Patch Highlights October

October was hard work on the patch with not that many easterlies, but there were a few highlights.

Bramblings

Barnacle Geese

Mistle Thrush

Redwings

Ring Ouzels

Siskin

Slav Grebe

Spotted Flycatcher

Song Thrushes

Patch Highlights September

A few pics from around the patch taken during September.

Chiffchaff

Kestrel

Redstart

Spotted Flycatcher

Sparrowhawk

Yellow-browed Warblers

Reed Warbler

An extremely pale Reed Warbler in the garden caused a bit of a headache, but it is just a Reed albeit a very pale one. Also on the patch today were 2 Spotted Flycatchers and a Chiffchaff. The Velvet Scoter in West Voe was showing a bit closer.

Reed Warbler

Spotted Flycatcher

Velvet Scoter

More Bits

More bits from the last 10 days -
22/5 - 2 Carrion Crows in front of the house and a female Crossbill flushed from the garden
24/5 - 2 Spotted Flycatchers in the garden
29/5 - Bee-eater at work in Lerwick, seen for about 30 seconds around the compound
30/5 - male Ruff on the patch

Carrion Crows

Ruff

Spotted Flycatcher

Bits

A few birds from around the patch from the last few days -

Arctic Terns

Spotted Flycatcher

Whinchat

Late Update

A few bits and bobs from the patch over the last fortnight

Canada Goose

Curlew Sandpipers - present for 3 days

Eider

Oystercatcher

Spotted Flycatcher in the garden

Debris

A few shots from South Mainland over the last week.

Pied Flycatcher - Hoswick

Snow Buntings - Scatness

Spotted Flycatcher - Swinister

Two Days of Frustration

After emptying the Moth trap yesterday morning, there were 3 birds tazzing around the garden, one was a Willow Warbler that perched up nicely and posed, the second one was a bit more elusive and turned out to be a female Blackcap and the third bird was so elusive that it only flushed at the last second and then flew over the house to god knows where ! The bird then showed up a couple of hours later in the front garden, perched up in the roses for long enough to get my bins to it - Booted Warbler !!!! it then flew over the house into the plantation. I saw the bird on 2 more occasions before it went dark - but no photos.
This morning there were more birds in the garden - Lesser Whitethroat, Spotted Flycatcher and 2 Willow Warblers, but no sign of the Booted. So I sodded of to do the rest of the patch - no more passerines but, 4 Bar-tailed Godwits, 2 Little Stints, 28 Dunlin, 9 Sanderling and a Curlew Sandpiper. Back at the house, a quick thrash through the plantation, and the Booted was still there. This time flying into a thistle patch in the field, camera in hand I walked slowly through the thistles - no sign ! 2 hours later it was in the garden again for brief views through the kitchen window before heading back to the thistles - again it just seemed to disappear, so I walked all the thistles, weeds, long grass, stone walls and any other bit of cover within a few hundred yards of the house - all in vain. I did a final thrash in the plantation at 6pm, nothing but the Lesser Whitethroat !

Spotted Flycatcher

Sanderling

Little Stint

Bar-tailed Godwits

All the Same.

Pretty much the same stuff around on the patch with 1 Redstart, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 2 Blackcap, 1 Whitethroat, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Tree Pipit, 1 Pied Flycatcher, 3 Whinchat, 2 Merlin and 4 Knot. Not that impressive, but after the lousy spring, it's nice to go out and see common migrants day to day.

Redstart.

Garden Warbler.

Spotted Flycatcher.

Whinchat.