19th February

A decent day, bright and clear with a decreasing WNW wind which dropped off to almost nothing by late afternoon; some good coverage from a walk round the coast from the Obs to The Links and then a drive round the rest of the lochs produced some further increases in wildfowl and wader numbers including year’s high counts of 246 Teal, 97 Mallard, 9 Red-breasted Mergansers and 370 Lapwings.   Other totals of note comprised 4 Little Grebes (with birds now on Brides, Hooking and Garso), 3 Pink-footed Geese (not sure where they’ve been since they were last seen on the 10th), 263 Wigeon, 7 Gadwall, 6 Pintail, 11 Shoveler, 22 Tufted Ducks, 220 Golden Plover, a Knot, 25 Dunlin and 170 Common Gulls.

                There were some increases on the land as well, most notably a total of 107 Skylarks along with a Hen Harrier, a Song Thrush, 4 Chaffinches, the 3 Common Redpolls, 55+ Twite and 80 Snow Buntings.   With the very calm conditions in the late afternoon I opened the nets at Holland and was rewarded with a beautiful young female Merlin which, as well as getting caught herself managed to chase five Fieldfares into the nets.

Red-breasted Mergansers getting in the groove

18th February

Bright and sunny throughout the day but we kept the strong southerly wind which made things tricky in the field; walked up the west coast to Westness and back down the middle of the island and birds of note included the 2 Whooper Swans which landed on Gretchen, the drake Green-winged Teal also on Gretchen, an adult male Peregrine (only the second record of the year - probably the same bird as in January) causing havoc over Loch Park, a Merlin round the Obs and c70 Snow Buntings dotted around the place.

Wigeon

17th February

Largely overcast with a strong southerly wind throughout; with summer migrants amazingly turning up on Shetland today, there was a smidgeon of anticipation out in the field but there was little new to mention as totals from around the island consisted of long-staying or regularly commuting birds.   Numbers included 4 Herons, the 2 Whooper Swans which didn’t leave after all, the Eurasian White-fronted Goose still, 4 Shelduck, the drake Green-winged Teal still on Gretchen, 97 Mallard, 10 Pintail, 10 Shoveler, a further increase to 36 Tufted Duck, the drake Smew once again on Bewan (last seen here on the 5^th and present on North Loch, Sanday yesterday), 4 Red-breasted Mergansers, 47 Coot, 50 Black-tailed Godwits still on Brides, 12 Fieldfare, 5 Chaffinches and 15 Snow Buntings.

White-fronted Goose

16th February

A lovely calm start with a light easterly breeze slowly increasing through the day; there was no evidence of any other new arrivals after yesterday’s ‘excitement’ as totals around the south end of the island and a brief look at the north end included 11 Great-northern Divers, the 2 Whooper Swans which left to the south in the morning, the Eurasian White-fronted Goose still, 8 Pintail, 19 Long-tailed Ducks, a Hen Harrier, 61 Oystercatchers, a Knot, a noticeable build-up of Black Guillemots around the south end starting to display, 29 Skylarks, a Robin at Holland, the 5 Chaffinches, 60 Twite, 3 Common Redpolls and 51+ Snow Buntings.

Shag

15th February

Bright and sunny throughout with a brisk southerly wind; good coverage through the day consisting of a walk round the coast from the Obs to The Links, working round the Obs and a drive round the lochs produced some notable influxes of a few things hinting at the spring to come.   These included an excellent build-up of 60 Coots (the highest count since 2012) – up to 20 have been present through January and early February, a much-improved count of 83 Skylarks (with a flock of 59 near the school) – c30 over-wintered, year’s high counts of 27 Tufted Ducks, 96 Mallard and 13 Black-headed Gulls and three new Mute Swans on Bewan (with the resident pair still on Garso).

Other totals through the day included 4 Herons, the 2 Whooper Swans still, a Pink-footed Goose seen leaving out to the south, 220 Wigeon, 175 Teal, 6 Pintail, 8 Shoveler, single Hen Harrier and Merlin, 450 Golden Plover, 275 Lapwing, a Knot, 35 Bar-tailed Godwits, the flock of 51 Black-tailed Godwits again on Brides (last seen on the 6th, maybe commuting between here and Sanday), 12 Rock Pipits, 2 Chaffinches, 60 Twite, 2 Common Redpolls and 49+ Snow Buntings.

