April 25, 2005
I'd rather tell you about the Mountain Hares...
(NB - for those looking for the Little Auk / Gyr Falcon image - click here)
Made an absolute arse of myself yesterday, and as a consequence have managed to leave my birding reputation, such as it was, in complete tatters. First we need to rewind a week, to a report of an eagle being mobbed by gulls on the island. JL investigated, and despite going round the island twice, he couldn’t refind the bird. Forwards to last Saturday, and JL’s father and others heading south on Mainland in the morning; where they saw a large, brown eagle, with shaggy trousers, yellow feet, and described as much bigger than a bonxie. JL spent ages searching for it on Saturday, but to no avail. Only to hear later, after he’d returned home that it had been seen from the road once again later in the day.
He phoned me on Saturday night to bring me up to speed on what had happened, and we decided to catch the first ferry off the island yesterday morning, at 6.30am. Accompanied by JL’s son we set out to see if the eagle was, as reported, a Golden rather than a White-tailed. As we drove slowly along the road from Laxo towards the main road, a large, more or less uniformly brown raptor lifted up on our left, and flew away from us heading south up the broad valley around the Laxo Burn. It seemed too light-coloured to be White-tailed, a species which JL has extensive experience of in Norway anyway. Whilst the bird seemed somewhat smaller than JL expected and I recalled Golden to appear, we were both sure we’d the right underwing for a sub-adult Golden, and to categorically eliminate Buzzard. The bird was quickly lost from sight, as it had sent every bird in the valley completely bonkers, and was being harried by gulls and Hooded Crows. I made the rash decision to put the news out onto the local grapevine. A move that was to have cringe-inducing consequences…
We set off cross-country up the valley in a bid to relocate the bird to get better views. All to no avail; plenty of singing Skylarks, but no raptors. On the plus-side, we did see several Mountain Hares, some more or less back to their brown summer coats with just a hint of white on the ears, but others more piebald and with some patches of white fur still on their bodies. I tried to get some photos, some unmagnified and some handheld through my binoculars. Stalking them was difficult, as even though the terrain was broken and offered some cover, they were very alert and wary and spooked easily before I could get close enough to take anything meaningful.
Back to the car, and a phone message from PH (BBRC member) concerning my report of Golden Eagle; he tactfully suggested it seemed ‘rather unlikely’. I called him back, and the phone was answered not by PH, but by MM (the Shetland county recorder). He passed the phone to PH. PH was a little dubious about the likelihood of Golden, and suggested that a young White-tailed was more likely, as they could look surprisingly long-tailed, and circumstances suggested a particular individual that had been seen recently on North Ronaldsay, and reported last week here on Shetland. The one thing we were adamant about was that there was no way our bird was White-tailed, and PH asked me to keep him posted if we relocated the bird, adding that I shouldn’t feel talked out of calling it Golden by him…
Events shortly took a turn for the worse; as we drove back along the road, our raptor flew in front of us, briefly alighted by the road (straight into the sun, so not at all helpful), then buggered off over an embankment to the left. By the time we were out of the car and up the embankment, it had gone over the horizon, its passage marked by the attendant swirl of agitated gulls. We got back in the car, and drove along the road. The brief but closer views I’d had were setting alarm bells ringing – I knew in my heart of hearts I’d fucked up; this wasn’t an eagle at all. Something inside me was screaming Buzzard. We rounded a corner, and there the bird was again, this time in flight off to our left, and with the sun behind us. No doubts this time, good clear views of a nice dark brown Buzzard.
All I wanted to do was head home, and say no more about the whole debacle. Of course, what I had to do was come clean that I’d got it spectacularly wrong. In my defence I could say it’s been 4 years since my last Golden Eagle, and two years since my last Buzzard, but frankly that doesn’t wash – it’s an elementary i.d, and I made a complete hash of it. Back to the phone, and PH - I introduced the call as ‘one of the more embarrassing calls I’ve ever had to make’, and told PH what the bird really was. He asked, “ Are you sure it’s the same bird?” – I replied that I wasn’t even going to pretend there were two birds involved. He was very diplomatic, and looked for a positive note in the whole sorry affair – ‘Buzzard? Well, that explains why you didn’t think it was White-tailed’. I muttered something about really picking a public way to fuck up, in front of a BBRC man and the county recorder. PH told me not to worry about it, and that people would think more of me for coming clean and admitting I’d got it wrong. Nice of him to say that, and it’s the conventional wisdom that we all get identifications wrong sometimes, and people respect you when you put your hands up and admit it… but really, it’s hardly an episode that will do my reputation and credibility any good at all.
Tail between my legs, I slunk home to lick my wounds. As we waited for the ferry at Laxo we saw an Otter, normally a real treat, but yesterday the lustre had been tarnished, and I just wanted to get home and get on with planting trees and working on the house.
Follow the Weather Starling for a forecast, or see Shetland live on the NAFC webcam… 
>
>
Come back soon!
April 12, 2005
More northern lights
(NB - for those looking for the Little Auk / Gyr Falcon image - click here)
A really good display of northern lights last night around midnight, with half the night sky a shifting mass of green columns and swirls, and the other half a myriad of stars. And of course the volcanic orange glow of the flares at Sullom Voe in the far distance. Managed to scramble off some more photos that I reckon are a bit better than the last ones. The aurora last night was easily the brightest I’ve seen it this winter, though not a patch on occasions in the past, most memorably North Ronaldsay in 1993. Though the whisky at the time might have helped colour my perception of this!
