Grey Head

The Eastern Olivaceous Warbler was still in the garden, showing on and off for most of the day, a Curlew Sandpiper and a Grey-headed Wagtail were on the Loch.

Curlew Sandpiper

Grey-headed Wagtail

Ollie in the garden

The only migrant I saw all day was a Swallow at West Voe Beach, until 5pm that is, when a Warbler turned up in the garden that turned out to be Eastern Olivaceous Warbler.

3G

Green Sandpiper, Garganey and Greenshank on the patch today, as well as a Wood Sandpiper.

Garganey

Greenshank

Days off

A couple of days off work and there has been a little bit of change on the patch, new birds were 3 summer plumaged Knot and a rather bedraggled Short-eared Owl, the back of the loch is drying out nicely and is being used by a small flock of Dunlin, the drake Garganey is still present and was joined by a female on 18/5.

Dunlin

Garganey

Knot

Short-eared Owl

Nitti Ditti

Up against it again, this time going up to Unst for Green Warbler between night shifts. Up from Lerwick at 7am, all the way to Toft - no problems, all the way across Yell -  no problems, the ferry to Unst - broken down, ferry cancelled!!! Eventually they managed to fix the boat, after us all waiting for about 3 hours! Checked the plantation at Setters Hill Estate for about 45 minutes with no luck, and then I located the bird in a small area of trees by the old play park, initially the bird was chasing flies deep in the Sycamores, and only giving full views occasionally, before perching on top of a low fence in front of 2 of us for about 3 minutes. Then it was back down to Lerwick (via 2 ferries), then back home for a quick change of clothes, then back to Lerwick for another night shift - on the go without any sleep for a total of 39 hours!!!!

Easterlies

A few days of easterlies promised so much but delivered very little to the patch, maximums for 7th-9th - 25 Common Tern, 2 Arctic Tern, 5 Whimbrel, 1 Arctic Skua, 2 Garganey, 2 Pintail, 2 Gadwall, 1 Pied Wagtail, 2 Chiffchaff, 4 Siskin, 1 Sand Martin, 9 Swallows, 4 Willow Warblers, female Blackcap, 1 Lesser Whitethroat and 2 Carrion Crows.

Garganey

Common Tern

Gadwall

Siskin

Swallow

Whimbrel

Willow Warbler

A couple of shots of Fitful Head

Grozzer !!!

After a 10 hour nightshift in Lerwick, got home to find 2 Siskins on the feeders in the garden. I then managed a whole 3 hours in bed before the phone woke me with several texts alerts of a Rose-breasted Grosbeak on Burra, so up and ready and back to Lerwick and then on to Burra by about 4pm and watching the bird on the feeders by 5 past, I stayed with the bird until it dropped behind a wall, so I headed back to Lerwick and then home. Just enough time at home to upload my photos onto the computer and then headed back to Lerwick for another 10 hour nightshift - who needs sleep?!!!

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Siskin