The Big One - 5th October 2026

c Hugh Harrop

I was casually chatting to Pauline late in the morning whilst waiting to catch a glimpse of an elusive Firecrest at Wester Quarff on Mainland.

The time was approximately 1125. Glancing to my right I noticed the couple who had been standing by the roadside suddenly become energised and then walking at a brisk pace, well almost running to be honest, up the road to where their car was parked.Seconds later another car  came from further down the road, stopped briefly beside me and its passenger yelled out of the window.........

Ewan! Sibe Blue Robin at Hillwell and before I could reply drove off at high speed. 

With shaking fingers I consulted my phone, absent mindedly still set to silent from the night before and there was a message on the Shetland Rare Bird News WhatsApp, timed at 1120 from Hugh Harrop that only served to add to the shock waves of adrenalin now pulsing through my body

SIBERIAN BLUE ROBIN in our garden at Hillwell.Parking ONLY at Quendale Mill or Mainlands and NOT at Hillwell or approach road.This is a very sensitive area so please stay out of fields and follow on site instructions.Pin to follow from DP (Dan Pointon)

This was the big one everyone had been hoping for. The event that every birder who travels in hope to Shetland dreams of. A bird fabled for its rarity and extreme difficulty to see in Britain, usually present for only one day and never to be seen again.This was only the second Siberian Blue Robin to be seen in Shetland (the first was found dead on Foula in 2011), only the fifth in Britain and seventh in Europe.A bird of vast Siberian forests that should be spending its winter in  southeast Asia.

My car was parked just yards away and it was less than two minutes before I had set Birdguides route directions on my Satnav and was reversing the car in the narrow road and hurtling up the hill, waving farewell to Pauline, then turning right and shooting  along the narrow road to join the A970 south.It would take me half an hour to get to the turn off to Mainlands.

Wave upon wave of anxiety enveloped me as I drove.

What would the situation be like at Hillwell with all the cars and birders arriving en masse? How close could I get to Hillwell before having to abandon my a car and walk? Would the bird even still be there? I had no answers of course, no idea, but knowing the area as I do I doubted I would be able to get a parking space anywhere near  Hillwell and Hugh's garden. I told myself to concentrate on my driving and deal with the rest when I got there.If I ended up in a ditch or worse I would never forgive myself.

The miles whizzed by but seemed never quick enough. Signs for Fladdabister, Cunningsburgh and Boddam flashed past. I came to the turning to Mainlands and further on the same road lay Hillwell.Now what do I do? I could play it safe and park at the Mainlands store and then walk, or  I could drive further and hope to find a place to park closer that would not upset the locals but that was going to be highly unlikely.

I drove another several hundred metres past Mainlands store and found a small road and some private houses beyond the church and parked there behind another car disgorging three birders and we set off in company down the road that lay in front of us, a road winding downhill and then uphill towards Hugh's very distant large white  house and garden. It was a beautiful day, sunny but windy. Other birders, singly or in groups were already yomping down the road, scattered in the distance like matchstick men, wending their way towards Hillwell and hopefully the holy grail of a Siberian Blue Robin .My bootlace came undone. I resented the time wasted doing it up. In my heightened anxiety this became an issue. What if this minor delay meant the difference between seeing the bird or not. Ridiculous but this is what stress can do. Stopping to do up a bootlace was hardly going to make any difference. Surely if it was in the garden it would stick and there was every chance it would still be present when I finally got there.

Hillwell still looked no nearer despite my power walking towards its distant presence but I could see my decision to park where I did had proved right as every possible parking space I walked by was occupied by presumably birders cars 

I trudged ever onwards 

Two thirds of the way there a familiar car stopped beside me. It was Pauline who I had abandoned so  abruptly at the Wester Quarff. 

Jump in  Ewan!

There will be nowhere for me to park but I can drop you at the entrance to Hugh's drive. She added

A gamechanger. Time being of the essence.

On arriving at Hugh's I thanked Pauline profusely, leapt from the car and headed up the track to Hugh's garden

On getting to the garden my heart sank. My relatively late arrival meant I was now contemplating a crowd of in excess of a hundred who had got there before me and were now ranged across the large garden viewing a hedge of rosa that marked the eastern boundary of the large garden.

Really there were far too many birders to fit comfortably into the garden hence a good number failing to see the bird but what can you do in such a situation. At this time of year Shetland is inundated with so many visiting birders that one can hardly suppress such a record. Everyone has to be given a chance to see it.

I joined the throng at one end but decided that was unsatisfactory so went to the other end which would allow me to view across the lawn to a good length of the rosa hedge and under which the robin was apparently prone to skulk and would periodically give very brief views.

