lochs. The Pink-footed Goose was still at Loch of Tingwall and I again failed to see the Red-necked Grebe at Laxfirth, although a Slavonian Grebe was there.

3rd winter 'Kumlien's Gull' at the Catch

Iceland Gulls, of varying ages, at the Catch

Monday 6th February

2012-02-06T20:26:00.003Z

A sunny day with light north-westerly winds. During my lunch break a Little Auk was at East Voe of Quarff and 8 Slavonian Grebes, 4 Red-throated Divers, a Glaucous Gull and a Robin were at Wester Quarff.

Photo below is the view from my living room with Scalloway in the top right and the island of Trondra on the left. Some seem to think that Trondra is just a part of Burra when it is in fact a separate and proud island in its own right.

Clift Sound, Trondra & Scalloway

White-wingers

2012-02-05T19:49:00.001Z

At least 30 Iceland Gulls (including 2 quite subtle 'Kumlien's Gulls') and 2 Glaucous Gulls at the Catch today. Elsewhere a drake and duck Goosander were on Loch of Strand and 2 Scaup were on Loch of Asta. A Great Northern Diver and a Slavonian Grebe were at Laxfirth but there was unfortunately no sign of the Red-necked Grebe here - I've looked for this bird three times but have only managed to see it once!

Saturday 4th February

2012-02-04T13:00:00.002Z

Strong southerly winds and rain. Did the usual winter Quarff-Scalloway-Trondra-Burra-Tingwall-Strand-Lerwick-Quarff circuit. Seemed rather quiet today but the terrible weather didn't help. An Iceland Gull and 10 Jackdaws were at Scalloway and the hybrid drake wigeon was again at Papil Water, Burra. Nothing of note in the Tingwall valley but 2 drake Goosanders were at Loch of Strand. At least 50 Iceland Gull were in Lerwick harbour between the Catch and Victoria Pier, including a fairly well-marked 2nd winter 'Kumlien's Gull' at the Catch. Hard to get an accurate counts of birds as they were being constantly blown around in the strong wind. The camera, possibly due to the poor light and rain, didn't seem to want to focus properly today - that's my excuse anyway!
2 Woodpigeons were seen from the house on Friday 3rd February.

Patch Year List:
72. Woodpigeon

Goosanders at Strand

Iceland Gulls in Lerwick

2nd winter 'Kumlien's Gull' at the Catch

A Six Goose Day

2012-02-01T16:08:00.007Z

A cloudy day with moderate southerly winds. As the title of this post suggests I managed to see six species of goose around Mainland Shetland today. First off was an adult Eurasian White-fronted Goose at the East Voe of Quarff, quickly followed by a Canada Goose at East Voe, Scalloway. Canada Geese are pretty rare in Shetland with only a handful of records annually. In fact I think it's my first 'self-found' one here. Also at Scalloway were 4 Iceland Gulls, a Glaucous Gull and around 50 Jackdaws. A quick look around Burra revealed that the hybrid drake wigeon was still at Papil Water. A Scaup was still on Loch of Asta and a Pink-footed Hoose was in fields at Loch of Tingwall. 2 Taiga Bean Geese found at Laxfirth are probably, judging by the bill patterns, the same birds that were at Veensgarth in January. However there was sadly no sign of the adult Little Gull found by Hugh et al at Laxfirth. At least 40 Iceland Gulls (including a 2nd W 'Kumlien's') and 2 Glaucous Gulls were seen at the Catch. Later on the Dark-bellied Brent Goose (too distant to photograph) and a Song Thrush were at the Wart, Sandwick. 4 Common Scoters were seen off Wester Quarff. All in all a pretty enjoyable day!

A selection of stuff from today

Sunday 29th January

2012-01-29T16:44:00.002Z

Moderate south-easterly winds and cloudy. Couldn't seem to find much motivation today. Checked Scalloway where there were 4 Iceland Gull and a further 20 or so Iceland Gulls were seen at the Catch. Nothing much of note seen at Quarff.

