📖 🍂Shetland 24 - Part One

As another remarkable week in Shetland concludes, composing this post and sifting through my myriad of photographs unleashes a deluge of memories. This marks my fourth consecutive October visit since relocating to Scotland in 2020, and I remain astonished by the distinctiveness of each year. 

Shetland, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom.

Migratory passerines frequently find themselves at the mercy of the weather, as varying conditions and wind directions impact different species based on their points of origin and migration path orientations. In autumn, the Shetland Islands become a haven for numerous migratory and stray birds that are either disoriented or en route southward. This year, my visit coincided with a pronounced north, northeast wind pattern, which at times shifted to the east, creating favorable conditions for the arrival of some Siberian strays.

Saturday October 5th 2024 Day One...

Loganair ATR 42 - Departing back to Aberdeen from Sumburgh Shetland.

My Loganair flight from Aberdeen touched down at Sumburgh around 8 am. After picking up my rental car and consulting the various information groups—so crucial for birdwatching in Shetland—I set off for my first destination, a Little Bunting near Lerwick.

Little Bunting - Quite unperturbed by our presence. 

The Little Bunting breeds in the taiga of northeastern Europe and northern Eurasia, extending to the Russian Far East. It migrates to winter in the subtropics of northern India, southern China, and the northern regions of Southeast Asia. This hardy little bunting is renowned for its tameness, allowing both myself and several other birders to approach closely as it actively fed in the sycamore trees.

Little Bunting - This doughty little bird makes a formidable journey even to turn up in Europe.

My next stop was Hoswick, a settlement in Sandwick on the south mainland.. The locals are accustomed to birders wandering about the lanes, as it's known to be a prime spot. A stroll to the now-closed Orca Inn car park and along the burn that runs through the village and down to the shoreline can be quite fruitful. At the Orca, nestled among the sycamores and pines, there were three Yellow-browed Warblers, a Goldcrest, a Blackcap, and, to my surprise, a Snow Bunting that occasionally flew in to forage. While walking the burn, three Bramblings darted into the willows but quickly departed, and above, several Redwings journeyed past, uttering their distinctive 'tseep' calls.

Snow Bunting - It was quite a surprise when this female landed in the car park.

My next stop was Maywick, a quaint hamlet boasting a beautiful and somewhat undiscovered beach for a reported Red-breasted Flycatcher. On arrival there were several other birders enjoying scoped views of the Flycatcher in a garden below the roadside and I spend time watching the bird flitting through the willows and occasionally perching. Noteworthy sightings also included Yellow-browed Warbler, Siberian Chiffchaff and in the bay three Great Northern Divers, still sporting summer plumage and a couple of 'Tysties' Black Guillemots. Occasionally, a group of eight Twite would land on the overhead wires; the one captured in the photograph below chose to have a quick drink by the roadside.

Twite - A quick drink on the roadside.

Departing from Maywick, I traveled southward to Grutness, a quaint settlement and headland at the southernmost point of the main island. Situated near Sumburgh Head, Grutness is where the ferry connecting the Shetland Mainland with Fair Isle leaves from and a good place to park. As I walked back past the small pool along the access road, I noticed a few Dunlin, Turnstone, and Sanderling feeding. I paused at the walled garden where I saw several House Sparrows pecking at the ground. Not long after, I spotted a Siberian Chiffchaff, and shortly afterwards, a burst of white revealed an exceptionally pristine Lesser Whitethroat. I managed a few quick photos before the bird departed but it was a stunner! 

Lesser Whitethroat - Probably an Eastern bird 'Blythi' 

During a stop at the Pool of Virkie, Shetland's largest expanse of tidal sand and mudflats, I found the tide nearly full. However, I spotted a few Curlews, Redshanks, Ringed Plovers, Snipe and Bar-tailed Godwits. After inspecting the small willow patch where I had seen a Blyth's Reed Warbler during my summer visit, I headed off to my accommodation in Cunningburgh.

Bar-tailed Godwits - Pool of Virkie

Sunday October 6th 2024...

This morning, my initial visit was to Clickimin Loch in Lerwick to see the Barred Warbler that had been spotted along the path for several days.

Barred Warblers are a regular scarce passerine in Shetland where it occurs mainly between late August and late October, spring passage records in Britain are very rare. The vast majority of British records are of first-year birds, with adults occurring only exceptionally rarely. They breed across Central Europe, extending eastward to central southern Siberia and northern Mongolia, and southward to the Black Sea and southern Kazakhstan. Their wintering grounds are located in East Africa.

Barred Warbler - The largest Curruca Warbler & strongly migratory.

Barred Warbler - Feeding quite happily in sycamores despite our proximately. 

I hadn't seen a Common Rosefinch anywhere since my initial visit to Shetland in 2020, so when a sighting was reported in Melby, I decided to try my luck. Melby is a quaint coastal hamlet; Sandness is the closest settlement, and the Islet of Holm of Melby is situated just offshore. On arrival a good number of common waders were feeding in the bay and just offshore Gannets were busy fishing, a spectacular sight in itself. After a considerable search, I finally spotted the bird making intermittent appearances on a fence, located a bit farther down the shoreline than initially reported.

The Common Rosefinch typically visits the UK in autumn, predominantly in September and October. These visitors are usually immature birds sporting a relatively nondescript brown plumage. They are transient, migrating southward. There have been occasional instances of nesting pairs in Scotland. It's breeding range is extensive, spanning from Scandinavia and Eastern Europe to Kamchatka in Russia, with isolated populations across Central Europe. Come autumn, they journey to India, Southeast Asia, and Southwest China to spend the winter.

Common Rosefinch - Looking a little forlorn in the drizzle! 

My final destination of the day was Kergord Woods, nestled into the slopes of Weisdale Valley in Central Mainland, the most ancient and expansive woodland on the island. My purpose was to see an Olive-backed Pipit, another rare autumn visitor. The Olive-backed Pipit's breeding grounds span southern, central-northern, and eastern Asia, including northeastern European Russia. It undertakes long-distance migration to spend the winter in southern Asia and Indonesia. They display terrestrial foraging behavior, scurrying on the ground in search of food and when startled, they often flee into trees. One can imagine the difficulty in spotting this bird, yet thankfully, numerous birdwatchers were armed with thermal imagers, now a staple for the astute bird enthusiast. While I personally do not use one, I am grateful that many others do on such occasions.

Olive-backed Pipit - I was quick off the mark when suddenly the bird flew into trees.

An excellent first couple of days on Shetland and there's more to follow in Part Two.