Rufous-tailed Robin.

 Rufous-tailed Robin. One of this almost mythical birds that only found its way into the British list in 2004 courtesy of a bird trapped and ringed on Fair Isle. It was first thought to be a Hermit Thrush and many Shetland birders missed it as they couldn’t get across when its true identity was confirmed. When they made it across the next day it had gone. In 2010 a bird was found dead on North Ronaldsey, Orkney with its skin being preserved in the National Museum Scotland. The third bird, found at Warehans Green in Norfolk in 2011 was also a one day bird. I had the opportunity to go for this one but the thought of probably 500 people trying to look into a restricted area for a bird that’s notoriously hard to see even in their usual range, put me off. As it happened I made the right decision. There was a big crowd and the bird had done an overnight bunk. In 2019 there was a single observer bird in the Feal plantation, Houbie on Fetlar which, once again, did an overnight disappearing act.

They’re a real “sibe’ breeding in taiga habitats in N E Asia and wintering in S E Asia. The 2004 Fair Isle birders missed was actually a first for Western Europe followed by another bird in Poland in 2006. To put this bird into context they're notoriously skulky on their wintering grounds and many world birders have never seen one.

When news broke on 20th October 5hat Zac Spaull had found a Rufous-tailed Robin at South Landing, Flamborough my 1st reaction was it probably wouldn’t be seen the next day. But, unbelievably it was. Very elusive but occasionally showing well in the gulley of a small stream surrounded by thick brambles and fallen branches. A typical wintering habitat for Rufous-tailed Robin.  I guess this bird will stick around until the first (if we have any) frost as it thinks it's completed its migration to suitable wintering habitat.

Unfortunately a combination of various eye checks as I’m having replacement lenses fitted in a few days and my car being off the road, with a leaking fuel tank, meant I had to sit and wait whilst the bird unbelievably stayed for a third and then fourth day. Luckily Malc, although he’d seen the bird on Wednesday, wanted to see it again and offered to drive me & Mark P. I’m very grateful to Fred who advised us to get there earlier than we’d planned as viewing was limited and if you weren’t in the first line against the fence you stood very little chance of seeing it! He also recommended taking a small set of step ladders just in case it showed and I couldn’t see over peoples heads.

Ayer very little sleep Friday night I was awake at 2 am Saturday morning waiting for Mark to pick me up before meeting up with Malc on the M56. A good journey saw us arriving in the pay and display car park at 5.45 where, after paying for the parking, we donned warm weather gear and set off in the dark to the site where we got a site against the fence but perhaps not really in an ideal position.

As it got lighter the message filtered down the line that someone had seen the bird briefly fly out of a bramble bush and into the stream which, after torrential overnight rain, was flowing much faster than it had done earlier in the week. The description given wasn’t very convincing and most people assumed it was either one of the several Blackcaps or Dunnock’s knocking around. Chinese whispers always entertain in these situations but the gist of the sighting was it didn’t have a red breast so wasn’t a Robin.

The hours passed with some people opting to give it up as a bad job. By this time I’d climbed my step ladder allowing someone else a view From the fence. Suddenly a ripple of excitement travelled the line of expectant birders as Dawn Balmer picked it up, around 10.40,  flying in to the stream bed before having a splash and wash. We couldn’t see it from our position but I quickly grabbed my ladders and moved right to a point where it was visible. Firstly the tail as it splashed beneath a branch and then the whole bird as it moved around a bit. I guess it was on show for a total of around 2 minutes to the delight of those who saw it. A lot of relieved birders all breathed a collective sigh of relief. It was surprising how well the white throat showed in the gloomy understorey. We’d been on site for nearly 5 hours. Tony Barter was next to me but, tall as he is, he couldn’t see it so I told him to get on the ladder alongside me. It must have been a comical site with two of us balanced precariously on a small step ladder with arms round each other for balance and using binoculars with our free hands. Absolutely no chance or room to get the camera out for a photo but we’d seen the bird. Luckily Neill Hunt got an excellent photo the previous day and  has allowed me to use it. Thanks Neill! 

Copyright Neill Hunt

 Unfortunately by the time I’d got Mark & Malc’s attention to take my lofty perch the bird had moved off. Agonisingly I saw it again briefly as it moved through the stream side brambles and occasionally crossed a small open patch but my two mates again were in the wrong place.

By now it had started raining and even though he hadn’t seen it Mark was happy to leave as he was cold so we departed around 13.30 after 7 1/2 hours on site during which time I was the only one of us who saw it. 

It was great to see so many birding mates there that I hadn’t seen in awhile - even though I was so focused on seeing the bird I didn’t realise some of them were there until we came to leave. The journey home provided an unmissable photo opportunity as ‘Bagpuss’ Payne gonked out on the front seat Malc’s car. Revenge is sweet after some of the unflattering photos he's taken of me over the years!

