May Migration: Fair Isle 2013

After planning this trip for a while, my grandad Tommy and I set off to Fair Isle for a perfectly timed trip in the second last week of May.

Friday the 24th

After checking in at Quoy with a nice cup of tea, we set out to Haa at about 4;30pm  for our first wander for birds.

When we arrived at Haa we met Tommy (There is two Tommys, My granddad Tommy and Tommy of Haa) and we went for a quick bird watch round his garden and round the South Harbour.

A nice, ringed Goldfinch at Haa along with

my 1st Lesser Whitethroat

Some Dunlin in Summer Plumage at South Harbour

I was able to get quite close before they flew away

Purple Sandpiper

And also a Sand Martin recently decapitated by a Red-Backed Shrike.

The Red-Backed Shrike takes the heads off the 

bodies of it's victims so it can eat out the high in nutrient brains.

The Red-Backed Shrikes have killed 4 Swallows, 2 House Martins

and this Sand Martin.

Tufted Duck at Da Water

 along with some Common Gulls

This male Stock Deuk or (Mallard) has been hanging

about Quoy for the entire weekend sitting in the

 middle of a field.

A female Red-Backed Shrike this is the first of the

species I have seen, I saw this bird at Quoy, 20 minutes before this photo

was taken

My first Whimbrel of the year at Skroo in the

north of the Island

The Gannet Colony at Dronger

Razorbill on the cliffs below North Light

Pale morph Arctic Skua or Skootie Alaan

Dark morph Arctic Skua or Skootie Alaan

And just before we went to Log (the Bird Observatory's daily count of all the bird Species seen on Fair Isle.) we headed down to the North Haven and saw a very nice looking male summer plumage Long-Tailed Duck.

Also when we got back from Log, Tommy happily enjoyed a dram before bed.

Saturday the 25th

This Morning I got up at 6.25am for bird trapping with the Bird Observatory Warden David Parnaby (I did this every morning until I left the Island on Monday)

A first look on the Double Dyke trap turned up with zero birds, after walking a piece to the Finniquoy trap or the Gully we found and a trapped a Lesser Whitethroat but we couldn't flush a male Blackcap which was still playing hide and seek.

After sticking the Lesser Whitethroat in a birdy bag, we quickly moved to the next trap where something was fluttering about.

This female Red-Backed Shrike is the first of its species to be 

ringed on Fair Isle since having none in 2011

A look in the next two traps produced nothing but after heading into the Lower Voidel or Plantation 

it revealed a male Chaffinch which wasn't trapped but instead we trapped a beautiful

 male Red-Backed Shrike.

After arriving back at the Bird Obs work got under way on ringing the Shrikes, 

no less than five minutes after we'd got in the ringing room Will Miles (one of the Assistant Wardens) brought in another male Red-Backed Shrike from the Obs garden mist nets.

Will with his male Red-Backed Shrike

A stunning bird

and I was lucky enough to get one of the males

in the hand, but he packed a strong bite!

Me and the male Red-Backed Shrike!

(Photo by Tommy Tyler)

This is when the Shrike bit me

A very ashamed Shrike after Will told the story of 

The Brain Eating Shrikes!!!

My 1st Tree Sparrow one of six birds that arrived at the Obs this morning.

Davids daughter Grace happily patting the Tree Sparrow, 

one of the advantages of living at the Bird Obs

Tree Sparrow with the Bird Obs symbol

A Dunnock caught in the mist nets.

Also around the Obs: 1 Garden Warbler, 

1 Robin and a male Blackcap

Also this un-ringed female Red-Backed Shrike was

at Barkland taking my total so far up to four birds

My 1st Lapland Bunting flying about below the 

School just after we got back from the trap rounds at about 9.00am 

This was the only time I saw this female before she disappeared,

leaving with this slightly blurry photo

A male Snaa ful or Snow Bunting outside Quoy feeding with two females

At around 9.40am the phone started to ring while I was in the shower,

Triona answered it and told me that there was a Subalpine Warbler at the Bird Obs,

within five minutes I had finished my shower got changed and rushed out and got my

 binoculars and camera, me and Tommy jumped in the car and drove down to Haa 

to pick up Tommy & Henry, after we'd picked up the residents of Haa we rushed up

to the Obs hoping to see the Subalpine Warbler

A female Subalpine Warbler my first bird of the species.

  it is thought to be an Eastern bird but until the DNA

 analysis confirms what specie it is we'll just have to wait

If you look closely at Warblers of these colours

always check the eyes for white rings round the eyes, 

this usually suggests a Subalpine Warbler

Mealy Redpoll

A male Ring Ouzel

After checking Tommy's blog, he noticed that 

the Ring Ouzel had a tick near it's eye,

sadly no-one noticed it and the Ring Ouzel was

released with a blood sucking tick on its face

A stunning male Bluethroat, my first of the species.

