2011 Scatness Year-list

1/1/11
1. Hooded Crow
2. Red-throated Diver
3. Common Gull
4. Herring Gull
5. Great Black-backed Gull
6. Starling
7. House Sparrow
8. Robin
9. Shag
2/1/11
10. Rock Dove
11. Turnstone
12. Eider
13. Great Northern Diver
14. Greylag Goose
15. Curlew
16. Redshank
17. Hen Harrier
18. Blackbird
19. Skylark
20. Fieldfare
21. Long-tailed Duck
22. Oystercatcher
23. Lapwing
24. Twite
25. King Eider
26. Goldeneye
27. Black Guillemot
28. Mallard
29. Wigeon
30. Raven
3/1/11
31. Gannet
32. Fulmar
33. Merlin
4/1/11
34. Purple Sandpiper
35. Rock Pipit
36. Tufted Duck
5/1/11
37. Common Scoter
38. Black-headed Gull
6/1/11
39. Teal
40. Dunlin
41. Golden Plover
42. Black-tailed Godwit
7/1/11
43. Snow Bunting
44. Redwing
9/1/11
45. Cormorant
10/1/11
46. Grey Plover
47. Moorhen
48. Wren
49. Red-breasted Merganser
50. Whooper Swan
17/1/11
51. Peregrine
23/1/11
52. Glaucous Gull
53. Shelduck
1/1/11
54. Iceland Gull
5/2/11
55. Kestrel
15/2/11
56. Ringed Plover
57. Kittiwake
17/2/11
58. Short-eared Owl
27/2/11
59. Grey Heron
28/2/11
60. Razorbill
12/3/11
61. Snipe
16/3/11
62. Chaffinch
23/3/11
63. Pied Wagtail
26/3/11
64 Meadow Pipit
1/4/11
65 Lesser Black-backed Gull
66. Gadwall
4/4/11
67. Great Skua
7/4/11
68. Dunnock
10/4/11
69. Wheatear
70. Woodcock
71. Blackcap
14/4/11
72. Rook
15/4/11
73. Swallow
16/4/11
74. Chiffchaff
19/4/11
75. Guillemot
76. Sand Martin
21/4/11
77. Wood Pigeon
22/4/11
78. Pintail
79. Whitethroat
80. Common Tern
81. Willow Warbler
23/4/11
82. Lesser Whitethroat
24/4/11
83. Common Crane
25/4/11
84. Carrion Crow
26/4/11
85. Sandwich Tern
27/4/11
86. Song Thrush
28/4/11
87. Whimbrel
30/4/11
88. Mute Swan
89. House Martin
90. Reed Bunting
1/5/11
91. Spotted Redshank
92. Arctic Skua
3/5/11
93. Linnet
4/4/11
94 Arctic Tern
5/5/11
95. Tree Pipit
8/5/11
96. Garganey
97. Knot
98. Reed Warbler
10/5/11
99. Collared Dove
11/5/11
100. Siskin
101. Sanderling
102. Common Redpoll
22/5/11
103. Barnacle Goose
104. Grasshopper Warbler
26/5/11
105. Sedge Warbler
106. Whinchat
6/6/11
107. Common Rosefinch
11/6/11
108. Swift
15/6/11
109. Crossbill
17/6/11
110. Puffin
8/7/11
111. Common Sandpiper
1/8/11
112. Ruff
3/8/11
113. Greenshank
114. Bar-tailed Godwit
115. Wood Sandpiper
14/8/11
116. Hobby
24/8/11
117. Pied Flycatcher
25/8/11
118. Little Stint
119. Yellow Wagtail
120. Garden Warbler
26/8/11
121. Barred Warbler
122. Redstart
29/8/11
123. Curlew Sandpiper
31/8/11
124. Little Gull
2/9/11
125. Booted Warbler
3/9/11
126. Spotted Flycatcher
13/9/11
127. Pink-footed Goose
14/9/11
128. Pallid Harrier
30/9/11
129. Brambling
130. Jack Snipe
2/10/11
131. Greenfinch
4/10/11
132. Sabine's Gull
133. Sparrowhawk
8/10/11
134. Goldcrest
12/10/11
135. Ring Ouzel
25/10/11
136. Great Tit
27/10/11
137. Long-eared Owl
138. Little  Auk
30/10/11
139. Shoveler
5/11/11
140. Mistle Thrush
6/11/11
141. Pomarine Skua
11/11/11
142. Pochard
13/11/11
143. Scaup
144. White-fronted Goose
145. Lapland Bunting
19/11/11
146. Green-winged Teal
27/11/11
147. Common Buzzard

Rough-buggered Lizard.

