Shetland Mainland - 8th October

What a difference in a day after yesterdays almost un-birdable conditions, the wind had dropped there were just occasional showers and all in-all it was pleasant to be out. I started by heading to Lunna to try and see the Melodius Warbler that I had dipped few days ago, I thought that, if the bird was still around it wouldn't take too long to see. Arriving at 08:30, four hours later I had achieved a fairly brief view in the Sycamore hedgerow west of Lunna Kirk and a distant view in the hedgerow to the north of Lunna House. I headed back to the car for a snack determined to get a decent view before I left, in the car park I bumped into some people, not birders, who asked 'do you know anything about birds? we just saw this bright yellow little bird hoping around on the ground in the Kirk and then it went into the tree over there'! Oh dear, I was about five minutes late. I had a snack at the car and cursed my luck. Just then a lady birdwatcher who had been watching the garden of Lunna House began waving from the skyline and I legged it up a very steep hill to eventually get decent views of the bird as it fed in Willows, Sycamore and Fuchias. Good views in the bins but a little distant for the camera, still record shots and good memories.

Melodius Warbler - Lunna, Mainland Shetland

Melodius Warbler - Lunna, Mainland Shetland

Ominous storm approaching - Lunna, Mainland Shetland

Rock Dove with a dodgy bird watering down the genes of the 

pure birds - Lunna, Mainland Shetland

I had spent some time birding Lunna and had seen little, 15 Wigeon, five Snipe, a fly-over Red-throated Diver, two Wheatear and lots of Rock Dove including a worrying number of impure birds. As I headed off I birded a few of the gardens and Voes that line the road to Lunna but saw little. But, this is a beautiful part of Shetland and I enjoyed the simple fact of being there. I pulled into a lay-by over looking Laxo Voe, across the Voe there were a handful of Wigeon, Redshank and Ringed Plover. Hooded Crows were calling aggravated behind me and I turned to see them mobbing a large white, Buzzard sized falcon - a white phase Gyr Falcon. Bloody hell! Grab camera from car take some shots. I then watched the bird as it flew north-east. My mind then had flash backs, some birders I had met the other day had seen a Gyr with jesses and zooming into my images this was clearly the same bird - bells and all, an escaped falconers bird. A quick search on the internet indicated that such a bird may sell for in the region of £10,000, someone must be very unhappy that they had lost their bird.

Escaped Gyr Falcon - Laxo, Mainland Shetland

I then headed to Lerwick, grabbed a coffee and decided to bird the Seafield area of Lerwick. The foreshore produced a Purple Sandpiper and lots of Starling, Rock Pipit, Turnstone, Herring Gull and Great Black-backed Gull but the bushes produced nothing. I headed to Fladdabista for the last hour or so birding, it was deadly quite, two Redwing were the only birds worthy of note and a Minke Whale passing south fairly close to shore added some interest. At 17:30 the light was fading and the birding provided diminishing returns so I headed back to my hotel.

Adult Great Black-backed Gull - Lerwick, Mainland Shetland

1st winter Herring Gull - Lerwick, Mainland Shetland

2nd winter Herring Gull - Lerwick, Mainland Shetland

3rd winter Herring Gull - Lerwick, Mainland Shetland

Purple Sandpiper - Lerwick, Mainland Shetland

Rock Pipit - Lerwick, Mainland Shetland

Shetland Mainland and Unst - 6th October

The forecast was for a relatively calm and sunny day so enthusiasm levels were high and I planned to spent the day birding along the west coast from Lerwick down to Sumburgh, going to wherever my whims took me. I was at Fladderbista by 07:30 with high hopes, wandering around the village and the ruins, I saw a pair of North-western (rostrata) type Common Redpoll, a single Icelandic Redwing but virtually nothing else, it was deadly quiet. I then headed to Leebitten and birded the fields, crofts and gardens, still with optimism but after an hour I had seen no migrants and the only birds of any note being a flock of 120 Golden Plover. So, although my mind was switched on to finding something decent I doubted the day could deliver and so I had decided to head to Lerwick where two Yellow-browed Warbler had been showing alongside Loch of Clickimin, grab some supplies and then head back to Lunna where the Melodius Warbler that I had dipped a couple of days ago and a Barred warbler were present and then to bird in the northern area of the island.

