It's funny how life works out sometimes; how the smallest decisions can lead to big changes or, in the context of birding, big ticks.
After a pretty solid weekend's birding I'd woken up rather too late on Tuesday (2nd May) to head to the patch before work. Besides, the pretty thick mist over the fields around our house in Chilworth didn't fill me with confidence I'd be able to see much down at the water meadows anyway. So I eased myself into the new working week gently with a leisurely start. Having made my breakfast I noticed one of the cats loitering by the back door so I let it out. It was a pleasant morning so I picked up my bins and strolled out into the garden, the usual soundtrack of Song Thrush, Robin, Blackcap filling the air, the mist glowing golden over the fields.
After barely a minute my eyes were drawn to two large birds that had just flown into view over the trees a couple of hundred metres to the west. Beyond these trees there is a large lake so it's not uncommon to see Canada Geese, Mute Swans and Cormorants taking off and coming into land. Even through the mist though something about these birds immediately looked a little different. Raising my bins to my eyes I was instantly greeted by the unmistakeable silhouette of two COMMON CRANES in profile, flying purposefully south in the graceful yet powerful way that is so distinctive for this species, their legs and neck trailing long and slender in front of and to the rear of their long, slim and fingered wings. I watched in dumbstruck awe until they disappeared over the trees to the south, I knew if I'd gone back inside to get my camera I would have missed them and wasted precious viewing time. One of those birding moments when time just seems to stand still and yet the whole thing was probably over in a matter of seconds. I ran back inside to tell my girlfriend before firing off texts and tweets. Absolutely unreal. Strangely, I'd paid particular attention to the Cranes at Slimbridge a few weeks ago, thinking it'd be useful to be familiar with their flight action at some point in the future - I just didn't expect it to be so soon!
Cranes at Slimbridge a couple of weeks ago
A little imagination required here...
It seems the same birds were seen flying south over Slinfold Country Club, c15 miles to the south-east, just 25 minutes later then over Small Dole at 0930hrs where they turned east to follow the South Downs. If they continued on this flight path it seems almost certain that the same two birds were the ones that dropped into Sandwich Bay late afternoon and were present in that area until nightfall. Doing a bit more detective work I discovered the BBC wildlife presenter Steve Backshall tweeted he'd just seen two flying south out of Little Marlow GPs in Bucks the previous evening (1st May) at 1900hrs. Assuming these records all relate to the same birds I've thrown together this rather slapdash map showing their approximate flight path. Where they went after that is anyone's guess!*
You may remember my blog post from a few weeks ago where I speculated about what my next garden tick might be - well, I think it's fair to say Crane was pretty much one of the last things I expected to take the house list to 89. Now the big question is: what will number 90 be and will it make an appearance before we move in a couple of months?
*note: I should point out I obviously didn't think they'd flown through the night and only got as far as Surrey. I hadn't particularly given much thought though to where the birds may have roosted until the excitement died down and I replayed the moment again in my head today (4th May) - when I picked the birds up coming over the trees they were definitely ascending and then banked slightly as I got bins on them, suggesting in fact that they had perhaps roosted very nearby - maybe even in the large lake itself! I had a Great White Egret fly out of there last year so clearly the habitat is pretty good for birds of that ilk.
After a couple of days' absence from the patch I headed down at first light this morning in less than inviting conditions: drizzle and a brisk south-westerly wind. 'Surely this should drop some migrants though', I thought as I did my usual pre-work circuit of the Broadford/St Catherine's area. There were clearly more Chiffchaffs around, with at least 7 singing despite the inclement weather. Reed Buntings too were in fine voice, and it was good to see the pair of Stonechats again hopping around on the fence near St Catherine's Lock. A scan of the Horse Field produced two Red-legged Partridges; only my second patch record after the single bird I had on the 12th. Heading on down to St Catherine's the drizzle got rather heavier and I scanned the sky every few seconds, expecting to see a hirundine appear at any moment - no luck.
Last stop on my circuit was the usual scan of St Catherine's Pool which produced at least 7 Teal, 3 Gadwall and a couple of Little Grebes. Just as I was about to head off I noticed something else lurking, huddled up in the vegetation at the back: a small duck, and although the light was poor and the angle odd surely that was a head stripe I could see?
As I crept forward slightly to get a better view, the bird(s) in question swam out into open water where I was left in no doubt: an absolutely stonking pair of Garganey! Suffice to say a patch first for me and the first Wey Valley record for 15 years. Certainly a species I'd dreamt of finding on patch but still a magical find. I fired off a couple of record shots before contacting a few people and putting the news on Twitter. At work during the morning I received various reports from local birders including Steve Chastell, Richard Waters (who got some excellent photos) and fellow Albury SP surveyor John Austin who'd been and connected and, heading back myself this evening, I was pleased to see so many familiar and new faces. Sadly by the time I got back to the pool the birds had gone back into hiding in the vegetation and a few visiting birders left without seeing them. I'll be back to check first thing in the morning but with a clear night ahead I suspect they may move on. Still, a fantastic bird to find locally and what a way to ring up my 80th* patch species of the year!
