September 29, 2005
The clock's ticking...
The island continues its bizarre reluctance to share in the spoils of an average Shetland autumn fall - plenty of Yellow-browed Warblers, Red-breasted Flycatchers, and other scarcer stuff like Little and Yellow-breasted Bunting, Greenish Warbler, and a Pechora Pipit... all elsewhere on Shetland. Last weekend gave me 2 new species for my patch, a flyover skein of 16 Pink-footed Geese, and a Yellow-browed in the hand, but the sense of expectancy hasn't been rewarded with something really rare yet. The Brown Shrike's anniversary has been and gone, and we're staring down the barrel of October, time for the really mega stuff to arrive here. There's also a dawning realisation that time's running out for migrants this year, and it's a long wait until the action kicks off again in the spring. I'll have plenty to keep me occupied though!
Am getting obsessed with the weather - regularly checking my sooper-dooper barometer to see what the pressure's up to, and checking out the online North Atlantic charts (see new link added below). Even a hint of a promise of a south-easterly is enough to get the old blood racing. Meanwhile, the last couple of days strong south-westerlies have produced a nice American wader on the Out Skerries, a Lesser Yellowlegs. Which must, by my reckoning, have flown pretty much straight over my house on its way there. I need a wader scrape!
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Today's North Atlantic chart
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September 23, 2005
So near, and yet so Veery far...
Perhaps just as well I was unaware of a text message sent to me last night by JL, to inform me there was a Veery on Unst. It'd have made for a restless night and a serious chase up there after work today. As it was, JL and B set out on the first boat off the island this morning, and I found JL's explosive text as I was waking up over a coffee in the kitchen. Sent him a text wishing him good luck.
Ferries on and off the island were diverting to Vidlin today due to brisk south-easterlies (yay!), so plenty of time for me to sit in the car with no signal on my mobile. Finally, as I was driving south to work in Lerwick I got a response from JL - an absolute sickener. The Veery had been catted overnight, and was now an ex-Veery. B is an avowed and passionate cat-hater, so I can only imagine his reaction at the news (which they'd received as they sat on the ferry to Yell, en route to Unst). Useless American passerines, just convenience food for hungry Unst moggies.
Nice bird anyway (pictures here on the Nature in Shetland site), and a good follow-up to the Yellow warbler. Didn't I say last year that Shetland was the new Scilly? You heard it here first.
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September 15, 2005
Yellow Warbler
Talk about pure chance and being in the right place at the right time! Was already out and about in the South Mainland when news of this gorgeous bird came through, so was able to make a pit stop on my way back to town for lunch and snatch some quick piccies.
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September 09, 2005
Rose-coloured Starling
This is more like it. Went out to the byre to make sure all was okay with the hens, to find a few Starlings blundering around. The local Starlings know me well, and immediately panic whenever I walk in there, fleeing out of either the doorway if it's still ajar, or failing that out of the several small holes in the tarred wooden roof. Sure enough, half a dozen clattered their way out, leaving one bird zooming around in the gloom at head height. I had just enough time to think "you look pale" before realising what it probably was.
I hurried back outside and shut the door, before legging it back to the house for my butterfly net. (This has been (excuse the pun) mothballed since moving to Shetland, as there are no butterflies to speak of, and more pertinently, no moths either. Not strictly true, but after a few nights of catching enormous hauls of exclusively Dark Arches, I've given up on the MV trap until my bushes and trees are more established and hopefully inspire some moths to stop by). Anyway! Back to the byre with the net, fully expecting my starling to have buggered off. Fortunately not, so caught it midair with a neat backhand. Nice to see I've not lost my touch with a kite net.
In daylight, sure enough - a juvenile Rosy Starling. A really smart bird in an understated sort of way. I bagged it up and took it to B's for him to process, texting JL en route - it makes a change for me to find a bird for him to see, rather than the other way round. Wishing I'd found him a Rubythroat is of course a bit churlish, as Rosy Starling is a nice addition to the croft list, and there's plenty of weeks of autumn yet to find a mega.
So many thanks to the hens for luring such a good start to my autumn account into their byre. I've asked them for a Yellow-browed Bunting when they've next got time.
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September 05, 2005
Frustrating
Well, of course the 'finishing-the-house-this-weekend' thing never happened. Worked like navvies all weekend, but despite our best efforts the damn place still isn't finished. P being v sanguine about it, and we've moved the deadline back to next weekend.
Meanwhile, Shetland appears to be enjoying a nice autumn fall - Barred, Booted, Arctic, Greenish and Wood Warblers, plenty of Red-backed Shrikes, the odd Bastard Grotfinch and Rosy Starling. And what've we had on the island? Err... I think the sum total over the weekend was a scattering of Willow Warblers and a Pied Fly. It's not very inspiring. (Though a bit of a relief as I've not been able to get out to share in the frustration of finding bugger all). Best bird for me over the weekend was a Wood Sand I found on Symbister meadows when I was returning to the island from work on Friday afternoon.
So. The house still hangs spectral over me, and the birding's crappy. At least the house will be wonderful when it's finished - sat in the newly opened up sun-room this morning and drank a muddy coffee, feeling pretty chuffed with what we've got done. With any luck by this time next week I'll be a bit freer to start birding again.
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September 01, 2005
Autumn starts here
All very quiet on the blogging front for some weeks now... the combination of the continuing crap Shetland summer, and my impending fatherhood driving me to hitherto unheard of involvement in Extreme DIY on the poor house. Those Escape to a New Life Renovating a Charming Rural Idyll programs you see on the telly? Not even scratching the surface of how hideously exhausting it can be. Have spent the last few weeks getting up at 6.30am, working in Lerwick during the day and getting home at 6.30pm, then working on the house until 10pm, quick break for dinner as blood sugar getting perilously low (never a good idea when using power tools), then working until 1am on more house renovations. I've got a basic bone-deep weariness that saps all stimulus to do anything extra-curricular like birding.
Having said that, I'm almost finished in the house, and should have it finally cracked by the end of this weekend. And (fanfare!) the crappy weather we've had all summer now feels 'right' now we're into September. It's allowed to feel autumnal now. South-easterlies last night, and JL turned up a Barred Warbler and a Kestrel in the plantation.
Lots of Pied and alba wagtails all over Shetland at the moment, so I'm confidently predicting I'm overdue finding a Citrine Wag in the fields below the house. It's gonna happen.
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