📖 Shetland 2026 : 04-05/10/26

The last few days have remained relatively quiet, at least by Shetland's standards. Today, Monday 5th, ferocious winds battered the island, with gusts over 50 mph, making field birding a proper test of endurance.

Sunday 4th started quietly enough with another first-light walk around Hoswick. Little had changed since the previous day, though the reliable Pied Flycatcher was seen once again, happily feeding along Hoswick Burn.

This Pied Flycatcher has remained along Hoswick Burn since I arrived on Friday.

The real morning highlight came at Fleck, where two Buff-breasted Sandpipers were feeding remarkably close to the roadside alongside a mix of Golden Plover and Ruff. A subsequent high-tide drive around the Pool of Virkie yielded a Pale-bellied Brent Goose. Later in the day, after missing it yesterday, I was thrilled to finally catch up with the Great Grey Shrike at Bixter—even if it insisted on staying somewhat distant throughout the encounter. Since moving to Scotland 6 years ago, I've only seen two of these predatory songbirds, both in Shetland.

One of two Buff-breasted Sandpipers along the roadside near Fleck.

Monday dictated a slightly later start given the severe conditions. I decided to head up to Sumburgh Head to begin to see if a brief seawatch might produce anything interesting during the gale. Watching Northern Gannets plunge-diving into the whitecaps is always a breathtaking sight. The highlight was a flock of at least fifty Barnacle Geese battling their way in off the open sea, fighting hard against the prevailing winds.

Leaving Sumburgh, I made another pass around the Pool of Virkie with the tide nearly in. It proved worthwhile, turning up a single Curlew Sandpiper amidst a mix of Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Turnstone, Bar-tailed Godwit, and a solitary Sanderling.

A Sanderling at Virkie taken from the car.

By afternoon, I set off toward the Busta House Hotel near Brae to search for a reported Red-breasted Flycatcher. En route, news broke of an Arctic Warbler at Gott. Being only five miles away, I diverted immediately and joined the crowd of onlookers. Despite an hour of searching, the warbler gave us all the slip, although I read it had been seen again later, albeit briefly. I resumed the journey north to Busta House, where I was rewarded with good views of the Red-breasted Flycatcher—a brilliant highlight to wrap up a challenging, wind-swept day.

Red-breasted Flycatcher showing some of its downy base feathers.

Pale-bellied Brent Goose at Virkie.

Record shot of the distant Great Grey Shrike.