Shetland - 6th October

Once again I awoke to heavy rain and a strong wind and so delayed my departure from the hotel. My first stop was at Gulberwick where a 'Hornemann's' Arctic Redpoll has been present for a couple of days. I wandered down the road and a flock of Common Redpoll flew into a nearby tree, unfortunately I did not get onto the Arctic until the birds took flight and disappeared into the adjacent gardens showing its pale plumage and white rump in flight only. I then headed south and birded the Levenwick area but it was very slow going with no birds of note seen in the strong winds and squally showers. I needed fuel so headed south to Dunrossness and then headed to Pool of Virkie but the tide was high and there were no waders present. I then decided to head to Quendale Mill where a Bluethroat had just been found alongside the long staying Siberian Stonechat. Both birds eluded me for some time but, after a very heavy squally shower in which I was caught in the open with no shelter, the Siberian Stonechat appeared and showed fairly well along a fenceline. Wandering back I then found the Bluethroat which had moved from its original location and was working a fenceline before flying into a Creeping Thistle bed in the middle of a field where there was also a Yellow-browed Warbler. 

Yellow-browed Warbler - Quendale

Siberian Stonechat - Quendale

Heading back to the car I decided to visit Ellister for second views of the Yellow-rumped Warbler. I enjoyed fantastic views of this bird as it fed on the ground from time to time and showed down to around 3m on one occasion. A fantastic bird. I then headed south to the Pool of Virkie where a range of common waders were visible on the falling tide before heading to Loch Spiggie for a female Scaup to add to the trip list. It was now 17:10 and so I decided to head north, a brief stop to try to get better views of the Arctic Redpoll at Gulberwick drew a blank and so I headed back to the hotel in Lerwick.

Yellow-rumped Warbler - Ellister, Maywick

Links to the Days eBird Checklists

Gulberwick

Quendale

Ellister

Pool of Virkie

Loch of Spiggie

Hook with Warsash Local Nature Reserve - 28th January

After a bird survey in Fareham I headed to the Hook with Warsash Local Nature Reserve to see a Yellow-browed Warbler that is overwintering at the site. The bird showed fairly well and relatively quickly as it travelled with the local Long-tailed Tit flock. I had never visited this site before and I spent a little while enjoying the small number of waders and wildfowl present on the falling tide.

My eBird checklist for the visit can be seen here.

Pennington Marsh - 6th October

On a mainly sunny morning I walked a loop from the car park at Lower Pennington Lane west to Keyhaven and then back east along the seawall. I spent a great deal of time along the Ancient Highway looking for migrants in the bushes seeing a few Chiffchaff but little else. At the plantation at the west end of the Ancient Highway I started to 'pish' and a few Chiffchaff appeared and then a fast moving dart of a bird and a Yellow-browed Warbler appeared in an Oak in front of me, the first I have found in Hampshire. I shall never tire of seeing these fantastic little long distant migrants.

Along the seawall, it was evident that there has been a large influx of Wildfowl since my last visit with large numbers of Wigeon, Pintail, Teal and Shoveler present. At Butts Lagoon four Bearded Tit appeared high from the east and dropped into the reedbeds and at Fishtail Lagoon a Spotted Redshank flew north calling. It had been a very enjoyable morning at Pennington but very subdued compared to the recent excitement of Shetland.

My eBird list for the morning can be viewed here.

Yellow-browed Warbler - Ancient Highway, Pennington Marsh

Yellow-browed Warbler - Ancient Highway, Pennington Marsh

Shetland - 2nd October

In a Force 6-7 south-east wind I opted to start the day on the west coast of mainland Shetland hoping to find some shelter. In a light rain under heavy grey skies I birded Geosetter, there were good numbers of Redwing and Song Thrush, a couple of Goldcrest and a Blackcap but little else and there was little shelter. My eBird list for the site can be viewed here.

At around 09:00 I received a message to say that the Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler found yesterday afternoon at Burrafirth at the far end of Unst was still present and showing well occasionally. I have only seen two Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler previously in Malaysia and Thailand and so this would be British tick. I plugged in the directions to the sat nav and off I set.

Having traversed much of mainland Shetland, all of Yell and much of Unst I was pleased to finally arrive at Burrafirth some 2.5 hours later but it was not long before the Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler was seen, first in flight and then over the next two hours or so very well perched in vegetation and on the tops of walls and fences. It was a cracking little bird and great to see so well. Also here were a couple of Yellow-browed Warbler and a Little Bunting. Having had my fill I decided to make my way back south.

My eBird checklist for the site can be viewed here.

Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler - Burrafirth, Unst, Shetland

Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler - Burrafirth, Unst, Shetland

Little Bunting - Burrafirth, Unst, Shetland

Little Bunting - Burrafirth, Unst, Shetland

At the Unst to mainland ferry I got chatting to Mark House who was just heading for a Lanceolated Warbler that was showing well on Sumburgh Head. I knew of this bird but hadn’t considered driving there this evening but having spoken to Mark realised that it was doable and that a 18:00 arrival at Sumburgh was possible. As I drove south, following Mark through rain and fog and failiyng light, it was not until a message pinged that said the bird was showing well that I decided to commit. Following Mark, we arrived at Sumburgh head at 17:50 in brilliant evening sunshine and quickly located the Lanceolated Warbler. The bird was showing amazingly feeding along the foot of a wall in the open and occasionally skulking through the dense Red Fescue matts and on a couple of occasions perching on top of the stone wall. It was a fabulous little bird reminiscent of a Pipit with those chunky legs and streaky plumage and a mouse in the way it walked through the grass and scuttled along the wall. A real highlight.

As we left, Goldcrest's, Robin's and two Redstart appeared to be arriving from the skies, what will tomorrow bring. My eBird checklist for the site can be viewed here.

Lanceolated Warbler - Sumburgh Head, Shetland

Lanceolated Warbler - Sumburgh Head, Shetland

Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly - 17th - 22nd October

It has been a long time since we had visited our cottage in Cornwall and so we had booked a long weekend away in Cornwall and on the Isles of Scilly. Due to work commitments we had to reduce our time in Cornwall and so we eventually only had one full day. We headed down on 17th and spent the afternoon and evening relaxing. On 18th the weather was foul but as it was my only birding morning on mainland Cornwall I headed out at first light and spent 1.5 hours seawatching at Pendeen in a F7 westerly with some heavy squally showers. There were many Gannet, Razorbill and Guillemot passing plus smaller numbers of Kittiwake. Highlights were four Arctic Tern, a single Sooty Shearwater, two Balearic Shearwater, three Manx Shearwater, four Dunlin and a Merlin which zipped westwards. News broke of a first year Subalpine Warbler at Cot Valley and I decided to have a quick look for it. The bird was in the bracken and scrub above the Youth Hostel and in the strong winds and heavy rain it was pretty hopeless and all I managed was a brief flight view of the bird as it flicked between two Hawthorn bushes.

On 19th we were up at 06:30, tidied the cottage and were on our way to Lands End airport for our 09:30 flight to St. Mary's. Arriving on Scilly at 09:50 on a beautiful sunny day we checked into the Star Castle Hotel and then headed out. We wandered out to Old Town Churchyard and spent some time here where the only birds were three Goldcrest and two Blackcap. There was no sign of the long staying Red-backed Shrike. We then headed through Lower Moors, a couple Yellow-browed Warbler called, the hide was devoid of birds and the long staying and confiding Spotted Crake did not show. After a relaxing lunch in Juliet's Cafe we headed out to Holy Vale where there were three Yellow-browed Warbler and then to Porth Hellick pool where there were eight Common Teal and 11 Snipe but no sign of the long staying Blue-winged Teal. It was now 15:45 and so we decided to head back to the Star Castle. A stop at Lower Moors produced a very brief view of the Spotted Crake and a single Water Rail which had just chased the crake away. It had been a slow start to our time on the islands but its always good to be back here.

Cot Valley as we flew from Land's End to Isles of Scilly

Grey Heron - St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly

Porthellick Pool, St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly

On 20th we headed over to St. Martin's and walked along the back of Par Beach before cutting up to the Day Mark and then headed back down to the road before walking along the spine of the island to the Karma Hotel in the west of the island where we had lunch. Birding was fairly slow going but there were large numbers of Redwing and Fieldfare with around 250 of the former and 50 of the latter. A Firecrest and two Yellow-browed Warbler were in the Middle Town area, a male Merlin on Chapel Down and two Stonechat. We caught the 15:30 back from St. Martin's and on arrival on St. Mary's we headed up to Lower Moors where the Spotted Crake was showing well as it preened in the boggy woodland at the Rosehill end of the trail. We watched the bird for a few minutes before it slipped away into the flooded woodland once again. We then headed to Porthloo Beach where there were around 45 Oystercatcher and a single Northern Wheatear. The main thing I wanted to see here was Portuguese Man' O War of which we soon came across five beached animals, although most were now bleached and colourless, one had retained its bright blue and pink colours. These strange creatures, dubbed locally as 'Purple Pasties', are not true jellyfish (which are single organisms) but a siphonophore, which is a colonial organism made up of many specialised animals (polyps) of the same species.