Black-tailed Godwits

The Brides Great Black-backed Gull pair have started to get aggro already

14th February

A damp start but the day marginally dried and brightened up but remained cloudy with a light southerly breeze; it was a quiet day in the field as totals comprised 8 Great-northern Divers, 2 Whooper Swans on Ancum – first ones since 24^th January, the Green-winged Teal still on Gretchen, 10 Pintail, 6 Shoveler and 4 Goldeneye on Bewan, a Merlin round the Obs, 2 Chaffinches and the big flock of 80+ Snow Buntings which had moved to Nether Linnay.

Snow Buntings

13th February

Morning rain moved through by 10:00 leaving a decent day with a moderate southerly breeze; during a walk round the south end and later a drive round the lochs a few things posted their highest counts so far this year with 905 Greylag Geese, 310 Wigeon, 190 Teal and 37 Bar-tailed Godwits of note.   Other birds included 3 Shelducks, the drake Green-winged Teal on Gretchen, 4 Gadwall, 9 Pintail, 6 Shoveler, a Hen Harrier, a Knot, 18 Skylark, 4 Chaffinches, a single Common Redpoll with 32 Twite and 85 Snow Buntings.   Two Harbour Porpoise in Nouster Bay were the first of the year.

The Gretchen Shelduck pair were busy seeing off an interloper

12th February

A very different day with a strong and increasing southerly wind but it remained dry and sunny throughout; a few hours spent in likely spots during high tide produced the highlight of 2 Glaucous Gulls – a near-adult and a 2cy, roosting on the grass near the lighthouse.   Otherwise it was unremarkable as birds of note included 4 Great-northern Divers, the Eurasian White-fronted Goose, 6 Gadwall, 3 Pintail, 6 Shoveler, 15 Tufted Ducks (the highest count this year so far), 18 Bar-tailed Godwits and a bit of an influx of Gulls in the rough weather including 285 Common Gulls, 105 Herring Gulls and 180 Great Black-backed Gulls.

Glaucous Gulls

11th February

Not a bad morning, dry with a light but cold NW wind; a look around the north end produced the day’s highlight of a monster HUMPBACK WHALE seen briefly a couple of times off Bewan, I only saw it blow twice and caught a quick glimpse of the animal itself before it disappeared into the sun and rougher water round the point.   Birdwise it was much quieter as totals just included 8 Red-throated Divers, 9 Great-northern Divers, 3 Shelduck, 4 Gadwall, 6 Pintail, 17 Long-tailed Ducks, 6 Goldeneye, 7 Red-breasted Mergansers (highest count of the year so far) and 355 Golden Plover.

                It was nice and calm in the afternoon so I managed to open the nets at Holland for the first time this year and managed to catch 25 birds – an excellent total for February, including the three over-wintering Common Redpolls and a bunch of Redwings, Song Thrushes and Blackbirds as they came into roost.   A Woodcock was flushed out of the garden, a Merlin flashed past and a Kestrel came into roost as well – the wintering one was last seen at the start of January, surely it would have been spotted between then and now if it had lingered, did it leave and come back, is it a new one, have I missed it all this time?

The three Common Redpolls

10th February

A stunning, flat calm morning with Skylarks singing over the fields and Long-tailed Ducks yodelling in the bay, there were a couple of sharp showers from lunchtime as the NE wind gradually picked up; despite the lovely morning and a huge hatch of flies all around the coast there was little new to report out in the field (hence all the sightings being prefixed by ‘the’ rather than ‘a’!).   Totals seen along the coast from the Obs to The Links included the Black-throated Diver again in Nouster, 7 Great-northern Divers, the Eurasian White-fronted Goose and 3 Pink-footed Geese with the Greylags, 2 Shelduck, 165 Wigeon, 130 Teal, the Green-winged Teal again in East Loch Park, 78 Mallard, 8 Shoveler, 7 Tufted Ducks, 17 Long-tailed Ducks, 340 Golden Plover, 305 Lapwing (the highest count of the year so far), 2 Knot, 145 Purple Sandpipers, 82 Dunlin (the highest count of the year so far), 2 Ruff, 90 Snipe, 35 Bar-tailed Godwits, 151 Turnstone, 7 Black-headed Gulls and 295 Common Gulls.

