Quick Dash

A quick dash around the patch after work - male Garganey, 6 Pintail, 5 Wheatear, 9 Linnets and a Bonxie.

Home and Work

A few bits and bobs from at home and at work.
From home -

Blackcap

Lesser Whitethroat

Chiffchaff

and from work -

Great Northern Diver (with pale bill !)

Eider

Herring Gulls

Bonxie

Shag

At last.....

.....a true migrant ! 4 Wheatears on the patch, plus a Robin, 5 Bonxies and a Sandwich Tern.

A few confiding Eiders from West Voe

Bonxie

Sandwich Tern

Wheatear

On The Rock

Day one in the new Fair Isle Asylum, not much on the crossing over - 1 Stormie and 1 Manxie, on the island itself - a brown Common Rosefinch in bull's park and a few Painted Ladies was about it..... and then it pissed down !

South Light from hill dyke

Super pale Bonxie

Sandwich

Another day on the patch with a fine year-tick of Sandwich Tern on the Loch, arsing about with the Common Gulls and Kittwakes. Elsewhere just 8 Swallows, a Sand Martin, a Willow Warbler and a Chiffchaff.

Wheatear.

 

       Swallow. 

  Sandwich Tern.

Bonxie. 

This balloon was floating about on the beach in front of the house, the nearest SCS to Scatness is in Dundee - 269 miles away - drift migration in action !

The Bullies are Back

The highlight of the day was the return of the Bonxies, with at least 2 kicking about in the bay, also on the patch - the ad Glaucous Gull was on the Loch (until the coastguard helicopter scattered everything !), the Robin is still in the garden (it's been present since last November), and a single Fieldfare around the stone walls. Great Skua. Oystercatcher. Robin. Fieldfare.

Snowblind.

Finally got out onto the patch again, in between snow showers, apart from a few birds leaving not a lot has changed over the last few days - the 6 Common Redpoll are still in with the Twite, a Robin remains in the garden, 110 Long-tailed Ducks have returned to the West Voe/Burgi Area, the Lapland Bunting flock is still present with 29 birds, 50 Wigeon are on Little Holm, 5 Whooper Swan are still on the Loch and a Golden Plover is out on the headland. Birds new in are a late Bonxie, a Moorhen and 3 Tufted Ducks.

Whooper Swans.

Common Redpolls.

Great Skua.

Here comes winter !

Marooned

Got myself marooned on Mousa for the afternoon, not for the massive fall that had occurred (2 Willow Warblers !), but to increase the Mousa moth list. As this currently stands on 5, I was fairly confident of adding a few more, so with the aid of a net managed to add 4 more - Blastobasis lacticocella, Eana osseana, Bactra lancealana and an unidentified tortrix thing (which is currently living in a pot in my fridge). Back at home a Willow Warbler was in the garden chasing moths until about 11pm.


Mousa Broch.

Bonxie.

Willow Warblers.
2G, 2B.

Too Good - When I was a little kid, one of the highlights of the day was the TV programme 'Rainbow', I can't remember it being this funny or rude though ! (see here). "If you haven't got any balls, ask a friend can you play with his " - priceless !!!

Too Bad - The Willow Warbler in the garden was taken by a neighbours cat just after 11pm, flew all the way across the north sea, found a bit of sanctuary in my garden only to be killed by the little bastard ! It may be time to invest in an air rifle !

Snowy Owl.... not quite.

Following a report from a non-birding neighbour, who said that she thought she'd seen a Snowy Owl from the bus flying over the main road near Mossy Hill, set off in that direction with a fair bit of hope. Her description didn't sound too bad (big white bird with black barring on the wings) and it wouldn't be so outrageous for a Snowy to turn up after all the ones that have been winter further south last winter. A quick look around Mossy Hill revealed nothing, apart from lots of Snowy Owl shaped rocks, so I moved over the road to Virdi Field, almost immediately sussed out what had been seen, when a partial albino Bonxie got up and flew around - not the best outcome, but these things are always worth checking out. Lot's of other stuff there as well - breeding Dunlin, Arctic Skuas and a sizable Bonxie colony.

Partial Albino Bonxie.

Regular Bonxies.