Fladderbista, Mainland Shetland

Rock Dove - Fladderbista, Mainland Shetland

Rock Dove - Fladderbista, Mainland Shetland

Shetland Pony - Fladderbista, Mainland Shetland

Rock Pipit - Leebitten, Mainland Shetland

I arrived at Westerloch Drive on the west shore of  Loch of Clickimin and wandered along the road to the path around the loch edge scanning the birches where the Yellow-browed Warbler had been recorded. It was not long before I heard the distinctive, high pitched 'swee-wee' of a Yellow-browed Warbler and soon got onto the bird which was showing well feeding in birch trees. As I watched it other Yellow-browed's could be heard and there were at least two other birds from separate areas of the path calling. These are such amazing little birds and whenever I see one I marvel at the distances they must have travelled to get to the United Kingdom particularly this year when the winds have been dominated by westerlies. Having had decent views I decided to head to Tesco and get some supplies for the afternoon birding in the north but when I got back to the car news had broken of a Pechora Pipit on Unst. This bird had first been seen on 3rd October for around an hour before flying south-west not to be seen again until now. And so, I decided to head north and make my decision of Lunna or Unst at the Lunna turning. By the time I got to the Lunna turning the news was that the bird was showing and the decision was made, toe down and head north to the ferry.

Yellow-browed Warbler - Loch of Clickimin, Mainland Shetland

Yellow-browed Warbler - Loch of Clickimin, Mainland Shetland

Yellow-browed Warbler - Loch of Clickimin, Mainland Shetland

I arrived at the ferry terminal at Toft at around 12:15 to see that the next ferry was at 13:55, I contemplated whether this was a good idea, should I be birding or sitting waiting for a ferry? I chatted to other birders queued for the ferry and eventually news came through that the pipit was showing on and off and faithful to a small area. I couldn't resist, I have seen two Pechora Pipit before and both were fly-over migrating birds during at Nanhui, China this spring. The ferry arrived and the 20 minute crossing to Ulsta on Yell passed by slowly. On Yell, at high speed we drove the 17 miles across the island to Gutcher, we arrived at the ferry and waited for 10 minutes before boarding the 10 minute crossing to Belmont on Unst. Another high speed drive of 20 minutes or so we arrived at Haroldswick and quickly saw around 15 birders clearly watching or looking for the pipit. Now, I don't run for birds in the UK as most of them I have seen many times before, but for this I struck up a jog. It wasn't long before I saw the Pechora Pipit in flight, the rich dark tones, wing bars and pale mantle tramlines being evident. Over the next couple of hours I had numerous flight views and eventually got fairly fleeting views as the bird disappeared into dense cover. It was amazing how the bird frequented the densest tussocks of grass within its chosen field and largely it would land and perch briefly after flying only to disappear into the densest of grass tussocks not to be seen again. Towards 17:00 it tended to perch in the open more, seemingly coming into the open to catch the last rays of sun of the day and at one point, after it landed in deep grassland in a garden, it flew and perched on a barbed wire fence momentarily when all its plumage intricacies could be seen. I was happy with my views but would like a photo so I decided I would give it until 17:15 before calling it a day, in the last 10 minutes or so it perched atop a wall for around 10 seconds and I fired off half a dozen shots, I had obtained a slightly fuzzy shot that would remind me of the bird and the event.

Ferry to Unst from Yell

This is the site at Haroldswick, Unst that the Pechora Pipit favoured

Pechora Pipit - Haroldswick, Unst

I raced back across the island with the guys that I had met arriving at the Unst ferry at 17:25 to find that the next ferry of the island was at 17:55. Then a dash across Yell to the 18:30 ferry to mainland. I was back in the Lerwick Hotel by 19:30 pleased with the day and the decision to head to Unst.