Moast Beach

Another winter storm hits Shetland, a northerly this time and it doesn't have a name (the met office don't seem to bother naming them if they don't affect London in any way). I managed to get as far as Moast Beach on the patch before the snow showers started, not a great deal on Moast but the Gannets and Kittiwakes were coming in pretty close.

Gannets

Kittiwakes

Here we go again

The 2017 Patchwork Challenge begins, a few bits and bobs around the patch - 1w Glauc and ad Iceland Gull on the Loch, 1 Skylark, 5 Meadow Pipits and 3 Redwings in the Neep field, Gannets and Kittiwakes in Quendale Bay, 2 'fly-through' Whooper Swans and 2 Sanderling, 30 Ringed Plover and 4 Red-breasted Mergansers in West Voe. 3 hours birding and 41 species.

Gannet

Glaucous Gull

Great Northern Divers

Iceland Gull

Kittiwake

Long-tailed Duck

Whooper Swans

Sooty

Seawatching off the end of the Scatness peninsular from 09:30 until 13:30, loads of Gannets and Fulmars and eventually a Sooty Shearwater, as is the usual off Scatness the bird was moving east-west rather than north-south. Elsewhere on the patch a Grey Heron was on the Loch and a Willow Warbler remains in the garden.

The Shearwater was too far off for a photo, so here's a different Sooty.

Gannets

Willow Warbler

The seawatching point with Horse Island.

Vids



A couple of short videos taken from the sitting room window - Pink-footed Goose and Gannets.

Gannets and Kitties

From on the patch today

Gannets

Kittiwakes

Storm Scoured

After yesterday's storm, most of the patch seems to have been scoured clean of any birds, out on the headland there was a dying Gannet and nowt else - I was hoping for a Semi-pee or a Buff-breast (ooh er missus !). Elsewhere on the patch there were just 4 Wheatears, 3 Black-tailed Godwits, 4 Wigeon and 4 Lapwing. On the beaches there were still a few waders including 6 Knot and 27 Sanderling, amazingly a Willow Warbler has appeared in the garden.

Black-tailed Godwits

Gannet

Knot

Sanderling

A large float of some kind washed up on the rocks

Wasting Time

Stuck in a force 10 westerly, time for a bit of seawatching, what a complete waste of time ! After 4 hours - 1 very distant Shearwater sp (prob Sooty) and sod all else, spent another hour taking pics of Gannets and waves - oh joy ! A fairly decent bird was seen however - a single Lapland Bunting at the back of the Loch, but as soon as it got caught in the wind, was dragged to god knows where.

Gannets

A force 10 hitting Scatness

Back Home

The ferry crossing back from Fair Isle was pretty uneventful (a single Manxie just north of North Light), but it got a bit better just before docking at Grutness with a Minke Whale just off the Larward. Back home we were greeted with Lesser Whitethroat and Willow Warbler in the Garden.

Minke Whale

Gannets

Slow.

Another slow day on the patch. Light south-easterlies all night produced a Willow Warbler, a Whitethroat and 5 'alba' Wagtails. A few quite showy seabirds were scant compensation.

Shag.

Gannets