Shetland day 5: momentum

Success with the PG Tips, and a full Sunday roast with all the trimmings prepared by yours truly, sent us out into the field with a spring in our step on Monday 2 October. Part of the appeal of Shetland in autumn is that, due to the relatively high proportion of rarities to common birds on the islands at this time of year, and the relative paucity of observers, the visitor has a reasonable chance of finding their own good birds. Even a duffer like me could understand this, and that very morning I found my first Red-breasted Flycatcher in Swinister Burn, a short walk from our accommodation.

Little Bunting, Grutness

An attractive bird with a neat crown stripe

The Little Bunting showed during a welcome spell of sunshine...

...and provided brief but excellent opportunities for photographs

Red-breasted Flycatcher, Swinister Burn - my best 'find' of the week

Twite, Grutness

Splitting up to cover more ground whilst maintaining contact was an important part of our game plan, and in this we were greatly aided by the loan of a set of CB radios from Jonathan Lethbridge, better known on the interweb as the Wanstead Birder - thanks Jonathan. These marvellous bits of kit saved a lot of faffing with mobile phones and hedged against the risks of an often intermittent mobile phone signal on Shetland (in saying that, I'm not having a go Shetland, it's still better than my house in Wareham!).

Only on Shetland - I couldn't work out why the lens wouldn't focus on the RB Fly - it was being photo-bombed by a Yellow-browed Warbler!

Spotted Flycatcher, Swinister Burn



Several Redstarts were near the Sumburgh Quarries - this a male...



...and this a female

Twite at Grutness

Twite at Grutness

Not only did the CBs enable us to stay in constant contact, they proved a useful means of holding a verbal referendum on whether to keep thrashing the adopted patch, or knock it on the head and go look at other people's birds! So it was that when the Red-breasted Flyatcher refused to show for the rest of the team we quickly agreed to move on to pastures new. Specifically, to Grutness near Sumburgh Airport, where a Little Bunting had been seen. This sat out superbly for us in the sunshine on a lichen covered wall - a photographic highlight of the trip.

Chiffchaff, Grutness - one of several tired migrants which appeared to have just arrived, making them easier to approach

A nettle patch at Grutness was bouncing with migrants - including this female Blackcap...

...a male Blackcap...

and several Goldcrest

Taking the idea of the 'tyred migrant' too literally perhaps?

A House Martin was battling in the strong wind at Grutness

The wind was still whistling past nearby Sumburgh Head: too breezy and explosed for a seawatch but we still managed three Long-tailed Ducks and a pod of dolphin. Howard called them initially as Rissos's but revised the identification to Bottle-nosed as the characteristic body scarring of Risso's was not visible. I grabbed some record shots and while pretty convinced they were not Bottle-nosed, they didn't look like Risso's either - I expected that species to have a flatter front end rather than the stubby snout revealed by the pictures.

This Common Seal was just off the beach at Pool of Virkie...

...as was this much larger Grey Seal

Grey Plover, Pool of Virkie. Compare to...

Golden Plover, seen in roadside fields later in the day

Ringed Plover, Grutness

The spray here illustrates the strength of the wind

Posting the sighting as Bottle-nosed Dolphin that evening, Howard was contacted by Hugh Harrop who advised that this species would be a rare sighting in these waters. After an exchange of photos he confirmed they were indeed Risso's, a fact we could now see for ourselves when looking at pictures online of younger Risso's which show a stubby nose and a lack of body scarring, which is acquired by battling adults later in life. I had never seen Risso's Dolphin before, so with a new mammal to add to the new bird of the previous day it felt like we were on a roll. 

Turnstones, Pool of Virkie

Dunlin in the seaweed at Pool of Virkie

Ringed Plover, Poole of Virkie

A couple of Goosander were just offshore at Pool of Virkie

Risso's Dolphin, Sumburgh Head

The first Risso's Dolphins I have seen

The weather had taken a turn for the worse by this time, so we returned to birding from the car: Loch of Spiggie held a flock of elegant Whooper Swan; Loch of Hillwell an even more elegant and long-staying Common Crane; and a good selection of waders at Pool of Virkie included singles of Curlew Sandpiper, Grey Plover and Sanderling. Best wader of the day though was a Little Stint, discovered in the improbable location of a puddle in a farm entrance at Noss. An eventful day then, with a good find, a new mammal and an excellent supporting cast. The morning would see us chasing another Shetland rarity - come back soon to find out what.

Whooper Swans, Loch of Spiggie

Common Crane, Loch of Hillwell

Little Stint, Noss

Little Stint, Noss

These rusty rods became famous this time last year when Britain's first Siberian Accentor chose to perch on them in a Scousburgh Quarry

The runway at Sumburgh Airport - traffic lights stop cars on the main road when the runway is in use

A dramatic Shetland landscape

One more of the Little Bunting with a halo reflected from a passing plane at Sumburgh Airport

Icelandic banker

Our recent half-term whistle stop tour of Cornwall saw me squeeze in some birding between visiting my god-daughter in Bodmin and friends in Falmouth, admiring the excellent National Maritime Museum at the latter among various other sights the county has to offer. One of the highlights was checking out a huge flock of gulls following the tractors of Polgigga as they made busy in the potato fields. Up to four Iceland Gulls had been reported in the area so I thought it would be a banker, but while I only caught up with one, at least it treated me to a close fly-past.

Iceland Gull at Arden-Sawah near Polgigga

I think a 2nd winter bird

Flying right overhead - note pale iris

Here with one of the tractors

It wasn't all as successful though. While at Bodmin, I nipped out to Dozmary Pool to see what I thought would be another banker - the long-staying, oft-returning drake Lesser Scaup. As you can see from the picture below, I couldn't see the pool, let alone the Lesser Scaup. A two hour wait by a hedge in the Nanjizal Valley looking for a Little Bunting was similarly unsuccessful, though at least there was no fog. Passing Choughs, a stunning male Hen Harrier and my first butterfly of 2017 - a Red Admiral - kept me entertained as I waited.

The sweeping vista of, er, fog at Dozmary Pool

Chough - one of a pair over Nanjizal

A male Hen Harrier hammered through Nanjizal

As is often the case it ploughed on without looking back

Red Admiral at Nanjizal

A bit of a rematch with another banker, the Hudsonian Whimbrel at Boat Cove, was successful, though it wasn't as close as on my visit this time last year. A few other waders were on the beach along with the mobile Whimbrel - soon to be downgraded from full species status as a result of changes to the British list.

Hudsonian Whimbrel at Boat Cove

Revealing the diagnostic all dark rump in flight

Grey Plover at Boat Cove

Curlew at Boat Cove

A couple of distant Red-throated Divers off Boat Cove

On the way home, after a bit of luck seeing an American Wigeon at Exminster without too much searching, there was just to time to take a short detour to look for a Little Bunting near Axminster. A couple of locals were looking for the Bunting when I arrived, and although it had been seen not long before, tales of them multiple dipping on this elusive bird did not leave me feeling very hopeful. The light was also fading, but with the rest of the family playing games on a variety of mobile devices in the car, I thought I would give it the last hour of daylight. After just half of this, a flock of previously unseen Reed Buntings flew up from the long grass, and as they alighted in the trees around me, one gave the distinctive ticking call of a Little Bunting. While it didn't exactly pose for a photo, I managed a couple of shots of it partially obscured by vegetation to cap off a good trip.

Little Bunting, Trinity Hill LNR near Axminster

It would not sit out in the open for me in a couple of brief views

This Reed Bunting was more obliging