Kittiwake, Iceland Gull & Eider in Lerwick

71 And Counting...

2012-01-28T16:21:00.000Z

Have now seen 71 species on my patch in January which is, by Shetland standards, pretty impressive. The new additions are below but also at Quarff today were 4 Common Scoters, 30 Chaffinches, 2 Song Thrushes, a Fieldfare, a Hen Harrier, a Great Northern Diver, 7 Red-throated Divers and a Little Auk. On Burra the drake American Wigeon x Wigeon hybrid was again at Papil Water, 2 Iceland Gulls were at Bridge End Loch, 2 Common Scoters were in West Voe and a Minkie Whale and a Great Northern Diver were off Southerhouse. Nothing much of note in the Tingwall Valley except 2 Scaup at Loch of Asta and a drake Goosander was at Strand Loch. 'Only' 28 Iceland Gulls were seen at the Catch before heading home.
On Friday 27th January there ere 5 Little Auks, 4 Common Scoters and a Long-eared Owl at Wester Quarff.

Patch Year List:
69. Merlin
70. Red Grouse
71. Goosander

Drake Teal at Tingwall

3rd W & adult Iceland Gulls at the Catch

West Voe of Quarff this afternoon

Tuesday 24th January

2012-01-24T19:21:00.016Z

Birds at Wester Quarff today included the Black-throated Diver, 10 Red-throated Divers, 12 Slavonian Grebes, 10 Snow Buntings, 5 Common Scoters, 2 Iceland Gulls and a Hen Harrier. Another Iceland Gull was seen at Clickimin, Lerwick. Hopefully the Aurora will show later on tonight. If so will try and get some pics and post them later.
Again no new pics to post today so here's a few more older ones...

Artic Skuas, Mousa - August 2010

Bonxie, Burra - September 2010

Eider, Lerwick - October 2010

Goldcrest, Wester Quarff - October 2009

Monday 23rd January

2012-01-24T19:13:00.003Z

2 Little Auks were seen from the house early morning. A 2nd winter Iceland Gull was at Wester Quarff and a 2nd winter Glaucous Gull was seen at Nordavatn, Lerwick.
Don't have any new photos to post so here's a couple of old ones...

Puffin, Sumburgh Head - July 2009

Grounded 'Maalie', Easter Quarff - September 2011

Sunday 22nd January

2012-01-22T17:32:00.002Z

Light to moderate north-westerly winds and cloudy. Decided to stay local today and hopefully pick up a few patch year ticks. A Jack Snipe and 10 Snipe were flushed from the ditches at East Voe while notable birds at Wester Quarff were a Water Rail, a Goldcrest, a Black-throated Diver, a Great Northern Diver, 6 Red-thrated Divers, a Hen Harrier, 2 Bramblings, at least 30 Chaffinches, 2 Slavonian Grebes, a Jackdaw and a Rook.
Can I get 70 species on the Patch in January?

Patch Year List:
66. Goldcrest
67. Jack Snipe
68. Water Rail

Looking south down Clift Sound this morning

Saturday 21st January

2012-01-21T19:20:00.002Z

A cold day with near gale-force westerly winds and wintry showers. Today's Iceland Gulls were at least 40 around the Catch (including 2 quite subtle 3rd winter Kumlien's Gulls), 1 at Bridge End, Burra, 4 at Scalloway, 1 at Clickimin and 2 at Wester Quarff. At least 50 Jackdaws and a Glaucous Gull were seen at Scalloway. A Jackdaw and 4 Rooks were at Wester Quarff. A Puffin was off Wester Quarff on Thursday 19th and the Little Auk was still in East Voe of Quarff on Friday 20th.

Patch Year List:
65. Puffin

Iceland Gulls in Lerwick

Herring Gull in Lerwick

Rook at Wester Quarff

Wednesday 18th January

2012-01-18T16:25:00.001Z

A very cold day with gale-force westerly winds and wintry showers. Birds at Quarff today included my first Gannets of the year and the Little Auk still at East Voe while 7 Snow Buntings and an adult Iceland Gull were at Wester Quarff. An Iceland Gull was seen at Sound, Lerwick in the afternoon and a second-winter Iceland Gull, showing some characters of Kumlien's Gull, was at nearby Breiwick.
P.S. a Ross's Gull is in County Down today - surely there's one lurking unfound in Shetland?

Patch Year List:
64. Gannet

Iceland Gull at Breiwick

A very stormy Clift Sound

Monday 16th January

2012-01-17T16:05:00.003Z

A mild, sunny day with light southerly winds. Birds at Quarff included a Hen Harrier and a Sparrowhawk over Scrae Field, Little Auk still at East Voe, 15 Redwings, 5 Fieldfares, 2 Purple Sandpipers, a summer-plumaged Guillemot, 2 Robins, an Iceland Gull, 4 Common Scoters and a Slavonian Grebe. A Long-eared Owl in the garden after dark took the garden/house list to 159.

