June 29, 2005
Pigeon ethics and seabird city
Still no migrants to report, and fate is now starting to take an active interest in compounding my birding misery; every time the wind veers away from a northerly, the faint glimmer of hope I nurture for some migrants (hell, not even rarities – I’d settle for a Willow Warbler given I’ve still not seen one this year) flickers and reignites. Only to be smothered to a sullen smoulder by fate’s wilful interference. The wind did just that at the weekend, and lo! a new bird appeared amongst my chickens. Not, as first glance suggested, one of the local Rock Doves. No, far rarer than that. A racing pigeon, no less than a Blue Bar. (This last I am reliably informed by a man who Knows Pigeons). Heaven knows where the poor sod is from, but turning up in Shetland is a pretty impressive feat in itself given our isolation.
What’s certain is where he’s going to. Absolutely nowhere. Five days on, and he’s still hanging out with the hens, gorging himself on corn and layers pellets, and showing no signs of wanting to leave. Which poses a bit of an ethical dilemma – our local Rock Doves are unsullied, pure birds (unlike their bastard cousins the feral pigeons in the rest of the UK). There are precious few pure Rock Doves left these days. Should I be allowing what’s to all intents and purposes a feral pigeon to stay and eventually interbreed with the local Rock Doves? Or should Steps Be Taken?
Anyway, avoiding the issue seems like a good idea for now. Let’s change the subject… went out last week on a boat trip around Bressay and Noss with an important chap from the Scottish Executive. (This was work, mind you!)
We missed the Orcas that had been hunting seals there a few hours previously (as evinced by the seriously spooked seals that remained), but got up close and personal with the immense seabird colonies on the sandstone cliffs at Noss. Incredible stuff, Guillemots and Gannets jammed onto the tiniest of ledges and nooks, a constant stream of birds flying in and out…
On the sea, huge flocks of Guillemots and Puffins, and at the foot of the cliffs Bonxies (Great Skuas) patrolling for fallen or weakened birds. All life was here, and it was teeming. Our guide had a submarine ROV that he slipped into the water nearby, and a different world altogether came onto the screens – forests of kelp, fish cruising through the vivid green ribbons, and then deeper still crabs, Norway lobster, sea urchins and various sponges and other weirdy sea stuff I can’t remember the names for. I’m not much of a reporter!
Anyway, it was a bloody good few hours, and thoroughly recommended to anyone who’s visiting Shetland. Further details of the boat trips available are on Seabirds-and-seals.com
Follow the Weather Starling for a forecast, or see Shetland live on the NAFC webcam… 
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Come back soon!
Posted by Stercorarius at June 29, 2005 12:22 PMMany thanks for the kind comments, drawn to my attention recently by a friend who surfs more than I do. Much appreciated! On your next trip please remind me about that 10% discount for repeat customers.
Happy New Year
Jonathan Wills
Posted by: Jonathan Wills at January 4, 2006 05:08 PM