Shetland Misfit: Merlin

Showing posts with label Merlin. Show all posts

Saturday, 3 February 2018

One More

Whooper Swan finally added to the patch year list with 3 on Loch of Gards, also of note was a Merlin on the deck in one of the fields by the house.

Whooper Swan

Merlin

A rare flat calm mid winter day

Friday, 4 November 2016

Another Goldfinch on the patch today, that's a total of 6 birds this autumn. Around the rest of the patch - 2 Blackcaps, Merlin (in front of the house), 60 Long-tailed Duck, 5 Red-breasted Merganser (West Voe), 12 Redwing, 3 Fieldfare and a Robin.

Goldfinch

Fieldfares

Long-tailed Ducks

Merlin

Blackcap

Wednesday, 2 November 2016

Merlin

Amazingly there are still 1 or 2 new birds coming into the patch, Dunnock and Wood Pigeon were both new arrivals, still 25+ Rewing and a Song Thrush in the neep field, 2 Goldeneye and 4 Whooper Swans on the Loch, Jack Snipe flushed from the docks, Robin in the garden and a showy Merlin along the road.

A fine view from the end of the road

Merlin

Redwing

Monday, 29 August 2016

Clear out

It looks like everything has cleared out from the patch, all I could manage today was 2 Willow Warbler, a Merlin, a Kestrel and 28 Black-tailed Godwits.

Merlin

Sunday, 28 February 2016

Last of the good weather

Being as today is forecast to be the last fine day for a while with more typical Shetland weather returning tomorrow, I thought I'd get out and just take a few pics of various bits around the patch. I did manage a year tick though in the form of a Woodcock - well there may have been 2, I had flushed a bird by the end of the road and 90 minutes or so later flushed it or another from by Sanblister beach. Cracking views of 2 Merlins at Stinky Geo as they tried to get at the Starlings that had sought sanctuary in there to avoid the attack.

Merlin

Oystercatchers

Purple Sandpipers

Rock Pipit

Early evening from the house

Wednesday, 27 January 2016

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

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

Saturday, 26 October 2013

Down to Earth

Back on the patch after the excitement of the mega yank - 1 Merlin, 55 Fieldfare, 30 Redwing, 1 Song Thrush, a Jack Snipe, 37 Barnacle Geese, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Slavonian Grebe (in west voe), 3 Sanderlings and a female Blackcap. Strangest of all though was a pink legged Rock Pipit.

Barnacle Geese

Merlin

'pink legged' Rock Pipit

Redwing

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 !!!!