Shetland day 8. Lanceolated Warbler.

We were all up early around 06.00 to pack  our belongings and clean the apartment before heading back to Quendale via a quick stop off at Hoswick where we found a Shetland rarity - Great Tit!
. Before we arrived at Quendale the news had come out that our Lanceolated Warbler was still there and with a beautiful sunny day and a distinct lack of wind we headed off in the hope it would show much better. It did!!!!! Job done.

In better light with no rain and with a dry bird all the features could be seen and there were congratulations all round from the small group of assembled birders. It even had the decency to pose out in the open for a few minutes basking in the sun.

Happy Lanceolated Warbler watchers - the bird was in the irises just below the bank and there were a similar number of people my side.

With time pressing we decided to go back to Levenwick for a last view of the Siberain Rubythroat before heading towards Sumburgh and the airport for the journey home.

Due to a technical fault our pane from Sumburgh got cancelled so we missed our connection in Aberdeen to Manchester. We ended up getting diverted to Birmingham and then getting a taxi back to Manchester to collect my car at  gone midnight! Despite this the whole trip was fantastic with good company, a few laughs, a few more beers and some superb birds. It was also great to meet up with local bird watchers such as Rebecca Nason, Phil Harris, Hugh Harrop, Jim Nicholson, Rob fray, Paul Harvey and Roger Riddington again. The roll of the birding dice meant I'd got to see two of the Shetland big four specialities this year despite not seeing any of them in the last eight years!

Shetland day 7. Locustella madness

The penultimate day of our trip. With gale force S & SE easterly winds for the last few days surely there was something big to find out there? With rain showers still  swirling around us and Sean & Al electing to stay in the warmth it was left to me, Mark & Chris to get togged up and go out looking for birds. First stop was Helendale, in Lerwick, where we searched the mature gardens for new migrants. It soon became obvious that there had been a major movement of Robins, Warblers and Thrushes during the night. They were everywhere! I commented to Chris & Mark that  I thought we were going to find something good today.............

With the weather improving though still very windy we returned to the apartment to pick up Al & Sean. Deciding  heading south was a good bet and checked areas in Hoswick, Scalloway and Channerwick adding yet more Yellow-browed Warblers and another Barred Warbler to the list.

Pinkfooted Geese, Qunedale

 I love Quendale and wading through the burn and iris beds. It typifies what Shetland birding is all about. Getting your wellies on and staggering through swampy iris beds looking for good birds. Anyway, that's where we ended up. Chris  & I amp;  elected for the hard slog up the burn whilst the others checked the lower burn and around the farm. Already it was obvious new birds had arrived - a juvenile Yellow Wagtail was fresh in as was a Garden Warbler and Whinchat. As we walked the iris beds and burn uphill good numbers of commoner migrants such as Blackcap, Chiffchaff,  Robins, Song Thrushes, Blackbirds and Redwings materialised in front of us.  With the two of us walking in parallel one each side of the burn we were about 2/3 way up towards the quarry when Chris yelled 'what the f**k was that, what the f**k was that'. All I could see was a Redwing that landed miles away on the edge of  a fence line but he was pointing further forward to an iris bed just out of my line of sight.

Walking slowly forward a small dark looking warbler flushed in front of us and flew low for another few metres before dropping into the iris beds again. This was looking good!!! I think at this stage both of us were fully adrenalined up and had our suspicions. Once again the bird was flushed and we both yelled out 'its a locustella'  - on Shetland that means its probably rare - either a Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler or Lanceolated Warbler. Both birds are hard to connect with even on Shetland and in 8 years of coming every autumn I'd still not seen either Another move forward another flush - this time the bird streaked off low and into a rabbit burrow before heading back into the irises. By now we knew we needed help. Our suspicions were Palla's Grasshopper Warbler based on the dark tail but I had my nagging doubts about the size - it looked smaller than the Grasshopper Warblers I'm used to seeing on Hilbre! In reality there is only 1 cm difference between the two birds with Lanceolated being the smallest so trying to assess size was probably pointless. With 35-40 mile gusts of wind trying to pin this down was going to be a nightmare. My phone record shows it was 16.28 when I rang mark and told him to get the others up here as soon as they could as Chris & I'd found a locustella, possibly a PG Tips (the birders  acronym for Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler). Chris & I knew where the bird had last been seen to fly into an iris bed but we also knew locustella's run like little feathered mice. Frustratingly I looked through the binoculars down towards Quendale mill and could see the others dawdling along without a care in the world. With the light already fading what were they playing at? Another call to Mark had a comical affect as suddenly they started moving at twice the speed. Mark had misheard what I'd said and thought we'd found an Olive-backed Pipit. I think he needs to get his ears syringed! Once the Chinese whispers had been overcome and he got the full message there was a dramatic increase in urgency.

