1066 - Back to the old patch

Have been back south for the last week, and while I was there I visited the old patch a couple of times. Moore NR seems to have become even more popular with visitors than it was when I left in 2002 and even more birdless - coincidence? Anyway the highlights were a couple of Yellow-legged Gulls on Birchwood Pool, a leucistic Black-headed Gull on Pumphouse Pool, Kingfishers around the Eastern Reedbed and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker singing in Lapwing Lane Alder Woods. And the post title? This is my 1066th post - and nothing to do with any battles on the south coast.

Kingfisher

Leucistic Black-headed Gull

Canadian Water Pig

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Jay

Pheasant

Pochard

Lapwing Lane alder woods

Birchwood Pool

Eastern Reedbed

Feeding Station

Lapwing Lane

Lapwing Lane Pool

Pumphouse Pool

Gulls

Back out on the patch today, and there are now 3 Common Scoters with the Velvet Scoter in West Voe, plus a fly-by Merlin there. On the Scatness peninsula there was just 6 Golden Plover and a Meadow Pipit. Moast Beach was heaving with Gulls (by Scatness standards anyway) with about 300 Gulls feeding among the waves, in which were 4 Black-headed Gulls (including a pink hued bird), a rather heavily shawled Herring Gull and a rather interesting long winged, dark Herring Gull. Both Red-throated and Great Northern Divers were in Quendale Bay.

Merlin

Pink hued Black-headed Gull

Common Scoters with Velvet Scoter

Golden Plovers

Hooded Crow (taken with trail cam)

Heavily shawled Herring Gull

Long winged, dark Herring Gull

Red-throated Diver

The coastguard on a bird scaring exercise in West Voe

Sun

A few shots from the patch in today's sunshine.

At last - Black-headed Gull makes it on to the year-list

Fair Isle from the patch

Redwing selection

Some Dross

A couple of short jaunts on the patch this week, and just the usual dross, the Kestrel that has been wintering on the airport, finally decide to cross over to the patch on Saturday and the early Shelduck is still at the back of the loch. This morning, doing the daily scan of the bay from the living room window, picked up the first year male King Eider off the end of Little Holm - a room tick ! I'd already house ticked King Eider with this one from the kitchen window in 2008. After the storm, with the beaches all stirred up, there were Gulls everywhere, but no white-wingers.

Common Gulls

Black-headed Gulls.

Looking back.

This spring really is one of the worst on Shetland, and time seems to be running out for a late bird turning up, though looking back at the last few years June still turns the odd goodie up - Fat Toni's Warbler and Lesser Grey Shrike last year, Red-footed Falcon, Arctic Redpoll and Black-headed Bunting in 2008, Great Reed Warbler, Pec Sand (on the patch) and summering Killdeer in 2007 and Laughing Gull, Red-footed Falcon, Bee-eater and Paddyfield Warbler in 2006. But now that Shetland is back into the northerly winds for the foreseeable future,it doesn't look like that sort of thing will happen this year !
Looking back at previous June's on my old patch (Moore NR and Arpley Tip in Cheshire), June wasn't such a bad month for a local patch (or so weather dependent), with Marsh Harrier, Black-necked Grebe, 3 Little Gulls, Iceland Gull and Common Tern all seen in June 2001. (the following photos are all scanned from prints)


Black-necked Grebe - Pumphouse Pool, Moore NR, June 2001.

Common Tern - Halfway House, June 2001.

Iceland Gull - Arpley Tip, June 2001.

One of the 3 Little Gulls at Halfway House, June 2001.

Meanwhile back in the present, the only thing of note on the patch was a count of about 65 Black-headed Gulls, where as normally there are only a handful at best.

Black-headed and Common Gulls.

Things must be desperate when photos of cruise liners are being included ! This one was moving strongly north-west past the patch. Ironically, the name of the ship is 'Costa Magica' (Magic Coast) - not this year it isn't !

Juv Starling (and Meercats !) in the garden.