In Shetland a hill is generally called a 'field' i.e. 'Scrae Field', a field is called a 'park' and a dry-stone wall is a 'dyke' - please don't ask me why!

Patch Year List:
63. Purple Sandpiper

Hen Harrier over Scrae Field

Scrae Field (middle) taken in Jan '09

Am I Bored With Iceland Gulls?

2012-01-15T15:52:00.007Z

A dull, cloudy day with light south-westerly winds. Today's Iceland Gulls were: 1 Scalloway, 1 Veensgarth, 1 Sound, Lerwick, 1 Henry's Loch, Quarff and at least 30 at the Catch this afternoon. Although I do enjoy looking at gulls, and especially white-wingers, I feel I may be suffering a bout of 'gull-fatique' at the moment. Hopefully it will soon pass and I'm sure a nice self-found Ross's or Ivory Gull would help! At Wester Quarff I watched a ringtail Hen Harrier quartering the hill then stoop on something - it was a Woodcock! The woody then flew over me, missing some feathers on its left wing. Also at Quarff today were 2 Collared Doves, 2 Wigeon, 10 Chaffinch, 2 Jackdaws, 6 Red-throated Divers, a Great Northern Diver and 3 Slavonian Grebes.

Patch Year List:
60. Woodcock
61. Collared Dove
62. Wigeon

Glaucous Gull at the Catch

Hen Harrier at Quarff

45 Iceland Gulls!

2012-01-14T15:53:00.005Z

A mild, cloudy day with moderate south-westerly winds and some showers. A drake American Wigeon x Eurasian Wigeon hybrid was seen at Papil Water, Burra, and 2 Iceland Gulls and 10 Jackdaws were at Scalloway. At least 37 Iceland Gulls were seen at the Catch including 2 Kumlien's Gulls. At least 2 Glaucous Gulls were also at the Catch. Checked the whole of Lerwick for gulls but only saw 1 more Iceland Gull at Breiwick by Tesco. At least 5 Iceland Gulls were seen at Wester Quarff in the afternoon including a stunning adult-type Kumlien's Gull. This bird was at the dark end of the cline for Kumlien's with the wing tip markings being much darker than the recent Whalsay/Lerwick adult. Also at Wester Quarff this afternoon were a Glaucous Gull, a Sparrowhawk, a Fieldfare and a Chaffinch. Yet another incredibly enjoyable day!

Patch Year List:
59. Sparrowhawk

Hybrid drake wigeon (right) & drake Wigeon on Burra

Iceland Gull at Scalloway

Gulls feeding off the Catch outfall

Various Iceland Gulls

2nd winter Kumlien's Gull

3rd winter Kumlien's Gull

Glaucous Gull

Tystie

Quite a well marked 1st winter Iceland Gull at Tesco

Harbour Seal at East Voe of Quarff

Grey Seal in Lerwick

Update

2012-01-13T16:09:00.002Z

Havn't been able to get out much this week due to work etc. However some notable sightings at Quarff recently include Little Auk, Fieldfare, Razorbill, 7 Common Scoters and Great Northern Diver today, adult Kumlien's Gull, second-winter Iceland Gull and Song Thrush yesterday and 2 second-winter Iceland Gulls on Wednesday 11th.

Patch Year List:
53. Ringed Plover
54. Song Thrush
55. Little Auk
56. Razorbill
57. Fieldfare
58. Snipe

Little Auk at East Voe of Quarff - it was a long, long way off!

Tuesday 10th January

2012-01-10T19:04:00.005Z

A mild day with strong westerly winds and some heavy showers. The first day for a while that I havn't seen an Iceland Gull. By way of a change a first-winter Glaucous Gull was at Wester Quarff today and c.50 Jackdaws were seen at Scalloway.

Patch Year List:
52. Glaucous Gull

Terrible photo of Glaucous Gull at Wester Quarff

Faroe's Iceland Gulls

2012-01-09T23:30:00.008Z

Huge numbers in the Faroe Islands at the moment - see Silas's blog at http://www.birdingfaroes.wordpress.com/
Back here in Shetland at least 15 Iceland Gulls were at the Catch today and a whopping 27 were counted on Unst alone! Also I had a first-winter at East Voe of Quarff and a second-winter flew past our living room window at Wester Quarff. Also a Slavonian Grebe and at least 50 Long-tailed ducks were seen from the house today.

