Welsh Whimbrel...no not that one dude!

Over in Angelsey at the start of the month and took some phone scoped piccies of some of the waders at Cemlyn during the high tide. Just been downloading stuff and forgot I'd taken some of a Whimbrel which had me thinking...bit late what?
Of course no flight shots and no rump shots but is it possible to do Hudsonian without?

A good flock of Grey Plover and a small flock of Purple Sandpiper were also present, never seen either here before!

TTFN

PLANES, TRAINS and AUTOMOBILES

This awesome Autumn just gets better as BOOM!! Shetland strikes again with another blocker. This one a 2nd for the WesternPal and 2nd for Britain..

CAPE MAY WARBLER
found in a garden at Baltasound on Unst. Unstoppable...Unst!!

Typically I dither and the chequebook crew have already been, seen and celebrated before I've gathered enough momentum, enthusiasm and more importantly cash to venture north once again.
My trip sets off with a long drive north to Inverness Airport (tick) where I catch the early flight to Sumburgh. Worryingly the plane is only a quarter full and I'm the only birder on it!
Hire car sorted I blitz across Mainland catch the ferry to Yell (missed one by minutes agony) then across Yell and ferry over to Unst (tea stop at the ferry cafe to kill the wait more agony). Three more teams arrive thank heavens and we convoy across the island to the stakeout house. I join the melee as the assembled group of twitchers kneel to pay homage to the mega....

Its in there somewhere and the cryptic little fecker plays hide and seek for over two hours.
The truth is in there somewhere...?

Finally though after what seemed like a life time with dreadful thoughts of that most hideous of birding terms...dipping coming to mind...BOOM!!! it does the decent thing and shows really well about thirty minutes before the lights due to fade...phew!

Job done, big smile on ones face, tweets sent out and the air punched I make my way back to Mainland Shetland for a slap up meal in the most Northerly Fish and Chip Shop in Britain at Brae...sorted!

The next day after a deluxe night of comfort and style on the back seat of the hire car I find myself peering over a wall at the village of Walls. Once again I'm the only birder there but not for long as London's finest Mr Heard joins me in the search for the Bluetail he'd found the day before, top man.
Crossbills of unknown variety fly over and a couple of Sibe Chiffies perform but there's no Bluetail.
We start to widen the search and the guy next door invites us into his 'bird friendly' garden, amazing place there could be anything in here.

I get down to business and its not long before I hear a 'chak...chak' coming from the undergrowth nearby.
One step too many and a bird flits up from cover flashing a rather tasty bright blue tail.....

Ka..boom! get in what a beauty. One very well marked Red-flanked Bluetail shows itself off to me before doing at least three laps of the house and garden for the rest of the freshly arriving birders and Shetland paparazzi to fill their boots and sd cards.

first contact!

Time now to leg it back to Lerwick and drop the hire car off. Wait 8 bloody hours for the ferry to Aberdeen.

Spend an extra hour on the ferry (13!! as the clocks go back but we still have to arrive at 7am) as it plods its way to the granite city. Arrive to find there's no trains or buses to Inverness for 3 hours as it's Sunday (bloody Sunday!!) after 3 attempts at 3 different Atms (all broke) I finally get some cash. Food, drink and train ticket sorted I train it to Inverness catch a bus to the airport and rescue my car.

What a twitch! more like the good old days. Would I do it all again you ask...bring it on!

British Life List now up to 512    (UK & IRE - 522)

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