Spreading out we walked the iris birds each side of the burn and once again the bird flew off in front of us, keeping low and dropping either into the irises or into the long grass and scurrying away. This was going to be very hard work. Realising the best thing to do was try and get photo's and then establish the identification from those rather than the other way around Al told Chris to concentrate on  to get some shots. The bird perched up in view in the long grass briefly allowing us all to get binoculars on it for an instant and for Chris to rattle off a few shots. In that instant I thought it was a Lancelated Warbler and voiced that opinion but the combination of seemingly all dark tail and undertail coverts with no spots seemed to point towards Pallas's.  By now we'd rung RBA and the news had gone out so we waited for other birders to arrive in  the hope reinforcements would help clinch the identification. With a few more bodies and the light fading fast we saw the bird in flight several more times before it flew into the quarry. We then decided to leave it as it was almost dark and hopefully it would roost overnight. The general consensus from those that had seen it was Palla's Grasshopper Warbler..................

With Sean, Al and Mark going to the pub for s couple of pints with Fearn, who met us in Tesco's car park, Chris  & I returned to the Decca. After a shower I wrote three pages of notes on what I'd seen before we looked at the photo's. It was only when we reviewed the photos' Chris had managed to get with Fred Fearn that we realised we'd made a mistake. We'd made the mistake of trying to match the features to fit our preconceived ideas (and everyone else s) of what species we thought it was rather than looking at it with an open mind. Fred got us doing that...........In retrospect the head pattern screamed Lanceolated Warbler and we realised the dark tail was  due to the bird being extremely wet. Similarly the undertail coverts were also wet and even though the bird appeared 'capped'  with a supercillium the head pattern wasn't contrasting enough for Pallas's Grasshopper ! A late night ensued as we downed a few beers and put photo's up on bird forum and twitter for people to comment. My mobile phone was ringing with friends on Shetland wanting updates and directions. The general consensus was Lanceolated Warbler and an email conversation with local expert Paul Harvey confirmed it. Chris's final photo nailed it. Only Lancie has faint streaks on the throat. We'd found a Lanceolated Warbler!!!!! A bird I'd been waiting to see for years and we'd found it ourselves. I couldn't sleep that night at all. Tomorrow was a our last day....

Day 6 Shetland. Soggy Redpolls & Little Buntings.

The weather has been truly horrendous but a clear window of windy but dry weather meant we could get out and about early morning. First thing on the agenda was the short drive to Veensgarth as Mark had never seen Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll. We soon located the bird with two Meally Redpolls and a Lesser Redpoll. Not as impressive as some of the Hornemann's I've seen on Shetland and I'm not entirely convinced!

Two Common (Mealy) Redpolls above and the Arctic below:

Whilst there news broke of a Raddes Warbler at Sumburgh and with Chris never having seen one we all drove south only to find the bird had been found moribund beneath a car and placed in a potato field. It was last seen staggering with its eyes shut and had probably died. A real shame as Raddes have got increasingly scarce in the last few years. A Long-eared Owl sheltering beneath a dry stone wall was small consolation. 

Deciding to try Wester Quarff, as we reasoned it would be slightly less windy, we went first to Boddam where another Little Bunting was showing reasonably well by the side of the road.

We found the bird easily enough and searched other likely spots in the area finding yet another Yellow - Browed Warbler before heading for Wester Quarff.

Our hunch appeared right as local gardens were full if Bramblings & Redwings along with a Willow Warbler & a few Blackcaps. Highlight for me was finding my own Little Bunting. That's my 5th this year including the Hilbre bird.

By now the weather had seriously deteriorated. It wasn't worth staying out to get soaking wet so early afternoon we retired back to our apartment.

Wester Quarff- the field where I found the Little Bunting is just to the right of the left hand white bungalow.

Day 5 Shetland. Ruby, ruby ,ruby

Man flu! The worst kind. It's laid me low and the inclement weather doesn't help. Still I managed to get out & about with the first stop being a second look at the Siberian Rubythroat that had gone missing and not reliably reported from its original garden yesterday. Al C & Steve W had come up from Cheshire for it but locally it was relocated in another garden about 400 m away late Saturday afternoon. 

The bird showed a lot better today and was doing a circuit of the garden and frequently appearing on the drive. 

A search if the areas around Hoswick & Channerwick resulted in finding 2 Barred Warblers and an elusive Bluethroat. Whilst I returned to the apartment Chris & Al Orton took a drive to nearby Tingwall to see if they could see the Paalid Harrier. Not a sign but they did jam in on an Arctic Redpoll.

