Coming soon....

....a big update from the last few weeks, that is once BT have got there act together and got the broadband up to speed, at the moment it seems to be powered by this -

In the meantime, here's another 'Simon's Cat' -

Covers

Sometimes bands can go a bit too far with cover versions - this one is as mad as a box of frogs !

Aurora

A few pics from last night's Northern Lights -

Garden Mega

Not much on the patch today - just a Blackcap and a Kestrel, which makes me think it's a waste of time getting out and about until the wind changes ! As I got back home though, all the Starlings went nuts - the culprit ? - the oiled Pallid Harrier going over the house roof !

Crap photo I know, but it is a Pallid Harrier going over my house !

and then over the runway

and finally over 'The Fray's' house

Swainson's

A bit of a trip up to Dalsetter (all of 5 miles !) for the Swainson's Thrush, luckily the bird had been using my mate's garden, so I sat on his veranda with a cup of coffee and waited, Unluckily, Chris's garden is a bit of a forest (by south mainland standards) but after a couple of hours the bird flew in to the trees and then immediately flew out again to the north - flight views only ! A Blackcap and a Robin provided entertainment, as a few folk were chasing these as Swainson's Thrush !


The Dalsetter Forest




The Shetland Times Paparazzi



Seek and Destroy

Classic ! Before they went all 'poppie' ! Play it loud as fuck !!!!!!

Simon's Cat

For those that haven't seen it yet - hilarious !

Least Feast

On the charter boat this morning to Foula ("It's not the edge of the world, but you can see it from there") for the Least Sand, on arrival we all got into the 'Foula Taxi' (a battered transit van that has seen better days) for the 'fairground ride' to the south of the island. Checking all the rock pools south of the weather station, where the bird had been for the last 3 days - no sign !!!! Just as it was being generally accepted that the bird had bogged off, it turns up on a freshwater pool that we had all walked past about an hour before ! Stunning views eventually as it fed around the edge being dwarfed by Rock Pipits.

Tame

The Barred Warbler that has been in the garden all week is now so stupidly tame it's took to feeding on Craneflies around the windows. Took this video this morning - ignore the commentary in the background, that's just the Discovery Channel with a documentary claiming that the Welsh 'found' North America - is there anything that the Welsh don't claim to have found ?!!!

Thunder Kiss '65

A bit of easy listening for the weekend -

CR SG and other bits.

The Barred Warbler was still in the garden yesterday, but far more interesting was a colour ringed Starling, I presume that it's one of the Fair Isle birds, if so then it kinda prooves that Fair Isle Starlings migrate north in the autumn ! A quick look around one or two patches of trees on the patch revealed sod all, so decided to go to the town instead, waiting for the bus and MEGA patch tick - the unoiled Pallid Harrier flew over the road towards Toab - this is the year to get PH on the patch list, just waiting for it to fly by the house now for a garden tick.
Today the Barred is still in the garden along with a Willow Warbler, major south-easterlies at the weekend - fingers crossed !