Moments from Shetland Part One September/October 2019

Late September and most of the month of October is the peak time to try and see vagrant and thus very rare birds on Shetland and many birders now make their way there to see what they can find on the various islands that comprise Shetland. The three main islands are Mainland, Yell and Unst and are the most popular with birders, with the smaller islands of Fetlar, Foula and Out Skerries also attracting their devotees. I planned to spend six days on Mainland and ten on Unst. 

Shetland can be daunting with its undulating, barren moorland and inhospitable weather but after a while something changes in one and the rugged  and lonely terrain becomes rather beautiful and appealing - at least it does to me! Almost everywhere you go there are sensational views of cliffs, strange  rock formations and endless huge landscapes with the constant backdrop of sea, be it the open sea or flowing in voes which carve long fingers into the landmass and are, I suppose, the equivalent of the grander fjords found in Norway, which is not that far away.

Shetland is as near Scandinavia as it is to mainland Scotland and when you are on Shetland you get a distinct sense that the land is only part Scottish and much more part Scandinavian due to its history of invasion by the Vikings and now commemorated by various festivals and Viking artefacts.

So it was that I embarked on the long journey north on a wet and windy Sunday, the 22nd of September. Thankfully, being a Sunday the traffic was negligible and nine hours later with just one stop at Tebay Services in the Lake District for refreshment, I cautiously drove into the reception car park at Northlink's Aberdeen Ferry Terminal and in no time at all myself and the car were ushered onto the huge Northlink ship MV Hrossey.

It was sunny and clear in Aberdeen as we slowly sailed out of the harbour at five in the afternoon, threading our way through the huge oil support vessels moored on either side. Slowly we cleared the outermost harbour reaches and headed out to the open sea. I rather enjoy the twelve hour overnight crossing but there are those, including my fellow birders, who suffer greatly from seasickness and the North Sea can be very rough at times.

I stood on the viewing deck at the back of the ship and watched the City of Aberdeen become ever more distant as countless Gannets flew across a deep blue sea, their white plumage radiant in the setting sun. There were many young with them, just fledged, newly independent and unlike their parents  an overall grey brown in colour peppered with myriad white spots, like stars in the night sky. A line of twenty Puffins overhauled us and flew parallel to the ship for a while before veering off to a destination unknown.

I returned inside and had a meal in the ship's restaurant and retired to my cabin early. I was very tired after my long journey north and the early start from Oxfordshire and the bed was comforting as I lay under my duvet and listened to the ship thumping through the restless sea.

At 7am on Monday we docked in Lerwick, which is on Mainland, the largest island in Shetland. I drove the car off the ferry and made my way to the estimable Peerie Cafe (peerie means small) just off the esplanade for a welcome breakfast of coffee, scrambled eggs and smoked salmon. Later, in the afternoon I would make my way to Ortolan House, my accommodation for the next five days in Lerwick and the home of Rebecca Nason and her partner Phil Harris both of whom are birders, a prospect that put me very much at my ease.

I do not intend to list a day by day account of what I did and saw but recount some especially rewarding encounters with birds on Shetland and notably Orcas (Killer Whales) for which Shetland is fast becoming famous as 'the place' to see them in Britain.

As for the Bee Eater which heads this blog, please indulge me, as all will be made clear later. 

American Golden Plover  23rd September  Uyeasound  Unst  

With some hours to spare before I went to Ortolan House, on a whim, I decided to drive to Unst which is the northernmost inhabited island in Shetland. This is not quite as epic as it sounds for it only requires a twenty minute ferry crossing with the car from Toft on Mainland to Ulsta on Yell and then a twenty minute drive across Yell to Gutcher to catch the ten minute ferry to Belmont on Unst.

The road across Yell just after nine am.No traffic porblems here.

By mid morning I was on Unst and looking for my first rarity, an American Golden Plover, which had been reported from Uyeasound today and was just five minutes from the tiny Belmont ferry terminal. I had no real idea of where it would be, so set about scanning likely looking terrain around Uyeasound for flocks of our native European Golden Plovers. Stopping by the side of the main road, usually devoid of any vehicle for much of the time, I found a small mixed flock of Lapwing and Golden Plover, hardly into double figures. I got out the scope and using the car as a windbreak scanned the dozen or so golden plovers and there was the American Golden Plover, almost in full summer plumage and looking an absolute picture amongst its duller companions.

A great start to my trip and despite the worsening weather I felt that I had now opened my account in style. Shetland is not always this kind and one can go for some days without seeing anything rare or for that matter uncommon.

I watched the plover for fifteen minutes until a Merlin swept across the moorland and the plovers fled. I never saw the American Golden Plover again despite searching.

Melodious Warbler  24th September  Cullivoe  Yell

Shetland birders have created three WhatsApp Birding Groups which you can ask to join and these are the fastest and most efficient way to get almost instant daily news of rare, scarce and common birds being found on Shetland.They are an invaluable source of information, constantly being updated and, based on information received by this means, I was soon heading to Cullivoe on Yell where a Melodious Warbler had sought sanctuary, from the currently very strong wind, in a secluded garden. There is little cover on Shetland apart from windbreaks of conifers and/or small deciduous trees that protect the houses and gardens from the worst of the wind. This cover is naturally also attractive to birds which find welcome shelter there.

I arrived at the house in question to find the owner was typical of native Shetlanders in being very welcoming and helpful, even offering to let me and other birders into the garden but we remained outside for fear of spooking the bird. A long and cold wait ensued as there was no sign of the warbler which by all accounts had been visible for long periods before I arrived. Birders becoming bored and frustrated spread out to cover the surrounding fields and ditches and eventually the warbler was located in the middle of a nearby sheep field hunting for prey amongst the grass.To someone used to warblers being in trees and bushes it was a novel experience to see this and other warblers regularly hunting amongst rank grass and ground vegetation.

