tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89013431943707426102024-02-25T02:18:51.612-08:00Logan's Nature BlogMy name is Logan Johnson, teenage birder, ringer, all round Naturalist and Reroute member and I have started this blog to share and record my sightings, trips and adventures as I explore the world whether birding or otherwiseLogan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13710425892081407758noreply@blogger.comBlogger140125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901343194370742610.post-61018543669961217222019-01-24T15:51:00.003-08:002019-01-24T15:51:45.795-08:00Colourful GullsEarlier last week (Wednesday 16th of January), I headed down to Girdleness (Torry, Aberdeen) to try and get some Shag rings on the outer breakwater.<br />
Safe to say after 2 hours I was pretty unsuccessful with virtually no Shags since and no rings read so I packed it in and headed off back into the centre of Aberdeen.<br />
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On my way back I happened to stop and check a few of the Gulls around a local Salmon smokers and safe to say it was a good idea! I managed to spot a metal-ringed Black-headed Gull waiting around for a chance at some grub so I decided to try nab the numbers of it.<br />
After many photos and a few precarious positions on the road I managed to grab enough photos to piece together the full number.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9iR2QE333eljXi4i8Dprvlz8eZ2_kMJXRyJ8zO2HkmXMZf923PWQkjPv0ZXLNnRPWAM6_Dlr4AvxbGlqTq6m3IHj5RFy9glQciuADy77v5o7TKV5EuogEaCQ1CBe1tDtDqTUMfE8fVLU/s1600/P1240959.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9iR2QE333eljXi4i8Dprvlz8eZ2_kMJXRyJ8zO2HkmXMZf923PWQkjPv0ZXLNnRPWAM6_Dlr4AvxbGlqTq6m3IHj5RFy9glQciuADy77v5o7TKV5EuogEaCQ1CBe1tDtDqTUMfE8fVLU/s640/P1240959.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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This first individual probably took the most work into reading the ring number but luckily he was quite tame. This bird was originally ringed at Grantown-on-Spey in the Highlands on June 2018, a distance of 96km.</div>
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I'd just finished looking at the metal ringed bird when a rather well developed bird going into summer plumage flew by, with a yellow darvic ring! The camera was out again in a flash and I rattled out a flurry of shots on the ring allowing for the code to be quickly established.</div>
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Yellow 2VJC is a Black-headed Gull colour-ringed locally @ Forvie NNR at the Ythan Estuary by Grampian Ringing Group in 2014, making this bird around 4 years old.</div>
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Happy with my discoveries I headed off back to the city centre to get a few things before going home, on the way I stopped at Victoria Bridge, the link between Torry and the rest of Aberdeen, where there was at least 100 gulls feeding on the dropping tide, so I scanned them for any colour rings. The first flock that I scanned was mainly Black-heads, and there was one individual with a rather large white patch on its leg that caught my eye.... After a few shots from my camera I'd clinched a good enough photos to get a code off the Black-heads colour ring! in the field there was something about its metal ring that caught my eye, it seemed noticeably larger than the ones you usually see on British ringed birds, sometimes the European ringers use bigger rings on their birds so this had me thinking this was a potential European visitor.</div>
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Most certainly the farthest travelled bird of the trio, this beauty was initially ringed in Helgoland, Germany in 2013 and has been wintering in this area of Aberdeen ever since! this find was also my first foreign recovery of any bird. However a Brambling retrap from Norway that we caught two days later was quickly my second!<br />
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The rest of the nearby gulls were checked for rings but nothing was found so I packed it in and headed home.</div>
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<br />Logan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13710425892081407758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901343194370742610.post-63483739383358666952018-12-08T13:55:00.001-08:002018-12-08T13:55:04.993-08:00A day in the life of a traineeA quick piece here that I did for the Grampian Ringing Group after a day out on the 11th of November 2018 ringing finches, tits and chasing Waxwings in Aberdeen.<br />
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Link to their website and the post can be found here:<br />
<a href="http://grampianringing.blogspot.com/2018/12/a-day-in-life-of-trainee_2.html">http://grampianringing.blogspot.com/2018/12/a-day-in-life-of-trainee_2.html</a><br />
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<b><i>Original Post Below</i></b><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">On an unseasonably warm November morning, several members of the group braved the darkness to head out to the finch ringing site at Girdleness, Aberdeen City for the final finch catching of the autumn.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">After setting up both the finch net and starling net, with different foods, the usual waiting game ensued.</span></div>
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Finch Whoosh Net</div>
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Today's team and trapping site</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">After a few flocks of finches came and went our luck finally struck and a flock of linnet came down and we were able to capture them. After extraction was complete there was 15 finches all nicely in bird bags. At the end of the session we had ringed a total of 6 new linnet and retrapped 2 goldfinches, and another 7 linnet from previous sessions this autumn.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">The second ringing session of the day involved some titmice ringing at some bird feeders in the Cruikshank Botanical Gardens in Old Aberdeen. The site seemed promising on arrival as the place was busy with coal tits (with a few great & blues thrown in). The next hour of the nets up proved to be a productive one and to end our catch, we'd managed a grand total of 63 new birds (24 blue tit, 24 coal tit, 14 great tit & a robin) and single retraps of coal & blue tit. However this session was particularly special for myself as I handled three new species in the form of coal, great and blue tit. For someone who has been ringing for several years, it would come as a surprise that I hadn't come across these species before but coming from Shetland we don't have many of these peerie fluffballs and usually, when they do show up, it ignites a twitch!</span></div>
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Coal Tit</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9WBO86YOwcILWh6dIv_IuzHBLMEIBSC-l0stWT0UvoIRNupH_ath9nOIqye2cG0yZfabMnBLFHo1zssFXZxnR-vAWTxwZ4_MpCiU1sh0sMMRNvsTyIy2j6iaWBx3DaATEnjrTKkmFU0M/s1600/IMG_5782.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9WBO86YOwcILWh6dIv_IuzHBLMEIBSC-l0stWT0UvoIRNupH_ath9nOIqye2cG0yZfabMnBLFHo1zssFXZxnR-vAWTxwZ4_MpCiU1sh0sMMRNvsTyIy2j6iaWBx3DaATEnjrTKkmFU0M/s400/IMG_5782.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Great Tit</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Blue tits, however, were a species we were particularly interested in (not something people say very often!) due to a new national moult project that GRG has joined, that looks at the post-juvenile moult of blue tits. This project aims to give us a better understanding of how juvenile blue tits moult their feathers and allow for another piece of the moult cycle puzzle to be solved, more information can be found in the Autumn issue of the Lifecycle magazine. As the gardens seem to have a decent number of blue tits, it will probably see us returning for a few more titmice sessions in the coming weeks and months.</span><br />
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Blue Tit</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">For the final ringing session of the day we decided to cross the River Dee and head into Kincorth to locate the local flock of waxwing which was numbering over 100. In previous winters the group has colour-ringed many 100s of waxwings and contributed to our understanding of their movements through the UK during irruptions (see our previous blog posts). Arriving on the site, we set up a couple of mist nets, which hopefully would get us a few of these Scandinavian visitors. Over the space of the next few hours, the waxwing flock did several pass overs and at one point came as close as to land in a large tree near to the nets, but unfortunately never close enough to catch. The group will undoubtedly be trying again to ring waxwings if they stick around for the winter, there's enough berries in the area so only time will tell.</span></div>
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Logan Johnson - Trainee (Shetland RG, adoptee of Grampian RG)Logan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13710425892081407758noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901343194370742610.post-12605775991578018672018-05-19T03:07:00.003-07:002018-05-19T03:07:38.204-07:00Twitching a Tereks and some variation These last few days have been pretty hectic, I am in the middle of my final exams for school before I venture into the big wide world, on the other hand Shetland has just been bombarded with rarities of extreme proportion that has every lister and twitcher scrambling for.<br />
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First news broke of a Mamora's Warbler in Unst found by Dave Cooper on 14th May 2018, a first for Shetland and an incredibly rare bird in this country followed shortly by a Black-faced Bunting found by Mark Warren, also in Unst and another big British rarity. Both were found around 6pm and I was sleeping ……. typically, with me only waking up 30 minutes later and not being able to reach the 6.55pm ferry up to Yell, I was scuppered for getting up that night and would have to wait til tomorrow (neither bird was ever seen again sadly).<br />
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While further south on the jewel that is Fair Isle, another fantastic rarity was found by Fair Isle regular and rarity finder extraordinaire, Keith Pellow, at North Haven in the shape of a Crag Martin (2nd for Scotland and 1st for Shetland), but shortly after during the following morning a Song Sparrow was found and trapped by Richard Cope on morning trap rounds, adding to the crazy rarities seen over the last 24 hours.<br />
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Now comes in my tales of trying to see these rares, the day the Song Sparrow arrived (15th May) I had an exam at 1pm and so couldn't go to Unst or Fair Isle on regular or chartered flights that afternoon so banked on a later chartered flight but sadly timing didn't work out. Luckily others did get in to see these birds and hopefully they'll stick around til early next week after my exams are finished and I plan to twitch the Sparrow.<br />
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But there was still hope for me, after not getting out to see any of these colossal rarities another great bird showed up on Virkie, a Terek Sandpiper had been found by visiting birders and I was not going to miss this one, around 5pm I got a lift down with Julie Redpath and the twitch was on!<br />
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Arriving at Virkie it didn't take long before we got distant views of Shetland's fifth ever Terek Sand, within 15 minutes the bird got scared off by an Arctic Skua and we lost it at the back of the pool. Though luckily it wasn't long before my and Julie had the bird fly back in and with it eventually being within 50 metres of us.<br />
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Eventually it walked towards the back of the pool and became rather distant so we called it a day and headed back north after a very successful twitch.<br />
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Many thanks to Julie for the run!<br />
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First sighting of the Terek, rather distant!</div>
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Terek Sand! my 284th bird species for Shetland and not one I expected to be seeing anytime soon</div>
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Now for a slightly different note, I've been getting interested in identifying Hoverflies in the last few weeks so here's a few from around Lerwick plus some birds I've had on the Clickimin and Seafield patch.</div>
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Eristalis intricarius</div>
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Melanostoma scalare</div>
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Eristalis pertinax</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEpANs36cGOuJemDh0ir10FCaJfThtTvaJieGHRDykaVM0lPrJnrOguj5kt8Jiv3NSSpSXCUs4Bc0V-Nbpx52c7EQAQGcgDTKAxWa9kynJ_lHynx1gNGBaVTWpvCLiKlZZCtSBeZL3FnQ/s1600/P1230233.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEpANs36cGOuJemDh0ir10FCaJfThtTvaJieGHRDykaVM0lPrJnrOguj5kt8Jiv3NSSpSXCUs4Bc0V-Nbpx52c7EQAQGcgDTKAxWa9kynJ_lHynx1gNGBaVTWpvCLiKlZZCtSBeZL3FnQ/s640/P1230233.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Sea Kale springing back to life once again</div>
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Two Knot, my first on the patch this year and a year tick</div>
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Osprey!! a stonker of a patch tick that was being mobbed by gulls over Pullar's and headed due west</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRjhMbzPcVyvJRZOsqqzMvEfFNLEwnHGAwqqn3tqnmgYQl1e87mLbfmQj7v0bqboECKdZg2d3PHq1Z8t16SFOaRPNVidlrkEZHf8aT1ooOGs2H9V8jpxMm1G5ZCLfjQgoRqkslAqfSeIA/s1600/P1230251.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRjhMbzPcVyvJRZOsqqzMvEfFNLEwnHGAwqqn3tqnmgYQl1e87mLbfmQj7v0bqboECKdZg2d3PHq1Z8t16SFOaRPNVidlrkEZHf8aT1ooOGs2H9V8jpxMm1G5ZCLfjQgoRqkslAqfSeIA/s640/P1230251.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Surphus sp</div>
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Silver Y</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqyzUzW_oQyEavuVC-wTibXpzTSVT_IWV402cEj5wvrV0Dmwu7x09hIKH5SHJRvikeeN6wJ3bQx58CFlwQOzrZ_HHyfnQu0ruEPFBZ6wCnNwZ8SAOYM553A57LEvjhwh5nTByiSAztMs/s1600/P1230272.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWqyzUzW_oQyEavuVC-wTibXpzTSVT_IWV402cEj5wvrV0Dmwu7x09hIKH5SHJRvikeeN6wJ3bQx58CFlwQOzrZ_HHyfnQu0ruEPFBZ6wCnNwZ8SAOYM553A57LEvjhwh5nTByiSAztMs/s640/P1230272.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> female Melanostoma scalare</span></div>
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Logan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13710425892081407758noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901343194370742610.post-83975048086524145342018-05-19T02:58:00.002-07:002018-05-19T02:58:26.028-07:00Bewick's Swan at Hillwell 06/04/2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
On Thursday 5th April, a Bewick's Swan was found by friends Dave Okill and Pete Ellis at Hillwell. This big white blob was the first in Shetland since 2011 when a bird was at Northdale, Unst for a few weeks.</div>
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This was a potential tick for us so Tommy and I decided to have a twitch the following day for it. Arriving at its last known site of a park west of Ringasta, we were greeted by a group of about 15 Whooper Swans, we were a good distance away from the birds and even a scope would of struggled with the distance so we were stumped on trying to get an ID. After 30 minutes we gave up and hoped that it wasn't in the flock and was instead at Hillwell, 3 swans were on the loch and another flock of 6 were up by the road in a newly plowed park. A quick scan of the 3 brought up no Bewicks and so the park birds were next.</div>
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I scanned them from right to left and the last bird hit me like a brick, it just screamed Bewicks at me, we'd found the bird! The camera came out and we both rattled off a few shots before just taking in the swan for a good while.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHxmpgu08iYDm4dWbj4-BL0QZ87-fNdtR8bS11PscWk2D3tRar6e0TQAWsZD6Q5U5VVlsGYnflCzzSTbE6bkit5rlcDylF8Ziq0nfShNa1gH_ynRSFau1WHmQPdRY54Rr9ImV6L-ncwlo/s1600/P1230102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHxmpgu08iYDm4dWbj4-BL0QZ87-fNdtR8bS11PscWk2D3tRar6e0TQAWsZD6Q5U5VVlsGYnflCzzSTbE6bkit5rlcDylF8Ziq0nfShNa1gH_ynRSFau1WHmQPdRY54Rr9ImV6L-ncwlo/s640/P1230102.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Bewicks (on left), note that the yellow on the Bewicks bill looks like half a B and the Whoopers looks like half a W, B for Bewicks and W for Whooper is a good way to look at it.</div>
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Moving on we started checking goose flocks for any birds with collars or any other species of goose.<br />
First bird found was DTI near the Mainland's shop having been originally ringed in Clumlie in 19/07/2015 making it 2 and a half years old.<br />
The second was DNC seen near Bigton which had originally been ringed at Clumlie in 19/07/2012 making it 5 and a half years old.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglJVKGgsS5Wj2x-aJzr71i-cl_7TUgHaQcHf-oCqUQmfAm4ZdQg9eExoH3eQAKKWltrZTq6NfU6JeJ7ZP6gzBQvzxYDsbPIM5WcEioFxTAo8DRyxKOuMgyB_TcEXEnwpUCLxJ5nzaVYxk/s1600/P1230104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglJVKGgsS5Wj2x-aJzr71i-cl_7TUgHaQcHf-oCqUQmfAm4ZdQg9eExoH3eQAKKWltrZTq6NfU6JeJ7ZP6gzBQvzxYDsbPIM5WcEioFxTAo8DRyxKOuMgyB_TcEXEnwpUCLxJ5nzaVYxk/s640/P1230104.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The collar scheme was set up to try and establish where Shetland birds went during dispersal, with similar projects in Orkney and Iceland, however most Shetland birds rarely leave their breeding areas (South Mainland birds stick mainly to the South Mainland)</div>