Patch Year List:
51. Slavonian Grebe

Iceland Gull through double glazing

Redshank

Winter 'Shetland Birding' At Its Best

2012-01-08T17:28:00.013Z

What a superb day! A mild day with ligh winds and some sunshine early morning. A Long-eared Owl was seen in the pre-dawn light at Wester Quarff and a flock of 7 Common Scoters was in Clift Sound early morning.

Dawn over the East Voe of Quarff

Then headed up to Laxfirth were the Red-necked Grebe was still present along with 2 Slavonian Grebes. Next drove up to South Nesting Bay and had a fantastic hour scanning over the calm water here. The highlight was a White-billed Diver which is probably the returning wintering bird but who can honestly say for sure? Despite regular checks of this area there have been no sightings of White-billeds here since late 2010. Anyway a fantastic 'find' nontheless and a superb bird. Also here were at least 15 Great Northern Divers (some of which were giving their evocative call), 7 Red-throated Divers, 5 Razorbills and several Harbour Porpoise. A first-winter Iceland Gull was at the nearby Houb of Laxo.

Digi-scoped White-billed Diver in South Nesting Bay

Next I headed up to Laxobiggings and failed to see the Rough-legged Buzzard there once again. A 'gulling' session at the Catch produced at least 9 Iceland Gulls - 1 2nd-winter and at least 9 1st-winters and a first-winter Glaucous Gull.

Iceland Gulls and Glaucous Gull (2nd last) at the Catch

Back at home for lunchtime I noticed a ringtail Hen Harrier was hanging around the plateau of Scrae Field and then news broke that a pod of Killer Whales was at Sandwick. However I decided not to go for the whales and, going to the bedroom for another look at the harrier, I noticed through the binoculars what was obviously a buzzard sp. over the hill being harrased by a Raven. When it started hovering alarm bells rang and I ran the the living room for my telescope. It was indeed a Rough-legged Buzzard - probably the bird reported from Scousburgh earlier in the week. The bird stayed aroung for a few minutes before heading north - a fabulous patch-tick! The summit of Scrae Field is around three-quarters of a mile from our house so, although I got identifiable views through the 'scope, there was unfortunately little chance of getting any supporting photographs. A Great Northern Diver and a first-winter Iceland Gull were in Clift Sound in the afternoon. What an amazing day!

Patch Year List:
47. Long-eared Owl
48. Common Scoter
49. Rough-legged Buzzard
50. Great Northern Diver

Geese Galore!

2012-01-07T15:01:00.004Z

A dull, cloudy day with strong north-westerly winds and heavy showers. Around 50 Jackdaws were seen in Scalloway and a check of the Tingwall lochs produced a Scaup amongst resonable numbers of commoner wildfowl. The Greylag Goose flock at Veensgarth held 2 Taiga Bean Geese, a Greenland White-fronted Goose and a Pink-footed Goose - all no doubt the same birds seen here recently. 2 drake Goosanders at Strand Loch were probably the same birds seen at Scalloway on January 2nd. Had a look for the Red-necked Grebe which was seen by Hugh at Laxfirth yesterday but sadly there was no sign of it, although the sea here was very choppy. A Eurasian White-fronted Goose was seen at East Voe of Quarff and 7 Rooks, 2 unseasonal Oystercatchers, several Fulmars, a Robin and 4 Red-throated Divers were seen at Wester Quarff. Just when I was thinking I hadn't seen an Iceland Gull all day a superb adult bird flew north past our living room window heading towards Scalloway, but sadly I didn't manage to photograph it.

Patch Year List:
44. White-fronted Goose
45. Fulmar
46. Oystercatcher

Eurasian White-fronted Goose and Greylag Geese at Quarff

Distant Pink-footed and Greenland White-fronted Geese at Veensgarth

Taiga Bean Geese at Veensgarth

Friday 6th January

2012-01-06T19:34:00.003Z

Another lunch-break 'gulling' session at the Catch produced at least 6 Iceland Gulls - 1 2nd W and 5 1st Ws - and a single 1st W Glaucous Gull. No sign of any Kumlien's Gulls though, and the well marked adult Kumlien's has made it's way back to Whalsay! Elsewhere a Dunnock was seen at Upper Sound, Lerwick and a Peregrine was seen at Quarff.

Patch Year List:
42. Teal
43. Peregrine

Glaucous Gull

Various Iceland Gulls at the Catch

Grey Seal comming to bread!

Gulls Galore!

