Shetland - 15th August

This was my final day on Shetland and having received more detailed information on the Black-throated Thrush at Ward of Scousburgh I decided to give it a bash at first light. I went up the road that leads west off the A970 opposite the northern most turning for the Loch of Clumie and birded the moorland here. There were around 50 Redwing and 30 Fieldfare but no sign of the Black-throated Thrush and so after a couple of hours I abandoned my quest and drove west over the top of the hill and birded the quarries and fields on the west side of the Ward of Scousburgh but saw little but for more Redwing. A scan of Loch of Spiggie from the hill produced 44 Whooper Swan. I then headed north and birded Geosetter where I recorded Chiffchaff, a couple of Goldcrest and more Redwing. I then headed to Hoswick and spent some time birding the Burn of Hoswick where the highlights were two Chiffchaff, Blackcap, a fly over Redpoll and a lovely bright Willow Warbler.

It was pushing on towards my flight time and so I spent the last 1.5 hours at Grutness and Sumburgh walking out onto the Grutness headland where there was a single Wheatear and two rather flighty Snow Bunting. I walked up the road towards the lighthouse scanning the fields and birding the two quarries. There were many Redwing and smaller numbers of Blackbird, Song Thrush and Robin – there definitely appears to have been an influx of these species overnight. In the second quarry I quickly found the long staying Siberian Chiffchaff which was feeding low down in the dead Creeping Thistle.

Willow Warbler - Burn of Hoswick, Mainland Shetland

Willow Warbler - Burn of Hoswick, Mainland Shetland

Willow Warbler - Burn of Hoswick, Mainland Shetland

View south from Ward of Scousburgh, Mainland Shetland

View west from Scousborough over the Bay of Scousborough and the islet of Colsay, 

Mainland Shetland

Geosetter, Mainland Shetland

Black Guillemot with Butterfish Pholis gunnellus - Grutness, Mainland Shetland

Goldcrest - Grutness, Mainland Shetland

Goldcrest - Grutness, Mainland Shetland

Twite - Grutness, Mainland Shetland

Twite - Grutness, Mainland Shetland

Song Thrush - Sumburgh, Mainland Shetland

Siberian Chiffchaff - Sumburgh, Mainland Shetland

Siberian Chiffchaff - Sumburgh, Mainland Shetland

Fulmar - Sumburgh, Mainland Shetland

Fulmar - Sumburgh, Mainland Shetland

Fulmar - Sumburgh, Mainland Shetland

View north from Sumburgh, Mainland Shetland

It was 14:30 and time to head to the airport. On arrival I was informed that my flight was delayed by 50 minutes due to a technical fault with the plane and that rather than flying direct to Inverness we were being routed via Kirkwall on Orkney – I have never been to Orkney! I landed in Inverness only 10 minutes before my connecting flight. I eventually got home at 21:45.

As I was at the airport I checked the weather forecast for the coming night - easterlies for Shetland coming from Eastern Europe and Western Russia - I am fearing a big dip!

Weather system for night of 15th October, looks moderately rare.