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Moving on to Spiggie we had a hunt for the wintering Pied-billed Grebe, after a brief look Tommy spotted the bird in the NW marsh, it was looking rather splendid in its new summer plumage.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYC1JutH9f5VSxyWabsVSVsZfCuec-Ra3PL9hvroNCXyuALTiJn_vPyvBFId42HIwdfRpCLW6YDXCNurYbxJeBILiNxICrXBpV0ADHh9UTsCPk5wnQ-czlwirjRXcwEPPbiiZEFvqgYo4/s1600/P1230111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYC1JutH9f5VSxyWabsVSVsZfCuec-Ra3PL9hvroNCXyuALTiJn_vPyvBFId42HIwdfRpCLW6YDXCNurYbxJeBILiNxICrXBpV0ADHh9UTsCPk5wnQ-czlwirjRXcwEPPbiiZEFvqgYo4/s640/P1230111.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Pied-billed Grebe</div>
Logan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13710425892081407758noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901343194370742610.post-80221844337923073712018-03-24T08:12:00.000-07:002018-03-24T08:12:46.174-07:00The first ticks of the yearMy first post for 2018, though my round up for 2017 is still to come and a few other interesting sightings from the last two months.<br />
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<b>21/02/2018</b><br />
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It was around 1130am and my phone went off with the familiar and always exciting 'bleep' of the WhatsApp bird groups, looking at the message, Paul Harvey had re-found the Red-necked Grebe in Nesting. Red-necked Grebe, within the last few years, has been updated to a local rarity and during my birding years it hasn't been a bird I've been able to see.<br />
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The day was gorgeous and still, perfect for searching for Grebes on the water, I phoned up Tommy who was birding around the mainland and we organised to meet up around 3.30pm.<br />
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Fast forward 4 hours and we were dashing out of Lerwick on our way to Nesting. Arriving on site we spotted local Nesting birder Kristofer Wilson and Julie Redpath peering through scopes, quickly parking up, we spilled out the car to see if they had the bird, which to our luck was still in their scopes.<br />
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After only two records in Shetland during the last few years, I had finally laid eyes on a Red-necked Grebe, it was hard to contain my excitement after finally clamping eyes on this beauty.<br />
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It was a bit distant but views were still good though I was wanting to see it a bit better, it was only a couple minute walk to the shore so with my scope and bag I trudged down to the coast.<br />
A minute or two after arriving my scope was set up and very quickly I was on to the bird.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp0Q59tdizbd2yV8dD2bs11pesfAwOoJbSEKnSHW8H_UGEhsjb7vBWGVLrxW6mLJjDGBftSjzo2Rkbi7tqPvNX7VslPy4i3esDJF8ni0GAdH05wUQ3IqxpO0mUvihq0mbv3ZgNvfsH7bQ/s1600/P1230045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp0Q59tdizbd2yV8dD2bs11pesfAwOoJbSEKnSHW8H_UGEhsjb7vBWGVLrxW6mLJjDGBftSjzo2Rkbi7tqPvNX7VslPy4i3esDJF8ni0GAdH05wUQ3IqxpO0mUvihq0mbv3ZgNvfsH7bQ/s640/P1230045.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Albeit rather distant you can make it out as the Grebe if you look closely</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuPhaOw_Yail8W9IWIjsrv7Ch54FmXZxFXuHq1NxJgjbtKrxO1HXmOcp3mw_oAuDVmGW-FSg8Hu6ugWb3mTmtkzaxm7zd9xyFmX7UeHD4GLI2GHicphbu2bwEQDrNxkbuCmo_sejVTpWk/s1600/P1230049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuPhaOw_Yail8W9IWIjsrv7Ch54FmXZxFXuHq1NxJgjbtKrxO1HXmOcp3mw_oAuDVmGW-FSg8Hu6ugWb3mTmtkzaxm7zd9xyFmX7UeHD4GLI2GHicphbu2bwEQDrNxkbuCmo_sejVTpWk/s640/P1230049.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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I'd gotten my fill of the bird and knowing that there had been the regular WBD in the area, I began scanning the voe and an interesting diver caught my eye.<br />
This diver was not the WBD but instead a dark necked smaller bird, this bird spoke to me as odd. From the distance I did struggle to get a good look at it but it didn't look right for GND, having a black coloured neck, missing the usual brown collar and block fronted head. This got me thinking of Black-throat.<br />
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I decided to head back up to everyone and tell them of what I'd seen, when I arrived Kris said he had also seen the bird and had thought the same as me, so we set out to try get a solid ID.<br />
Soon the four of us got eyes on the bird but it was so distant and the fading light made us struggle with the ID however we were pretty confident it was a Black-throat but I wanted to get better views, so Tommy and I headed over to the opposite side of the bay to get a better view.<br />
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Luckily we quickly relocated the bird and it was much closer than when we viewed it from the other side, I was about 90% sure it was Black-throated so I phoned up Kris and Julie to get another opinion, Kris soon showed up and clamped eyes on it as well, with the fading light we were more than certain it was a BTD, Julie had already put it out as a probable so news was out, I was happy for it to go out as that due to our views in the poor light and Kris would watch the area for the next while to see if it was around.<br />
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*UPDATE<br />
Kris managed to see the bird again in better light a few days later and confirmed it as a Black-throated Diver.<br />
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<b>22/02/2018</b><br />
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After having the glorious Red-necked Grebe tick the day before, I was not expecting to have any more excitement for many months but luck would have it that the special beep from WhatsApp would go off again.<br />
At 1100, the WhatsApp group went off from Rory Tallack of a Stock Dove at Gremista, Lerwick. Stock Dove being a Shetland bogey bird and a much wanted Shetland tick I went into action to try and get to see it, only being a 30 minute walk away it was literally within running distance.<br />
I had a few lifts that I could use to get there, I gave Dave a shout (who happened to be going for the bird) and we met up at 1310 to go on the twitch.<br />
Arriving on site, the bird was easy to find feeding with another pigeon, I rattled off a few record shots and took in its peerie size before we decided to try and get closer.<br />
Trying from another vantage point we managed to get within 10 metres of the bird by the roadside, where all of its colours showed pretty well.<br />
It only stayed for a few minutes before shooting off back towards the centre of the park, but I was pretty satisified with my views and photos, its not everyday I get a Shetland tick and get so close as well! So with that Dave and I ended our skirmish for the day.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6w3UOeMGVS_651wsNCRzvp6-GgcRYtFQ6YU7zPIxWP0VWccmYpJqRAZnpJzk7oqI_7FdYmMN3adTgGVVBOsd7KHkgvL1oLsirZJQ2IZ81Exhsyy4pO8h2_Nj1yLVNuRloqod9EYeTC2E/s1600/P1230084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6w3UOeMGVS_651wsNCRzvp6-GgcRYtFQ6YU7zPIxWP0VWccmYpJqRAZnpJzk7oqI_7FdYmMN3adTgGVVBOsd7KHkgvL1oLsirZJQ2IZ81Exhsyy4pO8h2_Nj1yLVNuRloqod9EYeTC2E/s640/P1230084.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Stock Dove! a long-awaited Shetland tick and a very smart bird.</div>
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With those two additions in February it brought my list up to a respectable 282. A few birds to go till 300 but this being Shetland who knows what will turn up next!</div>
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<br />Logan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13710425892081407758noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901343194370742610.post-22650846087172760782017-12-08T16:53:00.003-08:002017-12-08T16:53:51.442-08:00Swan Count 2017In Shetland November is a special time for us birders where we leave the comfort of our warm homes to drive around in every backroad known to man on the hunt for Swans.<br />
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On the 12th of November, my area to count would be Fetlar (though I usually help out Dave around Tingwall or Mark Chapman with the North Mainland) as Andy Cook was working.<br />
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I set out early on the 12th, aiming to make the 0725 ferry from Gutcher so I could get into the Isle early and make the most of the light, with a warm flask and some food I went off on my adventure.<br />
On the journey across I decided to brave the freezing weather and hunt for seabirds off the ferry, after twenty minutes I had given up due to the conditions with Comorant, Gannet and Long-tailed Duck seen. Arriving on Fetlar I made my way straight east to Funzie.<br />
At Funzie there was a good sized flock of gulls (numbering around 350) so I began picking my way through the flock for any white-wingers, after ten minutes I had my wish and I had found a 1st Winter Glaucous and an Adult, but no Swans on the Loch. A quick look up at Everland and then at Aith and Houbie produced no Swans but instead 6 Mallard, 1 Chaffinch, 2 Woodcock and good numbers of geese (several hundred). By this point I was getting to the end of my count, with only one loch left to check I headed over to the Loch of Papil.<br />
I had just come down over the hill when I instantly picked out a handful of large white blobs on the loch, which gave the<span style="background-color: yellow;"></span> instant impression of Swans, I pulled up as close to the loch as I could and got the scope on the birds, Whoopers!!<br />
By the time I'd finished I'd racked up around 13 birds and in that 3 different brood with 7 birds being juveniles, there was a few Tufteds and Goldeneyes on the loch as well but with the choppy conditions it was difficult to see anything else, so I was off west towards the ferry.(last years counts 0)<br />
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As I was heading to the ferry I decided to take a detour up to the Fetlar Mast as it was a place I'd never been and since it was such a high place it would [provide a great view. I only got halfway up when I decided to turn back, the pot holes were huge going up and I'd rather keep my car than try get a view. Luckily it was a good idea as when I came off the hill a white blob flew up from the side of the road, a Snow Bunting (Snaa Ful)!, it flew along the car for a few minutes before shooting off into the hill, after having given some stonking views.<br />
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Finally onto the ferry where I happened to meet Andy Cook who was heading out the isle to work, we chatted a bit about the Swan Count (with Andy adding one more juv Whooper to the list) and the good autumn we'd both had before the ferry came in and we headed off.<br />
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Arriving back on Yell I decided to take a quick run up to Cullivoe to see if there was any swans to add to the count. Cullivoe had a few swans, at least on Kirk Loch anyways where there was six Whooper Swans, two pairs of adults and one of which had a brood of two. Also on the loch was a lovely male Pochard, they can be quite a rare bird in Shetland now so its always good to see one.<br />
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Next place on the list before I headed home was Sand Water near Gutcher where Dougie Preston had found the White-winged Scoter, it contained a few Swans (just Whoopers), two parents with a brood of 4<b>, </b>and no White-winged Scoters or Ring-necked Ducks that had been seen in the area recently, so with that I headed off home.Logan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13710425892081407758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901343194370742610.post-85395766363407770242017-12-08T16:52:00.002-08:002017-12-08T16:52:53.357-08:00Ladybirders Winter Bird Race #2After a successful birdrace last November I once again joined the Shetland Ladybirders in their now annual winter birdrace to raise money for Shetland charities.<br />
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Though this time there was a twist, I decided to sheath my own team instead of being assigned to a Ladybirder team, so I reached out to a few bird-racing veterans and friends to help me out.<br />
My key choices were Paula Moss and Karen Mackelvie, Paula being on my team on the last winter bird race and Karen being a team member for my first bird race in October 2015 and the more recent one in May.<br />
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Things looked to be good, I stayed at Paula's the night before and we were due to set off before sunrise the following morning, though the weather seemed bad I had hope.<br />
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<b><u>Race Day</u></b><br />
<b></b>I was up by 6am and was rearing to go, little under an hour later Karen arrived and we had a quick cup of tea before setting out.<br />
We decided to head to Karen's in Stromfirth to get some early morning Grouse, we walked a couple hundred metre stretch of good looking heather and nothing, only a couple of Snipe, our hope was deteriorating (as was the weather) so we trudged back to the car. We were just about to leave Stromfirth when Karen suggested to do one last piece of ground by the lochside, so we got out and we were hardly 100 metres in when a familiar call went up and 7 chunky birds flew up, Grouse!!<br />
A few hectic minutes later and the whole team had nailed them, with that we headed to Kergord with heads held high.<br />
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Our aim in Shetland's largest woodland was to nab some of the harder woodland species that we'd struggle to get farther south. Rook, Grey Heron and 2 Pink-feet were all picked up from the car before we gave a bash at one of the plantations for Woodcock, Goldcrest and Sparrowhawk, loan behold we managed to flush a Woodcock from a dense clump of bushes (we only noticed it as it made quite a noise trying to fly out) and hear Goldcrests in the trees, but no Sprawk.<br />
Up to Upper Kergord to try find this woodland predator but no luck, only another Woodcock and some Goldcrest so we headed back south, we were passing the Lindsey Lee Plantation when I thought we'd give it a quick try for Sprawk and maybe some Woodpigeons, I set off walking and tried to get anything to fly out but nothing came, we'd given up and were heading back to the car when I noticed that all the Rooks and Starlings went up, to which I said "I wonder what put all those birds up?" and what appeared? A Sparrowhawk!! it flew around for a good 30-40 seconds, a very nice looking juv/female, it even was brave enough to try and take down several Rook!!<br />
Next back to Girlsta for a quick look and Comorant, Kittiwake and Eider were scooped up by the pier, a quick toilet break at the house and I'd just gotten to the toilet when the shouts of Sparrowhawk erupted from the kitchen! I eventually came out to see this absolute beauty of a bird just sitting there in the garden! (I had seen the Pigeons and Starlings fly out of the garden 10 minutes earlier so this is obviously what put them up), thought there was no time to waste and we headed off, shooting straight south.<br />
A quick look at Wester Quarff for the King Eider and nothing, not an Eider in sight so Sandwick was next, Leebitton cleaned up Purple Sand, Rock Pipit and Gannet and Da Wart produced Golden Plover, Redwing and Ringed Plover. We decided to give Swinister Burn a quick bash when we met two of Sandwick birders, Glen and Juan, they gave us locations of a few tricky species but not before they tried to get us on to a Chiffchaff that was lurking in some dense bushes.<br />
We never got the Chiffy but instead a flyby Blue Tit was an added bonus, though the boys had mentioned of at least 2 over by the Barclay Arms. Next stop was another jaunt to Da Wart to try get some crop specialities, Mipit, Twite and Chaffinch were all found but I was the one team member to miss Skylark so we couldn't count it as part of the rules (and it would be a bird we didn't see again that day).<br />
Finally onto Spiggie and the wildfowl started pouring in, both species of Swan, Tuftie, Wigeon, Shoveler, Moorhen and Snipe were picked up with Little Grebe and Coot being some goodies.<br />
Then we pushed south and headed to Setter Marsh (aka the Phalarope Marsh) where a certain North American goody was supposed to be lurking...<br />
We arrived at the marsh and began scanning it for the Pied-billed Grebe, after a few minutes I spotted a small grebe in among some Moorhen, it took me a minute to get a proper view of it due to the strong winds but it looked exactly like the Pied-billed that I'd seen a few weeks previously, a few photos and another birder helped cement my suspicions that this was the Pied-billed, so another tick to help our already healthy sized list.<br />
Through Ringsta and onto Hillwell where we added nothing new to the list so onto Quendale Bay where we managed to knock off Great-northern Diver after a lot of sea scanning, Oystercatcher was also picked up by the farm.<br />
We had about 2 hours left and our heads started going into overdrive, we had no idea what the other teams were on and we were still missing a lot of key species<br />
Merlin was nabbed on the way (after only brief views of one at Spiggie) before we hit Sumburgh and headed up to the Head and the Quarries before pushing our way back north and cleaning up Grutness, Scatness and Virkie along the way.<br />
Going up the head we finally spotted the competition in one of the quarries, Helen Moncrieff and her team had already been up the head and couldn't find any Fulmar (as was much of the case around Shetland as we couldn't see any on the cliffs) so we were worried, both teams were trying not to divulge any information regarding birds seen incase it gave the other team an advantage.<br />
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Up at the head we sheltered against the car and tried scanning out to sea for some Fulmars, the wing was extremely strong up there and we all struggled to get our eyes on anything, eventually though we got our eyes on some Fulmars going north! another bogey bird aside we had a quick look up the head and managed a few Twite and a Snow Bunting! a gorgeous bird but it didn't stay long.<br />
