Shetland 2017 - Part 2 - Fair Isle

 

The Island of Fair Isle

Day 5 - 01/10/2017

On a medium cloud day with a light southerly breeze, before breakfast from the obs. window there were Yellow-browed Warbler, Blackcaps, Siskins and a Robin (apart from the resident Starlings and House Sparrows).

After breakfast I headed off south with Steve, who showed me some of the best birding spots on the south of the island, and on our walk south we had Yellow-browed Warbler, a couple of Redstarts, a couple of eastern Lesser Whitethroats, 30+ Twite, 100+ Meadow Pipits, 2 Bonxie, 2 Whinchats, 4 Chiffchaffs, a 1cy Black-headed Gull, Swallows, Grey and Pied Wagtails, a couple of Bramblings, Chafinches, 3 Common Snipe and 2 Curlew, plus plenty of Fulmars in the distance.  We spent about 3 hours on our walk south, having arranged to be collected later by the only shop on the island and brought back to the obs. at 1pm for lunch.

One of the flock of Twite seen on our walk to the south of the island

Once again after a long walk, and with my cold I decided to stay in the obs. for the afternoon as should anything new be found, anyone at the obs. could arrange to be taken to see it.

Day 6 - 02/10/2017

On a cloudy showery morning with a SW wind (force 3), after breakfast I had a look around the two harbours by the obs. (the Havens), where there were a flock of 9 Skylarks, 6 Twite, Meadow and Rock Pipits, a flock of 21 Turnstones, Ringed Plovers, Dunlins, 2 Eider, 4 Shags and half a dozen Gannets.

 North Haven - where you disembark if you come to Fair Isle by boat

 And the current Good Shepherd (IV)

Back in the obs. garden, for the rest of the morning I was watching Blackcaps, a Siskin, Chiffchaff and 5 Twite.

Once again on a showery afternoon, so I stayed in the obs. trying to shift my cold.

Day 7 - 03/10/2017

On an overcast and quite windy morning, I had a walk back down to the south of the island, as far as the southern lighthouse.  On my walk down I had around 60 Pink-footed Geese go over, a group of 3 Graylags, 8 Common and a Jack Snipe, around 30 Twite, Skylarks going over together with Meadow Pipits. At the southern end if the island at least 5 Rock Pipits on the beaches.  Other birds seen during the morning were a single Goldcrest, an all white leucistic  Common Gull, and a Fair Isle Wren.

Fair Isle Wren

In the afternoon, which was quite showery and very windy (force 5-6 NW), I took a walk down to the harbour, and then up to the northern lighthouse.  Birds seen during the afternoon were Dunlin, Common Snipe, Ringed Plover, Rock Pipits, Meadow Pipits, a Tree Pipit, Shags, Northern Wheatears, Black Guillemots, a Snow Bunting, Fulmars, Twite, Gannets and a couple of Songthrushes.

 A view on the way up to the northern lighthouse

 The Northern Lighthouse

 Snow Bunting

 Tree Pipit

Brambling

Day 8 - 04/10/2017

Straight after breakfast, I took a walk around North Haven where I had Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Meadow Pipits, Rock Pipits, Turnstones, a Northern (Greenland) Wheatear, a Great Skua, Gannets and an Eider.

 Young Bonxie that seemed to have caught itself in the garden fence

After this I took a walk down south as far as the shop in overcast and squally conditions with a strong SW wind, being picked up from the shop to go back to the obs. at lunchtime.  Due to the conditions birds seen were few and far between, but by the end of the morning I’ seen Reed Bunting, Meadow Pipits, Greylag Geese, a couple of Barnacle Geese, 4 Northern Wheatears, a Chiffchaff and Hooded Crows.

Due to the conditions, I spent the afternoon once again in the obs., watching the garden where I saw Fair Isle Wren, Twite, Curlews, Goldcrest and 2 Pink-footed Geese.

Two Pinkfeet that took up residence for a few days outside the obs.

Day 9 - 05/10/2017

Totally overcast and with a force 4 to 5 NW wind blowing, I kept local going after breakfast to Buness, just beyond North Haven.  Here I had pretty much the same birds as previously there - around 30 Skylark, 4 Rock Pipits, 6 Meadow Pipits, 1 Tree Pipit, Great Skua, around 30 Turnstones, 2 Redshanks, Dunlin, 6 Ringed Plovers, Hooded Crows, and back at the obs. garden, a Dunnock and a Blackcap (male).

The half-light and NW winds and lack of new birds were beginning to get to me (especially on hearing what was being seen on Shetland (Rustic & Little Buntings, Parot Crossbills, Buff-bellied Pipit), and so I spent another afternoon at the obs. seeing not a lot.

Day 10 - 06/10/2017

Still fairly overcast, and finally the wind dropped to a mere force 2!  What a difference that made - didn’t see much new but what was seen you could actually watch instead of seeing of being blown away at a hundred miles an hour! For the first time in days, people could get off and onto the island by plane. Today I made two trips down to the far south of the island.  In the morning new birds were another Tree Pipit, Skylarks, Wheatears, Curlews and a Bar-tailed Godwit plus a Guillemot and couple of Black Guillemots in the far south.

 Some views on the way to the south lighthouse

 Tree Pipit

 Skylarks

 Rock Pipit

 White Wagtail

Hooded Crow

The afternoon walk produced Redstart, Lesser Whithethroat (one of the very brown eastern forms), Bonxie, Blackcap, Wheatears, Greylags, Turnstones, Ravens Ruff and a single Golden Plover.