Greenfinch - St. Martin's, Isles of Scilly

Oystercatcher - St. Martin's, Isles of Scilly

View to north-west over St. Martin's from the Day Mark with White Island to the right

Redwing and Fieldfare - St. Martin's, Isles of Scilly

Dark Common Pheasant, these seem to be the common form present on St. Martin's - St. Martin's, Isles of Scilly

Redwing - St. Martin's, Isles of Scilly

Northern Wheatear - St. Martin's, Isles of Scilly

Spotted Crake - St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly

Spotted Crake - St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly

Spotted Crake - St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly

Spotted Crake - St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly

Spotted Crake - St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly

Portuguese Man O' War - St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly

On 21st we caught the boat across to St. Agne's, one of my favourite of all islands, and wandered out to Wingletang Down via the Gugh Bar and back down Barnaby Lane. It seemed fairly quiet and the highlights were two Swallow, a single Northern Wheatear, Chiffchaff and two Stonechat as well as moderate numbers of Redwing and Fieldfare. At the top end of Barnaby Lane 'pishing' into the elms produced a Goldcrest and a single Yellow-browed Warbler. We then dropped down through Middle Town to Porth Cloose where a Spotted Sandpiper showed well as it fed along the strandline seaweed mounds. After lunch at the Turks Head we were on the 14:15 ferry back to St. Mary's and enjoyed a wander around the Garrison where eventually the Blue Rock Thrush showed fairly well but a little distantly as it fed on the beach at Morning Point. This bird has been present since 22nd September and is my second in the UK after the Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire bird on 3rd February 2017. There was little else to be seen and so by 17:00 we were tucked up in the Atlantic with a pint.

Yellow-browed Warbler - St. Agne's, Isles of Scilly

Spotted Sandpiper - St. Agne's, Isles of Scilly

Spotted Sandpiper - St. Agne's, Isles of Scilly

Spotted Sandpiper - St. Agne's, Isles of Scilly

Spotted Sandpiper - St. Agne's, Isles of Scilly

Spotted Sandpiper - St. Agne's, Isles of Scilly

Blue Rock Thrush - St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly 

Blue Rock Thrush - St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly

Blue Rock Thrush - St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly

View of St. Agnes from the Garrison, St. Mary's with the Scillonian

The 22nd was our final day and after breakfast we had a walk around the pines, campsite and Woolpack area of the Garrison where there were small numbers of Redwing, three fly-over Brambling, a couple of Goldcrest and a Chiffchaff. Spider collected us at 10:40 for our 11:40 flight and we stopped in Old Town where a New Zealand Spiny Stick Insect had been seen yesterday and after a bit of searching we found this superb 15cm insect dangling from a Pittosporum. Our flight was delayed by 50 minutes but our crossing was very smooth and the sea flat calm allowing us to see around 20 Common Dolphin from the air. We landed at Land's End at 12:45 and were home by 18:00.

New Zealand Spiny Stick Insect Micrarchus hystricuelus - Old Town, St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly

Shetland - 13th October

I started the morning birding at Fladderbister with high hopes, this is one of my favourite birding spots on Shetland and I always have great expectations when I visit this place. The winds were light north-east and it was clear with sunny spells. I spent some time birding around the village and ruins and then along the road to the south. It was slow going, in the three hours I was here I recorded an Eastern-type Lesser Whitethroat with a sandy coloured mantle, a Yellow-browed Warbler, five Goldcrest, a late Willow Warbler and 35 Redwing. I was just wandering back to the car wondering what to do next when news broke of the long-staying Snowy Owl showing on Ronas Hill in the north of the island and so, having considered it yesterday but bailing out when the news of the Lesser Grey Shrike broke, I decided to go for it today.

Eastern-type Lesser Whitethroat - Fladderbister, Mainland Shetland

Chiffchaff - Fladderbister, Mainland Shetland

Yellow-browed Warbler - Fladderbister, Mainland Shetland

Shetland Wren - Fladderbister, Mainland Shetland

I stopped at Lerwick to grab some lunch and then drove the 50 minutes or so north and then up the track to the masts on Collafirth Hill where I parked. It was then a 3 km walk north-west to an area known as The Hadd on the southern edge of Loch of the Hadd. The landscape was spectacular with wet cotton-grass bog, heather and exposed granite, it felt like the middle of nowhere. The walk produced a Merlin and a high flying flock of around 50 Snow Bunting. Having joined up with a couple of birders it seemed like a long walk but eventually we saw a small group of other birders looking through their scopes, as we joined them I recognised Dan Houghton. Dan showed me the Snowy Owl through his scope which was sitting on a ridge some 200m or so away in a slight heat haze and so not the best of views. This was a stunning, mainly white male, which as far as could be seen had black barring restricted to the flanks. I was back at the car for 15:45 and decided to spent the last hour or so of birdable daylight at Lower Voe. There was not a lot to be seen as the sun was off the trees and in the hour or so I was here the only bird of note was a Spotted Flycatcher. I headed off and was back to the hotel by 17:45.

Snowy Owl - The Hadd, Ronas Hill, Mainland Shetland

Ronas Hill, Mainland Shetland with Yell in the distance

Ronas Hill, Mainland Shetland with Yell in the distance

The Hadd and the Loch of the Hadd, Ronas Hill, Mainland Shetland

This was the view point for the Snowy Owl, the bird was on the left hand most ridge - Loch of the Hadd, Ronas Hill, Mainland Shetland

Ronas Hill, Mainland Shetland

Ronas Hill, Mainland Shetland with Yell in the distance