January Sum-up

Highlights around the patch in January were -

2 Little Gulls in West Voe on 1/1
2 Barnacle Geese in front of the house on and off 4/1 to 11/1
Jack Snipe on 11/1
Black-throated Diver in Quendale Bay 11/1 - 13/1
2 Scaup in West Voe on 14/1
Velvet Scoter in West Voe all month
Kumlien's Gull at Moast Beach on 28/1

PWC - Species: 62, Points: 90

Barnacle Geese

Velvet Scoter with Common Scoters

Kumlien's Gull

Little Gulls



January's PWC Islands League

Happy New Year List

Out on the patch just after first light this morning (that'll be 10 o'clock then) to get the patch year list off to a good start. Started in West Voe of Sumburgh, and this was definitely the place to be with 2 Velvet Scoters among the Long-tailed Ducks and then a major surprise, give the time of year, 2 Little Gulls feeding in the breakers - bonus. Did the rest of the patch after lunchtime and added a Little Auk and 2 Great Northern Divers (in Quendale Bay) and a Shelduck among the usual ducks on Loch of Gards.

Little Gulls

Stocker

Back on the patch again today, after rain overnight, migrants everywhere - 100+ Whinchat, 1 Little Stint (on a carpark puddle !), 40 Little Gulls, 5 Wrynecks, the Black-headed Bunting still, 3 Lesser Grey Shrikes, 34 Red-backed Shrikes, a Savi's Warbler, 2 Olivaceous Warblers, 1 Sedege Warbler, 26 Reed Warblers, 4 Ortolans, 8 Great Reed Warblers, 6 Barred Warblers, a Stock Dove, 2 Spotted Flycatcher and 9 Isabelline Wheatear.

Black-headed Bunting

Great Reed Warbler

Little Gull

Little Stint

Stock Dove

Wrynecks

Another Gull

But this time nothing unusual about it - a Little Gull around Moast Beach, and as it's one of my favourite birds, no apolologies for the amount of photos - a smart bird indeed. Also around the patch, the Great Tit is still in the garden (for it's eighth day), 2 Short-eared Owls, a Woodcock, a Little Grebe, 6 Whooper Swan, 2 Robin and 560 Fieldfare.

Little Gull

Woodcock

All Gone

All the Little Stints from the patch seem to have bogged off, I didn't see a single one today, or any Curlew Sands, a few decent birds were kicking about though - the Spotted Redshank was around the Loch, a Bar-tailed Godwit was in the cow field and a juv Little Gull (year-tick) was in West Voe before flying over to Scord,
In the garden the Pied Flycatcher remains, joined now by a Willow Warbler and a Blackcap.

Bar-tailed Godwit

Little Gull

Pied Flycatcher

Thank Heavens...

....for Little Gulls. With storm force westerlies hitting the patch, attempted to go for a sea-watch, until I saw this happening at the end of the road -

Sea-watching - bad idea, bay-watching, good idea, especially with a rather tame Little Gull feeding in the surf -

Little Gull.

Elsewhere around the patch - 2 Waxwings in the garden, 40+ Fieldfare and 20+ Redwing kicking about, and now 4 Scaup on the Loch.

Waxwing.

Redwing.

Even Kittiwakes were taking shelter behind stone walls !

Scaup.