A few Goldcrests still around home this morning, and a male Wheatear harassing Meadow Pipits. Goldeneye numbers appear to be falling, with only a pair visible on the lochs today, and a pair of Whooper Swans still on West Loch. No further sign of the Grey Wagtail sadly, which passes for exotica here at the moment.
Follow the Weather Starling…
Come back soon!
April 11, 2005
Pure Belter! The kingfisher trip
(NB - for those looking for the Little Auk / Gyr Falcon image - click here)
A happy ending to the Belted Kingfisher story! And one of the least glamorous but most involving twitches I've ever undertaken... I'd been offered a cheap place accompanying DC from Shetland to Coulter on the Wednesday night boat, but couldn't take him up on it as there were altogether too many urgent things that needed doing at home in the meantime. But P was wonderful, and packed me off on the Thursday night boat. The crossing was ghastly (a force 9, so a bit lumpy), but I took my Kwells and crashed out on the floor of the fore-lounge.
I woke up in Aberdeen, raring (!) to go, but remained stuck on the boat as the tide wasn't right to get foot passengers off; eventually they released us through the car-deck. I legged it straight to a bus stop in Union street, getting a text message from S (see last entry's photos) to the effect that the bird was still there. As my bus ground out of town there was snow on the ground, and I wished I'd packed warmer clothes - I hoped I'd not have to wait too long to find the bird.
Fortunately as I arrived on the riverbank the bird was perched some way upriver in a tree on the opposite bank. It remained there for about 30 minutes, making one brief sortie to the opposite side of the river. The viewing conditions weren't great, as the brief spell of sunshine that had greeted me in Coulter had given way to a chilling northerly and snow showers... I tried to get some photos, but everything was conspiring against me, so the following two are very much the best of a bad lot:
They at least prove I was there... But not much else!! Anyway, crap photos aside, what a wonderful bird this was. It's one of those species I've dreamt of seeing in the UK ever since I first realised such things might occur here once in a blue moon, so the sense of satisfaction was immense. The bird eventually flew off downriver, gathering height as it went. I feared that was it, bird gone for good, but was proved wrong as it returned later on; however, as some folk learnt to their cost over the weekend, it was to depart that night. To Shetland?! Well, here's hoping. Personally I reckon it'll be somewhere else in Scotland - there's plenty of suitable riverine habitat for it to choose from.
I killed the rest of the day shopping in Aberdeen, caught the overnight boat back to Shetland, and eventually made it home at lunchtime on Saturday, over 48 hours since I left on the Thursday morning, but a once-in-a-lifetime Belted Kingfisher the richer.
Back from the high-octane world of kingfisher-twitching, the seasons continue to overlap here; Iceland Gull numbers have soared again in Lerwick after the recent northerlies - 8 today in the field at Gremista - but migrants continue to trickle in, with a handful of Goldcrests and a Dunnock at home on Saturday, and my first Bonxie of the year cruising the airspace over the Catch this afternoon.
Follow the Weather Starling…
Come back soon!
April 06, 2005
Pure belter - Belted Kingfisher
(NB - for those looking for the Little Auk / Gyr Falcon image - click here)
And to think I was dead chuffed about a wagtail… Have had a repeat this week of the welter of emotions generated last year by the Masked Shrike; you know how it is – a bird turns up, something eye-wateringly rare, and you’d dearly love to go and see it. Of course, it’s easy to decide not to when you’re on Shetland and the bird is elsewhere in the UK, and the further south it is, the easier it becomes to reconcile yourself to not seeing it. And in classic sour-grapes style, it helps to tell yourself that practically anything could turn up on Shetland anyway, so wait a few years and a Masked Shrike will surely arrive here too. But there’s still a slight pang of loss, of an opportunity missed that just might never come round again.
The situation’s made worse by far when the bird enjoys one of those mythical reputations shared by a select band of species; the ones that share the unique blend of immense rarity and stunning looks. Let’s be honest – a Thick-billed Warbler, no matter how rare it is, is ultimately a bit of a boring brown blob. Whereas a Pallas’s Sandgrouse, a Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, a Belted Kingfisher… they’re different. Ah yes… a Belted Kingfisher…
I only found out about the Staffordshire bird on Monday, by which time it was all strictly academic. Beautiful bird, been and gone. By yesterday I’d got over my chagrin and was man enough to email a friend who’d seen it to congratulate him. I could live with the situation – even if it was still in Staffordshire, it might as well be on the moon for how likely I was to consider going to see it. Sean kindly sent me a couple of his photos for me to masochistically enjoy and share with you here:
Both images (c) and courtesy of Sean R Cole.
And that should be an end to it. But of course the fates are playing silly buggers, and I discover today that the wretched bird has motored up the east coast and got as far as Aberdeen. Which makes the entire question of whether or not to even consider seeing this bird far more pointed. On the one hand, it could (immensely remote chance, but all the same…) keep going and turn up on Shetland. It could just sod off altogether. And far more to the point than either of the preceeding, I’ve got an absolute buggerload of stuff to be doing at home, which really can’t slip down the list of priorities. Even for a Belted Kingfisher.
So near and yet so very, very far. I could go overnight on the boat straight to Aberdeen, and for practically no cost at all. Certainly less than filling the car up with petrol to go to Unst and back… But I simply can’t leave things undone at home. So. Here’s hoping the turbo-charged belter keeps on coming, and makes it to Shetland sometime soon. Fingers crossed etc. For now I’ll content myself with having finally caught up with the Grey Wagtail JL found last Friday – another new bird for my croft list. It’s just somehow not the same!
Follow the Weather Starling…
Come back soon!