Photo: Richard Waters
Photo: Richard Waters
* Whoops, actually my 81st - completely forgot to add Redpoll after my skywatch on the 17th!
7th March
Fairly standard fare from this evening's patch visit, though most notable was the presence of a vocal pair of Stonechats in St Catherine's Meadow, the male even uttering a few phrases of song at dusk; not something I've heard on patch before. My discovery last June of a very young juvenile had led Steve Chastell to suggest they may have bred very locally - perhaps they are looking to do so again.
9th March
Another after work patch visit at the end of one of the first truly warm days of the year so far (top temperature 19c) and arrived to find the meadows still ringing with bird song. A flock of c.200 Common Gulls flew north together in a tight flock; one of my largest counts of this species here. A Carrion Crow was carrying nesting material to one of the 'Little Owl Oaks' in St Catherine's Meadow. On St Catherine's Pool there were the usual pair of Gadwall, 3 Little Grebes and 4 Coots. 50+ Linnets flew into roost in Broom Meadow; a record count for this species here.
11th March
A late afternoon visit with my girlfriend produced the first singing Chiffchaff of the year in Mill Meadow Meadow, along with a pair of Gadwall in the same area. St Catherine's Pool held a pair of Gadwall, 2 Grey Herons, 4 Teal and 3 Little Grebes.
12th March
WeBS day and first stop was Winkworth Arboretum with Ed Stubbs. Rowe's Flashe Lake held 11 Tufted Ducks (highest count so far here this year), 2 Little Grebes, 3 Mandarin Ducks and a Bar-headed Goose (!) while a Water Rail squealed as we crossed the Phillimore Wetland boardwalk. At least 3 Chiffchaffs were singing while near the boathouse we heard a Firecrest.
Next it was on to Shalford for my most thorough exploration of the patch for a couple of weeks which produced a year tick and a patch lifer for me.
After finding little on the outflow stream from Broadford Marsh I headed past Horse Field along the Railway Line Walk. There were the usual scattering of Pheasants in the field but one instantly jumped out as being different - a Red-legged Partridge! My first ever on the patch and only the third documented record here (previous records in 2004 and 2007). Hardly a surprise given the amount of shooting estates around here but a nice addition to the year list nonetheless. Typically for this species it sprinted off and disappeared into the bushes before I could even reach for my camera.
Moving down the river to the St Catherine's area I found my second year tick of the morning: a drake Tufted Duck (79) on St Catherine's Pool. Not a particularly regular sight here given the rather unsuitable habitat. Just the previous day the Leith Hill guys and I had been chatting about this species' migratory habits and, as I mentioned earlier, Ed and I had noted a clear increase in numbers at Winkworth earlier in the day. Clearly some movement of this species had occurred overnight.
Away from the water birds the highlights of this morning's visit were two singing Chiffchaffs and at least six singing Reed Buntings.
Tufted Duck
Gadwall
14th March
The first pre-work sky watch of the year from St Catherine's Hill and the first one I've done in co-ordination with Ed who was positioned a few miles south on his Allden's Hill watchpoint.
As we exchanged texts throughout the session it initially seemed like there was little correlation between what we were both seeing - '22 Black-headed Gulls south'.... '0 BHGs!' - but gradually things started to fall into place as I picked up the trickle of Meadow Pipits Ed had reported heading my way, followed by a heard-only Redpoll (Ed had five north a little while earlier) and most notably a full adult monster of a Great Black-backed Gull which cruised over my watchpoint around 14 minutes after Ed saw it flying north over Thorncombe Park.
Full totals as follows (in order of appearance):
Little Egret - 1 north but likely only local movement
Chiffchaff - 2 singing by watch point
Canada Goose - 9 east
Herring Gull - c60 north/2 south
Pied Wagtail - 1 south
Black-headed Gull - 88 south/4 north
Starling - 20 high north-east/6 east
Grey Heron - 1 north
Cormorant - 1 south
Greylag Goose - 1 south/2 west
Common Gull - 4 south
Egyptian Goose - 1 south-west
Meadow Pipit - 1 south/6 north
Redwing - 3 north-west
Lesser Black-backed Gull - 2 north
Gadwall - 1 drake flew past low with Mallards
Great Black-backed Gull - 1 north
Redpoll - heard going north
Mute Swan - 1 immature north
Greylag Goose
Lesser Black-backed Gulls
Herring Gulls
Grey Heron
16th March
Ed and I had planned another co-ordinated sky watch this morning but, after waking up to pretty thick fog, I decided instead to just do a little pre-work circuit of the mid-patch (Broadford-St Catherine's). There were now at least half a dozen Chiffchaffs singing and a similar number of Reed Buntings. The winter species are still hanging on though with at least a dozen each of Teal and Redwing still around this morning. A pair of Cormorants on the navigation at St Catherine's Lock was quite an unusual sight, this species usually seen either perched in trees or flying over in this area, while the regular pair of Gadwall were still on St Catherine's Pool.
