Back to Chiltern, Australia and a 'lifer'

After our last stressful visit to Australia last December, when our daughter collapsed with a brain aneurysm requiring surgery, this latest visit was far less stress as we were attending her wedding to her long term partner whom we welcomed into the family as our new son - in law! - if you call flying from Manchester to Melbourne via Doha with a 2 & 5 year old less stressful!  To be fair the girls were really good.

This was mainly a family trip with few opportunities for birding. A recent ACL trauma whilst on Fair Isle also made me less mobile than usual so I couldn't walk as far as I normally do.  When we arrived the wedding preparations were in full swing and the happy couple had rented a fantastic old house with extensive grounds about 30 km from where they live.  We all decamped there for a couple of nights and in the lead up frantic last minute arrangements were being made as this was very much a DIY wedding involving the whole family.

I did manage to reacquaint myself with quite a few of the local birds and added a new species to the garden list in Yellow-faced Honeyeater. when a small group came down to briefly drink in the creek.

The pair of Buff-banded Rails inhabiting the creek at the bottom of the garden showed well on occasions although the presence of 4 excited grandchildren running around made them a bit shyer than usual.

This was our first spring visit for a few years (Australian spring) and I'd forgotten how cold it could get at night - several mornings we woke up to a frost but as far as the birds were concerned it was spring and breeding activity was everywhere.

The creek also attracts other water birds and I was pleased a to add Straw-necked and Great Egrets to the garden list. along with the regular White-necked and White-faced Herons.

White-necked (Pacific) Heron

Straw-necked Ibis

Straw-necked Ibis are so called because of the straw - like feathers on their upper breast during the breeding season. 

One of the birds I really wanted to catch up with was the diminutive Turquoise parrot. The area is a hotspot for them but I'd failed during repeated attempts to see them at a well known local site bout 5 minutes drive from the house. I managed a short trip one morning, after dropping off the eldest Granddaughter at school and met up with a pair of visiting birders from Melbourne who visit the area specifically to add Turquoise Parrot and another local speciality, Speckled Warbler, to their year lists. We failed miserably  - even though eBird showed a Turquoise had been seen the previous day.

Turquoise Parrots are small, Blackbird sized, and feed on grass seeds. They're not as garrulous as other parrots and their calls are very quiet and subdued. They also like running rather than flying and in long grass this makes them very difficult to see. 

Another opportunity to visit Bartleys Block arose a few days later and I carefully walked through the grassy areas beneath young eucalyptus growth where the 'Turqs' were known to favour. Nothing. Skirting the site I headed through the bush towards another area where they might be seen but there was no sign. I did get superb views of Speckled Warbler and managed some photos. I'd seen this species on our previous visit but not managed a photo.

In the same area I saw plenty of White-throated Treecreepers and a pair of Weebill nest building but still no parrots! 

Heading back towards the car I decided to give the original area a final search but this time a bit deeper into the bush. I got distracted by the display flight of a Rufous Songlark and whilst trying to get a photo I got further distracted by a pair of tame Eastern Yellow Robins. 

Rufous Songlark

The Robins were very photogenic and were hunting invertebrates from various perches. I was lucky enough to ring one of these a few years a go when I joined a ringing (banding) expedition in Australia - see here.

It was whilst following the Robins that the inevitable happened. I was completely unprepared for the Turquoise Parrot that flew from the long grass almost beneath my feet and landed wit hits back towards me on a nearby branch before dropping down into the long grass to feed again! 

The lack of an orange patch on the median coverts and the presence of a white lores pointed to this bird being an adult female. Frustratingly I could hear another bird in the trees above me but couldn't see it. I'd 'genned' up on their quiet calls before my previous visit so knew what to listen for. They really are stunning little parrots and so small! 

Standing still  I watched as the bird quietly went about its business of feeding in the grass whilst I attempted to get a few more photos.

Once again  I got distracted, this time by a foraging group of White-browed Babblers and by the time I returned my attention to the parrot it had gone. 

Subsequently I realised how lucky I was as checking eBird lists on days after my visit no one else had seen Turquoise Parrot. A brilliant bird to add to my Australian life list.

Fair Isle 2023. Part 8. Back on Shetland mainland. The last day.

Whilst staring out of the window at the appalling weather over breakfast at the Sumburgh Hotel, news broke that the Veery was still at Lunna and with our flight not scheduled until alter that afternoon we decided to head north to pay homage to this diminutive catharus thrush from N America.

The weather was absolutely atrocious and we arrived, at the very same stand of small sycamores we'd started our trip at just over a week previously, to find half a dozen absolutely soaked birders peering into the rain sodden vegetation. Recognising Cliff Smith I rang he to let him know we were watching him watching the bird and could he point it out so we didn't have to leave the warmth of the car.

Eventually the rain eased off enough for us to venture out and within seconds we were watching a Veery unconcernedly going about its business of demolishing earthworms. This was my 2nd Veery in the UK following the one on Muck we saw in equally as appalling weather. See here for details of that twitch.

