Shetland Mainland and Bressay - 7th October

Christ, it was a foul day to day. It started off windy and got more windy and wet as the day progressed. It was not a day for searching bushes for rare warblers and so I decided to head out for bigger stuff that could be seen from the car and from relative shelter. So I decided to start the day heading inland, partly to see what the weather held in store, and partly for an island tick, Red Grouse. So heading for I site I had been given I drove west along the A971 past Tingwall Airport and then north-east at Haggersta towards Stromfirth. Just before Stromfirth there is a heather covered peak where the heather 'spills' down slope and across the road to Loch of Strom. This was the spot for the grouse. I drove back and forth between a couple of lay-bys and was just about to give up when a female Red Grouse appeared in the heather just above the road. She showed well for at least 15 minutes in the blasting wind and rain feeding on heather buds before disappearing. On the Loch of Strom there was little but for two Mute Swan and eight Red-breasted Merganser.

Red Grouse - Stromfirth, Mainland Shetland

I then decided to head back to Lerwick and to board the ferry for the short crossing to Bressay. I had 45 minutes to spare before the 10:45 ferry and so headed out onto the pier at Lerwick where there were many Black Guillemot. This is a common bird in Shetland but being a southerner I don't see many and so the novelty of seeing good numbers so close persists. I spent some time watching them and taking, once again, far too many pictures in the poor light. Also here were around 30 Eider and many Kittiwake and Gannet offshore.

Black Guillemot - Lerwick, Mainland Shetland

Black Guillemot - Lerwick, Mainland Shetland

Arriving on Brassay at just before 11:00 my main goal was to find an adult American Golden Plover that had been present since 2nd October. I first drove north from the ferry terminal and saw a flock of around 30 Golden Plover in flight heading south but they didn't stop plus 15 Knot and two Bar-tailed Godwit. I reached the end of the road at Heogan and headed south once more, I drove the road east from Maryfield and then south towards the school and village shop but nothing but for a couple of Snipe. I then headed east from the store to Midgarth where I quickly come across a flock of around 75 Golden Plover, scanning through the flock I quickly came across a greyer bird with dark underparts and a distinctive flared white supercilium, this was the American Golden Plover. So I parked up, snuck along various walls, through ditches, got hammered by the rain and wind and was eventually moderately close to the bird. After taking a few snaps I watched the bird for ten minutes or so before the rain got the better of me and I retreated to the car, my camera and I were soaked.

Greylag Goose - Heogan, Brassay, Shetland

American Golden Plover - Midgarth, Brassay, Shetland

American Golden Plover - Midgarth, Brassay, Shetland

I spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon bimbling around Bressay but staying in the car with the heater on. I headed to the car park for the island of Noss and scanning across the straits and watching the hundreds of Gannet plunging into a raging sea and watching a brave Northern Wheatear battling in the elements. I explored virtually all the islands roads to their termination, there was little to be seen, two Razorbill near the light house, a few bedraggled Twite, a further 125 Golden Plover, around 150 Greylag Goose but not a lot else. I even headed back to the Citrine Wagtail but I could see around ten birders in the grounds of Gardie House who were clearly not watching the bird and in the weather conditions I thought better of it having see the bird a couple of days ago. I got the 14:00 ferry off the island and headed north on mainland for the next element of the plan for the day.

Gannet - Noss Sound, Bressay

View across to the island of Noss from Bressay

Adult Common Gull - Bressay, Shetland

First-winter Common Gull - Bressay, Shetland

Knot - Bressay, Shetland

Golden Plover - Bressay, Shetland

I drove north along the A970, the car buffeted by the wind and turned west along the B9076 to Sullom Voe. What contrast to Bressay, a landscape dominated by the oil terminal and its associated infrastruture, the skyline dominated by flaring stacks, this is not a particularly attractive part of Shetland. I scanned the sweeping bay to the south of the oil terminal, stopping at various laybys and gaining shelter from the car. To the south of the terminal the road follows the bay around the head of Garths Voe and here is a wide grassy lay-by which affords a good view of the seaweed covered shoreline I parked up and began scanning. After five minutes or so I saw a movement in the water not far from the car, and there was my target a dog Otter. He had clearly seen me and was keeping a close eye on me but he fed unconcerned in the shallows catching a multitude of small fish, mainly Butterfish and the occasional crab and goby. It was great to watch this animal at close quarters. It was 16:30 and the wind was increasing, the rain getting heavier and so I decided to head back to the hotel. On Scatsta Airfield there were 75 Greylag Goose, 25 Golden Plover and 75 Lapwing but further stops as I followed the coastline to Brae produced little. After a brief stop at Tesco to stock up on supplies for tomorrow I was back at the hotel by 17:45.