2012-01-05T16:24:00.007Z

Cold with strengthening north-westerly winds and some sunny spells. Had an excellent, but sadly all too brief, lunch-break 'gulling' session at the Catch today. First a second-winter Iceland Gull came in to bread - soon followed by a smart and totally unexpected well marked adult 'Kumlien's' Iceland Gull! Based on the wing tip pattern this is almost certainly the bird that had been in residence at Hamister, Whalsay recently. Later the 'type 0' adult Kumlien's Gull and a first-winter Iceland Gull were seen by the outfall - fantastic stuff! Later additional Iceland Gulls were seen by Hugh Harrop as he was looking at the Kumlien's Gull.

Kumlien's Gull...

...with Herring Gull

2nd winter Iceland Gull

Adult 'type 0' Kumlien's Gull

1st winter Iceland Gull

Wednesday 4th January

2012-01-04T18:59:00.008Z

Not much to report. A Sparrowhawk was seen chasing Starlings over Loch of Clickimin at lunchtime, a Pink-footed Goose was with the Greylag Goose flock at Wester Quarff and 3 Goldeneyes were in West Voe of Quarff.

Patch Year List:
40. Pink-footed Goose
41. Goldeneye

Gulls And Geese...

2012-01-03T16:13:00.000Z

...seem very much the theme at the moment.

A cold, dull day with moderate north-westerly winds and heavy rain. Only had half an hour to spare at lunchtime but managed to see a first-winter Iceland Gull in Breiwick, Lerwick and the Pale-bellied Brent Goose was seen in the flooded field at the base of the Ness of Sound. very poor light today meant I could only get shutter speeds of 1/40th second at 800 ISO - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

Pale-bellied Brent Goose

Iceland Gull

Monday 2nd January

2012-01-02T15:47:00.003Z

A cold day with strong south-westerly winds and some wintry showers. Checked the lochs and voes around Burra, Trondra and Scalloway before heading up the Tingwall Valley as far as Strand Loch. The highlights werea Great Norther Diver off Southerhouse, Burra, 2 drake Goosanders at East Voe, Scalloway and a 'Greenland' White-fronted Goose with Greylags at Veensgarth (but no sign of the Bean Geese here). Still a few Jackdaws and Rooks at Scalloway but no where near yesterday's numbers. In the afternoon a rather distant Black-throated Diver and a Guillemot were amongst birds seen in Clift Sound.

Goosanders and Red-breasted Mergansers at Scalloway

'Greenland' White-fronted Goose with Greyalg Geese

Patch Year list:
36. Wren
37. Lapwing
38. Black-throated Diver
39. Guillemot

New Year's Day

2012-01-01T13:39:00.012Z

A drive around Lerwick produced 4 first-winter Iceland Gulls - 1 at Tesco, 1 at Clickimin running track, 1 at the small boat harbour and 1 at Victoria Pier. An impressive flock of c.200 Jackdaws and c.50 Rooks was at East Voe, Scalloway. Birds of note at Quarff were an Iceland Gull, a Hen Harrier, c.25 Snow Buntings, a Common Redpoll, a Brambling, c.25 Chaffinches, a Jackdaw, 9 Rooks and a Robin.

Iceland Gulls around Lerwick

Part of the corvid flock at Scalloway

Snow Buntings at Wester Quarff

After seeing an impressive 156 species on the patch in 2011 I'm going to do it again this year. Will keep totals updated on here for anyone who's interested...

2012 Patch Year List:

1. Red-throated Diver

2. Shag

3. Cormorant

4. Grey Heron

5. Greylag Goose

6. Mallard

7. Eider

8. Long-tailed Duck

9. Red-brested Merganser

10. Hen Harrier

11. Turnstone

12. Curlew

13. Redshank

14. Common Gull

15. Herring Gull

16. Iceland Gull

17. Great Black Backed Gull

18. Black Guillemot

19. Rock Dove

20. Robin

21. Blackbird

22. Redwing

23. Starling

24. Jackdaw

25. Rook

26. Hooded crow

27. Raven

28. House Sparrow

29. Chaffinch

30. Brambling

31. Common Redpoll

32. Snow Bunting

33. Kittiwake

34. Rock Pipit

35. Twite

Not a bad start...

New Year's Eve

2011-12-31T20:52:00.003Z

Headed up the Tingwall Valley first thing and found 2 'Taiga' Bean Geese and a Pink-footed Goose with the Greylags at Veensgarth. No sign of any Rough-legged Buzzards at either Toft or Laxobiggings but a ringtail Hen Harrier at Toft was nice. 5 Jackdaws were seen at Brae on the way home. Happy New Year everyone!

