Shetland Misfit: Curlew

Showing posts with label Curlew. Show all posts

Thursday, 4 February 2016

Another boring day

Spent all day wandering around the patch and the only thing different was there are now 5 Common Scoters with the Velvet in West Voe along with 2 Great Northern Divers and 29 Goldeneye. The rest of the patch was equally as slow - 9 Great Northerns in Quendale Bay and 6 Tufted Duck, 120 Teal and 65 Wigeon on the Loch. A few small signs of spring being on the way, there are a few more Oystercatchers and Curlew about.

Curlew

Fulmar

Oystercatcher

Teal

Saturday, 7 December 2013

Out in the Snow

A few pics from the patch today -

Blackbird

Greylags and Curlew

Greylags and Wigeon

Merlin

Skylark

Snipe

Friday, 12 April 2013

Silhouettes

A few silhouette photos taken against this evening's sunset.

Curlew

Fulmar

Mallards (+hybrid)

Fitful Head

Wednesday, 5 January 2011

The First Few Days

So far the 2011 patch year-list has consisted mainly of scanning out of the house windows, though I did manage to hobble to West Voe on the 2nd and got the 2 King Eiders (+ a load of other stuff - Twite, Goldeneye, Fieldfare etc). From the living room window there has been Hen Harrier, Merlin, Common Scoter and a fly by Tufted Duck (+ the odd Gannet)getting me up to the dizzying heights of 38 !

Curlew.

Purple Sandpiper.

Rock Pipit (with pink legs !).

Merlin.

The Patch Map.

Friday, 17 December 2010

Falling Snow.

Back on the patch for a few hours despite the falling snow - the usual drossy stuff being still about, the only highlights being - 2 Jack Snipe, a Golden Plover and 2 Skylarks (scarce on Shetland in winter).

The right (dis)honourable Sir Sparkington de Dawg - not so expert Rabbit chaser !

Skylark.

Curlew.

Greylag Goose.

Golden Plover.

Friday, 27 August 2010

All Gone Dead.

Scatness, it seems, has all gone dead ! So here's some photos from a pretty birdless day....

Wheatears.

Curlew.

Sunday, 10 January 2010

Land of Sunshine.

Shetland the Land of Sunshine all day, but still freezing cold. Spent a good couple of hours on the patch, trying to get more patch year-ticks - managed only one, and that was Teal, a flock of 7 on the sea. With the good light it was quite pleasant to be out checking areas that are normally being blasted by gales at this time of year - Scanning the sea was easy, being as it was flat calm, 10 Great Northern Divers, 50+ Long-tailed Duck, 202 Wigeon, a Goldeneye and the Teal were all in various bits of Quendale Bay, 4 Lapwing, 2 Dunlin and 23 Golden Plover were out on the headland with singles GP's also on some of the rocky beaches, 450 Greylags and 30+ Snow Buntings in front of the house, plus a Grey Heron over. Now 3 Robins in the Scatness area.

Curlew.

Golden Plovers.

Robin.

Fair Isle sunset from the garden.

Sunday, 20 September 2009

More of the same.

More of the same nothingness - just a Lesser Whitethroat in the garden, probably the same one that's been in there since Tuesday !

Curlews at sunset last night.

Lesser Whitethroat.

Wednesday, 26 August 2009

House Tick.

The Icterine remains in the garden (twitched by 5 people today !), 9 Dunlin and a Ruff at the end of Scatness, Grey Heron and Greenshank over the house, and finally a long overdue house tick - a Common Sandpiper off the beach in front of the house (house tick - 170, garden year tick - 115). The Black Tern flew north past the house this evening at about 7.30.

Bathing Arctic Skua (another ringed individual).

Curlew.

Ruff.

Wednesday, 18 February 2009

Hybrid Duck.

Spent a couple of hours at Scatness, seeing very little - 3 Goldeneye, 2 Whooper Swans, 4 Tufted Duck, Mallard x Pintail Hybrid and 92 Purple Sands, 12 Great Northern Divers in Quendale Bay.

Missed the M.O.D.'s controlled explosion of the flare found on Sunday.

Mallard x Pintail Hybrid (uppermost bird).

Common Gull.

Curlew.

Shag.

About Me

Sometimes I try to do things but it just doesn't work out the way I want it to, and I get real frustrated and then like I try hard to do it, and I like, take my time but it just doesn't work out the way I want it to. It's like, I concentrate on it real hard, but it just doesn't work out. And everything I do and everything I try, it never turns out. It's like, I need time to figure these things out, but there's always someone there going “hey Steve, you know we've been noticing you've been having a lot of problems lately, you know? You need to maybe get away. And like, maybe you should talk about it, you'll feel a lot better.” And I'm all like “oh, nah, it's ok, you know. I'll figure it out. Just leave me alone, I'll figure it out, you know? I'm just working on it by myself.” And they go “well, you know, if you wanna talk about it, I'll be here, you know? And you'll probably feel a lot better if you talk about it. So why don't you talk about it?” I go “no, I don't want to! I'm ok. I'll figure it out myself!” But they just keep bugging me, they just keep bugging me, and it builds up inside.I was in my house and I was just like staring at the walls thinking about everything, but then again I was thinking about nothing. And then my wife came in, and I didn't even know she was there. She called my name and I didn't hear her and then she started screaming “Steve, Steve !” And I go “what ? What's the matter ?” She goes “what's the matter with you?” I go “there's nothing wrong” She’s all “don't tell me that ! You're on drugs !” I go “FFS, I'm not on drugs. I'm ok, I'm just thinking, you know? Why don't you get me a Pepsi?” She goes “No! You're on drugs!” I go “I'm ok. I'm just thinking.” She goes “No! You're not thinking, you're on drugs! Normal people don't be acting that way!” I go “just get me a Pepsi ! Please, all I want is a Pepsi !” And she wouldn't give it to me! All I wanted was a Pepsi, just one Pepsi, and she wouldn't give it to me! Just a Pepsi !I'm sitting in my house, when a couple of my mates came in. they pulled up a chair and they sat down. They go “Steve, we need to talk to you.” And I go “ok, what's the matter?” They go “we've noticed that lately you've been having a lot of problems, and you've been going off on one for no reason, and we're afraid you're going to hurt somebody, and we're afraid you're going to hurt yourself. So we decided that it would be in your best interest if we put you somewhere where you could get the help that you need.” And I go “wait, what are you talking about, WE decided ? MY best interests ? How do you know what MY best interest is ? How can you say what MY best interest is ? What are you trying to say? I'm crazy ? They say they're gonna fix my brain. Alleviate my suffering and my pain. But by the time they fix my head, Mentally I'll be dead. They stuck me in an institution, said it was the only solution, to give me the needed professional help, to protect me from the enemy, myself !
Doesn't matter, I'll probably get hit by a car anyways !!!!