One way to tell a Bluethroat from behind is the orange tail bands, 

It's easier to see the tail from behind than trying to look at the throat

A great bird to see in this plumage

Also around the Obs: 14 Swallows,

A Pied Wagtail one of two birds outside the Obs

Lesser Whitethroat, a re-trapped bird

Willow Warbler, a re-trapped bird

A male Blackcap, a re-trapped bird which had 

been caught in the Lower Voidel along with 

the Lesser Whitethroat and the Willow Warbler

A female Greenland Wheatear, trapped in the Upper Voidel.

Greenland Wheatears are slightly bigger than their southern cousins,

this is easily noticeably in the field.

This is my first sighting of this race of Wheatear 

and I  was quite happy to get such a great photo of her.

The old post office at Shirva which is now a workshop

A view of Haa, Utra and the Sea on

a very sunny day

A Maalie or Fulmar on South Harbour

 Chiffchaff also at the South Harbour

Arctic Tern or Tirrick 

An evaporating puddle loch on the Skaadan

After me and Henry had finsihed birding round the South Lighthouse and the Skaadan, we started walking up north towards the Chalet, just as we had reached the Puffin (A self-catering accomodation where people can go stay) I got a text from David at around 3.15pm saying that there was a Marsh Warbler at the Obs, so I phoned Tommy and we went to get another bird for my list.

My 1st Marsh Warbler at the Bird Obs, I only

caught a quick glimpse and a pic of the bird before it disappeared.

 Also at the Obs was this male Chaffinch 

and a Robin

Me at the Bird Obs

(Photo by Tommy Hyndman)

Sea Pinks on Meoness

Veiw of South Harbour and the South Light from Meoness

Shetland Bumblebee

Anyone know the name for these?

At around 6pm when I got back to Quoy, Triona told me that Elizabeth from Schoolton (across the road)

had said they had a Sedge Warbler singing in their garden,

So I popped along to have a look.

My 1st Sedge Warbler, at Schoolton.

Thanks to Elizabeth for telling Triona who told me.

Sunday the 26th

An early morning wake up again for the trap rounds produced a few birds in the traps including a

Lesser Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler, Blackbird and a Robin.

Trap rounds with Will

A up close of the Sedge Warbler

"Tut tut"

At about 8:10am, 10 minutes after we arrived back at the Obs a female Bluethroat had been caught and

I was lucky enough to get a picture of it (the bird wouldn't sit still long enough to get a good photo)

The one shot of it sitting still, but she was a beautiful bird

After the most of the ringing was complete Will let me help ring a Chiffchaff which 

was my 8th ringed bird since I did my first 7 in October, here is the Info:

Wing length 57mm, Fat 2 Pec 2, Age 5.

A Carrion Crow near the Lower Voidel

At about 1.00pm Stewart, Triona, My Grandad Tommy and I all went to the Bird Obs for dinner.

The canteen staff made a very good dinner, and that was followed by a nice apple pie.

After we had finished our food, David invited me to come on a quick trap round at 2;30pm followed by a quick census of Buness and the Havens and some Beached Bird surveying of the South Harbour.

A look in the Voidel traps turned out to get a few birds including: 3 Twite and a Chiffchaff and a female Merlin happened to flyover just as we were going to the ringing hut.

13 Swallows, part of a flock of 33 flying around the Havens and Buness

 A dead Shalder or Oystercatcher, one less to the Fair Isle breeding population

A Shalder's egg eaten by a Common Gull, one less chick to be born this year

So the count on Buness/The Havens today was:

9 Rock Pipits

2 Pied Wagtails 

8 Shalder excluding the dead one

3 Wheatears

1 Meadow Pipit

1 female Long-Tailed Duck

33 Swallows

1 Common Tern

4 Ringed Plovers

and 5 Common Gulls.

The Beached Bird Survey produced 2 Eiders and a Shag.

Monday the 27th 

my last day on the Island

Since it was my last day I had to go on the trap rounds, I have a bad reputation for leaving on the day rare birds come so I couldn't miss a good opportunity for rare birds.

This morning we went on the trap rounds with Richard

The first thing we caught in the Finniquoy trap was this Maalie which had got stuck in the trees at the bottom of the Gully, once the birds fly in they can't get out because of a fence round the trees.

