Update...

There are now a few young Kittiwakes joining the adults at the post breeding flock at Toft. These are always a welcome sight, but especially this year, as they have had yet another very bad breeding season in Shetland. (Got to be the most pretty juv/1st win Gull of all!)

The only other sightings of note lately, have been two very unseasonal Fieldfares (31 August!), and 3 Moorhens at one of the few breeding site for this species in the North of Shetland. I've also had lots of Otters as usual on my commute to work, but I've taken enough pics of them recently! With all these Easterly winds lately, I'm hoping Burravoe will produce the goods on my days off, and produce a nice Wryneck or similar for me! I also feel I must be the only birder in Britain who hasn't found a Lap Bunt recently!

Breeding failure?

For the first time since I moved to Shetland about 5 years ago, the usual 'late Summer' post breeding congregation of Kittiwake at Toft ferry terminal, is noticeable in it's complete lack of juvenile birds this year! does this mean a total failure of local birds? this is a shame indeed, as I reckon this is one species where the juv/first winter birds actually look nicer than the adults!

The local Arctic Skuas were still in attendance, and always ready for a free meal though. Which in turn made for some very interesting and fast photography...

On a separate note. I'm in the process of swapping my broadband from AOL to BT. So if I'm off line for a while then you know it's not gone to plan...

The weekend starts here...

Another day... another falcon! (and at about the same ridiculous time in the morning too!)

This time it was a female Merlin at about 0600 hrs. The sun hadn't even risen fully yet, and so the slow shutter speed was far from ideal, especially as it was a hand held shot! Not a bad start to a weekends birding... Also more Polecats and Hedgehogs were seen this morning as well! lets just hope it doesn't all end here!

and a Kittiwake at the ferry terminal too...