Shetland 2026 - Reflections : 15/10/26
Having arrived in Spain a few days ago for my next adventure, I’ve had a chance to reflect on this October’s annual pilgrimage to Shetland. As always, the Northern Isles delivered a cracking week of birding, wrapping up with a respectable 104 species logged across the trip.
While overall bird numbers seemed a bit quieter this autumn and the much-anticipated sustained easterly winds failed to materialise during the stay, the birds on offer were nothing short of brilliant. The Black-faced Bunting was a major highlight of the trip.
List Milestones & New Additions
The trip yielded two brand-new additions to my Shetland list—which double as additions to my New Scottish List, compiled since moving permanently to Aberdeenshire back in October 2020: American Wigeon & Black-faced Bunting.
These two headline additions officially nudge my New Scottish List up to 290 species.
The Autumn Rarities Catch-Up
Despite the lack of classic easterly drift conditions, persistent field time allowed me to catch up with a formidable array of island rarities and scarce migrants logged across earlier posts:
Passerines & Warblers: Black-faced Bunting, Arctic Warbler, Western Bonelli's Warbler, Olive-backed Pipit, Barred Warbler, Bluethroat, Little Bunting, Great Grey Shrike, Red-backed Shrike and Red-breasted Flycatcher.
Waders & Waterfowl: Buff-breasted Sandpiper, American Golden Plover, American Wigeon, and King Eider.
Highlight of the Week: A Classic Autumn Thrush Fall
My absolute favourite day came right near the end. On the penultimate morning, I awoke to the classic Shetland magic: Thousands of thrushes arriving straight in off the sea.
The skies and sycamore patches were alive with calls, dominated heavily by fresh Redwings, intermingled with scattered Fieldfares and a few striking Ring Ouzels. Fittingly, a Ring Ouzel marked my 104th and final species of the Shetland trip before we packed up.