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In the end there was nothing else up the head so we thrashed one of the quarries, a quick toilet break down at Grutness and then we shot off to West Voe of Sumburgh where we hoped to nab some duck and wader. Luckily we got just that and we managed to knock off Long-tailed Duck and some peerie Sanderling on the beach, as we were just about to head off Paula got off the phone to say that Hugh Harrop had just had a Great Tit briefly in his garden, we decided to play it safe and do Virkie and Boddam before we decided to head over, Dunlin and Bar-tailed Godwit were both picked up at Virkie but no Knot and no new birds added at Boddam.<br />
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From here we headed back west to Hillwell to try and nab Hugh's Great Tit, we gave him a call as we arrived and waited only a few seconds before everyone spotted a yellow blob fly in, the Great Tit!! With that tick we sent Hugh a quick thank you text and shot up north, the light was going to be gone pretty fast within the next hour and we had three choices:<br />
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1. Bigton for Paul Bloomers Robin <br />
2. Scalloway and Trondra for Iceland Gull and King Eider <br />
3. Lerwick for Iceland Gull, Glaucous Gull and Gadwall.<br />
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We decided to go for choice number 3 as it had the most potential for species and we'd had confirmation that at least two of the birds had been seen earlier in the day, plus it was our finishing point.<br />
Arriving in Lerwick we shot straight up to Shetland Catch to try and get the two White-wingers we were aiming for, arriving on site we saw a few gulls but no white-wingers, a drive around the Catch and I spotted a white-winger on the deck and I got the bins up to see a 1st/2nd winter Glaucous Gull! after a few seconds we found another one, score! Further along we picked up an adult white-winger, Iceland Gull! absolutely great birds and another two ticks for the team, bringing us to a grand total of 67 (including Skylark), now it was time to go for 70.<br />
A quick run to Pullars Loch for Gadwall produced no birds so Clickimin was our last hope before our time was up, on the way there we went via a road lined with trees at Sound where I managed to spot 2 Fieldfare in a park by the road! on to 68 and we were really feeling the adrenaline, Clickimin and Helendale was our last stop and could produce Gadwall and Woodpigeon.<br />
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At Clickimin we got out the car and the heavens burst open so we quickly retreated into the car for cover, seeing as there was only 15 minutes left of the race we decided to call it quits on 68 and headed over to Fjara (the finish line).<br />
Within the next ten minutes the other two teams arrived and we began the final part of the day, finding out the winner......<br />
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The other two teams took a different route from us, heading as far north as Nesting and then coming south to Sumburgh. Linnet, King Eider and Chiffchaff were birds the other teams picked up that we completely missed and Robin was our most horrendous team omission though I had one briefly at Hoswick but it was only a flyby.<br />
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Well it was an absolutely great day even with the weather and it would of never happened without the team, so many thanks to them and all the great memories!<br />
<ol>
<li>Wren</li>
<li>Red Grouse</li>
<li>Herring Gull</li>
<li>Curlew</li>
<li>Black-headed Gull</li>
<li>Common Gull </li>
<li>Starling</li>
<li>Hooded Crow</li>
<li>Mallard</li>
<li>Grey Heron</li>
<li>Blackbird</li>
<li>Rook</li>
<li>Goldcrest</li>
<li>Greylag Goose</li>
<li>House Sparrow</li>
<li>Pink-footed Goose</li>
<li>Woodcock</li>
<li>Raven</li>
<li>Teal</li>
<li>Great Black-backed Gull</li>
<li>Sparrowhawk</li>
<li>Goldeneye</li>
<li>Red-breasted Merganser</li>
<li>Rock Dove</li>
<li>Turnstone</li>
<li>Kittiwake</li>
<li>Black Guillemot</li>
<li>Comorant</li>
<li>Eider</li>
<li>Collard Dove</li>
<li>Redshank</li>
<li>Shag</li>
<li>Lapwing </li>
<li>Purple Sandpiper</li>
<li>Rock Pipit</li>
<li>Gannet</li>
<li>Golden Plover</li>
<li>Redwing</li>
<li>Ringed Plover</li>
<li>Blue Tit</li>
<li>Meadow Pipit </li>
<li>Chaffinch</li>
<li>Twite</li>
<li>Skylark (2 members only)</li>
<li>Whooper Swan</li>
<li>Mute Swan</li>
<li>Tufted Duck</li>
<li>Wigeon</li>
<li>Snipe</li>
<li>Shoveler</li>
<li>Little Grebe</li>
<li>Coot</li>
<li>Moorhen</li>
<li>Pied-billed Grebe </li>
<li>Merlin</li>
<li>Oystercatcher</li>
<li>Great Northern Diver</li>
<li>Fulmar</li>
<li>Snow Bunting </li>
<li>Sanderling</li>
<li>Long-tailed Duck</li>
<li>Scaup</li>
<li>Dunlin</li>
<li>Bar-tailed Godwit</li>
<li>Great Tit</li>
<li>Glaucous Gull</li>
<li>Iceland Gull</li>
<li>Fieldfare</li>
</ol>
Logan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13710425892081407758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901343194370742610.post-35679181059968687672017-12-08T16:51:00.003-08:002017-12-08T16:51:56.996-08:00Not a white-winged around 25/10/17So after having been on Fair Isle for the last 6 days (19th-24th), (it was meant to be 5 days but weather kept me in, I didn't complain I got a Treecreeper!) It was time for another adventure.<br />
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After having missed the White-winged Scoter on Yell/Unst last week, I wanted to head up and give it another shot (even though it hadn't been reported for 3 days), so on Wednesday 25th October I headed up to hunt for it with James Bloor, who had also been on Fair Isle during my stay.<br />
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Meeting at Ulsta at 0930 we headed up to north Yell to look at the duck's original site, a quick look at Basta Voe on the way for the Eider flock produced no Eider or ducks of any sort and at Sand Water there was only a few Tufteds.<br />
We decided to give Cullivoe a try but there was no Scoter-type duck on any of the lochs up that way so it was off to Unst. The sea around Belmont produced no Scoter, but there was a few Dunter, the Loch of Belmont too produced no Scoter, but some Long-tailed Duck were present. Hope was getting pretty lost by this point and Uyeasound/Easting was our last remaining hope for the bird.<br />
The seas at Uyeasound were too choppy to get a good look at anything in the water but Easter Loch was teeming with duck and swan so we spent a good few minutes scanning through them.<br />
It was time for Easting after that, once home of the Surf Scoter than has been hanging around Unst for at least 4 years now, arriving on site it looked good, the bay was sheltered and there seemed to be a lot of birds in the water.<br />
With the scope I began scanning the sea, Scarf (Shag) was quickly picked up as they were in good supply, and Tystie, Dunter (Eider) and Calloo (Long-tailed Duck) being found as well, with some RB Merg being highlights.<br />
By now we'd completely given up on the Scoter, for all we knew it was in the Bluemull Triangle or gone off south to join the large Scoter flocks of Aberdeenshire so instead we went north to Skaw for Sibe Chiffy.<br />
Arriving at Skaw it seemed pretty quiet, we managed to produce two Robin and for a while that seemed like it until a small bird flew out of a patch of thistles just on the edge of the compound, I managed to get my eyes on the bird and it turned out to be a Goldcrest.<br />
We followed the bird and soon we found another, and another, and another, by the end of it we'd found around 10 birds, a brief Chiffy (possibly the Siberian) and a Lesser Whitethroat all in a peerie fenced in piece of park. Though after a few minutes the birds were all gone and we couldn't locate them anywhere around the croft house.<br />
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Time was getting on so we headed back south again and stopped off in Baltasound for a bite to eat before we headed off to the ferry and ended our trip in Unst.<br />
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Sadly we never managed to get the Scoter, hopefully its somewhere in Shetland just waiting to be found this winter, still it was a great day out and a worthwhile trip to Unst.Logan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13710425892081407758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901343194370742610.post-59754871672244908622017-12-08T16:51:00.001-08:002017-12-08T16:51:17.522-08:00Fair Isle: Oh how its good to be back 19th-24th Oct 2017Its been a year a full year since I've been into Fair Isle, and it was a long overdue trip this autumn to head to the magical island.<br />
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<b><u>Thursday 19th October</u></b></div>
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After a check with Stewart & Triona a few days before I headed into the island on Thursday the 19th to begin a 5 day adventure (hopefully filled with a few good birds).</div>
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The day looked promising on the isle as the day before there had been both RF Bluetail and a long staying Black-headed Bunting (the latter being a potential lifer) so I had a lot of hope, after some food at Quoy I headed down to their crop strip and began my day hunting for the Bunting, I spent hours staring at the crop strip but no Black-headed Buntings were seen, the bird was last sighted about an hour before I arrived, you win some you lose some, though on the other hand I managed to get two Yellowhammer, which are always nice to see in Shetland.</div>
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Of course you can't have a day on Fair Isle without good birds, my phone pinged at one stage with news of a Dusky Warbler at the 'Reed Box' at the western edge of the Meadow Burn so I gave that a twitch, it gave a few good views albeit flighty, it was also joined by a good looking (though slightly sodden) Blue Tit and someone else found a Great Grey Shrike near the cliffs so it was a good day!</div>
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Whinchat at Quoy</div>
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Slightly sodden Restart at Quoy</div>
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Little Grebe!</div>
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I was thinking things were getting quiet when I decided to give the Bunting another go but a flyover Hawfinch and news of a Little Grebe at South Harbour got me running (I'm probably the only birder in the UK who would run for a Little Grebe), arriving on site at South Harbour a good number of birders had gathered (many familiar faces from past years as well), it was difficult to spot anything in the swell yet many got their eyes on a grebe a good piece away though I never managed, unhappy with my views I decided to head up onto Meoness to try and get better ones, safe to say I wasn't disappointed! I managed to get my eyes on the bird fairly close in and from this range I could at least agree we had been seeing the Little Grebe, island tick! Clive, Peter, Phil Harris and Mark joined me up on Meoness and by this point the grebe had moved eastwards towards Mid Geo.<br />
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With those views I decided to head back up the isle and give it another shot for the Black-headed Bunting but after 30 minutes I called it a day and later headed up to the nightly log.</div>
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<b><u>Friday 20th October</u></b><br />
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<b></b>Next morning was up early for the always enjoyable trap rounds, with a good sized group of people we managed to catch a few birds and I rung some as well.</div>
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The wind had fairly gone up by the time I cycled down the isle and after a quick shower and some breakfast I was off again, I gave the Quoy crop strip another go and decided to keep with my route of doing some of the south before going up the west cliffs.<br />
With this I managed to see the Dusky Warbler again which was always good though it wasn't any less flighty before I went up the west cliffs, though they didn't produce much either bar a few common migrants and a few Woodcock.</div>
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Blue Tit</div>
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Just after denner, the phone rang and it was the text message system about a Firecrest up at the Obs, after hearing of a few on Shetland I wasn't surprised that one had made it here, Stewart and I decided to head up to see this beauty at the Obs to brighten the day up a bit.</div>
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Arriving at the Obs we met a good few birders hunting for the Firecrest, within a few minutes it popped out and showed down to a few feet! it was some crazy views and you didn't even need bins to watch it. </div>
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Happy with our views, we popped back down the isle to go look at a mystery warbler that had been found at Haa. arriving down the road we found the other half of the islands birders looking into a drain where the mystery warbler resided, after a bit of talk we found out it was an<i> Locustella</i> Warbler (Lanceolated/Grasshopper family) and people were thinking it to be<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"> Lancy </span>but time would tell.</div>
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After 10 minutes several more people arrived and the Obs team arrived with a net, where it was duly set up and we tried to get the bird into the net, a carefully exercised flush later and the bird was soon caught and ID'd.</div>
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Sadly it was not the Lanceolated we were expecting but instead a very yellow Grasshopper Warbler, and for me was a very nice ringing tick as the Obs boys let me ring it (much thanks to them!).<i></i></div>
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Certainly worth the trip down, and a great ringing tick - Grasshopper Warb at Auld Haa</div>
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<b><u>21st Saturday</u></b></div>
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The day started windy and ended windy but that didn't stop be from doing traps as usual, the highlight of the morning was an awesome Woodcock that was trapped.</div>
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After having breakfast at Quoy I went out again, doing the south of the island before shooting up the west cliffs, with this technique I managed to get a few birds, Whinchat & Stonechat at Quoy, the Dusky Warbler was still at the Reed Box with 2 Chiffy. The cliffs were more quiet with a few Robin and a Woodcock the main birds of note before I ended up heading back to Quoy.</div>
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In the afternoon I did try find the Richard's Pipit that was knocking about Quoy but no luck so I called it a day to finish off some work before heading up to the Obs at night.</div>
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<b><u>22nd Sunday</u></b></div>
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Still a bit of wind throughout the day and overall not what we expected for the wind directions but still good. Traps again in the morning before I picked up a Blue Tit below the school and then another two at Burkle which happened to bring the residents of the house come rushing out as Deryk needed it for his garden list.</div>
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I decided to mix things up a bit and do Springfield to the Walli Burn, the lighthouse and then up the west cliffs to see if I could pick up anything different.<br />
A nice Ring Ouzel at Springfield was a nice splash of white in among all the Blackbirds and 4 Woodpigeon at Meoness were good, next bit of excitement came when John Best at Utra waved me over to come help him get a Robin out of his shed which had somehow got in, ten minutes later and after a run about we finally managed to release the bird.</div>
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male Brambling</div>
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male Ring Ouzel</div>
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Going up the West Cliffs I met David Parnaby who informed me of a Shorelark he'd found up at Gunnawark, being a bird I've only seen once before (or once found myself) I decided to go give it a try as they were great things.</div>
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Arriving up at Gunnawark I searched for the Shorelark but the wind didn't help and there appeared to be no sign of it so I decided to strike farther north and try some of my favourite places on the Isle.</div>
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First of two stops on my journey was Troila Geo, Troila most recognised for the large amount of cliff face pilled at the bottom of the geo which blocks it off from the sea.</div>
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I sat at the top of the Geo for a while and had two Goldcrest feeding on the cliffs next to me and a few Robin down below were the only other birds of note.</div>
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Troila Geo</div>
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Next came South Naversgill which gives you a really good look at the sea below, here I didn't manage much of note but instead two Goldcrest came quite close and fed around me.</div>
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South Naversgill</div>
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From here I walked back down to Quoy, not picking up much of note before calling it a day.</div>
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<b><u>23rd Monday</u></b></div>
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This was the biggy day we were hoping for, everyone felt it in the air that today had potential so we were out in force that day. I did my daily routine of doing the trap rounds early on and that got us ......... </div>
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I decided to wait around at the Obs til after breakfast so I could do after breakfast traps, though me being me I happened to miss them as I was too busy speaking to people in the Obs, though I did find out from Sussannah that I would be in the isle another day as it was extremely unlikely the planes would be flying, so I decided to head back south.</div>
