Moments from Shetland Part Five September/October 2019

Dusky Warbler 4th October Haroldswick Unst

A Dusky Warbler had been reported frequenting a small hedge of rosa bushes in a wet field immediately on the other side of the narrow road that borders Haroldswick Beach on Unst. It then apparently moved on but talking to another birder at my accommodation, Gardiesfauld Hostel at Uyeasound on Unst, I learnt that he had seen it yesterday in a tree in a garden  further up the road from the hedge. So I at least knew it was still present.

This would be a good bird to see as, although not rare they are a scarce visitor to Britain, so I made an extra effort to get to Haroldswick early the next day. It was sunny but with a very strong wind blowing when I arrived around 8am at Haroldswick Beach and for an hour or so I stood by the side of the road hoping the warbler would show itself but not one bird revealed its presence in the hedge. Standing and looking for a long time at dense hedges or bushes on Shetland is almost routine and can often bring eventual rewards when birds that have secreted themselves in the hedge occasionally and finally show themselves.

The rosa hedge at Haroldswick

Giving up on the hedge I wandered along the road to check the aforementioned tree in the garden, where the warbler was seen yesterday, but there was no sign of it there either. I even checked further along the road, surveying all likely bushes and trees but there was no trace of any warbler. The wind was getting stronger and trying to locate a warbler in a mass of moving leaves on distant trees in gardens was a pretty hopeless task.The best I could come up with was a Wren, some House Sparrows, a Blackbird and the ubiquitous Starlings and Meadow Pipits.

After a couple of hours of fruitless searching I gave up and headed further north to Baltasound to find a Pale bellied Brent Goose that was associating with some Eurasian Wigeon and then decided to go yet further north to a place called Sotland near Hermaness NNR and walk through the reeds alongside the small river that runs out into Burrafirth.

Burrafirth with the Hermaness Visitor Centre on the headland

This area is underwatched, as most head for Hermaness, a mile or so further on, so it was unsurprising to find I had it to myself. I managed to find a small flock of fifteen Mealy Redpolls and a Yellow browed Warbler feeding in the dead reeds and on the way back a European Stonechat, which very unusually was still in partial juvenile plumage, which in October it really should have replaced with adult plumage by now.

Mealy Redpoll

Yellow browed Warbler

Aberrant European Stonechat

This species does not breed on Unst and presumably was a migrant - so had it arrested its moult in order to complete its migration or was it in this plumage for some other reason? That is the charm of birding, there are always matters to ponder, questions to be asked, queries not just about identity but about aspects of behaviour, morphology and ecology, even in the commoner species, which tend to be overlooked in the search for scarce and rarer birds.

I checked my Shetland WhatsApp Group for news and was astonished to see that Ray, a fellow guest at Gardiesfauld, had just reported seeing the Dusky Warbler in the same rosa hedge that had yielded nothing for me in the morning. I was not that far away from Haroldswick, frankly you are never that far away from anything on Unst as the island is so small, so I drove the short distance back to Haroldswick to try my luck once more.

Ray was just leaving when I got there but told me he had seen the Dusky Warbler well and also a Siberian Chiffchaff had popped out of the hedge, which he had photographed. This time I thought about the situation and formed a plan. I decided to remain in the car, parking so I could easily scan the sheltered side of the rosa hedge, running at right angles from the road, anticipating that my hidden presence in the car would make it more likely for any bird in the hedge to appear.

After forty or so minutes I was losing faith in my plan but persisted. Only minutes later I heard a distinct, quiet, repetitive tacking call which had to be the Dusky Warbler and moments later a small warbler appeared, not out of the hedge, but from the rank wet grass beside it and flew to perch on the sunny sheltered side of the hedge and there it was - the Dusky Warbler. It was not there long before going further into the depths of the dense hedge and out of sight.

Rejuvenated by this success I waited and for the next hour had brief but regular and occasionally good views of the Dusky Warbler as it ventured to the edge of the hedge, on one occasion preening for a few minutes in the sunshine. A veritable skulker, the warbler never really left the cover of the hedge, always keeping close and low so it could hide if necessary. It was noticeable that it was more likely to venture out of the hedge when no one was standing in the open. Another car drew up behind me and the occupants remained in the car and like me saw the warbler well but other birders, having heard the news, came and stood in the open and were markedly less successful in seeing the warbler. Not criticising you understand, just saying!

I never saw any sign of Ray's Siberian Chiffchaff but had the pleasure of seeing an unsuspected Lesser Whitethroat come out of the hedge to sit for a minute in the sun before disappearing back into cover. 

This was vindication, if ever there was, that to sit and wait rather than chase around after birds can be just as rewarding and satisfying. One day, surveying such a hedge for hours, may well produce that huge rarity that everyone craves. It just needs time and patience. Maybe a piece of luck too!

A replica of a Viking Longship at Haroldswick

to be continued.....................