Otter - Sullom Voe, Mainland Shetland

Otter - Sullom Voe, Mainland Shetland

Otter - Sullom Voe, Mainland Shetland

Pennington Marsh - 22nd August

Its been sometime since I visited Pennington Marsh and so with a survey to complete near to Christchurch I decided to make an early start and spend a couple of hours birding at the marsh. It was a grey, dull, humid day and it was remarkably still - it felt remarkably autumnal, the ripening berries emphasising this.

The morning started well, I stopped at the corner of Lower Pennington Lane for a coffee and to scan the marsh when I picked up a Barn Owl hunting of the Juncus beds, this is a scarce species at the site and one that I have only seen on a handful of occasions previously. I walked the Ancient Highway and then back east along the seawall. There were good numbers of Common Whitethroat in the bushes with around 30 seen in total. Small numbers of Reed Warbler were still 'chacking' from the reedbeds with around 15 seen. Two Lesser Whitethroat were on the Ancient Highway, one giving a scratching sub-song with an occasional rattle. Numbers of Phylloscopus were low with only five Willow Warbler recorded. There seemed to be very little visible migration underway with five Tree Pipit, a single Yellow Wagtail, a handful of Meadow Pipit, 35 Swallow, five House Martin and ten Sand Martin. There were large numbers of Starling, these presumably being locally bred birds, with one flock of around 250 birds feeding on the seawall. A single Wheatear showed well on the seawall at Keyhaven Lagoon.

Moving onto the lagoons, while it was high tide, the numbers of wader seemed low with singletons of Spotted Redshank and Greenshank, 55 Grey Plover, some in their smart summer plumage, 65 Black-tailed Godwit, 250 Lapwing, 35 Dunlin and 15 Ringed Plover. Ducks consisted of around 60 Teal and 15 Shoveler. A scan to sea produced no terns at all but the resident Eider flock showed well as they loafed on the mudflats off Butts Lagoon and drifted around in the sea - a right motley bunch of birds.

At 09:30 I headed to my survey near to Christchurch where a flyover Tree Pipit and a late Beautiful Demoiselle were the highlights.

Common Whitethroat - Ancient Highway, Pennington Marsh

Common Whitethroat - Ancient Highway, Pennington Marsh

Autumnal berries - Ancient Highway, Pennington Marsh

Hurst Castle and Lighthouse - From Pennington Marsh

Grey Plover - Keyhaven Lagoon, Pennington Marsh

Juvenile Redshank - Keyhaven Lagoon, Pennington Marsh

Shoveler - Keyhaven Lagoon, Pennington Marsh

Northern Wheatear - Keyhaven Lagoon, Pennington Marsh

Common Gull - Fishtail Lagoon, Pennington Marsh

Eider - Off Butts Lagoon, Pennington Marsh

Eider - Off Butts Lagoon, Pennington Marsh

Turnstone - Off Jetty Lagoon, Pennington Marsh

Starling - Pennington Marsh

Beautiful Demoiselle - Christchurch, Dorset

Pennington Marsh - 2nd September

A grey and windy September morning found me at Pennington Marsh once more. A quick look at Efford Lagoon produced little but for a single Common Sandpiper and 15 Swallow. I headed to Fishtail Lagoon where there were five Little Stint and three Curlew Sandpiper but otherwise it was fairly quiet. So cutting along the north side of Butts and Jetty Lagoon I headed out to the seawall where I spent some time getting fairly close views of two Wood Sandpiper, two Little Stint and a Curlew Sandpiper. Also here were 30 Black-tailed Godwit, 30 Teal, six Wigeon, two Pintail and eight Shoveler.

Wood Sandpiper - Jetty Lagoon, Pennington Marsh

Wood Sandpiper - Jetty Lagoon, Pennington Marsh

Curlew Sandpiper - Jetty Lagoon, Pennington Marsh

Curlew Sandpiper - Jetty Lagoon, Pennington Marsh

Little Stint - Jetty Lagoon, Pennington Marsh

Little Stint - Jetty Lagoon, Pennington Marsh

From the seawall at Butts Lagoon there were at least 80 Grey Plover, 20 Turnstone and 25 Ringed Plover. It was pretty cold and the strong winds made viewing difficult so I headed for Fishtail Lagoon where there was little but for a Common Sandpiper and around 35 Teal. Out to Keyhaven Lagoon a single Wheatear was the highlight. In the bushes there were few warblers, three Reed Warbler, a single Sedge Warbler and no more than five Chiffchaff. It was time to head off and it was some relief to get to the shelter of the car.

Common Sandpiper - Fishtail Lagoon, Pennington Marsh

Common Gull - Fishtail Lagoon, Pennington Marsh

Northern Wheatear- Keyhaven Lagoon, Pennington Marsh

Pennington Marsh - 29th July and 5th August

I have been suffering from local patch neglect of late and have been tied to my computer either at work or processing a silly number of images from my recent Alaska trip, so on 29th July I paid a short visit to Pennington Marsh walking out past Fishtail Lagoon to the point at Butts Lagoon and then to Keyhaven Lagoon. I only had my digiscoping kit and that, coupled with the heat haze has resulted in some pretty shitty images but it was simply nice to be out and about.