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It was around 10 ish by the time I'd got in, I started with my breakfast and I was in the final stages of making a cup of tea when my phone went off<i> "Kevin (Kelly) has Black throated Thrush out the back of Pund now"</i>, safe to say I near spilled my cup of tea, I'd seen Black-throated Thrush before many years ago in Lerwick but the light was poor, so me being me I dropped everything, grabbed a bun, ran out the door and went straight for my bike.<br />
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I decided to ditch the bike and leg it over the parks as it seemed like a better option, I could see people coming in from all directions and converging on Pund, getting closer I could see David Parnaby, Kevin Kelly and another birder but things didn't look good, when I arrived I found out the bird had disappeared up onto Hoini.</div>
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(By chance that morning I had mentioned to Kevin to go find a rare for everyone to twitch, safe to say he managed that!) </div>
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Within the next 15 minutes everyone arrived and a big search of Hoini begun, conditions weren't ideal, it was very windy and I struggled to keep my eyes on most of the thrushes but it was safe to say that we never found the bird, though me and James Bloor managed to get our eyes on the mobile Hornemann's Arctic that had been around for the last few days, the bird was flighty and the Obs team went to track it down to confirm the ID while I decided to push south and finish off my breakfast, on the way south I saw a Short-eared Owl and I flushed two Blue Tit below the School Brae which was a nice surprise, Rebecca Nason was just down the road looking at Da Water so I went off to tell her about the birds, it was a good idea in the long run as she had just found a very late Greenshank! Speaking with Becca for a bit I decided to head up to the Kirk to get a better look at the bird, I was watching the Greenshank on Da Water when I noticed a very small teal sized bird gracefully swim off the bank next to it.</div>
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Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll</div>
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The rather late Greenshank</div>
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It took me a second to figure out what the bird was due to the winds but it soon became clear it was a Little Grebe! presumably it was the bird from a few days ago but still an exciting find! just at that point, Deryk Shaw, Phil Harris, Rebecca and their daughter Ayda came up the road, waving them over I got them onto it as some of them had missed the bird from a few days ago.</div>
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Finishing with that I headed up the road to mention to a few other birders of the grebe and the Greenshank<span style="background-color: yellow;"></span> and on the way back Deryk told me he'd just got word of a Brent Goose near Upper Stoneybrek by the cliffs (Brent is an island tick and a bogey bird for the trip), for this I thanked him and I bolted over the parks towards the bird.</div>
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It didn't take me long but I eventually found the dark-bellied Brent Goose feeding just above the cliffs, it was quite pleasing to track this bird down and add another addition to my island list which isn't too far off 200. </div>
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Brent Goose!</div>
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By this point it was denner time so I headed back to Quoy.</div>
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Throughout the day it rained a lot, I got my jacket soaked through twice on two different outings in the afternoon and the only birds to show were 4 Reed Bunting and 4 Woodpigeon but it was a great day and I couldn't ask for anything else, if you don't go out you are never going to see any birds!</div>
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<b><u>24th Tuesday</u></b></div>
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As it was my last morning I decided to give it one last bash at the traps, in the end it was worth it as we caught one great looking Mistle Thrush and a few other bits and pieces. Usually on my last day I either thrash the island for birds or visit family and friends, so today I decided to take it easy and I visited a couple of members of family before my flight.</div>
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When I finally arrived back at Quoy it was good to hear the planes were still flying and that I was getting out, we'd sat down for denner when my phone beeped and I didn't really expect much from it but of course when I looked I was wrong!<i> "Treecreeper in Troila"!</i> I waited to finish denner first and Triona gave me a quick run up to the airstrip so I could get up there before my flight, it only took me around 10 minutes to run from the airstrip though I was pretty knackered when I got to the top, crawling the last 20 metres I joined David Parnaby at the edge of the cliff. I was absolutely knackered but I still attempted to try look for the bird (which had disappeared on my crawl up!), David stayed for a bit to try help me find it and within a few minutes he'd found it again at the bottom of one of the cliff faces!! I quickly tried to get on to the bird before it disappeared again, David got me on to the spot and a peerie brown blob shot up the cliff, the Treecreeper!!</div>
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Yes! Treecreeper! Shetland tick no.277</div>
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For the next five to ten minutes we watched this wonderful blob climb up the cliff feeding for insects, it was great to finally see one of these in Shetland and in such a weird place as well! it was such a good way to end the trip. Eventually I had to leave to go for my plane which was due to be arriving within the next 15 minutes, I thanked David for finding it and for helping me out (I owe him a pint for this one) before I headed back down to the airstrip.</div>
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Luckily for me the plane was delayed so I had another hour to wait before my flight, Stewart came up to join me before I headed off, a while later the Obs guests came up for the flight and we eventually saw the plane come in. It was time to say my goodbyes after an amazing trip in, I thanked Stewart for everything and gave the rest of my goodbyes before we set off, leaving this once magical island once again.<br />
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Many thanks to Stewart & Triona for having me and always and to the islanders & Obs for always helping me out.</div>
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Hoini and the west cliffs</div>
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Gone once again</div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Logan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13710425892081407758noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901343194370742610.post-47062820565760314592017-12-08T14:01:00.002-08:002017-12-19T10:18:38.972-08:00Shrikes & Dips After having come back from Edinburgh on the 17th of October there was a few birds around Shetland that I was interested in seeing, first of all was a Thrush Nightingale at Sandgarth near Voe and a Steppe Grey Shrike at Whalsay.<br />
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<u><b>Tuesday 17th October</b></u><br />
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Arriving off the ferry early morning I met up with my granddad and we decided to go try get one of the birds, the nearest and easiest to see bird was hopefully the Thrush Nightingale at Sandgarth, a fairly new woodland in Shetland terms and fast becoming one of the best spots in the North Mainland to visit for migrants.<br />
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The weather was pretty bad with passing showers and strong winds, safe to say we didn't have much hope but as always I was optimistic. Arriving on site we began to hunt for the bird where it had been known to be feeding, here it was more sheltered and the waiting game begun.<br />
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Safe to say that 2-3 hours that day of playing the waiting game hadn't worked, with only a brief sighting of a Thrush/Chat sp (probably a Robin) to go with we went home, the bird hadn't been seen the day before either which didn't help.<br />
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<u><b>Wednesday 18th October</b></u><br />
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Today it was time for the next twitch, with a quick look again for the Thrush Nightingale we came up with nothing and presumed it had gone, so we were on to Whalsay <span style="background-color: yellow;"></span>for the Steppe Grey Shrike.<br />
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Arriving at Laxo we met another birder who was heading in too for the Shrike, soon Dave rolled up too, also heading in for the Shrike, it was a peerie reunion as Dave had met the birder many years before as he had come up to Shetland as part of the RSPB. Chatting away it was soon time for another reunion as I noticed another birder pull up, it was Mark Peck, a man I'd first met on Fair Isle around 3 years ago, soon we were a good sized gaggle of birders and we were all going for the same bird, so instead of taking three cars on, Dave and Mark joined Tommy and I in our car.<br />
It was great to go in a group and be able to catch up with everyone as it had been so long. On the way we tried the Symbister Eider flock for King Eider but with no luck so we headed on up to Vaivoe for the Shrike.<br />
Arriving next to a peat bank just south of Vaivoe we met one of the Whalsay birders, John Lowrie Irvine, it didn't take long before he'd gotten us onto the bird, tick! no.277 for Shetland!<br />
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Steppe Grey Shrike! it may be a bit distant but you can make it out in the centre of the photo</div>
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The bird was quite flighty and never came close, always sticking close to the peat banks, I decided to try and get a bit closer by using the many peat banks for cover, but I never managed to get close before the bird decided to fly off, supposedly it was quite comical to watch as I would go in one direction and the bird would go in another before I knew what was going on, like a game of cat and mouse.</div>
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Mark managed a few shots like this one of me and the Shrike, I was hiding behind the bank when it flew in and landed on the opposite side! (Photo: Mark Peck)</div>
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Peeping (Photo: Mark Peck)</div>
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The bird eventually disappeared up towards Vaivoe (long after I'd given up my chase) and we all stood around the car just chatting, just as we were thinking of heading off then a familiar grey blob appeared from nowhere and landed on a passing place sign about 15 feet away!!!</div>
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I almost froze in shock but I at least managed to raise my camera and get a few shots.</div>
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Almost too close for comfort but it landed and never even cared that we were there</div>
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Gotta love Shrikes</div>
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After what was probably only a minute, the bird flew off into the peat banks east of the road and we didn't see it again, it took a good while before the excitement and shock of the bird wore off but it was truly amazing.</div>
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To finish up before the ferry we decided to have a quick check of Skaw, in the planation there, Mark and I went around the plantation while the other two watched from the road in case anything went by. By the time we'd finished we'd racked up a few Goldcrest, a Robin, two female Blackcap and a slightly deathly looking Redwing.</div>
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Soon it was time to head to the ferry and with nothing up on the Skaw Loch we were heading to Sandgarth for one last try for this Thrush Nightingale.</div>
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Arriving at Sandgarth we went back to the usual site for a check and two other south birders had also just arrived for a look, 15 minutes in I got a text from the WhatsApp group, it was Dougie Preston who'd just found a juv/female Scoter up on Yell, Dougie obviously knew that the bird wasn't your normal Velvet and was hinting at the rarer counterpart from the States or eastern Asia, a few quick fire comments later and people were agreeing it was a White-winged Scoter, as soon as I saw that photo go up I was off to Yell and Tommy and me were already enroute to the Yell ferry.</div>
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We took my car on the Yell side and I drove up to Sand Water near Gutcher where Dougie had briefly seen the bird, the light was getting worse as time went on but we had over an hour before it was completely useless, I gave the loch a good scan with my scope but there was no sign of the bird, we happened to meet Andy Cook who was enroute to work but he hadn't managed to see it either.</div>
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We were running out of ideas so I suggested to head on the Unst ferry to look in the sea at Belmont as Jason Moss (ex-Fair Isle AW) had seen the bird there a few days ago but had flagged it as a Velvet Scoter. Getting the 1600 ferry across we had about 40 minutes before the light would be been getting too bad. </div>
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Going across to Unst we didn't manage to get the Scoter before I headed off to Fair Isle the next day, though the bird had been seen though around the same time we had come across at the Loch of Belmont but news wasn't released til later that day.</div>
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So with that we decided to head home, hopefully the bird would stick til I got back 6 days later....</div>
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<b></b><u></u>Logan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13710425892081407758noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901343194370742610.post-28959987002111114912017-11-15T13:06:00.004-08:002017-11-15T13:06:47.179-08:00Pied-billed Grebe 1st for Shetland 04/11/2017As all big rarities they are unexpected, jaw dropping and very inconsiderate of timing.<br />
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On the 4th of November I was thinking the rarity season would be over, I was getting ready for a friends birthday in Whalsay when the messaging system went off with a King Eider in Wester Quarff found by Russ Haywood, it was a personal bogey bird of mine and it was also a drake which made me more inclined to go but I still had a lot of planning to do before the party so it would have to wait til next weekend.<br />
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Fast forward to 20 minutes later and my phone went off again with a rarity message from Roger Riddington <i><b>'Pied-billed Grebe, Setter marsh Spiggie'</b></i>, it was safe to that after that my jaw hit the floor and I was rushed into action.<br />
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I quickly checked ferry times and I had just missed the 1245 ferry and would have to wait til 1430 for the next one, that gave me a bit of time to prepare but also not much chance of getting it as I would only get there around 1600 and it would almost be dark then.<br />
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I phoned up my friend Harry who I was taking to Whalsay and told him to be ready for 2pm, I then arranged for transport across the Mainland and everything was sorted, now time for the waiting game.<br />
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Come 1430 we were on the ferry and heading off of Yell and off Grebe hunting, by 1545 we were rolling up to the site, dark clouds were looming above and darkness was virtually upon us.<br />
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There was two cars on site, Roger Riddington and Julie Redpath, though nobody was outside, we pulled up and Julie got out to say she hadn't seen the bird in 30 minutes......<br />
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Julie kindly got out her scope to give it a try at least and I began scanning the marsh for this American vagrant, it was hardly three minutes before Julie shouted that it was there! I rushed into action and Julie let me see in the scope, there it was!! it was getting difficult to properly identify things but you could tell this was little grebe shaped and looked a good piece bigger than a normal Little Grebe.<br />
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May be a dark silhouette but here it is! Shetland's first Pied-billed Grebe</div>
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Harry and my granddad Tommy got onto it and there was joy all around, several hugs were exchanged and it was great to see it even though the odds were against it.<br />
Soon the light properly closed in and we struggled to see it with bins, Roger had returned after trying to photograph the Grebe, so I congratulated him and thanked him for finding the bird before we headed off and went to Whalsay.<br />
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This first for Shetland was my 279th bird for Shetland and for some people a long awaited first for Shetland.<br />
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Many thanks for Tommy for taking us down to see the bird and for Roger and Julie for help down at the twitch!<br />
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<br />Logan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13710425892081407758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901343194370742610.post-77514682557400540432017-11-15T11:05:00.004-08:002017-11-15T11:15:10.259-08:00King Eider at Wester Quarff 11/11/2017A drake King Eider was found last week (4th) at Wester Quarff by Russ Haywood, being a bogey bird of mine and what was a stunning bird I decided to head down with Paula for a look.<br />
