Tuesday 3rd October on Shetland started unassumingly, with the usual kick around local patches on Muckle Roe producing not much more than a couple of Willow Warblers. A Snowy Owl had been seen near Shetland's highest point on Ronas Hill the previous day, and although we had tentatively agreed to go for it if re-located, we didn't hold out much hope. But relocated it was, and before we had gone too far.
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| Siberian Stonechat, Hamnavoe, 3rd October |
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| Siberian Stonechat, Hamnavoe, 3rd October |
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| Siberian Stonechat, Hamnavoe, 3rd October |
After a short debate - James had his doubts, but bowed to the will of the majority - we concluded that it was 'now or never' if we were going to maximise our chances of seeing a 'Hedwig' on this trip - there was a weather window that morning and, in any case, by tomorrow it could be miles away. To Ronas Hill it was then, where our calculation that we would be among the first to the reasonably-sized car park at the top of the steep road turned out to be some way off as most of the other birders on Shetland seemed to have come to the same conclusion. Undaunted, we donned waterproofs and headed up into the rugged terrain in a stiff breeze.
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| Willow Warbler, Muckle Roe, 3rd October |
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| Red-breasted Flycatcher, Sullom, 3rd October |
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| Hooded Crow, Muckle Roe, 3rd October |
Ronas Hill is an amazing landscape, a bit like the top of the Cairngorm plateau, and it was heavy going across wet, stony ground with no clear paths between the boulders, the heather and a myriad of wet ditches and rivulets. The upside of this being such a popular bird though was that there was no problem with working out where to go: we just followed the strung out line of bodies puffing their way up and back down to the point a few km over the ridge from where the Owl was being watched.
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| The view from Ronas Hill |
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| The long march for a Snowy Owl |
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| Dr Phil on Ronas Hill |
On arrival at the viewpoint which had been established a safe distance from the bird, views were a little under-whelming in truth: all we could see was a sliver of white on the top of the Owl's head as it hunkered down between some large boulders. Still, it was closer than I expected, and after a while it started to look around giving us views of the piercing yellow eyes set in an impressively broad, pure white head.
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| Male Snowy Owl, Ronas Hill, 3rd October |
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| Male Snowy Owl, Ronas Hill, 3rd October |
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| Male Snowy Owl, Ronas Hill, 3rd October |
A little later and we could see half of the torso, and then, joy of joys, it decided to stretch its vast wings in a short flight, at the end of which it landed to reveal every feature down to the fluffy feet. I have seen a couple of Snowy Owls in the UK but the location and the exertion required to see this one made it a genuinely epic experience.
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| Fluffy feet! |
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| Veery, Lunna, 3rd October |
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| Veery, Lunna, 3rd October |
The hike back down was a breeze and, still buzzing, we treated ourselves to lunch at a location I can't quite recall, though pies were almost certainly involved. Our good friend Cliff Smith, everyone's favourite twitcher, had found a Siberian Stonechat near where he was staying at Hamnavoe, so we decided to pay homage to his discovery. On arrival the frostily-plumaged Stonechat was feeding on the strandline in front of a small crowd. The Stonechat then flew inland over a hedge which everyone except us took as their cue to leave. We relocated it sheltering in the lee of the hedge and enjoyed extended close views, including the unstreaked rump and jet black underwing-coverts - one of the most, if not the most, confiding and charming birds of the trip.
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| Veery, Lunna, 3rd October |
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| Veery, Lunna, 3rd October |
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| Veery, Lunna, 3rd October |
Our journey home took us past the long-staying Veery at Lunna, and we figured another stop was worthwhile if no-one else was there. Fortunately no-one was, and we revelled in exceptional views as the diminutive thrush came out into the open to feed a few yards in front of our awestruck lenses. It could have been the perfect end to a memorable day - but we almost sullied it by failing to pin down what was probably an Olive-backed Pipit as we kicked around the woodland edge at Sullom. A cute Red-breasted Flycatcher at the same location made up for it, and we went home happy - again.
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| Veery, Lunna, 3rd October |
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| Siberian Stonechat, Hamnavoe, 3rd October |