More than satisfied with our views and with time creeping along we decided to head south to Sumburgh airport where we just had time to call in and see a Greenish Warbler at nearby Grutness.

A real case of east meets west with the Veery from the west and the Greenish Warbler from the east. Our final bird of an amazing trip. No new birds for me on this trip but my best ever views of Red-tailed Shrike, Radde's Warbler & Lanceolated Warbler. A new 'race' in the form of Northern Treecreeper and a new moth in the form of a Convolvulus Hawkmoth that Deryk found in the road and brought in to show us just before dinner one night. What a beast of a moth.

We're already planning next years trip. Hopefully Fair Isle Obs will be open for guests but we won't know until next spring. Many thanks to everyone who made this trip so enjoyable. Deryk & Hollie for putting us up and feeding us. Alex (acting warden), Georgia (AW) and Sam (volunteer) for their hardwork in finding rarities. Brendan, our house mate for the best part of week and Steve and Greg.

Fair Isle 2023. Part 7. Back on Shetland Mainland and an Orca encounter

We arrived back at Tingwall and picked up the hire car Star had left for us before heading to Lerwick to Tesco's for an essential 'meal deal' lunch. Our plan was to head norht to Lunna where a Veery had been found by friends visitng from Chehsire - well done Marion & Steve Jason has the distinction of being one of the very few people to see two Veery's in one day when he lived on Whalsay. One on Foula and later the same day another on his home island! I'd twitched on on Muck a few years ago - see here for the story behind that bird. Its a rare bird with only a handful of UK records so well worth a look! 

That plan went completely out the window when news popped up on the Shetland Cetaceans WhatsApp group that a group of Orca were heading down the east side of Shetland mainland about twenty minutes away. Despite visiting Shetland so many times I'd yet to see Orca so it really was a no-brainer to skip Lunna and head south to try and intercept them. This is another one of those encounters on my bucket list of wildlife sightings! 

We saw people watching from a layby so pulled over in time to see the Orca steaming away from us about 1 km out to sea. A quick glance at the map and the chase was on. Hobbling behind Jason we intercepted them several times from different headlands before making our way to Sumburgh Head in the hope we'd intercept them if they passed around the headland. On arrival we found a crowd of around 40 people already present and it wasn't long before the orca were picked up coming towards us. 

What an incredible experience. The Orca off Shetland are well documented and the pod we were watching were the 27's led by the massive bull, designated 34. He can be identified by a nick in the top rear of his dorsal fin. 

They swam right past us before surging around Sumburgh Head and headed towards the Ness of Burgi and Scatness allowing us to identify the other bull in the group - No.72  (Thanks Hugh! )

Bull No. 72

As the light faded we watched the pod hunt down an kill a Harbour Porpoise. The rest of the Porpoise were in full blown panic mode and stuck close to the sandy beach on our side of the bay in the hope that the Orca couldn't chase them in the shallows. They were moving up and down in front of us unable to escape the bay whilst the orca were patrolling it. With tail slaps and full on breaches the Orca put on a spectacular show and  I was still buzzing from the encounter when we arrived at the Sumburgh Hotel. After celebrating with a couple of beers I was soon sound asleep.

See here for more information on the identification of Orca in Scottish waters.

Fair Isle 2023. Part 6. American Golden Plover and a disaster.

Nearly 30 years ago I tore my anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) playing rugby. I remember exactly when I did it. My foot was planted in mud and I got hit from the side twisting my knee and tearing the ligament. It didn't require surgery but I spent 8 weeks hobbling around with a stick. Just over a year ago I tweaked it again but after a week or so it improved to the extent I was back in the gym doing squats and leg raises. 

Unfortunately I slipped whilst climbing over a stile on Fair Isle and was in instant agony. Walking was difficult and  I was in constant pain as the knee occasionally gave way on me and bone rubbed against bone. Not the best time for the American Golden Plover found by Sam to appear to have settled at possibly one of the highest and most exposed are of Fair Isle - Hoini! 

Despite the discomfort I managed to follow Jason uphill, albeit almost a 100 m behind him at the top, where we sat and watched a juvenile American Plover feeding on the open plateau. We'd seen this bird in flight previously and picked it up flying around on call several times but this was the first time we'd seen it on the ground. Unfortunately the weather deteriorated so after 20 minutes or so we left it and sought shelter lower down.

Whilst we were on Fair Isle we took the opportunity to check on progress on the rebuilding of the Observatory that burnt down in a disastrous fire in March 2019. The reconstruction has been plagued by delays and the Obs is almost 2 years late reopening. Progress is slow but the shell is almost water tight and hopefully will be open for guests next Autumn.

The scenery and geology on Fair Isle is fantastic and on sunny days is probably as good as you could get anywhere in the World. Its a magical place.

View from my room at Hollie & Deryks place Burkle

North Light

South Harbour

Cruise ship at North haven

All to soon our week had come to an end and it was time to retunr to Tingwall where we received the welcome news that Airtask were going to refund our flights both ways due to the mechanical break down of the plane!