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Paula and I arrived on site late morning and the Eider flock could be seen a piece offshore among some Mussel Lines. We set up the scope and I began scanning the flock for the drake, it took a good 15 to 20 minutes but I eventually picked it up among the Eiders.<br />
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I struggled to find it sometimes as it could easily be lost among the quantity of males that were in the flock but it always reappeared again.<br />
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Now was the other task of trying to get Paula onto it, we only had one scope and the bins wouldn't work with the distance, there was a lot of switching seats and shifting of the scope but we just couldn't get onto it this way. It was only a few degrees outside and there was only brief windows without rain so we decided to come back later in the winter when we could actually come outside and see it.<br />
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Original Photo (its in there somewhere!</div>
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'Solid photographic evidence', it may be a grey blur but its tickable!</div>
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The King Eider was my 280th tick in Shetland, most likely the end of my successful autumn with at least 8 additions to my Shetland List.<br />
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Many thanks to Paula for the run around and taking me to it!Logan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13710425892081407758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901343194370742610.post-67209799712017316522017-10-30T13:15:00.001-07:002017-10-30T13:15:32.444-07:00Parrots and American Bellies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Its one of those times where you just have to expect the unexpected.</div>
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On the 2nd of October, Iceland had its 6th ever Parrot Crossbill, now this got me thinking, is this the start of a potential invasion? oh boy was I right.</div>
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It wasn't long (well only a day later actually) before news got out of around 5 Parrot Crossbills in Unst!! the first ones in Shetland for 23 years!</div>
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Though the one agonising thing was that I couldn't make it up there until the 4th.....</div>
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I had hope that they would stick about and a few people said that these things tended to hang around, though I also had a bit of a sneaky feeling that these were only the trickle before the flood gates of the invasion opened up.</div>
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And for once my sneaky feeling was right! the next day there was double figures of Parrot Crossbills in four locations across Unst and the Mainland, some were actually on my patch of Clickimin/Helendale just a fifteen minute walk away! That was enough to get me running out of school and towards Clickimin, luckily I met my Granny on the way who saved me the travel time by a bit and I began searching, Phil Harris and another birder were in Helendale so I asked if they'd seen the birds but sadly they hadn't, we spent a good bit of time looking around and then we split up to cover a few of the nearby streets but still nothing.</div>
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By this point I had to go as I was going to miss tea, also the sky had opened up so I was being drenched, personally I'd rather be warm and with a full belly than without.</div>
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The next day (4th) there was still Parrots in Lerwick, but with some easier to see birds at Ackrigarth next to Quoys in West Lerwick I decided to cut my losses and head there during my school lunch break with Tommy, we arrived to a gaggle of twitchers staring into a single conifer tree.</div>
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I headed up to talk to a few birders (which around a third were locals) and discovered the two Parrotbills were hidden in the top of the tree and hadn't been seen for around twenty minutes, so of course the only thing we could do was play the waiting game and wait til they came out.</div>
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Single conifers much favoured by Parrot Crossbills </div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>It's a beast!</div>
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Parrot Watchers</div>
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With all the excitement over I headed back to school and I did think that was going to be everything for the day but I was wrong.</div>
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I happened to be going up to the ferry with a friend of mine when my phone bleeped, I didn't think much of it but when I checked my heart dropped 'Buff-bellied Pipit Grutness around pools near toilet block', that was all I needed, I phoned my granddad and he was out the door before I'd even put down the phone, my friend dropped me in Voe and it was only 10 minutes later my granddad showed up and we were racing down to Sumburgh. </div>
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Just over an hour later we arrived on site, it was hard to miss the huge line of birders along the coast road! When I got out the car I was met by a familiar face who I hadn't seen in quite a few years.</div>
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I first met Jason Moss way back in 2011/12 on Fair Isle when he was an Assistant Warden and I was just starting to get properly into birding, so really it was quite surprising to see him here since he hadn't been back in Shetland since then.<br />
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Jason kindly pointed out the bird, which was quite easy to see as it strutted its stuff along the edge of the pool, talk about good views!</div>
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Another great bird to see</div>
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I missed the bird that was down in the South Mainland a few years ago so it was good to catch up with this, only 15 minutes after I arrived it flew off and wasn't seen again for the rest of the day, talk about luck!<br />
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I hanged around for a while trying to relocate the bird but with no luck so I spent my time speaking with local South End birder Gary Bell before I headed back north and home.Logan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13710425892081407758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901343194370742610.post-40224350045051139172017-10-30T13:05:00.001-07:002017-10-30T13:05:07.460-07:00The trip for a PGTipsAnother one of those great stop press moments for me and certainly a well awaited one!<br />
<br />
I spent my day birding around the Central Mainland on the 1st of October, I had planned to go up to Fetlar to twitch an Upland Sandpiper from the day before but sadly it was gone so we packed it in and tried to find a few species ourselves.<br />
By around 12pm my granddad and I had managed to muster a Yellow-browed, Willow Warbler, some finches (Siskin, Twite, Redpoll), House Martin, Swallow and a very skulky Reed Warbler which preferred to crawl rather than fly, since we had found very little we decided to head back to Lerwick for 1pm as I had some bits and pieces to do.<br />
One thing I always say is that you'll never find the rarities in the morning, its always the afternoon, yes I have seen a few messages with ones being found before the afternoon but lets keep this to simplicity's sake. Just as we hit Lerwick I got a message "99% PALLAS'S GROPPER Ronas Voe in Irises below Barnafield" from Dan Pointon on the Rare Birds WhatsApp Group, that certainly made our day a little bit exciting, work was forgotten and we high tailed it north.<br />
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We were on site at around 1345 and a big crowd had
already formed, I scanned the crowd for people I knew (most were
south birders) but I did pick out a few, James Shergold was one,
having met him and talked in the past thanks to Next Generation
Birders, I bit further down I also spotted Andy Cook amongst the
masses so I went and stood with him. For the next ten minutes a
steady stream of people came and there was near enough 100 birders
been at the site by that point, soon an organised flush occurred, the
finders got everyone lined up along two corners of the Iris bed. </div>
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The Pallas Gropper shot out near the middle of the
bed and did a few circles around before it disappeared into some
nettles, I even managed to get it in the binoculars!! The notable
features were quite noticeable even in flight, white tailed feathers,
rounded tail, streaky appearance/plumage, I was pretty happy, 10
minutes later it had decided it had had enough of waiting in nettles
and it shot back into the Iris bed and the waiting game started
again.</div>
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Nothing had happened in over 40 minutes and the
crowd had swelled again, a second flush was organised (the second of
only three to happen over the course of two hours) and everyone had
bins at the ready for when the bird flew again, I'd gotten great
views the first time so I decided to try get a dodgy flight shot
(just for the record).<br />
Next thing we knew, it shot out of the bed and did a flyby, I raised the camera and clicked, not even looking through the eyepiece, after it dipped back into the irises I had a look at my camera and was surprised at what I found!<br />
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Got it! I never imagined that when I clicked the camera I'd get this shot but I did, at the time I wasn't even looking through the camera, I was just clicking and hoping and I just got it in the frame!</div>
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I was very pleased with the photo I got, and it didn't look like the bird was coming out anytime soon so I decided to head back home but I thanked the finders before I left, without them I wouldn't have seen it!</div>
<br />Logan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13710425892081407758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901343194370742610.post-59858624179966461252017-09-26T10:25:00.000-07:002017-09-26T10:25:00.048-07:00An adventure of a lifetimeIts been a plan in the works for the last few days but a plan for a great cause.<br />
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On Wednesday 26th September 2017 news broke of a female Siberian Thrush on Unst and a Yellow-breasted Bunting on Outer Skerries (I managed to nab the Sibe Thrush on the day but I would have to wait a few more before I even managed to go for the Bunting) , I was really wanting to go for the Bunting as it has been a dream bird of mine for years, after hearing of the plight of the species further east, with the population suffering a serious crash of over 90% since the 1980's due to extreme overhunting in China, it seemed like it was going to become a mythical species that I might never have the chance to see. It used to be annual in Shetland up until the early 2000's, but now it seems it could easily be extinct within my lifetime.<br />
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Two frustrating days later on Friday the 22nd my plan was finally able to roll out. After being unable to go on Dan Pointon's Charter and day tripping earlier on in the day due to school I instead caught the regular 1730 ferry from Vidlin, Mainland to Outer Skerries.<br />
Thanks to my always extremely helpful grandparents I was fully stocked with food and sleeping equipment on my first solo trip to Outer Skerries(but hopefully it won't be my last one of the autumn)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEielIil6Rc1DfUnTDB3dNYQRi9lfv7Zor90_T8ku_f3QiPny9xo3-qRIGc_DpmUyODa3Owq_dVVDw84mMgDmjQagOnygJ8FZM_gBtYDwqBrs0b6TNi9eaRsXp-fisbR6LoRH15eawPkFCI/s1600/IMG_0399.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>The Skerrie's Ferry, the Filla, coming in</div>
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Getting loaded up</div>
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First sight of Skerries</div>
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The sun setting over the waves</div>
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The ferry trip over to Skerries was great with the setting sun behind us, but it wasn't all set yet and that's what I was banking on.<br />
The ferry arrived in at 1835, 25 minutes earlier than what it had said on the timetable, and there was still enough light left to try and see a certain bird.<br />
I'd met Phil Harris back on the Vidlin side before the ferry and he said the bird had been hanging around a derelict croft with a cannon in the garden! So when I arrived that's where I raced off to.<br />
I wasn't 100% sure where I was going most of the time but there's really only one road on the islands so it can't be that hard to find where you are going.<br />
Well somehow I did manage to take the wrong turn, the map I was reading showed the Chapel and the graveyard in the same place but they weren't, one was on one road and one on another and I'd taken the wrong road. A quick turn around and a left turn later I reached the graveyard and there was no birds in sight, it only took a second to find the croft which was adjacent to the graveyard so I trudged off there, hoping I'd be more successful.<br />
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A few 'pssshs' later around some very promising clumps of grass and nothing had flown up from the croft, I gave it another go and tried a fenced in patch of grass behind a small shed and this funny LBJ (Little Brown Job) flew out, it had back markings I had never seen before and it was completely wrong for a Meadow Pipit in shape and colour, it just screamed at me 'Bunting'. With my heart racing I just knew this had to be the Yellow-breasted Bunting but in the back of my head I could hear myself saying 'don't get excited it's only the Little Bunting that's been hanging around', those agonising seconds took ages to pass but the bird eventually alighted on a dyke and I got my bins up to look at it, typically my binoculars weren't even focused but I could make out a very noticeable yellow breast! with bins finally focused I saw it, there in all its glory was the Yellow-breasted Bunting!!! I got one photo and then spent the rest of my time just looking at it, I couldn't believe that I was admiring my dream bird that I had come so far to see.<br />
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup>My one and only photo of the Yellow-breasted Bunting </div>
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It could of been an age or only a few seconds later but the Bunting eventually flew around the back of the croft and out of sight, with that my bird was gone but I was still relishing from the excitement and happiness of seeing it, its still not gone now even though its been four days.<br />
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After the bird had left I went to celebrate with a cup of tea, I phoned my grandparents to tell them the news (without them I probably would of been a bit worse for wear as they helped supply me for most of the trip so thanks!). I'd just ended the phone call and I was about to make my celebratory cup of tea when I noticed something fly in towards the back of the croft and perch on the dyke, I sprang into action and got my bins straight onto the bird, it had a very familiar, striking yellow breast, the Bunting had returned!! I started making my way back towards the croft to try and get another view of this eastern gem. By the time I'd arrived the Bunting had dropped onto a rough grassy path behind the croft and gave some decent views in the poor light when it alighted on a nearby dyke, it was too dark for photos so I watched in awe for a few minutes before the Bunting appeared to drop into cover for the night so I left it in peace.<br />
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Finally I was able to sit down and drink my cup of tea, watching the sun's final rays touch Skerries for the day, it was an amazing end to a truly magical day.<br />
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But that was not the end of my adventure......<br />
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Next plan of action for me in the non-existent light was to find a place to kip for the night, I had not planned to stay anywhere or booked anything so I was taking my chances. <br />
My options for the night were:<br />
<ol>
<li>Sleep in the chapel </li>
<li>Sleep in the ferry terminal toilet area</li>
<li>Outside</li>
</ol>
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Personally I thought the safest idea was the second option and it turned out to be not a half bad idea, for a public toilet it was very well maintained, clean and had most of the facilities one would need, heating, a toilet, sink and shower as well as a place to put my bike, making it a pretty good sleeping quarters for the night. A bit of a sweep up later with the broom that was already supplied (another good feature of the place) and it was good enough to finally get some rest, bed gear was soon deployed and some of my food rations were consumed before I lay down, ready for day two and what it would bring.....</div>
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Home Sweet Home for the night</div>
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<u><b>Day 2</b></u></div>
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My sleep was patchy with at least a few good hours behind me, I had breakfast at 0430 as I had woken up a bit peckish so a big meal was not needed when I woke up again 0600, I had planned to try and get to the Yellow-breasted Bunting site for 6.30, so after my miniature breakfast, I got dressed and when I looked outside about 20 minutes later I expected it to be pitch black but there was an orange and red glow coming from the horizon! that definitely encouraged me to get going and within the next ten minutes I was gone back to West Isle (Housay) to try and locate the Bunting.<br />