'Taiga' Bean Geese at Veensgarth

Friday 30th December

2011-12-30T15:56:00.003Z

2 juvenile Iceland Gulls at the Catch at lunchtime were both different to the birds there yeasterday. No sign of the Kumlien's though and in fact very few gulls were present at all. No apologies for repeat photos of Iceland Gulls - gulls seem to be the main focus of birding in Shetland at the moment...

Iceland Gull at the Catch

Thursday 29th December

2011-12-29T16:24:00.013Z

A crisp, clear day with light to moderate north-westerlies. Another lunchtime visit to the Catch produced 4 Iceland Gulls - including a subtle adult 'Kumlien's Gull' - as well as an adult and 2 juvenile 'standard' Icelands. The birds were rather distant hence the poor photos..
A much better photo at http://www.facebook.com/shetlandwildlife

Juvenile Iceland Gull (in flight) & adult 'Kumlien's' Gull

Adult 'Kumliens' Gull

Juvenile Glaucous Gull

Rock Pipit

Wednesday 28th December

2011-12-28T17:08:00.002Z

Nothing much to report except this juvenile Iceland Gull seen at lunchtime from the car park opposite the fire station at Breiwick, Lerwick. A ringtail Hen Harrier was seen by a neighbour of mine at Wester Quarff on Tuesday 27th.

Iceland Gull at Breiwick

Black-headed Gull

Christmas Eve

2011-12-25T09:16:00.007Z

Strong south westerly wind sstrengthening to gale force, rain, cold, dark, damp and gloomy. Despite the truly horrible weather it was a pretty good day's birding. Called in at Bigton to see the 20 Bean Geese that have been there for ages. Supposedly a mix of Taigas and Tundras. There were 5 or 6 birds that looked a little more long necked and long billed but maybe not by enough - they could all well be Tundras. Checked a few spots in South Mainland and had a single Snow Bunting at Spiggie, a Little Grebe on Hillwell and a drake Pintail plus the usual Pintail x Mallard hybrid at Scatness. At The Wart, Sandwick, were a Dark-bellied Brent Gosose, c.10 Snow Buntings and a flock of c.150 Golden Plovers. In Lerwick there was a nice flock of Tufted Ducks and Goldeneyes on Loch of Clickimin and an Iceland Gull was seen at the Catch.

Brent Goose at Sandwick

Quendale Bay & Fitfull Head

Goldeneyes at Clickimin

'Thou shall have a fishy, on a little dishy'

Iceland Gull at the Catch

Bean Geese at Bigton

The Shortest Day

2011-12-22T17:26:00.003Z

Today is the Winter Solstice - the shortest day of the year. The sun is only rising a few degrees above the southern horizon at the moment and the days feel short and dark. However it's not all doom and gloom. The sea, seen from our living room, is scattered with superb winter Long-tailed Ducks, Red-breasted Mergansers, Shags, Goldeneyes, Red-throated and Great Northern Divers, Eiders, Black Guillemots, Slavonian Grebes and an assortment of gulls! I just have to try and be home while it's light to see them, which is not that easy due to work and Christmas preparations etc. At least we can take comfort in the fact the days will now be getting gradually longer. Elsewhere I had a Peregrine over Loch of Brindister on Tuesday 20th and 9 Rooks at Wester Quarff on Wednesday 21st. Checked the gulls at the Catch at lunchtime today but nothing of note seen. Will keep looking though - hopefully one day I'll find one of these...

2nd calendar year Ring-billed Gull at Uyeasound, Unst May 2011

Monday 19th December

2011-12-19T19:52:00.004Z

Very light south westerly winds with pretty icy conditions. A close and confiding Long-eared Owl was seen in torchlight at Wester Quarff this evening while walking the dogs. Also at Wester Quarff today were 5 Rooks, 2 Robins and a Redwing. 2 Wigeon and 2 Red-throated Divers were among birds offshore in Clift Sound.

A Black Redstart is still in Breiwick, Lerwick at Jimmy Coll's Steps today (per BM).

Ringed Plover

Redshank

Curlew

Sunday 18th December

2011-12-18T15:34:00.001Z

A clear, crisp winter's day with light north westerly winds and some wintry showers. A quick look at the Catch produced 2 juv. Iceland Gulls and some photogenic Eiders. At Wester Quarff were a rintail Hen Harrier, a Water Rail, a Robin and a Short-eared Owl - the latter taking the patch year-list to a remarkable 156! 3 Red-throated Divers and a Slavonian Grebe were offshore in Clift Sound.

