Shetland Misfit

Wednesday, 31 August 2011

All Gone

All the Little Stints from the patch seem to have bogged off, I didn't see a single one today, or any Curlew Sands, a few decent birds were kicking about though - the Spotted Redshank was around the Loch, a Bar-tailed Godwit was in the cow field and a juv Little Gull (year-tick) was in West Voe before flying over to Scord,
In the garden the Pied Flycatcher remains, joined now by a Willow Warbler and a Blackcap.

Bar-tailed Godwit

Little Gull

Pied Flycatcher

Another Cheesy Classic

Monday, 29 August 2011

Jesus H Corbett...

....what's going on ? Out on the patch today, on a mission to find Curlew Sandpiper for the year-list. Started off on Scord and Sanblister Beaches, where there were 3 Little Stints - this would normally constitute a good count at Scatness, where Little Stint is just about annual ! Carrying on around the patch and another 7 Little Stints around the Loch, in fact as the day went on, every bit of a puddle seemed to have 1 or 2 Little Stints on it - 3 hours on the patch and 25 Little Stints !!!!
More species of wader were also seen - 5 Curlew Sands, a Greenshank, 7 Sanderling, 36 Dunlin and a Spotted Redshank.
Elsewhere around the patch - a stunning Grey-headed Wagtail, a Willow Warbler, 2 Arctic Terns and a Pied Flycatcher. All this after a weekend of northerly gales !

Little Stints

Curlew Sands

Sanderling

Sunday, 28 August 2011

The Gale

The weekend has been filled with a northerly gale blowing like mad, so telly was the order of both days with the GP qualifying and Wigan & Saints challenge cup final on Saturday and the GP race and Man U thrashing Arsenal 8-2 today. I did keep a look out in the garden though - 1 Barred Warbler still there yesterday and a Pied Flycatcher today.

Friday, 26 August 2011

You're Barred

With the wind still south-easterly (ish) and a fine bright day, there really ought to be new birds in around the patch - and there was ! 2 Barred Warblers in the garden, 5 Tree Pipits around the Old Scatness dig, 3 Ruff in with the Oystercatchers, a Whinchat and a Redstart around the big house (not a prison, just a house that's big !), plus 2 Yellow Wagtails, 4 Willow Warbler, 2 Garden Warbler, a Knot and 2 Grey Herons.

Barred Warblers

Thursday, 25 August 2011

Monster Garden Tick and More Year Ticks

Now that the rain has stopped, time to get out on the patch and give it a good kicking ! And it started of with a monster in the garden - a Convolvulus Hawk-moth in the trap - garden tick ! Out on the patch it was obvious that there were birds to be found - no rarities, but 3 year-ticks - a Little Stint on Sanblister Beach, a Yellow Wagtail behind Colonial and a Garden Warbler in the garden. Other birds included 4 Willow Warblers, a Whinchat, 2 Swifts and a Ruff.

Convolvulus Hawk-moth

Garden Warbler

Wednesday, 24 August 2011

Rain

South east winds all day and loads of rain ! A few hours around the patch in horrible conditions resulted in 2 Willow Warblers, a Garden Warbler, a Pied Flycatcher and very wet clothes !

Tuesday, 23 August 2011

Back Home

The ferry crossing back from Fair Isle was pretty uneventful (a single Manxie just north of North Light), but it got a bit better just before docking at Grutness with a Minke Whale just off the Larward. Back home we were greeted with Lesser Whitethroat and Willow Warbler in the Garden.

Minke Whale

Gannets

Monday, 22 August 2011

Last Day

The last day on the rock and it started well with a Barred Warbler in the obs plantation (found from the bedroom window !), the rest of the day was a bit of a struggle in the strengthening south-west wind - the only things of note being 16 Swifts at the base of Malcolm's Head and Merlin & Kestrel hunting in tandem around the shop.

Swift

Merlin

Sunday, 21 August 2011

Mostly Singles

Mostly singles of everything on the rock today - Rosefinch (a red one this time), Garden Warbler, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Pied Flycatcher and Greenshank. Multiples were 3 Willow Warblers, 4 Swift and 9 Swallows.

Common Rosefinch

Pied Flycatcher

Whitethroat

Saturday, 20 August 2011

On The Rock

Day one in the new Fair Isle Asylum, not much on the crossing over - 1 Stormie and 1 Manxie, on the island itself - a brown Common Rosefinch in bull's park and a few Painted Ladies was about it..... and then it pissed down !

South Light from hill dyke

Super pale Bonxie

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 !!!!