Shetland - 30th September and 1st October

With an increasing rate in Covid-19 cases in the UK during our second spike of the global pandemic and numerous cancellations of my flights by British Airways I was in two minds as to whether to cancel my trip to Shetland entirely. But, with news of the finding, on Yell, of the fifth Tennessee Warbler for the UK and the forecast of a steady stream of easterly winds my mind was made up and on the morning of the 30th I found myself at Heathrow Airport.

My flights were surprisingly all on time and I landed on a very soggy and wind swept Shetland at 15:15, and while there was just possibly time to get to Yell the Tennessee Warbler had not been seen today other than a brief possible glimpse early in the morning. I opted to bird Grutness, Pool of Virkie and Levenwick but saw little in the strong winds and driving rain. I headed to my hotel for a much needed sleep after a 03:00 start.

On 1st October I headed out into the field following breakfast, it had been very windy overnight and had rained hard right through to just before 07:00 but as I headed out the weather was calm and with the south-easterly airflow I was optimistic. I started by birding at Fladdabista but there seemed to be very few migrants around, the highlights here being a fly over Hawfinch and a Yellow-browed Warbler. Just as I got to my car and began chatting to a couple of other birders news broke of a White’s Thrush at Quendale Mill and so a mad dash ensued and I was soon looking at a rather distant British tick. The bird had been showing in the small garden near to the mill but once surrounded it, naturally, decided to fly and by the time I arrived it was perched on a pile of wood at the end of the Burn to the east. I watched it for a few minutes before it decided to distance itself further flying down the Burn not to be seen again. While driving for the Thrush news broke that the Tennessee Warbler was showing and so I headed north to Yell.

I caught the 11:45 ferry across to Yell and arriving at Burravoe at around 12:15 I was soon looking at the Tennessee Warbler. Over the next couple of hours I watched as this fantastic little bird fed within the Sycamore in its selected garden. Its usual mode of feeding seemed to be to hang upsidedown to glean beneath the leaves, when doing so its white belly was very prominent and often the easiest way to detect the bird. It was a sluggish, moving slowly and steadily through the canopy and lower levels of the Sycamore. There were at least six Yellow-browed Warbler here and occasionally the Tennessee Warbler seemed to be loosely associated with them.

As the wind increased the bird became more elusive and so I decided to make a quick dash to the north of the island where an Arctic Warbler had been present at Gutcher for a few days but in the now strong winds and heavy rain I had no luck. I headed back to the mainland with a brief stop at Voe, where I saw little, before heading to my hotel in Lerwick.

There are four previous records of Tennessee Warbler in the UK as follows:

• 1995 - 20th September - Hirta, St Kilda.
• 1982 - 5th-7th September - Holm, Mainland, Orkney (trapped)
• 1975 - 24th September - Fair Isle, Shetland (trapped)
• 1975 - 6th to 20th September - Fair Isle, Shetland (trapped)

My eBird post for Fladdabist can be seen here and for Burravoe here. There are a few additional photographs of the Tennessee Warbler in the latter list.

Tennessee Warbler - Burravoe, Yell, Shetland

Tennessee Warbler - Burravoe, Yell, Shetland

Tennessee Warbler - Burravoe, Yell, Shetland

Tennessee Warbler - Burravoe, Yell, Shetland

With the winds in the east or south-east for a few days and flowing all the way from the Caspian region we could be in for some fantastic birding with two Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler, Lanceolated Warbler and Radde's Warbler all new in to the islands today this could, hopefully, be a sign of things to come........

Portland Bill - 4th September

I have been neglecting this blog somewhat of late in favour of entering my records onto eBird, I have now got as far back as 1990 with a few years from the 1980's left to input to complete my UK birding data. Thats almost 30 years of data now on eBird and its a fantastic resource for exploring my historical records. I can now see with a few clicks how many, for example, Pomarine Skua I have recorded at St. Catherine's Point, what my peak day for the species was, my earliest and latest dates, whether I have photographed it etc. I would encourage any birder to commence using eBird and start adding their current and historical birding data. Anyway, I intend to start adding my birding days to this blog once more but perhaps in a slightly more abridged way.

Today I had a survey in Dorset and so headed to Portland Bill for a few hours first thing. I started the morning with a quick scan of Ferrybridge but it was fairly quiet with few waders, best were six Sanderling and 15 Dunlin. My eBird checklist can be seen here.

I then headed to Portland Bill and parked in the main carpark, the wind was firmly in the west with heavy cloud and a few spits of rain and I wasn't particularly optimistic for seeing many birds.  While having coffee it became evident that there was a steady westerly movement of Siskin and Swallow. I then headed up the west cliffs recording further Siskin, Grey Wagtail and Yellow Wagtail overhead but there were few migrants in the bushes. I cut east across the island and birded the Top Fields area where there were good numbers of Wheatear and three Whinchat. I then cut down through Culverwell to the observatory and back, via the Observatory Quarry, to my car. In total I recorded 79 Swallow and 18 Siskin moving west and 24 Wheatear and three Whinchat in the fields - fairly respectable totals for a couple of hours birding. My eBird checklist for the morning can be viewed here. Portland Bird Observatory's account of the day can be viewed here.