In other local birding news, I saw my first Sand Martins of the year today, with four flying west along the Tillingbourne seen from the hill behind my house in Chilworth. The fields in this area were still holding a scattering of Redwings as of this morning also. I'm seeing Red Kites all over the place at the moment, with at least three over the Clandon Downs this afternoon then four together low over the rooftops of Chilworth. Marsh Tits and Skylarks were singing on the Downs despite the brisk westerly wind.
Fingers crossed migrants will really start arriving in numbers in the next couple of weeks, although looking at the forecast for this coming week doesn't exactly fill me with optimism!
After finding Surrey's first Wheatear of 2017 at my work in West Clandon yesterday and with a dry day with a light south-easterly forecast I was optimistic for my second tower watch of the season this morning.
Unfortunately the weather had other ideas and I and the assembled team of David Campbell, Stuart Cossey, Paul Stevenson, David Stubbs, Robin Stride and Phil Wallace were enshrouded in the familiar Leith Hill blanket of fog for much of the morning after our dawn start. Still, the conversation was flowing well and spirits remained high - occasional Redpoll, Meadow Pipit and Crossbill calls in the murk reassuring us that there were at least some birds out there somewhere!
"Guys, I think I can see a bird!" - David Stubbs scans the foggy scene
By the time the fog did eventually begin to clear late morning the occasional Mipit calls had increased to a rather more steady trickle, with a total of at least 30 birds over (some heard only so may have been more than singles) - mostly heading north - the first pronounced movement of this species here this spring. As the sun warmed both the birders and birds the local Buzzards took to the air, with at least 20 thermalling within our field of view at their peak, joined at one point by a Sparrowhawk. A Kestrel gave a fly-by, as did an eleventh hour Red Kite as we began our descent of the hill. Gulls were on the move, with a high altitude V-formation flock of 26 Black-headed Gulls going north the most notable - not a terribly common sight from the tower. A Woodlark was seen distantly over Duke's Warren while some of the guys got on a probable Hawfinch flying over this area before promptly vanishing into the trees.
The scores on the doors
A little influx of Sand Martins and Garganey inspired me to check out my Shalford patch late afternoon which unfortunately produced neither of the aforementioned, although it was good to hear the first singing Chiffchaff in Mill Mead Meadow and to see the pair of Gadwall still present on St Catherine's Pool along with three Little Grebe and four Teal.
Just the three patch visits since my previous blog post, these likely to be my last of this month as the shorter daylight hours and other commitments impinge on birding time.
13th November
A mid-morning visit with my girlfriend, primarily to carry out this month's WeBS count. I have now taken over the WeBS counting at Shalford and Broadford from Charlotte Gray in addition to the count I've been doing at Winkworth Arboretum for a couple of years.
Winkworth was exceptionally quiet this morning with just three Mandarin Ducks and a calling Water Rail of note. After a failed attempt to twitch Ed Stubbs' Red-crested Pochard at nearby Bramley Park Lake we headed for the patch. The continued lack of water meant wildfowl numbers were still disappointing with fifteen Teal at Broadford Pond the best I could muster, in addition to two at St Catherine's Pool. Away from the water birds, the highlights were a single male Stonechat. two Meadow Pipits, two Kestrels, two Grey Wagtails and one each of Kestrel and Chiffchaff.
Treecreeper
18th November
A rare week day off saw me spend a very enjoyable five hours on patch notching up a respectable 49 species in the late autumn sunshine. I started the day with a couple of hours sky watching from St Catherine's Hill which produced a scattering of Redwings, 41 Common Gulls south, 110 Herring Gulls (mostly south) and 860 Black-headed Gulls south. Small parties of Siskins passed by but most impressive was the roost flock of at least 70 which exploded from the Alders beneath the hill early morning. Another smaller flock near St Catherine's Lock contained at least two Redpoll but these were unfortunately flushed by a jogger before I could get a proper look at them.
Nuthatch
Other highlights from the morning included at least four Chiffchaffs, a pair of Stonechats at St Catherine's Lock and two Snipe which flew up from Broadford Marsh.
Raptors were represented by three Kestrels, at least one Buzzard and a Sparrowhawk which chased a Song Thrush very close past me near Ferry Lane.
25th November
Another Friday off and I was able to squeeze in a couple of hours on the patch before heading to Gloucestershire for the weekend. Again the sun shone and produced some wonderful viewing conditions for certain birds, but in other instances the strong light proved a hindrance. At around 9:30 I looked up to see an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull drifting north over Broom Meadow - my only one of the day. As I watched it another bird caught my eye much higher up, flying south. Getting bins on it I could see it was an Egret but it was still very distant and fast disappearing into the glare of the sun. The general impression was of a compact bird with short legs and rather short rounded wings. When it did re-emerge from the sun's glare it was much more distant and flying directly away from me on flicky, rather fast wingbeats. Little Egrets are of course a common sight locally in winter but I couldn't honestly say I got enough on this particular individual to entirely rule out Cattle Egret. That said, there were two Little Egrets at the Lammas Lands in Godalming later in the morning. One that got away.