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On the cycle over to Housay from Bruray I managed to add a few more species to my Skerries List but nothing overly noteworthy even though I checked a few sites given to me by Dave the night before. I arrived on Housay about 0700 and already I added Hooded Crow and House Sparrow to my Island list, a look around the derelict croft produced no Yellow-breasted Bunting though it was still early hours.<br />
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The haunt of the Yellow-breasted Bunting, quite a nice peerie croft</div>
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I decided to try and find some more sites Dave had suggested to me and so I began trudging north towards Ward Hill to try and find a marsh. After around an hour the only birds I'd really picked up were some Snipe, Meadow Pipits and Rock Pipits, Vogan's Voe especially was teeming with them, but since I hadn't really found much I decided to turn around and try again for the Bunting, this was when I finally spotted human life, in the shape of a fellow birder.<br />
Within a few minutes I was deep in conversation with one of the finders of the Yellow-breasted Bunting, it was great to trade sightings (well the few I had) and get to thank one of the guys who found the bird because without them I would never of seen it!<br />
But there was birds to be found, and we went our own separate directions, I did try again for the Bunting but with no success, as it had obviously left the island.<br />
I decided to give another go at the iris bed by the graveyard on the way back to my bike, I was just deciding which part of the irises I would cover first when a medium sized, rusty brown bird flew in from the right, I quickly got my bins onto it and realised it was a Corncrake!! a few seconds later it lazily dropped into the irises and I couldn't believe what I'd just seen, I've only ever seen two before and it certainly wasn't a bird I was expecting to find on Skerries.<br />
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I decided not to try and look for the bird as I'd probably just got the best views that I was going to get, a further walk along the iris bed didn't produce any Pallas' Grasshopper Warbler so a migrant Wren and a Willow Warbler along the roadside were good enough for me.<br />
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A Skerries' Endemic, obviously not scared of humans</div>
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Over time I slowly headed back towards the ferry terminal, checking sites along the way but never coming up with much, I hanged around the ferry for a good 30 minutes earlier than the leaving time just so I didn't miss it.<br />
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One of several cannons around the island, many pulled up from ships that have wrecked on the coast</div>
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Finally the ferry pulled in about 9.35 and we left about 9.45 as I was the only passenger aboard, with that we left the island and my adventure of a lifetime had ended.</div>
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A great many thanks to the finders for finding the bird as I would never have seen the bird without them, many thanks also goes to my grandparents for all the supplies and gear for the trip, it made it a lot more easy to survive!</div>
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<u>Rare Bird Alert Finders in the Field Link:</u></div>
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<a href="https://www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/Finders-in-the-field-Yellow-breasted-Bunting-on-Housay-Out-Skerries.aspx?s_id=70473039">https://www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/Finders-in-the-field-Yellow-breasted-Bunting-on-Housay-Out-Skerries.aspx?s_id=70473039</a></div>
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After that amazing trip my Skerries List obviously gained a few birds so in a rough order here they are:</div>
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Gannet</div>
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Shag</div>
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Fulmar</div>
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Comorant</div>
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Starling</div>
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Meadow Pipit</div>
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White/Pied Wagtail</div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">YELLOW-BREASTED BUNTING</span></b></div>
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Grey Heron</div>
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Curlew</div>
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Rock Pipit</div>
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Herring Gull</div>
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Great Black-backed Gull</div>
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Great Skua</div>
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Redshank</div>
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Rock Dove</div>
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Hooded Crow</div>
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House Sparrow</div>
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Snipe</div>
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Raven</div>
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Song Thrush</div>
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Corncrake</div>
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Kittiwake</div>
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Wren</div>
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Willow Warbler</div>
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Twite</div>
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Eider</div>
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Tystie (Black Guillemot)</div>
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Turnstone</div>
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Purple Sandpiper</div>
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<u></u><br />Logan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13710425892081407758noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901343194370742610.post-23782515810144403082017-09-25T14:24:00.001-07:002017-09-25T14:24:40.014-07:00Some proper PatchingIts been a while since I've posted about 'being on the patch' but now this should be the first of a few new instalments. <br />
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I have changed my patch recently as I've stopped birding at Clickimin/Helendale/Seafield and now I have moved over to the Knab a mile or two away on the other side of Lerwick due to me being at the Anderson High School, while being at my new patch I haven't really birded it as much as I've always seen it as quite poor due to it being a barren cliff with next to no cover, but to be fair I have been wrong about that and really if I'm not trying to see birds I'm not going to get them.<br />
So recently I've started birding it more to try and find my own autumn goodies among everyone else's finds, last weeks good bird was a group of 5 Knot (patch tick) which took the patch total to 28, though they were initially found by a visiting birder who'd come up for the Black-billed Cuckoo.<br />
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Today (25/09/2017) saw another addition to the Patch List, after a good 20 Turnstone feeding on the short grass in the graveyard it looked like a good day, walking along the cliff line at (what I believe to be called) South Ness, I managed to flush two small, brown backed waders with white bellies off of the cliff where they appeared to be sheltering from the strong South Easterlies, I quickly got them in the bins and they were Common Sandpipers!! they were quite flighty birds and I flushed them again in the next geo, one decided to land within view this time and allowed for some rather rubbish photos.<br />
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Common Sandpiper as shown by rather large red arrow</div>
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A further walk around the east end of the Knab produced nothing else of interest so that ended my denner time birdwatch, I gave it a second go after school around 4pm but the wind had picked up and anywhere on the east side of the patch was being completely blasted by the winds so I gave up and headed to the west side, hoping the geos were more sheltered.<br />
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Well it was safe to say that nowhere was sheltered, even the west geos were being pummelled the winds so I tried some of the ditches around the golf course and at least that produced two very unhappy Mipits who didn't seem to be enjoying the winds either, after having found something worth noting I was happy to head back, ending my first proper patch birding of the autumn.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2MxpR9dWG3LIMzoRhaVrxIPir1HjavyLcUxyPiZsI3PHUwCqVGUQaXi3pXr_uQI1FswLVP7jk6qbkMM4n_X5A6U7TOKI3ZMB5Z_wmKxzqCKDzEtzc0-g6KlKk1J-JJMWGGwBqg7cGoSU/s1600/P1220624.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2MxpR9dWG3LIMzoRhaVrxIPir1HjavyLcUxyPiZsI3PHUwCqVGUQaXi3pXr_uQI1FswLVP7jk6qbkMM4n_X5A6U7TOKI3ZMB5Z_wmKxzqCKDzEtzc0-g6KlKk1J-JJMWGGwBqg7cGoSU/s640/P1220624.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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One of the rather sad looking Mipits</div>
Logan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13710425892081407758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901343194370742610.post-4348138805885587572017-09-21T11:39:00.001-07:002017-09-25T04:27:54.214-07:00BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO 18/09/2017 The Dale of WallsAnother one of those stop-press birds that I tend to write about a lot but I do quite like seeing stop-press rarities!<br />
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On the 18th of September news broke around 1200hours about a <b>BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO</b> at Netherdale, Dale of Walls in the West Mainland, chiefly found by Rory Tallack, I wasted no time in organising a trip out there, I knew this thing would be gone the next day or would die (as these birds have a tendency to do this side of the pond) so I was not chancing anything.<br />
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I organised with my granddad to head west from Lerwick around 1530 and we were on site by 1620 (after having gotten lost due to a bit of confusion with the junction and the poor weather not helping) and as soon as we arrived I could already see a trio of birders at the back of the croft looking quite intently at a clump of Japanese Knotweed so I set off.<br />
It didn't take long but soon John Coutts got me onto, what was to be, my 272nd bird for Shetland, a Black-billed Cuckoo!!!! I couldn't believe my eyes at what I was seeing, I have dreamed of finding one of the American Cuckoos, but seeing one that day made me happy enough!<br />
It moved around quite frequently and even decided to come and land about 15-20 feet away from the four of us! giving more than amazing views, soon the bird became a bit more mobile and Gary Bell turned up to get some views and photos, I was pushing time a bit so I headed off, though this wasn't the end of my twitch.<br />
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The Black-billed Cuckoo in all its wonderful glory</div>
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On the way back I had a message from Paula who was on her way out to twitch the bird too, I ended up meeting her just outside Walls and I traded cars to take her back out there to see it, I thanked Tommy for the trip out and Paula and I headed back west to see the bird.<br />
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We arrived back at Dale of Walls at 1745 and the light was fading and the bird had gone AWOL down the burn, so Paula and I went separate ways, I headed up back towards the croft and Paula began working the bushes along the burn, about 10 minutes later we had our first success as Gary Bell had the bird come zooming up the burn and land in a bush by the bridge as a couple of local and south birders arrived, soon we were all enjoying great views of the bird and after a few more minutes it shot off back to croft, with the bird gone we decided to head off too.<br />
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Though we weren't even the last people to see the bird that day, Andy Cook from Fetlar had come to see it with the last drips of daylight, we quickly flagged him down and gave him the last details of the bird, I got a message from him later that day to say that he'd got it so it seems everyone who went that day got it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsXE7Cx25vi-OO31ZiEjwkH1X8me5SrECKkb_8sI3aXFzgF5SojN5a7GPJMAqSQELO0YsO02zF_XlrvEIFhw1puK6ezi51EIdfeboFbfx8ejMpUoDqCKg-q6TnLaPx-vrdw_VueJDSJyY/s1600/IMG_0362.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsXE7Cx25vi-OO31ZiEjwkH1X8me5SrECKkb_8sI3aXFzgF5SojN5a7GPJMAqSQELO0YsO02zF_XlrvEIFhw1puK6ezi51EIdfeboFbfx8ejMpUoDqCKg-q6TnLaPx-vrdw_VueJDSJyY/s640/IMG_0362.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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The next day of course the bird had disappeared as expected, even though a few people had tried to twitch from south it could not be located, hopefully it didn't succumb to death or starvation like others but it was a glorious bird to see so thanks for Tommy and Paula for running me about that day!<br />
<br />
A Link to the Rare Bird Alert Finders in the Field Write-up by Rory Tallack<br />
<a href="http://www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/Finders-in-the-field-Black-billed-Cuckoo-Unst.aspx?s_id=70480854" target="_blank">http://www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/Finders-in-the-field-Black-billed-Cuckoo-Unst.aspx?s_id=70480854</a>Logan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13710425892081407758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901343194370742610.post-83912610558552115912017-09-21T11:33:00.001-07:002017-09-21T11:35:10.740-07:00The No.26 - Onwards to the Levenhall Links (Musselburgh Edition)Its been a while since
my last post but hopefully this will be the start of some more
frequent ones.<br />
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<br /></div>
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I was staying in
Edinburgh over the weekend (8th-10th September) as part of a Reroute residential meeting, the flights didn't work that well so I couldn't get back
home until the Sunday, a day after the meeting had finished so I
decided to head out to Musselburgh on the east side of Edinburgh as
there had been a good few birds (Red-necked Grebe, Black Tern and Spotted Redshank), that I wanted to see, in the area.</div>
<div class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
So the night before I
made a plan to visit the place by public transport, I had never
visited Musselburgh by public transport before so it would be one of
two adventures I'd be having that day.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I woke up at 0600 on
the Sunday and set off to grab a bite to eat before my bus, it took
me a while before I finally decided where to get on the bus but
thanks to the friendly barista in 'easycoffee' I was sorted and was
heading on the No.26 at 0730.</div>
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It took around 40
minutes before I reached Musselburgh and soon I was off to another
unexplored part of the city, the Musselburgh Train Station. It took
around 45 minutes to get there, grab my train ticket and then make it
to Musselburgh Lagoons/River Esk mouth.</div>
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<br /></div>
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It was great to be
finally doing some south birding after so long, and it was a real
treat seeing such big numbers of Mute Swan and Black-headed Gull that
you just don't see in Shetland, one treat that I did find was my
second ever Kingfisher sitting happily on a ladder, the last
Kingfisher I saw was just a blue streak so seeing it in its full
orange and blue glory was amazing!</div>
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Kingfisher!</div>
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Levenhall Links aka Musselburgh Lagoons</div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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Next came the mouth of
the River Esk which was absolutely teeming with waders, ducks and
swans, it was such a expanse of ground it was difficult to see any of
the farther away waders, a couple of Bar-tailed Godwit and Dunlin
were only real birds of note that I could see and a young Herring Gull trying to catch
a Pipit was pretty odd.</div>
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Moving further along
the shore, I heard this strange squeaking noise which I had never
heard before, next thing I knew a winter plumage/juv Sandwich Tern
flies in (not exactly a Black Tern but good enough!), the first one
I'd seen in a while. A few more goodies were picked up while trying
to find Red-necked Grebe, a pair of Great-crested Grebes and some
possible Velvet Scoters were a good addition to the trip list, not
always easy birds to get back home!
</div>
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Next it was time to go
to the Levenhall Links and check the wader scrapes, passing by some
woods yielded Great-spotted Woodpecker, Blue Tit, Magpie, Woodpigeon
and a pair of Little Grebes on the boating pond. </div>
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Arthur's Seat in the distance</div>
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The mouth of the River Esk</div>
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Finally reaching the
Links my main excitement grew, as I remember this place was amazing
for waders and geese, this time was no exception, there were a few
Greylags but there were good numbers of waders on a couple of the
scrapes with a Black-tailed Godwit and 3 Ruff making a nice find.