Eiders at the Catch

Short-eared Owl at Quarff

Deserted...

2011-12-17T19:15:00.000Z

A cold day with strong north westerly winds and frequent wintry showers. In many respects today was a fairly typical winter's day birding in Shetland. Looked for the Desert Wheatear in Lerwick but no luck. The bird was erroneously reported on Thursday but was in fact last seen there on Wednesday. Nearby there was a herd of Whooper Swans close to the road at Loch of Clickimin.One of them had a yellow plastic ring 'JB4' on its right leg. Anyone know where I get get info on this? A search of town for gulls produced 3 Iceland Gulls at the Catch and a drive down the Tingwall Valley was pleasant but didn't produce anything of note. 19 Jackdaws, 10 Rooks and 2 Robins were lingering at Wester Quarff.

Whoopers at Clickimin

'JB4'

Hoodie

Iceland & other gulls at the Catch

Kittiwake

Rooks and Jackdaws at Wester Quarff

Shetland Bird Report 2010

2011-12-13T18:04:00.000Z

The Shetland Bird Report for 2010 is out! Copies have been posted to Shetland Bird Club members today. If you are not a member the report is on general sale now at just £10 including P & P. To get yours send a cheque, payable to 'Shetland Bird Club' to:

Rob Fray,Sunnydell, Virkie, Shetland ZE3 9JS

Britain's best annual Bird Report!

Where To Go Birding In Shetland: Easter Quarff

2011-12-12T22:09:00.000Z

This is the other half of my patch. Take the A970 south from Lerwick and after around 5 miles you enter Quarff. Take the left turn signed 'Casho' and park by the East Voe of Quarff.

The burn here and associated ditches, fields, iris beds etc should all be thoroughly checked. There is a large garden, 'South Sands', at the south end of the voe which has attracted Booted Warbler and Melodious Warbler amongst others and the beach here has held Citrine Wagtail. This is also a good area to see Common and Harbour Seals hauled out on the rocks and a Bearded Seal was here in 2005. The cul-de-sac and gardens just inland from the sea (don't know it's real name but I call it 'Brookside') is also worth a look. The small conifer plantation between the A970 and the sea usually has migrants in spring and autumn and the large garden by the main road at 'Kjurkhul' should also be checked. There are also gardens worth checking at Hillhead and around the school and hall along the road to Wester Quarff.

As well as the species listed above there are historical records of Gyrfalcon, Red Kite and Ring-billed Gull from Easter Quarff. This is still a pretty under-watched area and would no doubt pay dividends if worked more frequently.

'South Sands' and East Voe of Quarff

The 'Palntation'

Pintails at East Voe of Quarff

Where To Go Birding In Shetland: Wester Quarff

2011-12-12T20:55:00.000Z

This is the first of , hopefully, a series of posts designed to help potential visitors here choose where to go to maximise their birding experiences when visiting Shetland. Whether you are a first-time visitor or a regular, seasoned, bird-finder then hopefully there will be some new info here to help you find something extra special or just enhance your enjoyment of common birds. I also hope to focus on some sites that are off the beaten track away from the well-worked South Mainland circuit. If anyone has any further info to add please fell free to use the 'comment' facility (assuming anyone at all is reading this blog!). Seems fitting that the first area should be my own local patch - Quarff. Will cover Wester Quarff first then Easter Quarff later on...

Wester Quarff is a valley lying roughly 5 miles SW of Lerwick. From 'da toon' head south on the A970 and at Quarff take either of the two right turnings signed 'Wester Quarff' and follow the subsequent signs. Park carefully and considerately and work the valley on foot.

The habitat is quite varied but includes one particularly large and attractive garden in the valley bottom. This garden is the main focus of attention and is an excellent migrant trap but don't neglect the burns and associated cover, the gardens around the turning circles on the north and south sides of the valley, any crops (which vary year to year but 'tatties' are usually the most productive) and any other areas of cover no matter how small (i.e. nettle or thistle beds or even long grass). Keep an eye out for raptors along the hill ridges to the north and south of the valley.

Clift Sound, the stretch of sea between Wester Quarff and the islands of Trondra and Burra, is worth checking at any time of year but is especially good in winter for divers, Slavonian Grebe and various sea duck often including large flocks of Eiders. The valley throngs with breeding birds in spring and summer and, given good conditions, a varied selection of migrants can be found in spring and autumn.