One noticeable change since my previous visit was the big increase in standing water thanks to some fairly substantial rainfall in the past week. It's good to see some of the long dried-up pools rise from the ashes, as it were. Unfortunately there hasn't as yet been the hoped for increase in water birds, with just six Teal and single drakes of Shoveler and Mandarin of note. The marshy area near Dagley Lane Allotments harboured at least three Grey Wagtails. While I was checking this area a female Ring-necked Parakeet screeched north overhead - such a common sound at my workplace in West Clandon that it took me a moment to realise this was only my second record of this species at Shalford in 2016.
St Catherine's Pool - topped up but bird-less!
Other highlights from the morning included three Stonechats in St Catherine's Meadow, a Red Kite which drifted west, six Egyptian Geese north, 120 Starling west, 45+ Fieldfares north/north-east and at least 30 Redwings around.
Away from the patch I notched up my 87th garden tick in the form of a heard-only Brambling over my Chilworth garden in the fog early on the 23rd, following on shortly from a flyover Little Egret and seven Mandarins.
On the 19th I paid another visit to Albury Sandpit with fellow surveyor Dave, where we had a reasonably productive morning in beautiful crisp sunshine. Five Skylarks and at least eighteen Meadow Pipits were feeding on the ridge, favouring the sunny south side, along with a Yellowhammer and at least two Bullfinches. Plenty of gulls passed overhead including an adult Lesser Black-backed which flew north and a 3rd year Great Black-backed which flew south-east.
Another of my now regular pre-work watches from St Catherine's this morning (0645-0745) proved very productive with loads of birds moving. The cloud cover perhaps slowed down the gulls a bit which didn't get going until well after 7, with Herrings and Commons leading the charge followed by Black-headeds later. Most notable were the Bramblings and Crossbills, all moving west at some altitude, the former often mixed in with flocks of Redpoll and Chaffinch.
Pied/alba Wagtail - 15 south
Mallard - 15 north
Redwing - 6 north/21 south/15 west-northwest
Chaffinch - 5 south/2 east/9+ west
Common Gull - 30+ south
Black-headed Gull - 520 south
Fieldfare - 44 north/11 west/6 south
Siskin - 5 east only ones seen but heard almost constantly throughout
What with the dwindling daylight hours and a week away chasing rarities on Shetland the patch has been somewhat neglected recently although I've still managed a dozen or so visits since the last one of these diary/round-up posts, including several migration watches from St Catherine's Hill, but more on that later.
The most notable thing about Shalford Water Meadows at the moment is the distinct lack of water. It's hard to believe we're over a week into November when this muddy puddle represents one of the largest areas of standing water on the patch.
St Catherine's Pool, in need of a top-up!
Still, there's enough water left for a few wildfowl, with Teal numbers peaking so far at 16 on the 18th. I've seen the odd Snipe recently but clearly the habitat is not nearly wet enough at present for good numbers. Lapwing have proved to be just a flyover species for me so far at Shalford, usually in small numbers, so I was glad when Sean Foote picked up 26 flying over distantly on 8th October during a little pre-Shetland walk; by far my highest count of this species locally. On 6th November a Green Sandpiper flew high over Broadford Marsh mid-morning heading south-west and seemingly dropped down somewhere on the patch, although I lost the bird in the glare of the sun and couldn't relocate it. It was also good to see the first returning Little Egret of this winter on the same morning, when one flew up from the marsh and disappeared over the trees to the north.
The first patch year tick since August came on 29th October when I heard the unmistakable call of Crossbill from/over Shalford Park, but the combination of wind and road noise from the A281 made it impossible to locate the bird(s). Stonechats are again a regular feature with three present on 30th October and 5th November, while Siskin numbers are building, with at least 50 around on the 29th.
Stonechat (male)
Stonechat (male)
Stonechat (female)
Redpoll numbers still seem low, with just single figures seen so far this autumn, the first being one west over St Catherine's Hill on 5th October. The same migration watch session also produced the first Redwings of the season with at least 8 over while bigger numbers arrived a few days later, with at least 60 over on the 8th. The first Fieldfares, meanwhile, were two flying north on 29th October, again with larger numbers arriving a week or so later when at least 35 flew over on 8th November. Decent numbers of Chaffinches have been moving recently too, with a couple of dozen over on the 8th bringing with them at least one Brambling which was heard only so I couldn't confirm numbers.
Despite a bumper autumn for Yellow-browed Warblers in Surrey and the UK as a whole, many a hopeful trawl through the tit flocks on the patch has yet to deliver the goods, but there have been plenty of Chiffchaffs, with at least 5 present on 5th November, seemingly all just regular collybitas although presumably of more northern origin this late in the year.