                Landbirds comprised a Hen Harrier, 16 Skylarks, a Meadow Pipit, 21 Rock Pipits, a Song Thrush, 1,250 Starlings (including c1,000 feeding on the beach at The Links), 4 Chaffinches, 3 Common Redpolls with 63 Twite at Kirbest, 85 Snow Buntings still in East Loch Park and 5 Reed Buntings.

Golden Plover

Common Redpoll with the Twite

9th February

Lighter winds than yesterday but still a damp and horrible day with waves and waves of heavy rain sweeping across the island throughout; not much coverage through the day but birds near the Obs included the Green-winged Teal in East Loch Park, 2 Shelduck, 7 Shoveler and a Black-headed Gull on Gretchen and 40+ Snow Buntings still in East Loch Park.

Snow Bunting

8th February

A real change in the weather with a blazing strong force 7 easterly wind bringing long periods of heavy, driving rain only clearing through by late afternoon; most of the sightings were restricted to a drive around the lochs at lunchtime and was highlighted by a brutish 3cy Glaucous Gull at Bewan – white-wingers have been very scarce this winter.   Other birds included 3 Shelduck, a single Pintail, 12 Tufted Ducks (the highest count this year so far), 5 Red-breasted Mergansers, a Black-headed Gull and 150+ Great Black-backed Gulls – the first rough weather build-up since I’ve been back.

Glaucous Gull

7th February

Calm and overcast through the day with a spell of light rain around lunchtime; there was little new around the south of the island in the afternoon but birds did include 5 Red-throated Divers, 5 Great-northern Divers, the Eurasian White-fronted Goose and 3 Pink-footed Geese with the Greylags, 2 Shelduck, the Green-winged Teal on Gretchen, 3 Pintail, 4 Shoveler, 12 Long-tailed Ducks, a Hen Harrier, 450+ Golden Plover, a Woodcock in Holland, 5 Skylarks, 2 Meadow Pipits, the 5 Chaffinches and 75+ Snow Buntings.

Snow Buntings

6th February

Another fine day with some good spells of sunshine and a lighish but cold SW wind; there seemed to be a few new birds across the island, predominantly represented by some notably increased wader counts, the highlight was a flock of 51 Black-tailed Godwits on Brides – an unseasonal date for such a big arrival, they probably haven’t come from that far away, also notable was a much improved count of 816 Golden Plover – nearly double recent counts.

                Other high tide totals from Westness, Ancum to Hooking and Brides included 4 Herons, a Shelduck, 170 Wigeon, 10 Shoveler. 335 Eider (highest count of the year so far), 5 Goldeneye, 95 Ringed Plover, 40 Sanderling, 185 Purple Sandpiper, 57 Dunlin, 2 Knot, 4 Ruff, 29 Bar-tailed Godwit, 68 Curlew, 121 Redshank, 6 Black-headed Gulls and 160 Common Gulls.   Across the land, birds included single Hen Harrier and Merlin, 8 Skylarks (including several singing birds), a Meadow Pipit, 33 Rock Pipits, 16 Fieldfares, 38 Redwing, 980+ Starlings, the five Chaffinches and 83+ Snow Buntings.

Eider

5th February

A stunning morning, bright and sunny with not a breath of wind; a few flocks of Skylarks and a couple of Meadow Pipits were seen flying very high and calling like they were tempted into doing something migratory but I don’t think they followed through in the end.   Totals through the day from walks round Westness and the north end as well as a drive round some lochs included 6 Herons, 7 Gadwall, 138 Teal, the Green-winged Teal back on Gretchen, 6 Pintail, 11 Shoveler, 5 Goldeneye, the drake Smew still on Bewan, 70 Oystercatchers, 75 Ringed Plovers, 464 Golden Plover, 215 Purple Sandpipers, 64 Dunlin, 3 Ruff at Claypows, 25 Bar-tailed Godwits and 138 Redshank.

                Landbirds of note comprised 17 Skylark, 2 Meadow Pipits, 18 Rock Pipits, a Robin, 18 Fieldfare, 40 Redwing, 2 Song Thrushes (Obs and Longar), 9 Hooded Crows, the 5 Chaffinches and the flock of 80+ Snow Buntings in East Loch Park.

Tysties are beginning to turn black again