The warbler was much troubled by the wind, exposed as it was in the field and soon made its way back to the garden where it could gain some shelter and hopefully find some invertebrate prey. For a spell of a couple of minutes it sat in the open on a sloping fence support and allowed me the opportunity to take its picture, although somewhat distantly, before it dived over a wall and disappeared from view.

Yellow browed Warblers  Mainland and Unst 

I can remember when this bird was a real rarity and on mainland Britain it is still, with a few minor exceptions, a scarce bird, usually found in autumn.This is not the case in Shetland where it can be said to be almost common in the autumn with individuals being recorded from all over Shetland and often more than one together. An exceptional eighteen were found one morning during my stay on Mainland, feeding along ditches and in bushes and trees at a place called South Nesting.

I heard or saw them virtually every day, even in the centre of Lerwick and Phil, my host at Ortolan House and also a bird ringer brought one in to show me at breakfast that he had trapped in the garden a few minutes earlier

They can turn up literally anywhere from mature trees, conifer plantations and  gardens, to isolated bushes, cliffs, quarries and grassy ditches. Their breathy, high pitched querulous anxiety call often betrays their hidden presence, which up until then was unsuspected. They are real gems, hardly bigger than a Goldcrest, constantly active with attractive green upperparts, two pale yellow wing bars and a long yellow supercilium above each eye and from whence their name comes. Their normal breeding range is central and eastern Siberia and they winter in India and southeast China so why they should be so common on Shetland in autumn is unknown and quite remarkable but their presence may indicate an ongoing range expansion of the species. Whatever it is they always bring an extra thrill to me when I find one

I had a memorable encounter at Hermaness on Unst one morning when the wind, having turned southeast during the night caused a fall of Goldrests on the cliffs and in the garden of the currently closed Hermaness Visitor Centre. In amongst the Goldcrests coming in off the sea were four Yellow browed Warblers, each arriving separately from the sea and rapidly making their way inland, passing through the garden, feeding in the long grass and bracken as they went.

Little Bunting 26th September Swinister Burn  Hoswick Mainland 

A few Little Buntings usually turn up on Shetland in autumn but they are still a rare bird and most birders wish to see one if at all possible. A favourite location is Quendale Mill in the south of Mainland and I went there on a wet, windy and dreary afternoon, as one had been reported from here earlier in the day. The weather did not help and although I saw the bunting it was tucked right inside a small clump of wind stunted trees and only parts of it were visible at any one time. Eventually it flew out and was immediately blown by the wind far out over the surrounding fields and that was that.

While there I got talking to a tour guide leading a group and as is the way on Shetland we exchanged information about birds we had encountered that day. I told him about a Red breasted Flycatcher that was performing in a garden not far away and in return he told me about two Little Buntings he and his group had just seen that were frequenting Swinister Burn near Hoswick. I drove the short distance to Hoswick and walked along the burn but to no avail.

I gave up and resolved to return the next day, first thing, before too many other birders would undoubtedly decide to visit the burn. I need not have worried as the weather next morning was truly appalling, even by Shetland standards. Rain was falling steadily, although falling would be inaccurate a description as it was being hurled by an almost gale force wind. I guessed that few other birders would bother to venture out to this exposed location so made my way to Swinister Burn and indeed found myself alone. I walked the length of the burn and found, yes, nothing. Phil had assured me at breakfast the buntings were there all yesterday but try as I might I could not locate them. I walked the length of the burn again and this time a small bird flicked up from the grass onto a wire fence.Yes at last! On raising my bins I found myself looking at a Spotted Flycatcher which dived down into the shelter of some small willows growing below and in the lee of the burn's steep and grassy banks.

Spotted Flycatcher

I walked on and another small bird slipped though the willows, low down just above the tumbling water. Surely this was a Little Bunting? I raised my bins in anticipation and found - the Spotted Flycatcher - again. It had obviously flown low along the burn and was still using the shelter of the burn's banks to keep out of the wind. I was mortified. Yes it was nice to see the flycatcher and totally unexpected, as is often the way on Shetland, but it was a Little Bunting I was seeking. I gave up and went to the local bakers for a roll and a coffee.

Suitably refreshed I decided on one final attempt to find a Little Bunting and walked the burn yet again but only found a Yellow browed Warbler and had a very brief glimpse of two small brown birds that flew up from the burn and disappeared into the surrounding impenetrable bushes. Could they have been the buntings? It was the right habitat but my view was too brief. Another birder appeared and asked about the buntings. I told him what I had seen and we parted.

Tired, very wet and totally fed up I followed the well worn track beside the burn for the final time, heading for the car parked up on the road. A small movement caught my eye in the familar clump of willows by the burn. Not that flycatcher again. I looked closer in my bins just to make sure and there, as bold as you like, was a Little Bunting. It sat, low in the willow and looked at me. Totally confiding and unafraid. It appeared to be having as much trouble with the wind and rain as was I and was reluctant to return to the rain sodden grass where it presumably had been feeding, hidden from view.

It spent some time preening, trying to get some order into its wet feathers and then hopped down onto  the grass and commenced feeding again but it was restless, discomfited by the rain. It hopped back into the willows for a spell and then made another more successful attempt at feeding in the grass. After some minutes it gave up the struggle and flew away into the shelter of some nearby rosa bushes and was gone.

Naturally I was delighted and felt fully justified in this triumph of obstinate will over the elements. True, I was lucky, but it also goes to show that persistence is the name of the game on Shetland and habitat that initially appears to hold nothing of interest often proves the exact opposite if you have the patience and will to persevere. Oh, and a little bit of good fortune too!

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