After another ultra-rare sibe, the Siberian -blue Robin, on Shetland that a few lucky people connected with a few weeks ago, and a Siberian Rubythroat at Spurn early this week I wonder what other bird will turn up this autumn from that region? 

A blast from the past. Sora, Attenborough, December 2004

Another early twitch before I got into photography! Hot on the heels of the Masked Shrike in Kilrenny, Fife (see here ) another twitch materialised with Malc in the driving seat. I've only just remembered about this bird as the finder, Paul Buxton sadly collapsed on the Scilly's this year and subsequently died. Apparently he was younger than me which is a sobering thought. This is still a rare bird - despite there recently being two birds seen on the Scilly's. There have currently been only 21 records accepted in the UK and only 16 since 1950 up to 2024 with the last UK record being in 2020. The two Scilly's birds, if both accepted, will make the total 23.

The bird in question was found at Attenborough, Nottinghamshire, on 12th December 2004 and stayed until the 1st January 2005 allowing some people to get on their New Year lists! 

We went on the 19th December and I remember it being a bitterly cold and frosty day as we headed down the M6 and along the A50 towards Nottingham arriving just after first light. 

A tense and cold wait ensued as we waited for the crake to show along its favoured vegetation covered shorelin

Sora sketch from my notebook 19th December 2004

My second Sora came in 2005 when I was year listing with a 1st winter bird being seen at Lower Moors, St Mary's Scilly's in September. I waited until October whilst twitching an Upland Sandpiper in Cornwall and day tripped the Scilly's adding Blackpoll Warbler and Sora to the year list.

Fetlar 2026

Once again I found myself leaving the house in the early hours of the morning and heading to the northern Isles. This time to Fetlar.  Another one of my favourite Islands and very under watched compared to Shetland mainland.  No dramas, again, with the flights from Edinburgh to Sumburgh  and I found soon found myself heading north to catch the ferry across to Yell and then another one across to Fetlar. A few minor deviations on the way to Toft ferry terminal saw me stopping to catch up with two new birds for the year, a Bluethroat at Boddam and then to Lerwick for the 'Queen Eider'. 

Essential supplies were picked up at Tesco's in Lerwick. Other major supermarkets, apart from the Co-op, are not available! Another quick stop to pick up the necessary bag of bird seed we always get to try and attract birds onto the gravel path in front of our accommodation. 

Before even stopping at The Lodge I drove quickly to Funzi Willows where Paul Macklam had earlier found an Olive-backed Pipit. This proved to be very elusive and even though I'm pretty sure I had it in flight in failing light it was a quick view before it promptly disappeared. Despite searching a relatively small area for another 40 minutes I couldn't relocate it. The Slavonian Grebe was a bit more obliging if distant! 

Returning to Houbie I stopped to admire the view and sunset before parking in front of my home for the week and unpacking the weeks supply of food and clothing before showering and setting off up the hill to the Community Centre where it was fish and chips night and where I'd arranged to meet Paul.

Leagarth House with The Lodge just visible below it

The Lodge. Home from home.

Sunset over Lamb Hoga

The fish and chips were a great success and probably the nicest I've ever eaten! The fish was freshly caught that day and with mushy peas and a few beers was just what I needed after almost 36 hours without meaningful sleep! Saying my goodnights I retired early but as I was getting ready for a well needed sleep the Aurora alert went off on my phone so I stuck my shoes back on and went outside. Although it was cloudy there was a distinct greenish cast to the sky. From photographs online it showed much better from Lerwick.

Finally getting to bed I woke bleary eyed to find it still dark outside. I'd forgetten how late it gets light in these northern lattitudes - were actually 62 degrees north which is the same lattitude as Bergen in Norway. The first of several mugs of tea to kick start the system before breakfast was drunk sitting by the window checking the birds coming down to the seed I'd put out. I'd also forgotten how much colder it was up here this time of year compared to home and left the house to find there'd been an overnight frost. As always the first place we check in the mornings is the nearby Feal Burn and Feal plantation.

Feal Burn with the plantation at the top

Feal plantation

looking back down Feal Burn from the plantation

A Water Rail flushed from the burn disappeared from site never to be seen again. The plantation yielded the hoped for Yellow-browed Warbler and a lost looking Woodpigeon whilst another Yellow-browed Warbler and twenty Bramblings were in the garden of Leagrarth House when I returned for a brew before setting off to Tresta checking crofts, mires and ditches on the way! 

Redwing Feal plantation

Woodpigeon Feal plantation

It was great to be back and getting into a familiar routine. Feral Burn and plantation early morning then a walk to Tresta and back before lunch and then setting off to Everland and Funzi before returning to Feal Burn again. Remembering what Paul had told us last year I stopped briefly at Aith to look for late flowering Oysterplant on the shingle beach.