Water levels are generally pretty high but the marsh at the back of Fishtail is looking cracking. Waders are returning and on Fishtail Lagoon there were 125 Black-tailed Godwit. Also here were 30 Dunlin, six Snipe, three Common Sandpiper and six Little Ringed Plover. On the intertidal was a single Sanderling, 350 Dunlin, 30 Turnstone, four Whimbrel, 12 Grey Plover, 10 Common Tern and six Sandwich Tern.

Black-tailed Godwit - Fishtail Lagoon, Pennington Marsh

Black-tailed Godwit - Fishtail Lagoon, Pennington Marsh

Black-tailed Godwit - Fishtail Lagoon, Pennington Marsh

Black-headed Gull (juvenile), apparently they have had a very good breeding season at Keyhaven this year which is good to hear since many years the nests get flooded out during Spring Tides - Fishtail Lagoon, Pennington Marsh

Common Gull, my first of the 'winter' - Fishtail Lagoon, Pennington Marsh

Eider, an eclipse male off Butts Lagoon - Pennington Marsh

On 4th August I paid another brief visit to Pennington Marshes and walked from the end of Lower Pennington Lane out past Fishtail Lagoon to the seawall, around Butts Lagoon and back past Shoveler Pools. The tide was on the rise and there were fewer birds on the pools with most birds being on the remaining intertidal. Dunlin numbers were put to around 600 while there were at least 50 Turnstone, 20 Grey Plover, three Bar-tailed Godwit, 30 Sandwich Tern and 20 Common Tern. My first Wigeon and Pintail of the 'winter' were on Fishtail Lagoon. On Shoveler Pools there were three Little Ringed Plover, a Green Sandpiper and a Wood Sandpiper. Again, I only had my digiscoping kit so my images are a bit shite.

Wood Sandpiper - Shoveler Pools, Pennington Marsh

Green Sandpiper - Shoveler Pools, Pennington Marsh

Little Ringed Plover - Shoveler Pools, Pennington Marsh

Greater Yellowlegs at Titchfield and Pennington Marshes on 25th May

The Greater Yellowlegs that has been at Titchfield Haven on and off since 11th January has so far eluded me over the course of two visits to the site but during the course of last weekend when I was on the Isle of Wight it appeared to become a little more settled and had been showing on the river just off the coast road where mud is exposed at low tide and the Black-tailed Godwits gather to feed. So on the evening of 20th May as I passed nearby on my way between a survey and the office I popped in, the bird had been at the Suffern hide for much of the latter part of the day but when I arrived it had disappeared so I visited a number of the hides enjoying the Black-headed Gull colonies, Mediterranean Gull in full breeding swing and Avocet with about 35 of the latter present, many now with chicks. The news broke that the Greater Yellowlegs was showing from the on the Frying Pan so a quick dash around from where I was saw me enter the Knights Bank hide as the bird flew off - I had distant in flight views only.

Avocet - Nice views from Pumfrett Hide

The following morning (21st may) I had to drop Sarah off at Winchester train station and then head to Chichester for a survey so, knowing that the bird had been showing well at low tide in the morning from the coast road, I couldn't resist popping into Titchfield Haven again and as I arrived a small group of birders were staring intently at the mud and there it was, my first proper view of a Greater Yellowlegs in the UK. I enjoyed good scope views as it fed on the mud on the opposite bank of the river but my photos were poor due to the distance and the light conditions. Also here were around 100 Black-tailed Godwit which showed well close to the road. After 20 minutes the Greater Yellowlegs flew up-river and it was time for me to head-off.

Greater Yellowlegs - Distant shot of the adult from the coast road on the River Meon 

at Titchfield Haven

The bank holiday weekend had largely been a working weekend for me but I was able to pop down to Pennington Marshes on 25th May. I parked at the corner of Lower Pennington Lane and walked to the Efford Lagoon, passed the Shoveler Pools, passed Fishtail Lagoon, out to Keyhaven Lagoon and back via Butts Lagoon and Shoveler Pools. The marshes are a great place at this time of the year with breeding in full swing although it is often fairly settled with few migrants coming through. Highlights included 30 Swift over Efford Lagoon, two Little Ringed Plover at Efford Lagoon, good views of many Reed Warbler, six Dunlin in summer plumage, three Spoonbill and two Avocet on Keyhaven Lagoon, four Great Crested Grebe offshore, six Common Tern and a Wall Brown.

Oystercatcher - A pair are breeding close to the road at Lower Pennington Lane

Reed Warbler - Good numbers breed in the reed beds

Cormorant - Sequence of shots of a bird eating an eel

Spoonbill - One of three showing at a distance on Keyhaven Lagoon

Coot - Keyhaven Lagoon

Common Tern - Sequence of shots showing the male courtship feeding a female. Note the male bird has a ring on the leg, I have seen this bird (presumably the same bird) feeding a female on this same post over the last three years