Chiffchaff
Going back to the St Catherine's Hill migration watches, and I'd hoped that my newly-found patch vantage point would provide some Woodpigeon magic in the past week or so. 690 south-west in an hour on the 2nd was a decent count but it seems like maybe they just haven't got going in massive numbers yet this autumn, at least not in Surrey anyway. Black-headed Gulls on the other hand have been streaming over in recent days, with 1035 south (and 1 north!) in 50 minutes early on the 8th interspersed with smaller numbers of Herrings, Commons and Lesser Black-backeds. These are presumably birds coming out of roost from the reservoirs nearer London and following the Wey down to feeding grounds on the fields around here. Still, quite a spectacle and I'm hoping there may be a rarer gull in tow with them at some point.
St Catherine's Hill, early morning
Away from the patch and there's been a few local bits of note recently. My Chilworth garden list got an unexpected addition on the 30th when a Great White Egret flew east at dusk, followed closely by a Little Egret for comparison. I had just earlier the same day been pondering the lack of local Little Egrets so far this winter! Unfortunately a last light scan of the ponds in Albury - a favourite roosting spot for Little Egrets - produced nothing although I did note Mandarin Duck numbers are again increasing on Postford Pond with 45 present. I also heard a Firecrest calling by Waterloo Pond on the 29th. The garden excitement didn't stop with the GWE as the following morning there was a Ring Ouzel in with the Redwings in the big holly and hawthorn hedge behind our house. My garden list now stands on 86 after 26 months.
Popular beauty spot Newlands Corner is on my route to work so I've been popping in occasionally of late, particularly towards the end of October when I was hoping to find a Ring Ouzel or two lurking in the Whitebeams and Rowans. Sadly no joy but I did have a decent morning on the 20th with 2 Redpoll, 2 Brambling and a Crossbill over and at least 70 Redwings around.
On 5th November I visited the old sandpit and now filled-in landfill site in Albury to carry out the first of many bird surveys at the request of the management company Suez. Fellow surveyors John, Dave and I had a decent couple of hours on site, with two Ravens the most notable species, although it was also good to see at least 4 Skylarks, 20 Meadow Pipits and a modest flock of Linnets using the site, currently best described as a scrubby, grassy hill. Over time we hope to build up a better picture of what birds are using the site and offer advice as to how best proceed with the habitat restoration.
Looking west along the hill in Albury Sandpit
The view north from the sandpit towards the North Downs
Any regular readers of this blog will know I mainly post updates of my local birding around Shalford Water Meadows along with occasional forays to Leith Hill and elsewhere in Surrey and the south of England. Well, I've just recently been on a fantastic birding trip rather further north, or 771 miles north to be more precise, to Shetland, and I thought it only fitting I do a little trip report on here. This is just my own perspective on an incredible week, for the full trip list and her own take on the trip see Amy's blog or watch Sean's great videos here and here.
9th October
Our epic journey began at 5am when Sean Foote, Amy Robjohns, Ed Stubbs and I set off from my house in Chilworth. We'd all been eagerly following the bird news from Shetland in the run up to our trip and on the drive up we excitedly discussed some of the species we might see. It was worth the early start as the Sunday morning traffic was favourable and we made good time, arriving in Aberdeen a little after lunchtime, giving us over an hour before we needed to check in for our ferry.
Aberdeen Harbour
We headed to Girdle Ness on the southern side of the harbour where Sean and Amy almost immediately caught sight of a large cetacean as we got out of the car. The animal in question revealed itself a couple more times, enough to confirm its identity as the Humpback Whale that had been lingering in the area for a while. A first for all four of us in UK waters, and what a start to the holiday! We also enjoyed good views of Harbour Porpoise here and brief views of Bottlenose Dolphin further out. A scan of the allotments and vegetation near the harbour produced a few Chiffchaff and Goldcrest while out on the water there were a couple of Goosander plus a nice selection of common waders on the shoreline.
As we strolled leisurely back to the car the news broke of the Siberian Accentor on Shetland Mainland. That ferry couldn't go quick enough. The crossing was remarkably calm and we had enough daylight for an hour or so's birding from the top deck. Guillemots and Razorbills were all over the place, often sitting on the sea until the last moment when the ship passed right by them. Gannets were equally numerous, as were Kittiwakes, and we also had fly-pasts from Manx Shearwater, Puffin and two Great Skuas, the latter typically terrorising the gulls. As the sun set we watched as huge skeins of geese, presumably Pink-footed, flew across Aberdeenshire in the distance.
Gannet
10th October
We awoke to similarly calm and fine weather as we approached Lerwick and, after racking up a few early Shetland ticks from the upper deck of the ferry including Black Guillemot, Hooded Crow and Kittiwake, we hit the A970 with only one bird in our sights. Sean expertly navigated us to the quarry near Scousburgh where, less than half an hour after making shore, we were watching the first recorded Siberian Accentor on British soil. Madness!
The bird put on a great show, seemingly utterly oblivious as a constant stream of taxis and hire cars brought ever more birders from the airport to gather around the edges of this remote little quarry.