My view of the rosa hedge

The crowd awaiting an appearance of the Siberian Blue Robin which
sadly failed to materialise

Every so often someone would say they could see it but it rarely amounted to anything conclusive.Bodies would tense, bins would be  raised and cameras pointed, then be reluctantly lowered when it became clear it was a false alarm   

I and a hundred others waited in tense  anticipation for the next sighting but the bird failed to show itself possibly deterred by the large crowd.Occasional indistinct movements in the gloom under the hedge could be anything and more often than not were nothing more than a Wren.

Then suddenly from my right the Siberian Blue Robin flew in and disappeared into the base of the hedge 

Cries of excitement came from the crowd

That's it!.

It was a seconds only view but I managed to see a bird with a noticeably short tail,  grey brown upperparts with a hint of blue and off white underparts.That was it but that would do for now.

I relaxed slightly, having now  seen the bird, although wishing for better. A number of people around me missed it. Distracted or looking the wrong way it was gone before you could register what was happening.

Unseen by me the bird then moved to the other side of the garden, hassled regularly by the local Robin.It began to show itself under a fuschia but there was no way I could get to see it due to the density of the crowd, the unwillingness of anyone to concede an inch of space and my current line of sight being too far to the right to see the fuschia. A running commentary of its movements from the minority who could see it was both exciting and excruciating in equal measure.

c Hugh Harrop

I just had to accept the situation for what it was and hope something would change.

I stood to one side of the crowd with others hoping the bird would move right and the crowd duly confirmed it was heading in my direction. Then it went quiet before suddenly there was the bird, again flying low past me and affording similar views to the last time before disappearing into the same rosa hedge as before

c Hugh Harrop

I never got to see the Siberia Blue Robin on the ground and it was never seen again after flying past me and several other astonished birders. We all waited as Hugh did two walks along the hedge trying to flush it but it became obvious that wherever it had gone it was not in the garden. Eventually I accepted the inevitable that the bird was gone but everyone hoped it might return, if not during the day then maybe to roost at night 

Hugh put down two trail cameras so if the bid did slip back unnoticed suring the day it would be discovered.

The garden slowly emptied and birders either disconsolate or euphoric depending on whether they had seen the Siberian Blue Robin or not, made their way back to their cars scattered far and wide or went to Quendale Mill,a couple of  hundred metres down the road where another very rare bird a Two barred Greenish Warbler was to be found in the afternoon.

What a day.

Inevitably a large number of birders already on Shetland were disappointed, either failing to see the bird even though they were in the garden or getting there too late. Many well known and top listers travelled from all over Britain on hearing the news, such is the lure and desirability of a Siberean Blue Robin, convinced that as it was in a garden it would at the very least remain all day and if they spent large amounts of money on flights (I heard up to £1800.00) to get them to Shetland that same day they would see it. Sadly the robin's premature and un-anticipated departure meant all such plans were doomed to failure.Enigmatic as ever the robin had gone and as the hours passed a reluctant acceptance came about that it was not going to be re-found although some persisted in looking for it on surrounding properties for the rest of the day.

As a last gasp chance, no more than straw clutching to be honest, Hugh made two sweeps of his garden  the next day at 10am and 1030am to which anyone was invited.No one was surprised when there was  still no sign of the bird.

And thus ended one of the most remarkable twitches of my life

I wish to express my grateful thanks to Hugh Harrop for granting me permission to use his excellent images of the Siberian Blue Robin to illustrate my blog

A Lapland Bunting at Eshaness - 27th September

The night before we made a plan to return to Eshaness to view a Lapland Bunting that had been discovered below the lighthouse and not very far away from the still present Buff breasted Sandpiper.It would make a nice double of two good birds.

However on waking the next day it was to find  the wind had risen to a ferocious level with gusts of over 40mph.What it would be like on the exposed cliff top at Eshaness did not bear thinking about and we beganto have second thoughts. We discussed the situation and being birders decided to chance it despite the dire forecast.

It would never do to wimp out just because of a bit of wind no matter how strong. Would it?.

We set off ealy on the hour long drive to Eshaness and arrived at the lighthouse car park to find it unsurprisingly deserted.

Not a soul in sight and on opening the car door I soon found out why as the force of the wind blew me sideways against the car, such was its strength.

We got our gear together and secured our weatherproof clothing for the ordeal to come.We walked out onto the downward sloping grass plain below the lighthouse, spreading out in order to cover as much ground as possible.I thought there was little chance of finding the bunting in this wind as we struggled to remain upright in the violent gusts that assaulted us.

