Fair Isle 2023. Part 3. Another Lanceolated Warbler.

Lanceolated Warbler is a vagrant from Siberia and is a Fair Isle / Shetland speciality. Its one of those group of 'sibes' that everyone wants to see on the archipelago. They're a diminutive locustella with a habit of running mouse like rather than flying. Its a bird I'd always wanted to see and. luckily in 2014 we found one at Quendale on Shetland mainland. See here & here for that story! 

I'd heard the stories of them running along the dykes on Fair Isle and seeing one do this was high on my avian bucket list. Jase and I had breakfasted early as usual and headed out with a packed lunch. As usual we checked al the crofts / gardens and were heading north. A showy juvenile Barred Warbler at Stackhoull stores and a a ringed Lesser Whitethroat at Quoy were new additions to the trip list but we had the feeling that something better would turn up.

We'd just sat down for our lunch outside Stackhoull when sure enough a message pinged up on the local WhatsApp group that AW Georgia had found a Lanceolated Warbler in the ringing hut marsh. The bird was unringed and a different bird to the one at Quoy. Heading north we arrived 20 minutes later to find Georgia, Alex and Glen peering intently into the marsh. The bird had disappeared but when Deryk arrived with his thermal imager it was soon picked up running through the vegetation. It headed towards the dyke where it posed briefly before disappearing into the wall.

The next couple of hours were some of the best I'd spent birding on Fair Isle as the Lanceolated put on the show I'd always wanted to see. Running along the short turf, like a mini velociraptor, it hunted down Craneflies completely unconcerned by our presence and at one stage ran right past me.

@Alex Penn. One happy Wirral Birder as the Lancie (circled) ran towards him. 

What a fantastic experience. I literally took hundreds of photos! 

The decision was made to try and trap the Lanceolated Warbler and ring it so ranger Lucy was sent off to collect a mist net. Catching it meant simply dripping a mist net over the top of it and it was soon in  bird bag awaiting ringing processing by Georgia.

It was aged as a calendar year bird (Euring 3) and a few days after it was released it was found by Brendan in the garden of nearby Setter. The day it was found it mush have literally just dropped in! This was my 3rd Lanceolated Warbler in the UK and by far the most satisfying experience.