October 24th - 25th 2008.

Two days of gales - reaching 90+ mph at times !! No electricity on the 25th, and several houses lost their satellite dishes.

Grey Phalarope seen from the house on the 24th (house tick 163, patch 182). Other than that, birding pretty impossible.

October 22nd 2008. Snow Buntings.

As the wind had dropped a fair bit, spent a few hours around Scatness.

2 Great Northern Divers in Quendale Bay. 50 Wigeon, 15 Tufted Duck, 4 Goldeneye and a female Pintail on Loch of Gards. 22 Snow Buntings around the cliff tops.


Great Northern Divers.

Herring Gull.

Goldeneye & Snow Buntings.

Snow Buntings.

October 20th 2008. Grey Phalarope.

After yesterday out West, tried up North today - not much better !!!!

1 Scaup, 77 Wigeon and a Bar-headed Goose at Lochend.

Grey Phalarope and lots of Gannets off Eshaness in force 9 south-westerlies (+ a Dunlin cowering on a small pool next to the road).

20 Chaffinch and 2 Brambling at Busta House.


Dunlin.

Gannets.

Eshaness.

October 19th 2008. Mega Garden Tick.

Spent most of the day out west, hoping for the big yank mega.

Long-tailed Tit in the Garden at about 10am (house tick 162, patch tick 181).

12 Snow Bunting, a Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Pintail, a Blackcap and a Sparrowhawk at Sandness.

Sparrowhawk, Goldcrest and Siskin at West Burrafirth.

Gales and Rain all day !!!! (and no Yank).

October 17th 2008. Ring-necked Yuck !

Lerwick to South Mainland.

Male Ring-necked Duck and Long-tailed Duck on Clickimin, Lerwick.

1 Waxwing, 2 Blackcap, 40 Redwing, 3 Fieldfare, 20 Chaffinch, 9 Brambling and a Sparrowhawk at Wester Quarff.

40 Redwing, 2 Robin, 2 Stonechat and a Bluethroat at Channerwick.

Greylag Geese & Ring-necked Duck.

October 15th 2008. A tale of two Titties.

At last, scored both the Coal Tit and the Long-tailed Tit !!

Coal Tit seen well, but briefly, in Toab at about 9am. The bird went missing for the rest of the day until about 5pm.

Excellent views of the Long-tailed Tit in the Sumburgh Hotel Garden at about 4.30pm, looking very out of place in the four stunted Sycamores.

Other stuff - Red-breasted Flycatcher, 40+ Fieldfare and 120+ Redwing at Levenwick, and Pied Flycatchers in Lerwick and Hoswick.


Long-tailed Tit.

Red-breasted Flycatcher.

Red-breasted Flycatcher & L.O.T.S.W. Team having a tea break.

October 14th 2008. White's Thrush & a pair of Tits.

Good views of the White's Thrush in Kergord - Several times in flight and once perched up in a Larch tree in the sun (this is my 5th White's Thrush in Shetland and my 7th in th U.K.), also in Kergord - 1 Pied Flycatcher, at least 1 Yellow-browed Warbler, 4 Blackcaps, a Merlin and a Crossbill.

Left Kergord for the real Shetland Megas - a Long-tailed Tit at Sumburgh Head and a Coal Tit at West Voe of Sumburgh car park (both rarer than White's Thrush up here) - dipped them both !!

October 13th 2008. Richard's Pipit.

A desperate day around South Mainland.

Chiffchaff and Goldcrest in the Garden.

A Pink-footed Goose and a flighty Richard's Pipit at Toab.

Grey Wagtail, 4 Blackcaps, Reed Warbler, 3 Song Thrush and a Goldcrest at Quendale.

4 Chaffinch, a Brambling, a Whinchat and 2 Redwing at Exnaboe.

5 Brent Geese on Pool of Virkie.


Goldcrest & Hooded Crow.

Pink-footed Goose.

October 11th 2008.

39 Barnacle Geese flew North over the House (in a South-westerly gale), male Blackcap in the Garden.

October 9th 2008.

Chiffchaff and Sparrowhawk in the garden.

Sparrowhawk (munching House Sparrow).

October 8th 2008. Little Bunting.

Most of the day around South Mainland.

Blackcap, Kestrel and Arctic Tern seen from the house, Lesser Whitethoat and Blackcap at Grutness, Wheatear and Otter near Sumburgh Airport, 4 Blackcap, Whinchat and Goldcrest at Quendale, 2 Snow Bunting, Little Bunting, Blackcap and Chaffinch around Sumburgh Head, 3 Grey Plover and 2 Knot at Scatness.
Small groups of Redwing seen at most places.


Snow Bunting.

Redwing & 'Shetland' Wren.