Still stuck indoors (and getting really fed up of watching repeats of 'top gear' on Dave), lying on the couch and aimlessly staring out of the window - boring as hell, but my foot is looking a lot better. Boring, that is, until this morning when I picked up a soaring bird high over the house, my first thought was 'if I struggle to my feet to have a better look, it'll just be another Greater Black again'. As curiosity eventually got the better of me, managed to get to my Bins on the windowsill, and, standing on one leg, got a face full of a soaring Rough-legged Buzzard ! Then legged it into the garden (not really legging it on crutches !), armed with Camera and Bins - no sign ! Struggled to the front of the house and started scanning, then all the Geese, Ducks and Gulls freaked out at the end of Scatness, so presumably the bird sodded off that way.


Rough-legged Buzzard (sort of) - this bird was photographed in a different place, a different time, a different country, a different year, a different time zone and in a different moult (there, that should stop Mr 'Gallo Combibo' starting any shit stirring !)

'Cracking sunset, Gromit'

Windows

Still stuck indoors, so the only birds that I'm able to look at is the stuff thats in front of the living room window - so far this week a couple of Merlins, Golden Plover, Red-throated and Great Northern Divers, a few Long-tailed Ducks, Redwing and Fieldfare.


Merlin.

Fieldfare.

Redwing.

'White-tailed' Starling.

Humbug.

Not wishing to spoil anybodies day or anything - but Santa is just a made up thing .....just like God and Jesus !

Happy Pancha Ganapati.

Garden Tick.

The doom and gloom of not being able to get out onto the patch continues, and my ankle has now turned a rather fetching shade of purple. Being stuck indoors does have some advantages though, as was proved yesterday as a 'ringtail' Hen Harrier flew past the living room window - that's species number 179 for the house list.


Not such a bad view from the window !

Ouch !!!

Touch Me, I'm Sick.

This week's top tune - Mudhoney - Touch Me, I'm Sick.

It's good for a grunge band not to take themselves too seriously !

Disaster.

The year-list is now definitely over, and next years one is going to start late ! Owing to a bizarre accident involving a coughing fit whilst making my way to the bathroom - the result - torn ligaments in my ankle and excruciating pain and a trip to the hospital - now on crutches for 6-8 weeks, so the only birding that's gonna get done is from the living room window !

This is what my ankle now looks like -


And this is what it feels like ! -

Falling Snow.

Back on the patch for a few hours despite the falling snow - the usual drossy stuff being still about, the only highlights being - 2 Jack Snipe, a Golden Plover and 2 Skylarks (scarce on Shetland in winter).


The right (dis)honourable Sir Sparkington de Dawg - not so expert Rabbit chaser !

Skylark.

Curlew.

Greylag Goose.

Golden Plover.

Dark Days.

Now into the dark days of winter, with little or no enthusiasm for thrashing the patch, the few times that I have been out since the weekend it's just been the usual winter fare, and looks like staying that way until at least March !


Snipe.

Goldeneye.

Greylag Geese.

Merlin.

Red-breasted Mergansers.

Red-throated Diver.

Twite.

Stumbling Man.

This week's top tune - TAD - Stumbling Man.

Along with Soundgarden, TAD were one of the first (and better) bands to come out of the Seattle 'Grunge Scene'.

A March In The Melting Snow.

A good stomp around the patch today, as all the snow seemed to be melting and the wind had dropped - 250 Greylags and a Pink Foot were in one of the fields, 4 Snow Buntings on the beach in front of the house, 2 Jack Snipe and a Woodcock flushed from the 'wet bit' (+ loads of Snipe), and 8 Golden Plover and 7 Skylarks were in the fields bordering West Voe.

Snow Buntings.

Lapwing.

Pink-footed Goose, in with the Greylags.

Turnstone.