After we'd all had our fill of the Accentor we decided to check out our accommodation for the week: Braeview in Papil, West Burra. Not an area of Shetland many birders venture to, it seems, but it turned out to be a fantastic choice by Amy as the first half hour or so of birding from the cottage garden yielded Richard's Pipit and the first of many Yellow-browed Warbler we'd see during the week, the former lingering in the area for several days.
Braeview, our home for the week
Exploring what would become our own little local patch away from home for the week we stopped by a promisingly well-vegetated garden just a few houses down from our cottage. One of the first birds to appear from the undergrowth was a Bluethroat! 'Can this place get any better?' I thought to myself.
After stocking up on a few essentials for the week in Lerwick we headed to nearby Scalloway to catch up with the juvenile Rose-coloured Starling which showed very well in gardens although never quite well enough for me to get a photo! From there we headed back down the A970 to see the Buff-breasted Sandpiper that had been reported in fields by the roadside. It duly showed very well among the Golden Plover and Mipits, along with our first Wheatear of the trip.
Buff-breasted Sandpiper
Next stop was Hillwell where an Ortolan Bunting had been reported, but before we could even get out of the car Amy's pager went off: Black-faced Bunting on Bressay! Without hesitation we headed straight back to Lerwick and onto the next ferry which appeared to be almost exclusively occupied by birders, and we disembarked in a convoy of vehicles all headed for the farm at Gunnista where the bird had been reported. There were already lots of birders present and right from the start it was clear this was going to be a harder twitch than the day's run of luck thus far had led us to expect. Eventually, after much to-ing and fro-ing the bird was flushed from near a manure heap and gave brief flight views, thankfully just in time as the light was fading. What an amazing first day on Shetland!
11th October
Another beautiful morning and, as would become our daily routine, we headed out for a quick post-breakfast look around Papil which produced a single Yellow-browed Warbler, four Brambling, two flyover Whooper Swans plus the friendly local Richard's Pipit again. As we tried to pin the Richard's down we flushed another Pipit a couple of times with a distinctive 'spizz!' flight call. After listening to some recordings we realised it was surely an Olive-backed Pipit! We unfortunately didn't get more than brief flight views to confirm the ID 100% but thankfully we enjoyed superb views of another individual later in the week. It was a bit of a day of frustrations as we also had just brief views of an Otter out in the voe at Papil plus a probable Eastern Yellow Wagtail over the village later in the day.
A view across Papil
Based on pager reports of Red-flanked Bluetail and two Little Buntings we decided to make Dale of Walls our first destination of the day. En route we added new species to the trip list in the form of four Scaup on a loch by the Bridge of Walls and a Short-eared Owl which almost flew right over my car a little further down the road! At Dale of Walls itself we quickly connected with the two Little Buntings by the farm buildings but unfortunately couldn't find the reported Bluetail along the track to the beach, although it was nice to get our first raptor of the trip - a Kestrel.
Back at the farm a couple of other birders tipped us off about a Red-breasted Flycatcher at a plantation just up the road so we headed straight there and easily found the bird among the Chiffchaffs, Goldcrests and Robins. I was consistently amazed during our trip how many birds one area of bushes or trees harboured; clearly the ratio of birds to vegetation is heavily weighted in birders' favour!
Red-breasted Flycatcher - rubbish at Hide and Seek
In the afternoon we headed south again back to the Hillwell area to try and catch up with the Ortolan Bunting but also the Short-toed Lark which had been seen earlier in the day. We soon caught up with the Ortolan at nearby Brake, along with a couple of Yellow-browed Warblers but unfortunately the Lark was nowhere to be seen.
Ortolan Bunting
12th October
Just a quick look round the Papil 'patch' this morning as we had a busy day ahead, and one that would only get busier! The Richard's Pipit was still present in the field immediately adjacent to our cottage and as we headed down the road a Bonxie flew over. Down at 'Sean's Shrubbery' (the name given by one of the locals to the most densely vegetated garden in the village, and which of course stuck for the rest of the week) we found another four Brambling but not a great deal else so we hit the road. En route I had to chuckle at the thought of Dick's Pipit, Bonxie and Brambling being a quiet patch day anywhere other than Shetland!
Richard's Pipit
First stop of the day was Hoswick where we dipped Red-flanked Bluetail for the second time. Undeterred, we headed south to check out the Loch of Spiggie which we found to be chock-full of waterbirds including several new species for the trip list: two Slavonian Grebe, Little Grebe, Common Scoter, Goldeneye and three Long-tailed Ducks plus a Scaup and plenty of Whooper Swans. Wandering across the dunes to the beach we also added Great Northern Diver to the trip list with four very fine summer plumage individuals on the sea here.
My homage to Amy's classic 'red arrow' record shots
Whooper Swan and Goldeneye, Loch of Spiggie
The beach at Spiggie
We then headed down to the Pool of Virkie near Sumburgh Airport, hoping to add some more waders to our trip list. Sure enough, we found plenty of Dunlin, Ringed Plover, a few Bar-tailed Godwits plus a group of Shelduck. A call overhead caught our attention and we looked up to see a Wagtail flying north, sounding very much like the bird we'd had over Papil the day before - presumably theprobable Eastern Yellow Wagtail reported in a field just up the road a little while later.