I followed a fence line running down towards the cliffs..On the other side was a scree of stones,larger rocks and seeding thrift which I thought looked a likely spot for the bunting but initially could see little sign. I walked further and on the point of givng it up as a lost cause a small bird fluttered low over the stones for a short distance before hunkering down again.I looked at it in my bins and sure enough it was the Lapland Bunting, now watching me warily.

Mark was some way off from me and in the howling wind it was almost impossible to get his attention, my shouts being blown away on the wind but eventually he heard me, came running and he too saw the bunting before it flew and we lost sight of it.

Frustraion grew large as I really wanted a nice photo of this pleasingly patterned and uncommon bird. We walked as far as possible to the cliff edge careful not to get blown over and then I suggested  a plan.We walked round the end of the fenceline and then back up through the stones and Thrift.If the bunting was hiding here we would surely discover it. 

We walked up through the multitude of uneven stones trying not to stumble over them. There seemed little sign that we would be successful in re-finding the bunting but carried on and roughly where we had first seen the bunting,it flew up and over the fence and carried by the wind  landed  at some distance on the short windswept grass amongst a flock of Starlings. Obviously not to its liking it did not remain there long before flying and landing back amongst the stones and commenced feeding on the seeding Thrift

Slowly we walked towards it, gradually getting as close as we dared, then stopping to allow  me to take some images.We remained absolutely still, conscious of the bunting's apparent wariness but this time it showed little concern about our presence and began working its way toward us, shuffling busily amongst the stones and Thrift, feeding non stop.

It couldn't have worked out better and I chanced my arm by slowly walking towards the bunting which now seemed re-assured we meant it no harm and eventually it was as close as I felt necessary and made the most  of this unexpected photographic opportunity.

We remained with the bird for twenty minutes and left it contentedly feeding and went in search of the sandpiper..We found it feeding distantly on the grass but now others had arrived and a person in a bright yellow jacket made sure it rapidly departed.

We returned to the car pleased at confounding the odds and headed away from Eshaness to Braewick Cafe where we treated ourselves to coffee and a slice of cake

Well why not?

A Western Bonelli's Warbler at Ocraquoy Shetland - 23rd September 2026

One early morning whilst waiting for a Kingfisher (a very rare bird on Shetland) to appear at Clickimin Loch on the outskirts of Lerwick, we were talking to Jim Nicolson, a well known Shetland birder. Mid conversation his phone rang and he received a message about a suspected Western Bonelli's Warbler having just been found at a place called Ocraquoy not many miles south of our current location

Jim imparted the news to us and told us he was going to drive there immediately and if we wished we could follow him in our car which we did at a fair speed and arriving some twenty minutes later at the location, were lucky to find somewhere to park virtually by the trees the bird was in.While I parked the car Mark walked the few metres to a small cul de sac containing two holiday homes to view a plantation of conifer and sycamore that lined one side of the cul de sac.

Mark saw the warbler almost immediately while I was still making my way from the car and so added a lifer to his Britsih List.Currently it was still open to conjecture if the bird was a Western or Eastern Bonelli's Warbler.The latter being much the rarer and more relevant, one I still had not seen in Britain.

After a little wait the warbler showed itself briefly to me at the top of a conifer. 

A tape was played of both species calls and the bird responded to the call of the Western species so that was that. Mark had his lifer and I had seen my second Western Bonelli's Warbler on Shetland Slowly the numbers of birders built up, swelled by one of the bird tour groups currently on Shetland but the numbers were never large enough to be disruptive.

The warbler was initially elusive, disappearing out of the plantation to wander between other scattered bushes but eventually settled in the plantation where, rather than waste time and energy chasing it around we stood and waited for it to occasionally show itself.

In typical leaf warbler fashion it slipped unobtrusively amongst the tangles of twigs and wind tossed leaves, rarely exposing itself fully to my and others cameras but eventually after a few hours I had managed to see it well on a number of occasions and get some passable photos. A Willow Warbler and Goldcrest were also present in the plantation and on more than one occasion set pulses racing until their true identity was confirmed.

It even gave its diagnostic call late in the morning to confirm it really was a Western Bonelli's Warbler, my second on Shetland and my fourth for Britain.

There was no sign of the bird the next day.

A Buff Breasted Sandpiper on Shetland 21st September 2026

Its been a long while since I saw a Buff breasted Sandpiper, so shortly after the commencement of my annual four week's of birding on Shetland, news came of one that had arrived the day before at  Eshaness on the west coast of North Mavine on the island of Mainland in Shetland. Eshaness is an isolated promontory of volcanic rock, the remnant of a stratovolcano that violently erupted over 300 million years ago. 