Theres something slightly incongruous about seeing Yellow-browed Warblers flitting about on barren ground devoid of trees when they should be wintering in the lush forests of south east Asia. They're still scarce enough to be an exciting, if not expected, part of the bird-scape on Shetland in the autumn. One at Everland looked particularly lost as it substituted a verdant tropical tree for an upturned metal cattle feeder. A female Ring Ouzel was flushed from the nearby dung heap and promptly disappeared 'chack, chakking' into the distance. 

 

A Shetland Wren looked more at home as it busily moved across and through a drystone wall. These photos show how much chnkier and darker Shetland Wrens are to their mainland counterparts and are of the race zetlandicus. The photos also show how the dark barring on the wings of this bird follow the imaginary line of the folded wing bones showing that this birds flight feathers all grew at the same time meaning it was born this year. An adult bird would have moulted and re-grown its flight feathers sequnetially so the dark bars wouldn't line up.

Unlike Fair Isle, Fetlar can't really be worked on foot. The birding sites are spread out at opposite ends of the island so some form of transport is necessary. Driving between the various sites often requires pulling over to the side of the road to check flocks of Golden Plover and Lapwing for something rarer. Using the car as a hide you can get quite close but step outside and they're gone over the next hill! One day there will be a Buff-breasted Sandpiper or American Golden Plover in with them. However, all there was this trip was a returning Grey Plover that thinks it's a Golden Plover.  Apparently its been returning every autumn for the past three years.

Hope is what keeps you going when out birding looking for rarities. Hope, luck and making your own luck by being out in the field looking. 

Grey Plover

Tresta, the scene of past glories (see here ) is within walking distance and the daily routine became - Feal Burn, walk to Tresta and check the crofts and The Glebe. Check Papil Water for wildfowl and then make the return journey checking Feal once again before lunch.

You tend to forget, when you're used to birding back home, how relatively common species can be scarce up here. Grey Wagtail is one of those species and I was lucky enough to have one land in the road in front of me as I was beginning my morning stroll up to the start of Feal Burn. Even humble birds such as Brambling, Chaffinch and Siskin take on new meaning when you realise all the ones you see here are migrants and   from Scandinavia.

Even the Chiffchaffs seen up here have probably migrated from Scandinavia and are always worth checking for Siberian. This one spent a few days in Feal plantation and was voraciously feeding on flies to fatten up before continuing its southerly course.

This one was so pale and brown looking I initially thought it could be tristis but the yellow in the supercillium was to prominent as was the slight yellow tinge to the breast. It certainly has some Scandinavian, if not Siberian, genes though and is probably an abientinus type. The photos show clearly how the background and light affect the look of the bird. 

Checking the large flocks of Greylag Geese is always worthwhile as occasionally they can attract other species such as these Pinkfooted Geese that arrived midweek.

By Wednesday the winds had picked up and the driving rain had arrived. Birding was virtually impossible without getting either soaking wet or blown over. It was virtually impossible to pick out a small passerine in vegetation that was moving in  time with 40 mph winds using binoculars. I've sung the virtues of thermal imagers in this situation before and this trip has been no different. They're in invaluable tool for picking up birds that would otherwise be almost impossible to find. You've still got to see it through binoculars to positively identify it but at least you know where to look! 

The thermal proved its worth when Paul found a stunning Long-eared Owl at Funzi willows. He'd inadvertently flushed it and it landed in the mires. I went straight down but we couldn't find it again. The weather was appalling so we guessed it wouldn't go very far that night so I got up early the following morning and picked it up roosting on the ground at a base of a willow before it flew up onto a fence post and posed in the early morning sunshine.  Probably some of the best views I've had of a Long-eared Owl.

With rare birds being found on Shetland Mainland and on nearby Unst it was hard not to leave Fetlar and go and twitch something but unless it was a bird I haven't seen before I'd decided beforehand that I'd stick it out and try and find a rarity myself. It makes for a far more relaxing if not frustrating trip rather than rushing from island to island. 

Unfortunately I missed what was the bird of the week.  Both Paul & I had been scanning Golden Plover flocks hoping for an American Golden Plover and on my final day, literally two hours before I had to get the ferry Paul found a beautiful juvenile at Funzi. I was at the top of Feal burn working the plantation for the second time that day when he broke the news but despite racing back to collect the car I missed it by  a couple of minutes as it flew off with a small group of Golden Plover. Despite walking several fields where we thought it might have landed there was no further sign.

So what of the bird seed I put out every day?

What did it attract besides the usual House Sparrows, Starlings and Rock Doves? 

A Woodpigeon........a different bird from the one in Feal plantation as that was an adult and this was a juvenile.

Yellow-browed Warbler in more usual setting, Feal plantation

Twite

An uneventful journey home saw me staying at the Sumburgh Hotel Friday nigt for the early morning flight to Edinburgh and the long drive back to Cheshire.