Our first visit to Sumburgh Head of the week was a fairly brief affair - just long enough to enjoy a bit of lunch and very close views of Fulmars on the cliffs and tired Goldcrests looking very out of place foraging among the grass and buildings.
Fulmar
Before long news came through of an Arctic Warbler up on Unst. It was already early afternoon at this point so we knew we had to act fast. A couple of hours and a couple of ferry rides later though and we were in Baltasound and, after initially parking up at the wrong location, we soon joined a small crowd of birders in a walled garden behind the health centre enjoying superb views of the Arctic Warbler in perfect light.
Arctic Warbler, Baltasound
We decided to make use of the remaining daylight and headed right up to Skaw, the most northerly settlement in Britain, to look for the reported Waxwing. No joy but we did add Merlin to the trip list.
Chiffchaff and Wheatear, Skaw
Our last stop on Unst was Clingera near the old airport where a Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll had been reported. Unfortunately we dipped this bird as well but did see yet another YBW plus our first and only Lesser Whitethroat of the week.
Clingera, Unst
13th October
We awoke today to rather more the kind of weather we'd expected from Shetland - grey and drizzly with a brisk south-easterly wind. While we waited for news on what the weather had brought down with it we decided to head to the Loch of Hillwell following reports of a Pallid Harrier showing well there the previous evening - a lifer for Amy and I. In fact, after trying unsuccessfully to see the species in Sussex, Essex and Surrey in the past, I think it would be fair to say it's my most-dipped bird! Sadly this morning's vigil in the cold wind would prove equally fruitless although Ed managed to jam a sneaky glimpse of it from a different angle, but sadly it never showed for the rest of us.
Undeterred, we made our way back down towards Sumburgh to explore this area a bit more. A walk along the shoreline at Grutness saw us add Pink-footed Goose to the Shetland list with one individual looking rather lost in a field here - surprisingly the only one we saw on Shetland all week. Out on the sea there were plenty of Black Guillemots, a few Goldeneye and a Red-throated Diver.
Pink-footed Goose
Rock Pipit
Walking back to the car Amy's pager sounded again - Pallas's Warbler at South Collafirth! An hour or so later and we were enjoying lovely views of the bird which was associating with at least three YBWs in a little plantation, although always rather too mobile and distant for photos. Here we also added Chaffinch to the trip list; surprisingly one of only a handful we would see all week.
Heading south again Sean suggested we have a look at some plantations in the Weisdale area which had caught his eye on the OS maps he'd bought on the ferry. Parking up at Kergord we were amazed to see actual fully-grown trees. Surely there had to be some goodies lurking in here?!
Kergord. Photo: Amy Robjohns
The first new bird for the trip here was a Grey Wagtail lurking in the garden of the main house, while the various other plantations in the locality were teeming with thrushes, a Brambling and at least three Yellow-broweds including a very dull-looking one which we unfortunately never heard call - possible Hume's? This place looked really good and we vowed to revisit.
With a couple of hours of daylight remaining we voted to head back to Hillwell to try and see the Pallid before it flew to roost. As we pulled up on the sharp bend at Ringasta overlooking the Loch of Hillwell we found the wind still howling. It didn't look overly promising. Ed and I stayed put while Sean and Amy drove a little further down the road to get a different vantage point. After a few minutes Ed drew my attention to something nearby - a small, dusky bird scuttling around on the fence in a way we'd seen several Chiffchaffs do during the week, but it was clear this was no Chiff. It flicked its tail and revealed white underneath. RB Fly? It just didn't look right. We called Sean and Amy back over but by the time they arrived the bird had vanished. Luckily, Ed got some record shots and as various other birders passed and asked about the Pallid we showed them. All seemed a little puzzled but one group in particular seemed very interested and joined us trying to relocate the bird. Before last light we managed a few more fleeting glimpses and some of the guys got some more photos which they subsequently told Ed 'supported Taiga Flycatcher ID'. Wow. Stuff the Pallid Harrier, that really would be a mega! We spent the evening pondering over field guides and ID videos. The general consensus from all who've seen the pics seems to be Taiga so we shall have to wait and see if the evidence is enough to convince BBRC.
Flycatcher sp (probable Taiga), Ringasta. Photo: Ed Stubbs
14th October
As usual we hit our Papil patch again first thing which proved productive as a few Kittiwakes feeding out in the voe were a patch tick while a Hawfinch which Sean picked up flying low over the rooftops was a new species for the trip!