Wheatear - Top Fields, Portland Bill

Wheatear - Top Fields, Portland Bill

Whinchat - Top Fields, Portland Bill

The local Stonechat are looking decidedly scruffy - West Cliffs, Portland Bill

Remarkably I have never photographed Carrion Crow before - Top Fields, Portland Bill

Pennington Marsh - 1st August

Sarah was heading to Cheltenham for her sisters 40th birthday party, this was ladies party and so I decided to ehad to Pennington Marsh for a few hours in the morning. I walked out past Fishtail to Keyhaven Lagoon and then back east to Jetty Lagoon. The tide was high but there were remarkably few waders present and very few migrants in the bushes. The highlights were a single Common Sandpiper and 34 summer plumage Dunlin on Fishtail Lagoon and the flock of Eider, now numbering 24, showing well off Butts Lagoon.

My eBird checklist for the visit can be viewed here.

Common Sandpiper - Fishtail Lagoon, Pennington Marsh

Dunlin - Fishtail Lagoon, Pennington Marsh

Eider - off Butts Lagoon, Pennington Marsh

Caspian Tern at Fishlake Meadows - 28th July

News of a Caspian Tern showing well at Fishlake Meadows, less than five minutes from my house at 17:00 made me drop what I was doing and head to the site immediately. I was convinced that the bird would have flow by the time I arrived so I was pleased to arrive at the southern view point to see the bird hawking back and forth over the open water. The bird showed well, occasionally very well before heading off site to the south-west at around 17:45. This bird was first found yesterday at around 12:30 before it flew west at 13:00 it then appeared at the reserve on a further for occasions before being finally seen later in the evening on 28th.

Also present here were three Great White Egret. My eBird checklist can be viewed here.

Pennington Marsh - 18th July

My birding has been at a very low ebb of late, the Covid-19 lockdown saw my birding turn to a deskbased project to enter my bird records into eBird, a project to which I have become somewhat addicted, adding UK records from back as far as 1987 and now having entered my foreign trips and their associated photos back almost to 2010. Its truly fantastic to have my records, photographs and sound recordings all at my fingertips in one place rather than scattered through various notebooks and digital forums (such as this blog); although I still have a fair way to go to completion. eBird will now be my main forum for recording my sightings with a summary added to my blog.

The current Bearded Vulture in the Peaks of Derbyshire had me planning a twitch, but on the day before my planned visit I had heard that some selfish idots had pitched themselves on the cliff above the birds roost thereby detering it from coming in that evening, in addition the weather forecast was not favourable with fog and drizzle and so I cancelled. I have to say my motivation to drive four hours and then walk another 1.5 hours or so was fairly low since I have seen the species on multiple occasions arround the World and, at times, almost within touching distance.

Come the 18th July the weather forecast was good and I decided I would be more modest in a birding outing and so headed down to Pennington Marsh and walked a familiar loop out past Shoveler Pools back west to Keyhaven Lagoon and back east along the seawall before finally checking Efford Lagoon. Given that it was mid-July I had not expected a great deal but it was nice to be out on such a fine sunny morning. I arrived at 06:30 and as the tide was coming in and high at 11:07 I expected a few waders. Four Greenshank flying north over the car park on my arrival was a good sign but thereafter the wader highlights were a meagre 45 Dunlin, four Turnstone, 12 Ringed Plover and five Little Ringed Plover. There was, for example, not a single Black-tailed Godwit to be seen. There were no wildfowl, save for Mallard and Shelduck to be seen although two Goosander on the sea were somewhat of a surprise. The only hints of some migration were a single Yellow Wagtail flying west and a 1st year Wheatear along the coastal path. I headed home at just before 09:00 pleased with my mornings birding despite the lack of an obvious highlight.

My eBird checklist for the morning can be viewed here.

Little Egret fishing on Jetty Lagoon - Pennington Marsh, Hampshire

Little Ringed Plover on Fishtail Lagoon - Pennington Marsh, Hampshire

Juvenile Redshank on Fishtail Lagoon, these juvenile birds are responsible for a lot of claims of Wood Sandpiper at this site in July - Pennington Marsh, Hampshire

Oystercatcher with an Annelid Worm - Pennington Marsh, Hampshire

Lunar Hornet Moth - 11th July

I had long wanted to see one, or both, of Lunar Hornet Moth or Hornet Moth and so when the new LUN pheromone lure became available I was keen to try it having heard reports that it was very effective. My lure arrived on the day I was heading up to our cottage in the Cotswolds so I hastily packed it and my other lures and traps and set-off. I set the lure in the trap at 09:00 and waited, all morning there was nothing and then, just after lunch, a stunning fresh Lunar Hornet Moth in the trap. Their resemblance to Hornet's is truly remarkable. With the introduction of the LUN lure we are certain to find that this species is far more common and widespread that is realised.

Lunar Hornet Moth - Cowley, Cheltenham

Lunar Hornet Moth - Cowley, Cheltenham

I trialed a few other lures over the week we were at the cottage but was only successful in catching Orange-tailed Clearwing.

Orange-tailed Clearwing - Cowley, Cheltenham

Acres Down - 2nd June

I had a couple of hours wandering around the woodlands and heathland at Acres Down this morning. I parked in the main carpark and walked west along the main track through the woodland. It seemed fairly quiet at first but then distantly I heard a singing Wood Warbler and gradually got closer to this bird until I was underneath it. I spent the next hour with this stunning bird as it showed down to around 10m and sang nearly constantly. These are certainly the best views I have had of this species, one that is declining rapidly in the New Forest. After the woodland area I wandered onto the heathland south of the car park where the highlights were a Woodlark gathering food, Spotted Flycatcher (my first of the year) and a distant male Goshawk perched in the tree tops.

My eBird checklist can be viewed here, this list includes additional images and sound recordings.

Wood Warbler - Acres Down, New Forest

 Wood Warbler - Acres Down, New Forest

Wood Warbler - Acres Down, New Forest