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.