After cooking a roast lamb dinner for the lads I retired to bed at 8.30 pm. Even a couple of Bowmore malts didn't help the man flu.

Day 4 Shetland. Wet harriers

A very late start today due to a combination of poor weather and a fair few hangovers after last nights celebratory drinks in Lerwick. It really rained hard and birding was extremely difficult. Things brightened up considerably in the afternoon when Dan rang to say he'd gad the long staying juvenile Pallid Harrier fly over the road near Tingwall airport.

Finding a high point over looking the airfield and sheltering from the rain beneath the raised boot of our hire van we scanned the area and it wasn't long before Chris picked up perched on a fence post about  6-700 m away. It certainly looked damp & miserable! At least this had rescued our record of having seen at least one BBRC rarity each day we've been here!

Day 3 Shetland 2014 . Lucious luscinia

Gale force winds and driving rain kept me awake most of the night and we were in no hurry to go out until the weather improved. Deciding to search out some sheltered areas we headed to Voe and searched the plantation and gardens. An elusive Barred Warbler and another couple of Yellow-Browed Warblers were the sole fruits of our toils so we retired to the bakery and bought them out of pies and cakes. It was interesting to speak to the owner who told us the bakery was started a hundred years ago to supply the Royal Navy during the 1st World War. Apparently there is a big celebration next year when the navy are sending up a couple of ships to Voe. The exact date the bakery was started is not known as it was 'classified' information and the documents destroyed.

Kergord plantation was to windy and although we searched extensively we didn't find anything more than another Yellow-Browed Warbler. Although Sean dis point out some interesting fungi growing on rotting wood. Candle Snuff fungus is so called as it leaves a black residue behind when you touch it - just like a snuffed out candle.

Deciding to find a less windy spot we headed to the east side of the island stopping to search for a Little Bunting at Eswick. We found the Little Bunting in a potato crop full of Brambling and Skylarks. Then it happened! I was showing Mark how to age 1st winter male Blackbirds amongst the many that had dropped in to a nearby croft when Al yelled that Dan had found a Siberian Rubythroat at Levenwick. This was a major find and although I'd seen one on Shetland a few years ago none of the other lads had. This is still a near mythical Sibe vagrant and a Shetland speciality. 

Typically skulking it took a few hours before we all had satisfactory views and Chris even managed a photograph. Having seen one I stood away from the front of the massed ranks and stood on an empty 25 litre pail I'd found in the corner of a field to view over peoples heads.

See below:

Obviously a few beers were had in Lerwick in the evening to celebrate! 

Day 2 Shetland. Buntings and Charts.

A glorious sunrise from our apartment today as we got up early for a planned trip to Unst involving two ferries and the annual Yell rally trying to get from one end of the island to another to catch the next ferry. A change i nthe ferry timings actually meant we had a bit more time this year so the journey wasn't so frenetic.

Eastern Subalpine Warbler is almost guaranteed to be split from Western Subalpine & Moltoni's Warbler as a full species (rather than a race) so with one taking up temporary residence on Unst and Al  & Sean not being with us on last years trip (when another one was coincidentally on Unst) we decided to head north. Especially as there was a long staying Rustic Bunting in Bryden Thomasens back yard at Heligarth - another new bird for Mark & Chris and one I hadn't seen since 2005.

Meeting Dan Pointon, Mick Frosdick, John Pegden, Ash Howe, Dave Mac and Kev Hale at the ferry terminal we decided to head off in convoy to Busta Sound where a female King Eider (a Queen?) had been seen with the Common Eider flock. We soon located it despite the gale force winds and took the next ferry from Yell across to Unst.

The Subalpine Warbler was easy! We just pulled up, got out the car and there it was doing a circuit of the front gardens of a row of houses. By contrast the Rustic Bunting was a complete b@stard to find keg alone see. Bryden came out of his house to tell us he'd seen it that morning so we knew it was still around. After hearing it calling briefly Mark & I staked out an area behind the ruined house. Nothing. Another hour passed and suddenly we heard it tick tick ticking away deep in the Rosa. Alerting the others we waited and the bird suddenly flew out to the old garden, perched up then flew to Brydens garden where it showed on the ground briefly before flying to a nearby croft.

A quick trip down the road for a male Bluethroat lurking in a small wooded garden adjacent to a burn was next on the agenda. Always nice to see although it was a right skulker

The rest if the day was spent searching ditches, gardens and any areas if cover before heading south to Lund where a Marsh Warbler was inhabiting a large nettle bed. One of the highlights was finding this leucistic female Wigeon on a roadside loch.

Taking the ferries back to the mainland we stopped for fish and chips before heading home and settling in to watch the TV and write up our notes for the day.