After a while I met a few birders who informed me of a Spotted
Redshank and a Semi-palmated Sandpiper that had been seen in the area that
day! Hearing that news certainly had me more excited and scanning the
pools for a good while, more birders came and went but one couple
came with a scope and I asked if they could scan the far away wader
flock for the Spotted Redshank as it would have been a lifer for me,
ten minutes later and I had my wish, the couple with the scope had
picked it out among some Redshanks!</div>
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Spotted Redshank is the bird on the right hand of the gulls, photo taken through a scope</div>
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</div>
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I've been trying to
catch up with Spotted Redshank for a few years now, from
Northumberland to Shetland and now to Lothian I've been looking for
them but now I've finally landed one! this Spotted
Redshank was a beauty, the couple with the scope let me have a look
through it to get a better look and boy it was amazing! Its grey
plumage was great, the face notably whiter than a normal Redshank and
a much thinner bill as well, it was gorgeous. It wasn't long before
a Curlew Sandpiper was picked up as a well, a bird I have very rarely
seen before so that was a nice addition to the trip list. Time was
soon getting on though, with no Semi-palmated Sandpiper in site and
my time running ever shorter I decided to head off and go to the
train station, ending my day at Musselburgh.</div>
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A Bee sp on Creeping Thistle</div>
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<u><br /></u></div>
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It was an eventful day,
with a lifer and a few nice birds I hadn't seen in a while, I always
love exploring these new places and hopefully Musselburgh will become
a regular site for me once I go to University, but that's a story for
another time.</div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Logan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13710425892081407758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901343194370742610.post-44050378429504606552017-05-02T11:25:00.003-07:002017-05-02T11:25:21.084-07:00Hermit Thrush on Noss 19/4/17First post for a few months now, things have been relatively quiet with me due to preparations for exams and many things but hopefully this is the start of some more blog posts.<br />
<br />
On the 19th of April I was sitting in school with ten minutes remaining when I had a quick look online to see if there was anything worth looking at. Something that always catches my eye is the Bird of Noss Facebook page because its always about some interesting wildlife that has been seen on the island. First thing I noticed was a photo of a rusty-orange coloured thrush with a brighter tail of the same colour. Alarm bells started ringing for me and I quickly got into reading the chunk of paragraph above it which helped to confirm my alarm bells. Craig Nisbet, one of the wardens on the island, had found a Hermit Thrush. I could pretty much see Noss from where I was so I knew I had to somehow get there for it.<br />
<br />
I headed out class just before the bell and raced up to my room in the Janet Courtney Hostel to check for any messages on my phone, as soon as I switched it on I got a rush of messages. I sent one into the Shetland group seeing if there was anyway we'd be able to get over to Noss for it.<br />
Andy Denton, the other warden, said they would take people on the 3.30pm ferry but not the 4pm, looking at the time it was 3.30pm, knowing I couldn't make it to the ferry I started running down to it in hope someone would be able to take me across which I knew was very slim.<br />
<br />
I was almost at the ferry terminal when I passed someone who then began shouting at me, I turned around to see Phil Harris, lifejacket and bins at the ready. Now I had a pretty good idea what he was up to so I went and asked Phil if he had a space on his boat going over to Noss which he did so the twitch was on!<br />
<br />
Just after 4pm, myself, Phil & Rebecca along with their daughter Ayda and Glen Tyler left Lerwick Harbour and went round the South end of Bressay to get to Noss, we arrived around quarter to 5 and after around five minutes spent pushing the boat back out to shore (which resulted in me being in knee depth of water) we trekked across the island to East Punds Geo (conveniently on the north-eastern edge of the island, just about as far away as you could get).<br />
We were nearing the geo when about 8 people came from over the hill and started walking towards us, mainly consisting of the birders who made it over on the 3.30 but also the two wardens, Andy was good enough to take us up to the site and show us the bird.<br />
<br />
A few minutes later we arrived to a breezy East Punds Geo but all seemed quiet and there wasn't a bird to be seen, I managed to find a Willow Warbler (year tick) but there was no sign of the Thrush and after 20 minutes we were starting to think it had gone.<br />
Then things happened quickly, everyone noticed a starling sized bird fly up out the Geo and land directly on top of the stone dyke at the geo mouth. Shouts started coming from everyone, IT WAS THE THRUSH, it dropped behind the dyke and a stressing few minutes ensued as everyone came from their positions around the geo to try get a look of it. Me I was pretty much running and I joined Andy who had a good view of where it went and soon Phil & Becca were with us too, none of us could see it but Glen had it on the opposite side of the wall so we joined him.<br />
<br />
There in front of us sat Britain's 12th Hermit Thrush, Shetland's 5th and my 270th bird in Shetland. It was better in the flesh than It was in the photos but I was so happy to see it, we spent around 30 minutes watching the bird feed on the ground and coming within 20 feet of us. By this point the light was going and we started walking back to the boat, with Phil and Glen heading back on the boat and me, Rebecca and Ayda going overland to get the ferry. That was the end to one lucky twitch and maybe one of my jammiest so far.<br />
<br />
Big thanks to Phil and Becca for taking me over on the boat and the run home because without them I would never of seen the bird! and of course to Craig and Andy on Noss, mainly for finding the bird but also for helping with relocating it and the info giving to me before hand so I knew where I was going!<br />
<br />
(I would add some photos but sadly my computer is not playing ball!)<br />
<br />
A couple of links below of the finders account from Craig<br />
<br />
<u><b>Rare Bird Alert</b></u><br />
http://www.rarebirdalert.co.uk/v2/Content/Finders-in-the-field-Hermit-Thrush-Shetland-Apr-2017.aspx?s_id=5991079<br />
<br />
<u><b>BirdGuides</b></u><b> </b><br />
http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=6325<br />
<br />Logan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13710425892081407758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901343194370742610.post-42177500536748335782017-01-14T12:32:00.001-08:002017-01-14T12:32:04.581-08:00Welcome to 2017Its a new year.<br />
Now 2017 has begun and the big question every birder asks is raised once again, what do you think we'll have this year? <br />
Will it be another first for the UK? will we have a huge invasion of finches, crossbills or Waxwing from Scandinavia? Is there going to be some long-awaited rarity that hasn't been seen on our shores in decades? Well there is no answer, only time will tell.<br />
<br />
This winter has been mild and allowed for a few birds to overwinter, Chiffchaff, Blue Tit and Dunnock being a few of the notable species.<br />
Also as I am writing this we are currently experiencing a small influx of white-winged Gulls into the isles with around 37 Glaucous Gulls in Unst on the 9th.<br />
<br />
This year I have finally given up trying to beat 200 for my year list after having conquered the barrier in 2016 by reaching a good 208 after 3 years of trying.<br />
So obviously my year list has gotten off to a slower start with only 39 birds by the 14th, mainly just common birds but also a self-found Little Auk in Burravoe, Yell on the 7th was a treat.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
Lonely Little Auk in Burravoe</div>
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<br /></div>
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But as the days lengthen then there is more birds to be found and soon before we even know it spring will be here.</div>
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<br /></div>
Logan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13710425892081407758noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901343194370742610.post-58743581030777908092016-12-31T14:53:00.000-08:002016-12-31T14:53:02.350-08:00The year of records 'n' rares: 2016What a year this has been, 2016, the year of losing celebrities and the best autumn in my lifetime.<br />
Its been a bumper year for me, so below as always I've summed up the year as best I can month by month.<br />
<br />
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">January</span></u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
The year got off to a slow start but I had soon caught up and broken my own month record.<br />
Highlights being <b>Mourning Dove</b>, <b>'Black-bellied' Dipper, Rough-legged Buzzard, Lesser Scaup, Jack Snipe, Goldcrest, Goldfinch</b>, 5 <b>Little Auk</b>.<br />
I relocated <b>Whooper Swan 'JB4'</b> back on Clickimin again on the <b>24th</b>.<br />
At the end of the month saw me and Dave take a twitch to Whalsay for a <b>'putative' American Herring Gull</b>, I've never seen such a strange looking bird.<br />
And also during the month I got an email concerning some recoveries of birds I had rung, <b>my first three recoveries</b>, 2 Oystercatchers from the same area in West Mainland (to Inverness and Wales) and a Mute Swan which I refound where I ringed it in Scalloway!<br />
<br />
Year List by months end = 79<br />
<br />
<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">February</span></u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
Like always a quiet month, with funnily enough the same amount of year ticks as last year.<br />
Birding was restricted as prelims took over a good portion of the month.<br />
On the 26th-28th I went down for a 'residential' in Edinbrugh for my collaboration in Reroute (Scotland's Youth Biodiversity Panel) but before it started I headed out east with my friend Andrew Russel for a spot of twitching, Black-necked Grebe, Caspian Gull and Water Pipit were all on the cards but in the end we only came across the Black-necked Grebe but it was a lifer so I was happy! biggest excitement had to be when we came across a very tame young fox which had quite a liking for bread!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIf483LqoOxKcBlheuUERZRccKOGTbtZi0CgG59uZaFsZqw65aKmwGGNHVttoGCxYjPQi29Z2hH6PZNzPC3_hNclfTYvOPhYs7EvZm7D_07t0g_KYBO9rC8g62AMLl_5vBEGh1ZezTD1I/s1600/IMG_1984.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIf483LqoOxKcBlheuUERZRccKOGTbtZi0CgG59uZaFsZqw65aKmwGGNHVttoGCxYjPQi29Z2hH6PZNzPC3_hNclfTYvOPhYs7EvZm7D_07t0g_KYBO9rC8g62AMLl_5vBEGh1ZezTD1I/s640/IMG_1984.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Only my second ever Fox, you might say I had good views! </div>
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(courtesy of Andrew 'the twitcher' Russel)</div>
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Year List by months end = 83<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">March</span></u></b><br />
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On the <b>5th</b> I finally saw my first<b> Killer Whales</b> with a pod of 5 off Sumburgh Head/Compass, views were distant but I was more than ecstatic!<br />
The <b>12th </b>resulted in a trip to Unst with Robbie Brookes to see <b>Surf Scoter</b> (twitched successfully) but also resulted in a couple of hours spent looking for a White-tailed Eagle which finally showed itself the next day but not to me.<br />
It was good over the coming weeks to see the migrant and breeding species return to Shetland as winter finally ended and a <b>Wheatear</b> at Sumburgh on the <b>29th</b> was the earliest record for me of the species.<br />
A cycle to Fetlar on the 31st was slow going but produced highlights such as <b>Glaucous Gull,</b> <b>Blackcap</b> and <b>Tree Sparrow</b> (last two being year ticks).<br />
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Year List by months end = 100<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">April</span></u></b><br />
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The <b>6th-11th </b>saw a trip to Fair Isle which resulted in one of my best April birding ever with highlights being <b>Hawfinch</b>, Black Redstart, <b>Great Gret Shrike</b>, Ring Ouzel, <b>Grey Wag</b>, Hornemanns Arctic Redpoll, first <b>Bonxies </b>of the year, a Hawinch ringing tick, the islands first <b>Shelduck</b> for the year, finally ticking Tree Pipit, <b>Long-eared Owl</b>, Stonechat, self-finding Fair Isles earliest ever <b>Common Redstart </b>and swallow.<br />
As always April is the time we check the Raven nest sites, defiantly one of my favourite times of the year.<br />
The<b> 24th</b> was an exceptional day with Garganey and 12 Pintail seen at Scatness, only 1 more bird and we would of equalled the Shetland record!<br />
Finally the rest of the month was spent doing Ravens.<br />
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Year List by months end = 121<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">May</span></u></b><br />
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The first half of the month was dominated by exams but some birding was fitted in.<br />
Return of Terns is always good with my first <b>Arctics </b>on the<b> 7th</b>.<br />
A first for Shetland, <b>Rose-breasted Grosbeak</b> was stressfully twitched between exams on the <b>4th</b> in Burra.<br />
A much relieved tick came in the form of <b>White-billed Diver</b> on the <b>5th</b> in Basta Voe, Yell after many fruitless attempts<br />
On a windy Saturday morning (<b>14th</b>), news came of a confirmed <b>GREEN WARBLER</b> on Unst (2nd for UK), a twitch soon ensued and I went with some Shetland veterans to successfully twitch it, after many fleeting views.<br />
The <b>19th</b> was a notable date with my<b> first patch record</b> of a <b>Mouse</b> with two on the beach at Seafield,<br />
A <b>volunteering stint at Fair Isle Birds Obs</b> from <b>19th-27th </b>and then extended to the <b>30th</b>, a dream of mine to work there or even volunteer for a long time and definitely worth it and not just good for birds! some birdy highlights being <b>BLACK-BROWED ALBATROSS</b>, Rustic & <b>Ortolan Bunting</b>, <b>Little Egret</b> (<b>self-found first for the island</b>!), several <b>Bluethroats</b>, Woodchat Shrike, <b>Corncrake</b>, Red-backed Shrike, <b>Crane</b>, two <b>Nauthusius Pipitstrelles </b>and a host of many common migrants.<br />
Jobs though labour intensive at times, cruise ships were much rewarding as cleaning out the Obs Wader Scrape, as it produced 3 Wagtail species in one day! it was also great to see many old faces and meet many new ones. Big thanks to FIBO for having me and all the staff and visitors as well, though the 5 hour journey on the Shepherd was a bit rough!<br />
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Year List by months end = 161<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">June </span></u></b><br />
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As always a quiet month for birding but its when the ringing really takes off with waders dominating the month and the freedom of having no more exams until next year, not as many waders as past years but still good with even a trip to Yell but we only saw one wader chick.<br />
Though the one bit of birding excitement was a singing Quail at Burravoe, Yell on the 19th, big thanks to Dougie Preston for the tip off as its the first time I've ever heard one!<br />
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Year List by months end = 162<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">July</span></u></b><br />
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Mainly dominated by a<b> trip to China 9th-28th </b>as part of the Confucius Hub project to learn the <b>culture and language of China,</b> dominated by classes and visiting areas around Tianjin and Beijing such as the Great Wall, Olympic Park, Forbidden City, Summer Palace and a mix of culture & food streets with a few lifers and birds seen such as Chinese Pond Heron, Chinese Bulbul, etc etc<br />
The last few days of the month were spent getting back into ringing with the <b>Divers</b>, as July is the official start of the wonderful diver season.<br />
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Year List by months end = 163<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">August</span></u></b><br />
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Things really started to speed up in August in all senses for birding.<br />
The month started off with <b>Divers,</b> with a few sites being tended to before the chicks fledged and then I moved on to a smaller kind of bird.<br />
<b>Storm Petrels</b> then came mid month where I joined Phil Harris, Georgie Petrie and Glen Tyler on a few Storm Petrel sessions, it was good to get more experience with petrels and to rack up my ringing total a bit! A <b>Leach's Petrel</b> caught was also a nice year tick even if Fair Isle was catching Swinhoes on the same night!<br />
My first real autumn birding on the <b>27th</b> with Paula and Julie Redpath resulted in <b>Wryneck</b> and a s-f male<b> Rosefinch </b>at Spiggie!<br />
The <b>29th</b> was also a pretty good day for rarities as Paula and I head down to the South Mainland to twitch a <b>Arctic Warbler</b> at Geosetter and a <b>Booted Warbler</b> at Sumburgh, safe to say we managed to get both birds in the space of an hour and a half!<br />
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Year List by months end = 174<br />
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<b><u>September</u></b><br />
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The month started off well with <b>Wood Warbler</b> at Mossbank on the <b>4th</b> and a patch tick on my <b>second patch </b>of the Knab in Lerwick with <b>8 Mallard</b> on the <b>5th</b>!<br />
I headed into Fair Isle again with family between the <b>9th-13th</b> for our great-grandmothers funeral, one or two birds seen whilst there, Sooty & Manx Shearwaters, Lapland Bunting, Greenshank, Grasshopper Warbler, two Convulous Hawkmoths courtesy of Nick Riddiford and the Legend that is the Biking Birder, Gary Prescott.<br />
The <b>13th</b> was the day I equalled my own year list record with a <b>Yellow-browed Warbler</b> at Quendale.<br />
