SHETLAND THERE'S MORE....

Oct.5th and the weathers almost tropical. Red Admirals are out and provide an amazing splash of colour in such a grey place. Could be my first Shetland butterfly.

We're up at Voe Plantation well away from the scrum at Geosetter. Thicky is being trampled on by the unwashed masses of Southern checkbook twitchers. We heard someone had actually called for a napalm strike!!

Luck is on our side once more as we get great views of the Arctic Warbler that's been here for a while. Novelty factor is increased when a Great Spotted Woodpecker is found rummaging over the moorland nearby, what an odd sight. Norwegian sub-species is rumored?

spot the pecker?
Also in the plantation a couple of YBWs and Siskins

Heading on down to the southern bit of mainland Shetland we find ourselves back at the garden we birded yesterday at Hoswick namely Cliff Cottage(or house). There's already a huge crowd of birders gathered, about 15, Scilly would be 200!! all peering into the well vegetated garden awaiting views of another goody from the east.

Showing its crucial ID features off the Eastern Olivaceous Warbler gets a nice spot perched up in the glorious sunshine. The Shetland paparazzi absolutely murder it with there 20 foot long mega lenses. I on the other hand am quiet satisfied to get a record shot (I think this is the right bird?).

The day is still not over as a Short toed Lark has been found on the beach near Sumburgh Hotel.
Here we meet a party of bird spotters fresh from a week on Fair Isle who don't even know about the Thick billed Warbler over at Geosetter...I'd hate to be using their info service. Absolutely shit views of the Lark through scopes are confirmed when I take a record shot via my phone...

can you see those short toes?


Oct.8th (the 6th and 7th ?) we set off this time (once we'd got Matty up) north from our 5 star luxury pad perched on the hill above Lerwick..

to the plantation at Voe. I've done Shetland many times now but have always for some reason bypassed this place. Why I don't know cos its a cracking spot and more goodies were lurking within its depths.

One very nice RBF and a huge white blob of a 'Mealy' Redpoll for starters. The great spot was still trying to drill holes in the surrounding rocks poor bugger. Trip list boosted we ventured off to Vidlin and spread out to hopefully find something new.

Bingo! I found what I thought to be a Reed type Warbler in the gardens middle left on the photo. Chris and Phil went to work with their big lenses and Chris got several shots which proved to show the bird had yellow legs and feet... Marsh Warbler! other features like rump colour , wing tip spacing and head shape were also sussed out. A great team effort and a damned decent find me thinks!

ignore the colours, back of a camera phone piccy!

More searching, bush bashing and bog snorkling ensued but not much else could be found apart from yet more Yellow browed Warblers.

Mr Griffin in action...and not a flippin Lancy to be had.

So back to the pad for a well earned shetland mexican special..nice one Matty.

And so another trip to the Shetlands comes to a close. A great one to be remembered for

1. being there when the mega was found. 

2. seeing the mega and it being a mega Thick billed Warbler

3. warm south east or south westerly winds for most of the week.

4. a splendid night courtesy of the Shetland Bird Club

5. finding something albeit a padder for some!

6. great accommodation and good value team once again..cheers lads.

TTFN

the one that got away...maybe next year?

THICK BILLED WARBLER....BOOM SHAKA!!

October the 2nd and my biannual trip to Shetland got under way with a flight from Manchester to Sumburgh via Aberdeen. The team this year comprised Phil (Mr Wizzal) Woollen, Mark (Groucho) Payne, Matt (late riser) Meehan, new recruit Chris (Family Guy) Griffin and yours truly.
With such an odd ball bunch how could we fail not to find some mega birds...read on...

The day started well with a very showy (after i'd re found it) Pechora Pipit at Levenswick, Mainland.

We could not have parked the hire car much closer, what a great bird to get the trip list off to a flyer.

Oct.3rd and we venture over to Yell for a couple of goodies. On arriving at the stakeout garden at Mid Yell village Chris spots the Eastern Subalpine Warbler perched out in the open in its favorite Sycamore tree, good man. It then plays hide and seek for the next hour or so. This could turn out to be a good investment as there are rumors its about to be split (the Subalp not the tree)...cheers Mr Frontiers!

One in the bag so we drive round the corner and fail to relocate the Hudsonian Whimbrel seen yesterday at Seafield. I manage to find my first of many Yellow Browed Warblers of the trip, quiet possibly the commonest warbler on Shetland whilst we're there.

Oct.4th and after a thorough search of Wester Quarff no sign of Pampers Pointen's Brown Shrike we debunk to Hoswick. Its grim and raining, another YBW is found in Cliff House garden (honest it was) but not much else. If only I'd of played the right tape...Eastern Olivaceous there the next day!!!! bugger.

As we're beginning to lose interest cos the weathers naff a stop at the local shop is cut short when the news breaks of a MEGA!! just 4 miles away at Geosetter (yes we've already birded this day 1)...

We arrive at a leisurely pace (Mr Wizzal driving) and join a growing group of field watchers queuing for a glimpse of Britains 5th record of THICK BILLED WARBLER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes for once we've hit the mother load, right place right time, there is a birding god up there. But Thicky seems to have other ideas and is being a real skulking barsteward. Time to send in the troops...

I wonder who that is?

more professional flushers are sent in

what's that guy got in his hand...a tape?

the crowds getting edgy and spooky (checkout the guy in blue)

Biggest gathering of birders on Shetland this year me thinks?  92 to be exact (get that BBA) on day one.