There are historical records of Two-barred Crossbill, Artic Warbler and Treecreeper from the valley but regular watching since 2005 has produced White's Thrush, Greenish Warbler (2), several Little Buntings, King Eider (3), White-billed Diver, Surf Scoter, Yellow-breasted Bunting, Artic Warbler (2), Subalpine Warbler, Olive-backed Pipit, Pallid Harrier, Bean Goose, Hoopoe, Bee-eater, Wood Lark, Short-toed Lark, Richard's Pipit, Nightingale, Melodious Warbler, Pallas's Warbler and Rose-coloured Starling amongst many others - perhaps highlighting the potential of other currently under-watched sites in Shetland.

The big garden, looking East

Clift Sound looking North

1 of 2 Artic Warblers present in 2009

Barred Warbler in our garden

Greenish Warbler in our garden

The crops and 'North gardens'

What An Age We Live In...

2011-12-11T14:26:00.000Z

Yesterday Jeremy Pierce posted a pic of of a a 'little brown job' he'd photographed in Lerwick on a Facebook site asking for an I.D. It was obviously a wheatear sp. but couldn't be positively identified from the published picture. I met up with Hugh Harrop at first light to search for the bird and within a few minutes I came across it on a seaweed-strewn beach. It looked good for Desert Wheatear and after a few minutes discussion with Hugh we decided it was a Desert and the news was duly released. Quite a crowd (for here) had gathered by mid morning and the bird was a county-tick for many (including myself). It was ridiculously confiding at times, often moving in too close for the Big Lens Boys! A nice Iceland Gull was seen on the walk back to the car. Seems bizarre to see a wheatear in December!

Desert Wheatear

The 'twitch'

Iceland Gull

R.I.P. Mate

2011-12-07T18:26:00.000Z

Had some desperately sad news today. Was devastated to hear of the death of my old mate Keith Robinson. Our thoughts go out to his wife Debbie, his daughter Ella and all his family & friends at this diffucult time. We met in the late '80s when we were introduced by my long-standing best mate Paul Carberry, and sharing the same tastes in music and clothes amongst other thing the three of us soon formed a band together. We were all pretty tight in those days but sadly I lost touch with keith long before I moved up here. He was often in my thoughs though and I think I will miss him for the rest of my life...
The only pics I have of him are these band publicity shots that we had done. R.I.P. mate and thanks for all the great times!

Keith (left), Paul (middle) & me. Jeez we look young!

Note Paul's intense concentration!

Pretending to be serious!

This Weekend

2011-12-04T17:09:00.000Z

After severe gale-force winds on Friday night spent Saturday morning checking a few likely spots for Grey Phalaropes but no luck. In fact the only thing of note seen was a single Eurasian White-fronted Goose at Burland, Trondra. Much calmer this morning so headed up the Tingwall Valley. 3 Pochards and 2 Scaup were on the lochs and a smattering of Rooks, Jackdaws, Redwings and Fieldfares were around. Heading north came across 2 Tundra Bean Geese with Greylags at Veensgarth and then 9 Eurasian White-fronts at Strand. However the highlight of the day was a juvenile Glaucous Gull at Wester Quarff which spent some time sat on rocks off the bottom of our garden. My first 'white-winged' gull of the winter and took the patch year-list to 155!

Eurasian White-fronts at Strand

Tundra Bean Geese at Veensgarth

Displaying Eiders at Scalloway

Blackbird in the garden

Glaucous Gull at Wester Quarff

This Week

2011-12-02T22:30:00.000Z

Birding mainly restricted to lunchtimes at the moment. The late Wheatear was still at East Voe of Quarff early in the week and a smart drake Goosander was first in West Voe then East Voe of Quarff the next day. Today a Red Grouse was heard calling from the hill behind the house in the early hours, a Wigeon was at East Voe, 20 Teal were at Brindister Quarry and a Robin was around our garden.

Drake Goosander

Wheatear

Odd Grey Heron

2011-12-01T20:54:00.000Z

Odd Grey Heron taken at Easter Quarff on 29th November. Check out the pinkish tones on the thighs, carpals and 'shoulders'! Confident it's a Grey though unless anyone thinks otherwise...The bird was there again at dusk yesterday but not seen today in gale-force conditions.Will be looked for again when the weather calms down and hopefully some better photos can be obtained. Thanks go out to Ashley Fisher, Paul Harvey and Hugh Harrop for informative comments.

Apologies for the quality but my photos are generally poor!