Day 11 - 07/10/2017

Little cloud, and winds round to a light NE - this is what we’re here for! After people had seen a Rosefinch in the garden first thing, I decided to start the day fairly close to the obs., checking out North Haven, the harbour just down the road. It was while doing this that I noticed young Sam Sankey, one of the new arrivals from Orkney yesterday, running down Bu Ness.  Something was up! I went to intercept him - White’s Thrush on Bu Ness!! He’d been sent to let the obs. know.  All lethargy now gone, I walked rapidly up to where his parents, Steve and Sarah had been watching the bird. It had flown a hundred metres or so to a different cove.  We walked round to search for it, and there it was, almost merging into the rocks/stones/grass.  It stayed only a minute or so before flying back once again towards the cove where it had been first seen, so we followed it back without actually knowing exactly where it was.  That’s when we almost tripped over it, inadvertently flushing it, and it flew to the hillside on the other side of North Haven. Very difficult to pick out, you could just about make it out with bins, but luckily the Sankeys had a small Swarovski scope and we all got a decent look at it over the next 40 minutes or so. While watching it we had a couple of Whhoper Swans fly over. I left at the same time as the Sankeys (well, there was no point staying to just watch with bins), and apparently the White’s Thrush disappeared some time after having been flushed by a Hooded Crow, never to be seen again. Of all days this was the one day that no mobile phone networks were working, so the obs. staff had to round people up from all over by driving around the island with a red flag poking out of the window to let people know something was up.  What a bird - that’s what you come to Fair Isle for!

 White´s Thrush, photo copyright Sarah Sankey

 and my pathetic distant efforts!

And on my way back to the obs., I stopped off to have a look at a Rozorbill and Slavonian Grebe, both of which were showing well in the harbour.

 Two Whooper Swans that flew over us while watching the White´s Thrush

 The Slavonian Grebe in the harbour

 The Razorbill in the harbour

And the afternoon was no anticlimax either - there had been reports of an elusive Red-throated Pipit near the shop for some days now, so I decided to go and try my luck.  On the way I was accompanied by a male Lapland Bunting which was feeding in the roadside ditches. I also had a wander up to the airstrip just to see if there was anything there, and by the time I got to the Red-throated Pipit location, several people had it tied down to a particular patch of thistles, and was just a matter of waiting.  Wait I did, and eventually I got some excellent views, especially when it came out and perched on top of a small stone wall.  Meeting up with Steve there, we carried on south to the southern lighthouse, having Wheatears, Barnacle and Greylag Geese, Jack Snipe, Wigeon, Redwings and Tree Pipit as we wandered around.

 Lapland Bunting in the gutter on the way down south

At the airstrip, this is what greets you

Red'throated Pipit that finally showed itself well

Day 12 - 08/10/2017

A bright sunny morning with no wind! The morning started well, with a Common Rosefinch and Little Bunting being caught in the mist nets in the garden before breakfast. Today as I walked south with Steve we had a number of the commoner migrants, Wheatear, Twite, Redwings, a Redpoll (Mealy?) over, Goldcrest, Swallows & House Martins, a Fieldfare, Blackcaps, 4 Whinchats, Chiffchaffs, Siskin, Whooper Swan, Grey Heron, Robins, Ruffs, Lesser Whitethroats (again the brown eastern birds) and a couple of Redstarts, and while waiting for our lift back to the obs. at midday, Yellow-browed Warbler and Stonechat. It was that bright and sunny that we even had a butterfly, my only one on the island, a Red Admiral!

 Common Rosefinch ringed at the obs.

 Little Bunting ringed at the obs.

In the afternoon I spent a while back down at North Haven where the Slavonian Grebe, was showing well again, and I then kept company with Steve up to the northern lighthouse.  I’d only been here the once before a few days earlier, when there was a near gale blowing, and so I wanted to have a look in more normal conditions.  But not wishing to demean the Northern Wheatear, flock of 26 Twite, 4 Robins, 5 Redwings, Raven and 6 Hooded Crows, the only birds of note were a Yellow-browed Warbler on the cliffs and a Goldeneye in the nearby loch.

 Slavonian Grebe in the harbour

The ´Good Shepherd´had managed a dash to Sumburgh between storms, and was returning to North Haven

On a bright sunny afternoon, there were Fulmars flying on pretty much all the cliffs

 One of the islets to the NW of Fair Isle, smothered in Gannets

Sumburgh, Mainland Shetland in the distance 

Day 13 - 09/10/2017

This was to be my last day (or morning as I was theoretically leaving at 4:30) but once again with the Good Shepherd having been cancelled already a couple of times during the week, and decidedly iffy conditions, I spent the morning (once the rain had stopped) around North Haven, then venturing down to the south of the island searching for a Richard’s Pipit. No-one could find it, but I did get a nice male Eider, Common Snipe and a Jack Snipe, plus Redwings and Fieldfares. Wandering back at lunchtime,  I decided that as one plane had already been cancelled in the morning due to the weather, if there was any possibility to get an earlier flight off, I would take it, as looking at the weather predictions, it may not otherwise have been possible to leave for a couple of days.  Steve was due to stay another week but also decided to leave early so when 2 seats became available on a flight at 14:00, we took them.

 And back to Shetland Mainland