The sandpiper had disappeared later the day it was discovered and it looked like it had gone but next day it returned, so mid morning found us leaving our rented house in Scalloway to make an hour's drive northwest to Eshaness.

For the most part we had the roads to ourselves with mile after mile of empty grey tarmac snaking ahead of us through desolate moorland that became even more remote and with a distinct sense of abandonment after we turned off the main road onto a single track road undulating into a hinterland of moorland interspersed with boggy pools and the occasional Whooper Swan gracing one or more, whilst Lapwings sought an existence on the sparse grass verges at the roadside 

You are rarely out of the wind on Shetland, an almost constant presence in various strengths and so it was today with a strong, gusting southwest wind and occasional rain showers to add to the discomfort but typical for this time of year.We followed the signs for the lighthouse and rising up from a fold in the land arrived onto an expansive grassy plateau and there was the lighthouse, still operational but remotely controlled, classically positioned above the spectacular cliffs.

The sandpiper was said to favour a small freshwater pool across the grass plateau to the east and within sight of the lighthouse, thus only requiring a short walk to get to. 

The wind tugged and nagged at my clothes as it always does and particularly here on our elevated and exposed position as we walked over the short turf from the small car park. It was a wild and stormy morning with a huge,wind tossed sea pounding the black volcanic cliffs, leaving great scars of white water foaming below. A far cry from my home in the Cotswolds and dare I say it far more exhilerating

But we had other priorities, namely a rare North American wader frequenting a small pool of freshwater only a few hundred metres away.Two silhouettes came into view at the water's edge. Waders, one smaller than the other.

That must be it.The smaller one surely?

Checking through our bins we were disappointed to find a Knot and a Dunlin. Our confidence in a successful outcome took a severe nose dive

How  come? Surely there was some mistake? This  was definitely the pool where the Buff breasted  Sandpiper was virtually ever present according to earlier reports

We split up and went in search of the missing bird, crossing a windswept expanse of short turf sloping down to the cliffs, checking other larger pools but could not find it and so we ventured back to the original pool but still there was no sign.Chatting with a couple of equally disappointed local birders we learnt of a Glossy Ibis and a Grey Plover nearby. Both good birds for Shetland.

Cutting our losses we drove back along the single track road to view first a flock of Golden Plover harbouring the Grey Plover, a simple task which was totally successful. This achieved we drove a little further to a small flash of marshy flood water adjacent to the road and came across the angular profile of the Glossy Ibis flying around but soon settling back in the water to feed 

Buoyed by this success we returned to the lighthouse and the nearby pool.Well you never know and as we hoped might happen there was the familiar shape of the Buff breasted Sandpiper strutting its stuff around the pool and across the surrounding short grass. It had returned to its favourite lcation.

As with many of its kind it was very confiding, at times walking to within feet of us and I made the most of it with my camera taking far too many images but endeavouring to capture the little beauty from all angles.

For the most part it was endlessly active, picking morsels from the grass but would occasionally stop and relax, standing still and quiet for short periods before resuming its search for food.When alarmed or unsure it would stand upright, unmoving with head and neck extended and remain like this until re-assured all was well

Buff breasted Sandpipers are a regular but scarce migrant to Great Britain, chiefly in September and sometimes arriving in small groups.They breed in the arctic regions of North America and migrate to the pampas of South America for the winter.This autumn has seen a good number arriving in Great Britain along with another North American wader, Baird's Sandpiper, probably due to the strong westerly winds we have been experiencing

An hour later it was job done and we headed south, leaving the splendours of Eshaness with some regret on my part.

Farewell - 15th September 2026

Saturday the 12th of September and there was no sign of the Long tailed Shrike all day and it became obvious that it had departed for destination unknown the night before

It was inevitable that such a day would come when its long stay at Eastleach Downs on the border of Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire finally ended and not without some sadness on my part I should add

Here is my personal pictorial memory of Britain's third ever recorded Long tailed Shrike and the first to be recorded for England, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire.

It remained in its favourite corner of The Cotswolds for a record 63 days and must have been seen by countless hundreds of people during its stay, many such as myself returning for more than one visit. Birders and general public alike from far and wide were enticed by its celebrity to come and pay homage

As the days passed it became more confiding and ever more attractive as it completed its moult from first summer to adult male plumage 

I for one will miss it, having been to see it twenty one times, my home being but twenty minutes away.I will miss the camaraderie of fellow birders, photographers and twitchers, the heat of the scorching summer that we shared, the evocative surroundings in which it chose to reside and the other migrant birds such as the whitethroats, redstarts, whinchats, wheatears and corn buntings that spent time in the hedgerows with it.