The <b>29th </b>resulted in my own personal year record of 181 being broken with a <b>Pallid Harrier</b> at Quendale and then a<b> Pochard</b> at Spiggie.<br />
On the <b>30th</b> news broke of a <b>Brown Shrike</b> in Aith which I twitched after school, saving me the 14 hour plus trip to Skerries for the one there!<br />
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Year List by months end = 184<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">October </span></u></b><br />
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The month started off good with a trip to Unst with Tommy on the <b>1st</b> for Paddyfield and Blyth's Reed Warbler. <b>Blyth's Reed</b> (possible self-found or relocation of Norwick bird), <b>RBFly </b>and <b>Water Rail </b>were all logged bringing the yearlist to 187.<br />
Another trip to Unst on the <b>8th</b> for White's Thrush was unsuccessful but sunny weather and good views of an <b>Osprey </b>made up for it!<br />
The <b>9th </b>was a day that went down in history as a <b>SIBERIAN ACCENTOR</b> (1st for UK) was found at Mossy Hill, Scousburgh by Judd Hunt and would prove to be the start of a UK influx (I did see it).<br />
A trip to Fair Isle with Tommy from the <b>10th-17th </b>was one that will stick in my memory, with rarities appearing in the form of <b>Pechora Pipit,</b> two of three Pine Bunting<b>, OBP,</b> Red-flanked Bluetail, <b>Dusky Warbler</b>, Siberian Stonechat and a 'Stenigers' plus a<b> Shore Lark </b>(<b>self-found</b> and a lifer), also a supporting cast of Waxwing (Sf), <b>Blue Tit</b> (<b>self-found</b> and 13th for Island), multiple Little Bunting,<b> Yellowhammer</b>, multiple Yellow-broweds, <b>Great Grey Shrike</b> and lots of common migrants to make it an ultimate trip.<br />
Even though I'd left Britain's most remote island there was still birds to be found with an <b>Isabelline Wheatea</b>r at Noss, Spiggie which showed nicely along with a <b>Mistle Thrush</b> (which was bird no.200 for the year!) bringing the total to 201 for the year!<br />
The next few weeks were quiet as I was away down south for a residential as part of <b>Reroute</b> but I still managed to get a few birds in the shape of <b>Desert Wheatear </b>(<b>21st</b>), <b>Pied Wheatear</b> and <b>Rose-coloured Starling</b> (<b>24th</b>) and two <b>Striped Dolphins</b> in Scalloway!<br />
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Year List by months end = 204<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">November</span></u></b><br />
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This month saw a new menace released in Shetland, myself on the roads, now being able to drive (but only on L-plates at the moment) I went further round Shetland and did a bit more twitching than usual.<br />
My first twitch as a <b>learner driver </b>was a North American <b>Killdeer </b>at Sandwick on the <b>13th </b>which was an unexpected lifer but certainly much appreciated!<br />
The<b> 21s</b>t also saw my second ever birdrace fundraising for Hillswick Seal Sanctuary and was a great day with the three teams and my team personally got a respectable 67 species! including highlights of <b>Green-winged Teal</b>, Waxwing, <b>Merlin</b>, Scaup and <b>Little Grebe.</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqpDTb62A0XKaOkXSzJTvujd2XL0loEliWdk786RHAPZqwDEvm5GWJxMGbNBm8UvR_u2QVDKqrT6n-lTXdGOADSa8Ki2EYoFT4SHtpBuFUgzXPt8Wq3gFVRtUAUN4wmgUw_SDFKMIh9fo/s1600/P1220187.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqpDTb62A0XKaOkXSzJTvujd2XL0loEliWdk786RHAPZqwDEvm5GWJxMGbNBm8UvR_u2QVDKqrT6n-lTXdGOADSa8Ki2EYoFT4SHtpBuFUgzXPt8Wq3gFVRtUAUN4wmgUw_SDFKMIh9fo/s640/P1220187.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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drake Green-winged Teal (top) and Eurasian Teal (bottom) at Orwick Water, Muckle Roe</div>
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Year List by months end = 207<br />
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<b><u>December</u></b><br />
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An<u> </u>extremely quiet month for birding, the short period of light and other bits and pieces played a big part in limiting birding but weather wasn't really a problem as it was quite a good month.<br />
One possible new addition to the year list was a <b>Buzzard sp</b> that I saw at Mossbank on the <b>27th</b>, the views were great but I had no camera and have a little experience with Common and Rough-legged.<br />
Though I managed to get a new bird on the Mid Yell School List in the shape of a 2nd winter Iceland Gull which did a flyover on the <b>31st.</b><br />
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Year List by Years end= 207/8<br />
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Another crazy year, one that will forever go down in memory of birders nationally and locally, certainly it will be one I look back on when I'm old and remembering the ' good 'ol days'.<br />
In both personal and birding life it will be one I won't forget, every year comes with ups and down but this years pros have shot past its cons and its a year where there has been faults but I'm proud of my achievements.<br />
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Many new faces this year and but also great to catch up with some many old ones back on Fair Isle who I'm now joining as the 'regulars'.<br />
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This year has seen me break an aim of mine and that is see 200 species of bird in Shetland in one calendar, I can safely say with 207/8 by 22.55 on 31st December 2016 that I have done that and with no less than 19 additions to my Shetland List included in that, so here's my additions this year:<br />
Tree Pipit, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, White-billed Diver, Green Warbler, Woodchat Shrike, Ortolan Bunting, Little Ringed Plover, Osprey, Rustic Bunting, BLACK-BROWED ALBATROSS, Sooty Shearwater, Manx Shearwater, SIBERIAN ACCENTOR, Pechora Pipit, Pine Bunting, Shore Lark, Isabelline Wheatear, Desert Wheatear and Killdeer <br />
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Of course once again, this year couldn't of been what it was without the help of so many people, the list grows more and more every year, as more people come and go. Like always I thank everyone for the help they've given me across the last year, whether just pointing me in the right direction to a bird or driving with me miles on a twitch.<br />
Once again thanks to Dave and all the Shetland Ringers for giving me some great ringing experiences.<br />
Certainly some of the biggest thanks goes to my granddad, throughout the year he's been there for birding trips, twitches and just general driving and has been such a big help.<br />
Thanks to Paula for the runs to so many birds this year, certainly without it I wouldn't have broken 200.<br />
To all those at Fair Isle in the Obs and on the island, I've had a lot of great memories and trips there this year and its certainly made the year great.<br />
Finally to all my family and friends who helped out in smaller ways throughout the year and to all the birders from whatever corner of the country they have come.<br />
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Finally Happy New Year! lets make 2017 just as good!Logan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13710425892081407758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901343194370742610.post-71415832190376855522016-12-31T10:41:00.002-08:002016-12-31T10:41:50.689-08:002016 Photos September-December<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Seeing as I have posted little this year I thought I should share my photos at least until I get my blog posts sorted, so here's a selection of photos from September to December in backwards order that I just want to share.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqpDTb62A0XKaOkXSzJTvujd2XL0loEliWdk786RHAPZqwDEvm5GWJxMGbNBm8UvR_u2QVDKqrT6n-lTXdGOADSa8Ki2EYoFT4SHtpBuFUgzXPt8Wq3gFVRtUAUN4wmgUw_SDFKMIh9fo/s1600/P1220187.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqpDTb62A0XKaOkXSzJTvujd2XL0loEliWdk786RHAPZqwDEvm5GWJxMGbNBm8UvR_u2QVDKqrT6n-lTXdGOADSa8Ki2EYoFT4SHtpBuFUgzXPt8Wq3gFVRtUAUN4wmgUw_SDFKMIh9fo/s640/P1220187.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Green-winged Teal (Top) and Teal (Bottom) at Muckle Roe during a bird race in November</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipC5R6t-v8a0Sh8y2g1useNQA8prqczMxTvs-fje7jnAt-lgiZcJHtacjW0lnu0rWXjXWFxxrpqcsTzvVINxbVGjsL0MZFHJhKMsnKO75ISXOLyNpYHqRQCY4aoef57J3UU9SjmoJR0Z4/s1600/P1220167.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipC5R6t-v8a0Sh8y2g1useNQA8prqczMxTvs-fje7jnAt-lgiZcJHtacjW0lnu0rWXjXWFxxrpqcsTzvVINxbVGjsL0MZFHJhKMsnKO75ISXOLyNpYHqRQCY4aoef57J3UU9SjmoJR0Z4/s400/P1220167.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Killdeer at The Wart, Sandwick in early November, only the third Shetland record</div>
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Isabelline Wheatear at Noss, Spiggie late October</div>
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"Stejnegeri's" Stonechat (subspecies of the Siberian), Fair Isle in October</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHh2TdFOJpSJTaMyD0EE5lFXuOmjjINTqEqKlg4cGmzsHvBzLjxrlav6Y7KRG6BYmRjYZPVl2WIIwg3svEreGu-LwS5E8HgccVASOlJqM_wJSNw4_McScw5As-0rFQEZ1P43mFeRH04DA/s1600/P1220094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHh2TdFOJpSJTaMyD0EE5lFXuOmjjINTqEqKlg4cGmzsHvBzLjxrlav6Y7KRG6BYmRjYZPVl2WIIwg3svEreGu-LwS5E8HgccVASOlJqM_wJSNw4_McScw5As-0rFQEZ1P43mFeRH04DA/s640/P1220094.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Self found Shorelark in Fair Isle in October</div>
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The bird was a lifer and a much desired tick after dipping one several days before</div>
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One of several description species I found this year </div>
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Olive-backed Pipit, Fair Isle in October down to 15 feet</div>
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'tristis' Chiffchaff, Fair Isle in October</div>
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Self found Red-breasted Flycatcher, Fair Isle</div>
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Red-flanked Bluetail right on the top of Ward Hill, Fair Isle in October, I happily missed lunch to see this bird<br />
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Pine Bunting at Quoy, Fair Isle in October</div>
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The first of a string of records in Shetland and the UK</div>
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One of four on Fair Isle that autumn</div>
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Pechora Pipit at Fair Isle in October that stayed for roughly two weeks</div>
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Yellow-browed Warbler that I ringed in Fair Isle in October</div>
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Sheepdog in Unst October</div>
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Osprey and Raven at Norwick, Unst early October</div>
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Only my third in Shetland following birds in Fair Isle in May and September!</div>
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Sunset over the North Mainland</div>
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Brown Shrike at Aith at the end of September</div>
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Sneezewort at Loch of Voe in September</div>
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Sanderling at Virkie in September</div>
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Mid Yell black & white</div>
Logan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13710425892081407758noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901343194370742610.post-9060612868076993082016-11-26T03:33:00.002-08:002016-11-26T03:36:34.270-08:00The 200 barrierThis year I set out to achieve 200 species on my year list having failed the past two years but getting my highest year list total ever.<br />
Though this year felt good even though it got off to a poor start.<br />
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After coming off Fair Isle in the middle of October I was on a respectable 199!! I spent the last two days hunting for Mistle Thrush across the islands cliff, the peak number of 11 at one stage that didn't even help for me to see a single one!!<br />
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An Isabelline Wheatear had been found the day before I came off Fair Isle (16th) at the Loch of Spiggie, so the next day I headed straight down for that.<br />
I arrived on site and Mark Chapman was looking for the bird but he hadn't seen it so I had a look around the surrounding fields and I spotted this large thrush in the park.<br />
It was big and the ID hit me straight away, a large white bellied thrush with spots running down and a greyish head, Mistle Thrush!! then another thought clicked into place, I'd just broken 200 for the year!<br />
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I'd finally reached my target, and you could say I was a bit more than happy, to be honest I felt I would struggle to reach my target but here I am, already reached it!<br />
I had a funny feeling that Mistle Thrush would be my 200th, and that I would have it on Shetland, typical that I spent days hunting for them in Fair Isle!<br />
Though a lifer was still to come, Rob Fray rolled up and asked us if we'd had the Isabelline Wheatear to which we said no as we couldn't see it anywhere, that was because A) we were looking on the wrong side of the road!<br />
Rob had just had it on the opposite side of the road from us so we turned our attention there, it only took a few frantic seconds but we tracked it down! a lovely pale Wheatear, much paler than our own ones, would be my 201st bird for the year and a lifer!<br />
The bird bounded around for a bit before disappearing around a hill and that was the last we saw of it!<br />
I was pretty pleased with that, we thanked Rob and tried our shot at a Bullfinch he'd seen up the road and a Pied Wheatear down at Scatness but with no luck, though our day had certainly been good!Logan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13710425892081407758noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901343194370742610.post-13841512737845793952016-10-09T13:21:00.000-07:002016-10-09T13:21:37.751-07:00STOP PRESS: Siberian Accentor first for UKNews broke today at 1520 of a SIBERIAN ACCENTOR (first for UK) in a quarry north of Mossy Hill, Scousburgh by Judd Hunt.<br />
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This was literally the biggest thing of the Shetland Autumn, I was bouncing off the walls of the Yell Sound Ferry when I got the news.</div>
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I couldn't live with myself if i missed, today was the day or nothing as I was off to Fair Isle the next morning! But I had a trick up my sleeve.</div>
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Tommy was waiting at the other side to pick me and he was ready to head off anywhere, we had been hoping for a quiet day of birding in the North Mainland but nothing ever goes as planned on here!</div>
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I gave Tommy a quick call to brief him on the plan and when I got to the other side we headed straight down the Ness to the bird, stopping no where on the way and sights only for Siberian Accentor.</div>
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We went straight up to the top of the hill and we met Dennis Coutts, as soon as we rolled down the window he gave us the directions to it and we were off! We could see masses of people lining the quarry and I phoned Dave to give him directions as he was enroute.</div>
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I got straight out the car on arrival and ran up the south side of the quarry and plopped myself down and it was literally right there, slap bang in the middle of the quarry and feeding away!!<br />
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I watched it feed for a good few minutes before Tommy arrived and we both got to watch it feeding, virtually oblivious to the 50 people viewing it!<br />
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It disappeared for a bit and then Dave rolled up and it reappeared, I quickly ran over and got Dave onto it, he was as impressed as I was at first sight of this impressive bird!<br />
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Light was fading and We deceided it was time to go, this bird would probably be gone too with the clear night but it was well worth seeing and one magical day (No photos published as having problems doing it on the Ipad!).<br />
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Logan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13710425892081407758noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8901343194370742610.post-58652328673199647682016-09-30T14:58:00.002-07:002016-09-30T14:58:27.780-07:00Brown ShrikeNews broke early afternoon of a possible BROWN SHRIKE at Whitelaw Road, Aith in the West Mainland, I was currently in school and seeing it was a Friday I'd be able to escape and head out there after school<br />
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After a few mix ups with buses I managed to get out there with Tommy and arrive on the scene at around 1645 to see a small 'flock' of twitchers gathering to see the bird.<br />
It was quite distant when we arrived and almost needed a scope but it eventually came closer to provide better views.<br />
The general consensus pulled towards Brown Shrike and as of writing this most people agree on its identity of being Brown Shrike.<br />
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But I'm pleased on seeing the bird, it was good to get out for the twitch after school had ended as a bit of a release from the week and good to get that extra bird for the year list, I was going to go to Skerries for the one there but it would of been a 14-hour round trip for the bird which I wasn't too fond of!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEddZ0fLqNCIxXwUFBo_MbbMt2bY2lNAIFH02nRqHXRJIZGOPxcNMg4h7jJoFkEVKIovvka158Olj5aOAAAlUDuTye_MI24Fw_PjuunYIGRSfCYYYiuTvGp2EYsbVO68qkmhGLJalHtmI/s1600/P1210366.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEddZ0fLqNCIxXwUFBo_MbbMt2bY2lNAIFH02nRqHXRJIZGOPxcNMg4h7jJoFkEVKIovvka158Olj5aOAAAlUDuTye_MI24Fw_PjuunYIGRSfCYYYiuTvGp2EYsbVO68qkmhGLJalHtmI/s640/P1210366.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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A tad distant but still better views than the last one I saw which was 300 metres away!</div>
Logan Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13710425892081407758noreply@blogger.com0