π΄σ §σ ’σ ³σ £σ ΄σ Ώ Thursday 5th October 2023 π¦️ 12C ~ Wind SW @ 10MPH ~ Yesterday evening, a rare White's Thrush was spotted on Bressay, which is a highly sought-after bird by most visitors to Shetland. It's expected that people will start queuing for the small ferry from Lerwick early in the morning just to catch a glimpse of it. Interestingly, we saw a White's Thrush during our visit to Shetland last year. So, I decided to wait and see if the bird would stick around for a few days. If it does, it would be a better time to go.
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| White's Thrush ~ From our visit in October 2022 |
Another calm and sunny morning, I started my birdwatching day just up the road at Kergord. Some Redwings had arrived overnight and I could hear their occasional 'Tseep' calls as a few birds flew overhead. The woodland was mostly quiet, except for a few Goldcrests and Robins. However, I did manage to catch a glimpse of a Barred Warbler in flight, although I was unable to locate it afterwards.
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| Goldcrest |
I spent the morning searching several small plantations and gardens. The most exciting birds I could spot were a Yellow-browed Warbler, a Willow Warbler, a Wren, and, as usual, a Goldcrest. It seems that if you find a tree or bush in Shetland, you can almost always find a Goldcrest in it.
Just before lunch, I went across to Levenwick for an Arctic Warbler at Midway Stores. The bird was pretty mobile and we ended up moving on three occasions but it did show very well at times but never stayed still long enough for any photos. Yellow-browed Warbler, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff were also noted.
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| Siberian Chiffchaff at Quendale. |
I was picking Dazza up from the airport in the afternoon so spent the rest of my day around the south of the mainland. I finally had a glimpse of the Marsh Warbler, (my second visit) at Quendale along with Siberian Chiffchaff, Yellow-browed Warbler and a nice flock of around circa 75 Barnacle Geese overhead.
