Bloody Midges...

Well I'm still here (no thanks to AOL), and the proud owner of a new email address too!

Bird wise, the highlights lately have been Merlin, Common Tern and a small flock of Siskins. Nothing too earth shattering I know, but with the dreaded midge plague we are experiencing just now, being in the 'field' is quite a pain at times!

Mammal wise, the best has been a few Otters and a bull Killer Whale. The pic of the Killer Whale is distant and fuzzy, but I think you can get the idea... It was feeding in the Yell Sound, and many thanks to Brydon for the tip off.....again! (I've got to get a job on the ferry!)

Common Tern fishing off Busta

(I did tell you the Orca pic was crap!)

Birders Guide to 'Burravoe'

There ain't any, so don't bother...


The only birds of note lately, have been three Common Terns on my 'commute' to work! These were 2 ad and 1 juv, so at least some terns are successfully breeding in Shetland this Summer. Common Terns aren't all that common in Shetland either, with Arctic Terns being the normal breeding tern.

So with nothing much up here just now, I'm heading off down to deepest darkest Englandshire in the hope of a few long standing 'tarts' ticks. That's presuming the mist and fog up here lets me go!.... fingers crossed eh!

Sunshine on a rainy day...

Today was a mix of thick fog and heavy rain, without much to be cheery about weather wise! which is a good job that the wildlife was providing the highlights.

First up was a family group of Whooper Swans. These rare breeders couldn't have been more co-operative and even came closer to me as I parked. Which is a good job too, as the light conditions were awful, with high iso required...

Altogether now... ahhhh!

A Common Tern at Toft provided a slight distraction...

and an Otter on Yell to finish off with...

Something Special.

Today was time for something special. The first visit of the year to Fetlar, to look for the returning Phalaropes... and they didn't disappoint!

The idea seemed like a bad one, when at 7am the rain was lashing down and the wind was getting up, but I boarded the ferry from Yell to Fetlar anyway (I was having serious second thoughts...)

By the time we arrived, the sun was out, and the wind had all but gone, so down to the serious business of tracking down some of Fetlars good birds. Within minutes of arriving at Loch of Funzie (RSPB), the Phals were found right beside the road, and were performing to about 6 or 7 feet! In good sunshine, I couldn't fail to get good pics, and even managed to do a bit of sound recording too...


The sound clip is of a singing Skylark with a Black-tailed Godwit calling twice in the background.





Of course it wasn't just about Phalaropes. Fetlar also has some of the best numbers of other Shetland specialities too;

I also tried to photograph 'drumming' Snipe too... though not very well! (but you can get the idea though)

Migrants were also found today, and include; singing Chiffchaffs, Willow Warblers and Whitethroat, and also singles of Whinchat and Swallow. There were 2 Common Terns in Burravoe in the late evening.