Shetland day 6: of pies and pines

Seems like an age since I was on Shetland, so apologies for the time it's taking to wade through the old news and pictures - only four days to go...Day 6 began as had the previous couple with a twirl around Hoswick - best birds of that session were a pair of Red-throated Divers in the bay which I picked up out of the kitchen window while we were having breakfast. The incessant wind continued so we sought out sheltered spots in Scalloway, finding nothing more exciting than Brambling, before heading for the pie shop.

Parrot Crosssbill

Scissoring a cone from the tree with its powerful bill

A darker red male fed just below the more orangey bird above

Calls in flight were very different to our familiar Crossbills

Bird of the day on day 6

English convenience stores have a lot to learn from their Shetland counterparts: for £1.95 we could get a delicious, compact pie with a choice of fillings and heat it up in the shop's microwave - many days this was enough to tide us over until the mid-afternoon snack pangs kicked in. I fear my constant grazing was a bad influence on the rest of the team, and by the end of the week they were troughing in to an ever expanding snack bag like troopers. At least that meant I wasn't the only one...

Red-breasted Flycatcher, Dale of Walls

Looking a bit perkier than the one we saw in the rain on our first day

A very vocal bird which frequently cocked its tail

A good view of the white patches at the base of the tail

Separated at birth from Orville the Duck

Soon after we had all pied-up, news broke of a small flock of Parrot Crossbills in a conifer plantation near Sand - a major rarity on Shetland and a bird I had seen only once before in the UK. A consensus decision saw us heading there where we got excellent views of three male birds which were following our lead by chowing down on pine cones which they had ripped from the trees - a characteristic behaviour of the species.

The RB Fly flicks from a branch over Howard's shoulder

After giving us the run-around, the Great Grey Shrike at Dale of Walls had the decency to hover over-head

Hedgehog was an addition to the mammal list for the trip

We continued to bump into good numbers of Redstarts - here a male...

...and here a female

From Sand, we headed to Dale of Walls where a very obliging Red-breasted Flycatcher and a slightly less obliging Great Grey Shrike were the highlights, before ending the day with a selection of finches at Veensgarth. So another good day, of which the Crossbills were the undoubted highlight.

Mealy Redpoll, Veensgarth

Pied Flycatcher at Sand earlier in the day

Siskin at Veensgarth

Offshore waters continued to boil in the strong winds

A calmer image to end with of the Red-breasted Flycatcher

Autumn gathers pace

This week's weather appears as a statement of intent about the changing seasons, though for migrating birds 'autumn' has of course been underway for some weeks. Yesterday I met up with my parents on Portland to see what was about on a day which started out fine and bright, but which saw torrential rain by lunchtime, arriving just in time to give us soggy chips at the Bill's Lobster Pot café.

Wryneck, Portland Bill

Probably the best view I have had of this species

Photographing it in dappled light on the ground was tricky...

...but the cryptic plumage can be seen well here

And here's a clue to how the Wryneck got it's name

Shortly before the downpour, we had jammed in on a long-staying Wryneck in the Obs quarry - not only was it on view as soon as we arrived, shortly after it was flushed by a rat and perched up to give unusually good and extended views of this often shy species. Apart from Wheatears, common migrants were thin on the ground on Portland, though there were plenty of hirundines in the air feeding up before the long journey south.

Northern Wheatear at the Bill

One of nine in the same paddock

Not just migrant birds on Portland - there were many Red Admiral around too

The resident Rock Pipits entertained us while we sat for lunch

Most of the Wheatears were sporting the tawny female-type plumage - but at least one male (left) was among them

In contrast to the shortage of common migrants on Portland, a visit to Greenlands Farm near Studland a couple of weekends ago saw the fields and woods alive with them. Yellow Wagtails were particularly entertaining and I spent a warm morning stalking them, hiding behind gorse bushes and acting like a horse in an effort to gain their trust. Suffice to say I got closer to the horses than the wagtails.

Yellow Wagtail, Greenlands Farm

The wagtail flock follows cattle and horses around the National Trust land at Greenlands...

 ...feeding right under the noses and feet of the livestock

This blue-grey headed individual didn't look like the regular British race - enquiries are underway to establish what flava it might be, but it's presumably of continental origin

Good to see these migrants on the ground rather than just flying overhead calling

While the Yellow Wagtails dominated the paddocks at Greenlands, Willow Warbler was the most numerous migrant around the forest edge - every tree seemed to contain two or three - with Common Redstart, Spotted Flycatcher and Whitethroat present in smaller numbers. 

Redstarts seem to like Greenlands - here a male...

...and here a female

Willow Warbler

Willow Warbler

Spotted Flycatcher

Spotted Flycatcher

I became enamoured with Greenlands Farm during a late summer bird race in 2015 - the concentration of migrants there at this time of year puts my own patch at Swineham to shame - a good excuse for my continued neglect of the latter! Purists would no doubt castigate me for forsaking my own patch to go farther afield where the grass is greener - I would merely point at that many hard core patch workers travel further to get to their 'local' patch than I do to get to Greenlands!

Common Whitethroat, Greenlands Farm

 

Wheatear, Greenlands Farm

Wheatear, Greenlands Farm

House Martins were gathering around Manor Farm on Studland at the end of August

This rare visitor to Poole Harbour, a Hooded Crow, was also at Manor Farm

Must fly, can't chat

The day before my recent emergency excursion to Portland to see a Spectacled Warbler, I was on Portland shortly after dawn looking for commoner migrants - flycatchers, chats and warblers. Photographing a migrant male Pied Flycatcher well in Dorset has been a long-held ambition - and so it remains as I didn't see one on Sunday. But I did find a female in the Reap Lane area, alongside a couple of Spotted Flycatchers. Another Spotted Flycatcher was just around the corner at Avalanche Road, all entertaining and confiding birds to watch.

Pied Flycatcher, Reap Lane

Pied Flycatcher, Reap Lane

Pied Flycatcher, Reap Lane

Pied Flycatcher, Reap Lane

Spotted Flycatcher, Avalanche Road Hump

Spotted Flycatcher, Avalanche Road Hump

Spotted Flycatcher, Reap Lane

Before the flies, and therefore the flycatchers, had woken up, I had ambled up Barleycrates Lane where Whinchat was the early bird of the day - a couple of this attractive species were present. The Whinchats were matched for perkiness as the morning warmed up by a duo of male Redstarts which played their own version of duelling banjos, singing at each other across a Portland paddock.

Backlit Whinchat on Barleycrates Lane

Whinchat, Barleycrates Lane - from the exact spot I saw the Northern Harrier on 21 April 2014, in case I hadn't mentioned it previously...



Whinchat is always a delightful bird to see

Invariably sitting up to give good views



Male Redstart, Reap Lane

Male Redstart singing on Reap Lane

Willow Warblers were still passing through this weekend - this one at Reap Lane

It shouldn't be a surprise that a series of early morning visits to Portland in recent weeks have proven so rewarding for migrant birds, but what was a surprise was the apparent lack of birders I encountered around the middle of the island. I'm not complaining, or indeed criticising - I display borderline criminal neglect towards my own patch at Swineham, after all - but let's face it, there is a bit more incentive to get out on a spring morning if you live on Portland!

Whinchats on Barleycrates Lane