Unst and the Shetland Mainland
The weather was warm and dry with clear skies so we were able to fly out of Fair Isle in a 7 seater plane for Lerwick on the mainland of Shetland.
Excitement levels were running high with news that a Thick-billed Warbler had been seen at Quendale by Graham when he left the previous day. Unfortunately this extremely rare bird had left overnight - so near yet so far!.
After picking up our hire car in Lerwick we headed up to Unst, the most northerly of the Shetland islands and 2 ferry rides away!
- En-route we managed to spot a Whooper Swan, our first of the autumn and several Tysties (Black Guillemots).
- By far the best bird of the first day was another, different, Pallid Harrier, seen at Northdale in the evening as it came in to roost. We watched from an elevated position on the hillside as it swept in over the farmhouses and settled on a fence post 200 metres from us. We returned to this area several times during the week for further views of this very special bird.
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| Pallid Harrier Courtesy of Shetland Nature |
- We saw our first Brambling of the trip as we drove home.
- Our last port of call of the first day was Haroldswick where we saw an Otter close to the seaweed, a few metres from the shore-line - the first of several visits to see it.
- An Arctic Warbler was present at Uyeasound but it turned out to be a tricky bird to locate. We missed out completely on the first day and things were looking bad on the second day as we braved the drizzle and scoured the bushes and hedges. After an hour or so Paul spotted it and from then on we got some smashing views. This particular bird had little or no tail!
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| Arctic Warbler - sans tail Courtesy of Neil Simpson |
- We visited Hermaness NNR, principally to see the Gannet colony but also to see Fulmars and Bonxies but also to appreciate the spectacular views from this most northerly point on the most northerly isle in the Shetlands
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| Hermaness NNR Gannet Colony Library picture |
- The Keen of Hamar is a local nature reserve overlooking our cottage at Keenlee. From here we saw mainly Golden Plover flocks but Paul, on his pre-breakfast walks also saw Snow Buntings and Pink-footed Geese.
- Most of the waders were seen at Uyeasound including Easter Loch and Baltasound.
- We were still seeing Yellow-browed Warblers but not the numbers we had on Fair Isle.
- On the high grounds of Skaw we saw 12 Snow Buntings and at Norwick we latched on to a Barred Warbler, a Redstart and a White Wagtail.
- By Tuesday, the Arctic Warbler appeared to have left and no new rare birds had been sighted so we decided to twitch the Pechora Pipit on mainland Shetland near Loch Norby. A 2 hour trip, complete with 2 ferry rides, was rewarded with good flight views of the Pipit but only a very fleeting view of it on the ground.
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| Pechora Pipit Courtesy of @GarrityPete |
We also spotted 2 other rarities on mainland Shetland when we left Unst to spend our final night at the Sumburgh Hotel.
- An inspired bit of birding by Paul enabled us to locate the Red-breasted Flycatcher at Wester Quarff .
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| Red-breasted Flycatcher Courtesy of Shetland Nature |
- The Bluethroat we spotted at Quendale Quarry near Sumburgh was the icing on the cake for this superb trip.
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| Bluethroat Courtesy of David Aitken |
Additions to BUBO UK Life List of Birds:
Arctic Warbler (303)
Pechora Pipit (304)
Bluethroat (305)
Arctic Warbler (262)
Pechora Pipit (263)
Red-breasted Flycatcher (264)
Bluethroat (265)
Species List for Unst and Mainland Shetland:
Barred Warbler
Black Guillemot
Blackbird
Blackcap
Brambling
Chiffchaff
Common Gull
Cormorant
Curlew
Dunlin
Fulmar
Gannet
Golden Plover
Goldeneye
Great Black-backed Gull
Grey Heron
Grey Wagtail
Greylag Goose
Herring Gull
Hooded Crow
House Sparrow
Kestrel
Lapwing
Mallard
Meadow Pipit
Merlin
Osprey
Pied Wagtail
Raven
Red-throated Diver
Redshank
Ringed Plover
Rock Dove
Rock Pipit
Ruff
Sanderling
Shag
Skylark
Snipe
Snow Bunting
Sparrowhawk
Starling
Swallow
Teal
Tufted Duck
Turnstone
Twite
Wheatear
Whooper Swan
Wigeon
Willow Warbler
Yellow-browed Warbler
Wren
Woodpigeon
White Wagtail
(57)
Despite the lack of favourable winds I still managed to add 3 more birds to my life list and 4 to my year list.
Unst is a beautiful place and well worth a visit. It has the added advantage of offering the chance to bird on mainland Shetland if and when rarities show up.
Arctic Warbler Biology
- The Arctic warbler (Phylloscopus borealis) is a widespread leaf warbler in birch or mixed birch forest near water throughout its breeding range in Fennoscandia and northern Asia. It has established a foothold in North America, breeding in Alaska. This warbler is strongly migratory; the entire population winters in southeast Asia. It therefore has one of the longest migrations of any Old World insectivorous bird.
- The nest is on the ground in a low shrub. Like most Old World warblers, this small passerine is insectivorous.
- This species occurs as an autumn vagrant in western Europe and is annual in Great Britain.
Pechora Pipit Biology
- It is named after the Pechora River Valley in northeastern Russia, where it breeds and nests.
- Pechora Pipit: Breeds in the tundra of northern Asia, eastwards of Russia. It is a long-distance migrant, moving in winter to Indonesia. Rarely in September and October, the Pechora Pipit may be observed in Western Europe.
- Although the call is generally helpful when identifying pipits, this species calls far less than most.
- It creeps mouse-like in long grass, and is reluctant to fly even when disturbed.
- The Pechora Pipit was first described in 1863 by Robert Swinhoe, an English naturalist.
- This, combine with its skulking habits, makes this a difficult bird to find and identify away from its breeding grounds in the Arctic.
- The Pechora Pipit was first described in 1863 by Robert Swinhoe, an English naturalist.
Red-breasted Flycatcher Biology
- Scarce passage visitor to the UK.
- Birds breed in central Europe and winter in Asia.
- Most likely to be found along south and east coast of England, less common in Scotland.
- Open forest and mixed woodland areas provide habitat.
Bluethroat Biology
- Bluethroat: Occurs widely across Europe, Asia and in some parts of North America. Main breeding grounds found in Scandinavia, Russia, Siberia, some parts of west and central Europe, to the Himalayas. Migratory species, overwintering in Africa, Europe, mainly Portugal, the United Arab Emirates, and in some parts of Asia.
- As Siberian populations have increased with the recent warming trend, this species has been able to spread across the Bering Strait into Alaska.
- Spends winters mostly on salt marshes, or around the edges of reed beds.
- They were discovered on June 5, 1851 by Edward Adams, a surgeon and naturalist aboard the British ship Enterprise. He was traveling overland from Norton Sound to the Koupac River in northwestern Alaska.
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