The THICK BILLED WARBLER does eventually play ball and I manage three flight views plus two brief perches, all far too quick for my camera unfortunately. Still to be there when a true mega has just been found is such an adrenalin rush that's why we do what we do. Awesome stuff.

The night is spent prayer mats facing east preying for clear skies and stars but to no avail Thicky devalues itself somewhat by showing (trod on more like) to the dirty twitchers from mainland UK the next day.

more to follow...

That puts me on 511 for Britain and 521 for UK/Ireland

TTFN

IBIS FEST

Autumn and there seems to have been an explosion of Glossy Ibis in the North West of England, is there some secret colony some ones not telling us about?
Over in Greater Mancunia at a wee place called Doffcocker (I kid you not) a flock of 4 juveniles have been delighting the locals ...

TTFN

BACK TO THE EMERALD ISLE

Twice in a week this is seriously big league stuff. The attraction this time another attempt at
 Eastern Kingbird (after the failed one last September) one of which has turned up on another of Ireland's famous islands namely Inishbofin.
I get myself on a 'charter', not a plane though, a boat. There's some seriously big hitters on this charter and spirits are high as we get news the Eastern Kingbird has been seen...we're 30 minutes away.

A misty dawn breaks over Cleggan Quay, Co.Galway

The 'big hitters' gather...

Our boat arrives and it's off to Inishbofin we sail...

After searching all over the island the 30 or so birders are knackered and by lunch time the pace is beginning to tell as our hopes are dashed..the Eastern Kingbird has done another over night yet again.

The earlier report was bollocks!! or is that erroneous?

So it's time to drown one's sorrows and hit the local hostelry for what Ireland does best...

a pint of the black stuff

All is not lost though as I contemplate another Guinness there's activity up the road...a Yanks been spotted!!

Someone's had a sighting of a Blackpoll Warbler a decent padder for the trip

Birders spread out in a bunch and scan the gardens just in case it's not something a little more tasty

Boom one Blackpoll Warbler pops up and shows really well to the gathered entourage of Irish/British/Euro birders seems to be a tick for most of the Irish guys...time for more Guinness me thinks!

twitch on!

Below a great account by one of Ireland's finest on the bird we really had come to see

https://www.facebook.com/anthonymcgeehan/posts/393031830824604:0#!/photo.php?fbid=393031814157939&set=a.167573230037133.33602.165798840214572&type=1&theater


That's my 7th Blackpoll in Britain and Ireland but who's counting.

Britain, Ireland and IOM  -  520

TTFN

WILSON'S WARBLER....KA BOOM!!

Friday night and I'm chilling at home when at 10.30pm ish the phone went ballistic...the boy is on the West coast of Ireland and the 'A' team are mobilizing. Fred's pissed, Mark's on Angelsey already and Gregsy is on the other side of the world. Sorry John but Twitch On!!!!
Having picked up Fred and later Mark en route we boarded the Stena 2.30am sailing from Holyhead to Dublin. Eurotwitch on as Malc would say. Old school listers one and all we bedded down for the night time voyage in the truckers lounge...hardcore!!
We arrived in Dublin bottom's intact and blitzed across the country on the superb new motorway system paid for by the eurozone (us Brit tax payers) our target the island of Dursey stuck on the end of south west Co.Cork and a mere cable car ride away...cable car!!!

Arriving with two minutes to spare we luckily managed to jam our way onto the last cable car for the morning (next one four hours later) our luck held as one of the locals gave us a lift to the boy and saved us a four mile hike.

The garden at the south end of Dursey Island acts as a magnet to migrants and has played host to some of Ireland's most mega rarities like Ovenbird. 

The wait begins in the cloud enshrouded garden. Thirty or so birders including four crews from the UK and the only four British crews to make the morning cable car scan the shrubbery for the latest blocker from the US.

After what seemed like a life time Wilson decided to perform to its gathered group of admirers. Trying to get a photo though was a serious challenge as Wilson never stayed in one place for long enough for the auto focus to do its business plus the garden was virtually fog bound.

Wilson's Warbler a first for Ireland and a second for the WesternPal (I think?)

What a great twitch all we need to do now is walk back the four miles to the cable car...

Bizarre but that's Ireland for you. We grab a quick brew and bag of chips then warp drive it back to Dublin...ferry to Holyhead...drop of Mark then Fred and home all in 27 hours what a mega twitch.

I just love it when a plan comes together... cue the'A'Team music...

TTFN

BOOM!! AGAIN

Saturday the 7th as per last blog post I took some photos of a rather tasty gull that landed on Neumann's Flash with a huge flock of LBB Gulls (60+)...I mistakenly thought it was a Yellow-legged Gull and posted a piccy of it.
Cue Mr Kinsella who thought otherwise...its a CASPIAN GULL!!!! is it not.
I showed Mr Pointen (one of my work colleagues) who thought similar. He passed the photos on to several well known bird news monkeys...they thought the same.
Now with such backing and thumbs up I do believe I can claim the bird as the patch's first ever record of Caspian Gull, an adult by the way and long overdue. Actually rarer than Stilt Sandpiper on Neumann's unbelieveable.
here's some of the photos I took..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Not a classic I'll grant you that but it ticks all the boxes.

The one thing you don't see is the long pale yellow legs as it never set foot on dry land unfortunately.

The p10 primary with the big white tip is visible though and YLGs at this time of the year should be moulting these so I've been informed, Caspos do not.

 

 

 

TTFN