Hooded Crow
Our first stop today was a return visit to the Weisdale/Kergord area to check those plantations again. The wind had really got up now so we figured birds could well be sheltering inside. We started in the southernmost plantation which was clearly teeming with birds again. Lots of Chiffchaffs were flitting about including some Siberian types. Sean and Amy went into the plantation while Ed and I kept watch from the outside. After a few minutes Sean shouted something from inside: 'Arctic Warbler!' Ed and I dived over the fence but unfortunately the bird wasn't seen again. Amazing though that we'd driven all the way up to Unst to see one the day before, possibly even the same bird. That's birding! The other plantations were rather quiet aside from another Hawfinch, a single YBW and a mixed flock of Brambling and Redpoll, the latter a rather frustrating one for us as we knew Mealy, Arctic and Hornemann's Arctic had all been seen on Shetland recently, but all we got all week were flyovers and fleeting glimpses!
From here we headed back down to Ringasta to have a look for 'our' Flycatcher. No sign although we did see another Merlin and also added Lesser Black-backed Gull to the trip list. It later transpired that several birders including Hugh Harrop had been present at first light but had also had no joy locating the probable Taiga Fly. Heading further down the A970 we decided to check out a beach between the airport and the hotel. Right away we saw a group of Long-tailed Ducks flying around close in. Our first Barnacle Geese of the week came in off the sea while another Great Northern Diver was out on the sea. Sean and Ed briefly thought they'd heard Long-tailed Tit as we approached a garden near the end of the beach but quickly dismissed it. Clearly they weren't imagining it though as a little while later news of two Northern Long-tailed Tits in the exact same area came through on the pager!
Barnacle Geese
Beach at Scatness
Heading back up the road to Quendale we paused to take in the impressive sight of over a hundred Brambling on the fence by the roadside before continuing down to the mill where a Lapland Bunting had been reported. We found a group of birders down here all hastily heading for their vehicles who informed us of a Pied Wheatear at Scatness. Back in the car and a short while later we were enjoying great views of the bird which was remarkably confiding as it hopped to and from the sea wall, occasionally to within a few metres of us.
Pied Wheatear
Brambling
As we watched the Wheatear, more Barnacle Geese came in off the sea while close in I noticed a female Common Scoter. A little later on a scour of the rocks on the beach yielded a single Purple Sandpiper. We tried Quendale again for the Lapland but without any luck so decided to try Loch of Spiggie at dusk as we'd heard the Pallid Harrier sometimes roosts there. Surprise surprise, no luck, although we did find our only Coot of the whole trip - silver linings and all that!
Whooper Swans at Spiggie
15th October
Our final day on Shetland and the weather had by now deteriorated considerably since the start of the week. A quick last look around our patch produced the usual suspects again plus a trip tick Ring Ouzel in Sean's Shrubbery and at least three Kittiwakes over the voe.
Raven
Weisdale was calling us again so we headed up there for a final rummage through the plantations, the first couple of which yielded little of note on the inside but Sean and Ed picked up first a Sparrowhawk circling a little way off, closely followed by a Peregrine which was hounding the local Starlings. The third plantation always looked the most promising when we first 'discovered' this area earlier in the week. Today it produced first a Hawfinch which flew off towards another plantation and then a Pipit which appeared in a tree right on the edge in front of where Ed and I were stood. One of those moments in birding where you mentally flick through all the pages of all the field guides you've ever read. 'I think that's an OBP', I said, or words to that effect. The bird then led us a merry dance for a couple of minutes, darting from bush to bush, from cover to full view, eventually showing very well for Sean and Amy who were in the middle of the plantation. Our second self-found OBP of the week, and nice to get some decent views of one at last.
Olive-backed Pipit, Weisdale. Photo: Amy Robjohns
We were checking out the trees and garden by the main house at Kergord when another birder informed us of a Dusky Warbler down at Quendale. As we deliberated whether to go for it news came through of a Siberian Stonechat down at Toab near Sumburgh so we decided to go for that instead, only to find that, not for the first time, the directions were not terribly clear. Frustrating, although Sean did find a Lapland Bunting which was a nice consolation!
At this point we were wondering what to do with our last couple of hours on Shetland when the pager beeped again - Red-flanked Bluetail at Kergord. We'd just been there this morning! A bird we'd dipped a couple of times already this week - we had to end on a high, didn't we? We arrived back on familiar territory to find a number of birders present, mixed in with some rather confused-looking locals/non-birding tourists wondering what was going on. Evidently the bird had been seen near the big house but then disappeared into the largest plantation. It was raining steadily now and we were glad of the cover beneath the trees, although the light was pretty shocking. After a while the bird did show, on a brash pile next to a Robin for comparison, although hardly what you'd call crippling views. Still, a very welcome addition to mine and others' life lists and a pretty decent way to end a brilliant week!
16th October
After a very uncomfortable twelve hour return ferry - I did joke we'd used up all our luck with the mill pond conditions on the outward journey! - we docked in Aberdeen at 7am and headed for home. Not a huge amount to report from the drive home really aside from a drake Goosander low over the car as we drove through Aberdeen and good numbers of Pink-footed Geese from the motorway (so that's where they all were!) but to be honest not much could top the seven days' birding we'd just had. A fantastic, memory-filled trip - thanks Sean, Ed and Amy for the company and Shetland for the birds and the scenery. I cannot wait to go back.
