On Reflection.

Definitely a watery theme today. We are getting very strong Northerly winds at the moment, but I managed to find a very sheltered bay, and when the sun came out the reflections in the water were quite beautiful!

Cormorant;

Shag just off shore;

A successful hunt!

A 'monster' of a bull Grey Seal;Dinner for two!

Oi... 'Fat boy'

and you can't have a watery theme without the obligatory Otter shot;

Bird wise there was nothing spectacular, but a few common migrants were around including Pied Flycatcher and Garden Warbler etc, and a Kestrel was at Kergord! Things might be looking up though, as Fair Isle scored the 'first' American passerine of the Autumn today in the shape of a Swanson's Thrush!

Oh Bugger...

Well, it's Winter time again! and boy did the Summer fly past....


The snow is falling again, with a strong Northerly wind and it feels bloody Baltic, and what a surprise there is no migrant action on the bird front! Today 'could' have been the first day of the local breeding bird survey (BBS), but I reckon I might leave mine a wee while yet!


We hope to return to a normal Shetland Spring sometime soon....

Not the 'Sound Approach'

Today's migrants included the Black Redstart (still, and still as flighty!), 2 Chaffinches (still), 1 Robin (still), 4 Knot (still) and 3 Wood Pigeon (New...yippee). So not a lot new today then! But it was good to see so many birds around, and a lot of new Pipits arriving too, although the poss 'littoralis' from a few days ago seems to have passed through. After getting photos of such a confiding 'adult' Shag a few days ago, it was good to get a confiding '1st Summer' bird today for comparison!

For anybody interested (there must be someone?), I've posted a couple of mp3 sound files at the bottom of the sidebar on the right. These include a recording of the 'First' fully documented 'moltonii' Subalpine for Britain (armchair tick some day?). A recording of Stormies from Moussa last Summer, and another couple of Shetland birds. I'm trying to make an online library (on this blog) of the many sound clips I've recorded, once I figure out the logistics of it.... As you all know, I'm not very technically minded and this is a bit of a challenge for me!

Fancy a .....

Sorry about the title, but I couldn't resist (Yes I know, I'm a very shallow person...and I'm going straight to hell etc...).

I managed the above shot while actually "Birding Burravoe", a concept which has been quite alien to me recently, due to holidays and work etc. It was good to get out on patch, and find that I'd not been missing anything much. The only difference is the birds seem to be gearing up for the breeding season at last, with lots of display and singing. Twite have been noticeable for the first time in a few months, and with Snipe 'drumming' and Ringed Plovers displaying, it actually felt like Spring! The only birds of note being 7 Bar-tailed Godwits at Loch of Littlester. These birds are pretty scarce in Shetland, but Burravoe is one of the few places where they Winter, although they do range quite widely, so finding them can be a bit of a challenge.

The last few days has seen a remarkable showing of mammals up here as well, with 4 Polecats, 2 Otters and a White Mountain Hare. Although I must add that these weren't on Yell, as I think the Polecat and the Hare would be 'firsts' for the island! (at least I've never seen either on here) Though I do want to know why I always see these things when I'm;

a. Not Looking for them!

b. don't have a camera with me!

Surely I'm not alone in this achievement? Could this be a subject for the 'Myth Busters'?http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/mythbusters/about/about.html