Also in the Finniquoy trap was a female Chaffinch but it was ringed several days ago so we let it go.

After finding nothing in the next three traps we headed over to the Lower Voidel hoping for more luck.

Sadly all that flew out of the Lower Voidel was a female Brambling and two Collard Doves and the Upper Voidel was completely empty so we headed back to the Obs empty handed hoping that something had been caught there.

When we arrived at the Obs there was nothing in the ringing room but after 10 minutes someone came out of the Obs to the garden saying that there was a Blyth's Reed Warbler showing from the Dining Room, hoping to see another first me and several others rushed into the Dining Room with camera's and bino's at the ready.

And here is my record shot of the Blyth's Reed Warbler another first for me on this trip

bringing my total up to 10 birds new to my list.

Also while I was out on the trap round my grandad Tommy went down to the Havens

for a look for birds and he got this picture of a female summer plumage Long-Tailed Duck

The picture was taken just as the bird was breaking the water if it was taken a split-second later it would of had its wings spread out

At around 9.30am I went down to Haa to say goodbye to Tommy and Henry

Two happy birders

(Henry and I)

(Photo Tommy Hyndman)

After I had finished saying goodbye to some people on the Island, Stewart & Triona chauffeured Tommy & I to the airstrip for our flight out.

At 11.45am, 5 minutes before the plane came, Stewart saw my 73rd specie flying over the airstrip, I looked

through my binoculars and it turned out to be a Peregrine Falcon, my second bird of Prey on this trip.

When the plane landed we walked up to it with our bags and I spotted a friend of mine Paul Harvey (an ex-warden of the Bird Obs) coming out the plane, probably coming in for the May migration, we greeted each other and I then said goodbye to Stewart and Triona, and Tommy and I left Fair Isle and headed home after an amazing weekend of Sunshine and Birding.

The Helliar on its travels.

My Lifers=10

 Lesser Whitethroat, Red-Backed Shrike, Tree Sparrow,

Lapland Bunting, Subalpine Warbler, Bluethroat, "Greenland Wheatear, Sedge Warbler,

Marsh Warbler, Blyth's Reed Warbler

My grandad Tommy Tyler and his Lifers=9

 Lesser Whitethroat, Red-Backed Shrike, Tree Sparrow, Lapland Bunting,

Subalpine Warbler, Bluethroat, "Greenland" Wheatear, Spotted Flycatcher (A bird I did not see)

Blyth's Reed Warbler

List of species in Fair Isle this trip=

Wheatear (Steynshakker)

Great Skua (Bonxie)

Rock Dove

Curlew (Whap)

Meadow Pipit (Hill Sporrow)

House Sparrow

Oystercatcher (Shalder)

Goldfinch

Lesser Whitethroat

Arctic Tern (Tirrick)

Eider (Dunter)

Dunlin (Plivvers Page)

Turnstone (Steynpikker)

Swallow

Willow Warbler

Fulmar (Maalie)

Great Black-Backed Gull (Swabbie)

Herring Gull

Lesser Black-Backed Gull (Peerie Swabbie)

Common Gull (Peerie Maa)

Black Guillemot (Tystie)

Puffin (Tammie Norrie)

Lapwing (Tieve's Nacket)

Common Guillemot (Longvi)

Razorbill (Wilkie)

Pied Wagtail

White Wagtail

Purple Sandpiper (Grolik)

Mallard (Stock Deuk)

Teal

Redshank (Ebb Cock)

Merlin (Smirl or Maalin)

Greylag Goose (Gros Gros)

Black-Headed Gull (Hoody Maa)

Hooded Crow

Raven (Corbie)

Snipe (Snippick)

Skylark (Leverreck)

Red-Backed Shrike

Tufted Duck

Gannet (Solan)

Kittiwake (Rippack Maa)

Whimbrel (Tang Spui)

Long-Tailed Duck (Calloo)

Blackbird

Blackcap 

Brambling

Chaffinch

Robin

Tree Sparrow

Garden Warbler

Shag (Scarf)

Lapland Bunting

Snow Bunting (Snaa Ful)

Common Whitethroat

Subalpine Warbler

Ring Ouzel

Mealy Redpoll

Bluethroat

Chiffchaff

House Martin

Rock Pipit (Banks Sporrow)

"Greenland" Wheatear

Wren (Sisti Mus)

Carrion Crow

Ringed Plover (Sandiloo)

Marsh Warbler

Sedge Warbler

Arctic Skua

Starling

Blyth's Reed Warbler

 Peregrine

Total Species=73