Shetland

Well, I'm here. Only just, and despite the best efforts of Flybe to ensure I went no further than Gatwick... I am never flying with them again (apart from the trip home next week obviously). We left over 2 hours late and they had to hold the Sumburgh flight for us. We made it - just.

And started birding straight away. We commenced by dipping Olive-backed Pipit and Izzy Shrike in increasingly windy conditions. Gave that a couple of hours and then slunk in defeat to check the quarries. These held two Blackbirds, but happily I managed to pick up the Little Bunting at Sumburgh Farm which showed very well between squalls.

We are now ensconced in our accommodation blighted by indecision. The problem is that there are too many of us, we're past the critical mass of people required to make a decision. At the moment Unst, Bressay and mainland are all on the table and we have absolutely no idea what we're going to do. The weather will likely dictate where we go - the wind is going to be gusting to 40+ mph. Not sure I fancy any ferries....

Last Sleep

Not sure if I'll manage any sleep, very excited. Maybe the tactic is to stay awake all night so that I sleep on the way up there and don't have to listen to the boys' inane chatter. How many ticks are we going to get? What's your most hoped-for bird? What are we going to find? Bo-oring! Who am I kidding?!! This is essential birder conversation, to be savoured, repeated, quoted, repeated again.

So what are my most hoped-for birds? I confess I'd not given it much thought until a few moments ago. Clearly something exceedingly rare, and given the mix of east and westerly winds, it could come from either side, so I am going to pick one of each. From the east, I would like to see an Olive-backed Pipit. Perhaps not so rare, but a real looker. Pechora's pretty nice too, but if I had to choose outrageous, it would of course be a Siberian Rubythroat, but only a nice bright adult. And from the west, any Dendroica, especially Canada, but I think overall a Veery would be the one for me. For starters, I'd probably recognise it.

So, an early start tomorrow, most of the day in transit, but a opportunity, should the weather allow, to twitch something immediately, so to everyone who is already on there, please find a biggy. The first time I ever went, I had two new birds by the end of the first afternoon, both megas. The same again would be the perfect start. I'll try and post regular updates, both gripping and depressing, but I'm not taking a laptop so no chance to go through the photos up there. Any particularly gripping birds and I'll take them straight off the screen. Laters.

Packing

I've a ton of things to get done before I go, I'm almost not sure where to start. The two most critical are to have a haircut, which is fairly straighforward, and to pack, which is the complete opposite. A nightmare in fact. Many birders going on a trip will simply pack bins, job done. Not me. Look.

This is my hand luggage, the bare minimum that I need on Shetland. Bins not shown, and neither is the backup camera I took it with. You can probably see the problem - it's that big green thing in the middle. The lens and camera is basically my entire hand luggage allowance in one fell swoop, and even then it's slightly over the max weight. The rest - smaller lenses, converters, gloves, phone, radios, spare battery, memory cards, really cool snood, strap, phone, wallet - has to somehow fit in my pockets. It's just about doable I think, but I am going to look rather peculiar. More peculiar. I've been agonising over this for well over a fortnight now. Ridiculous, I don't know why I am bothering. As far as I can see, the weather forecast precludes any birding whatsoever, and we would all be best off in the pub, in which case the only thing I would really need is my wallet. And the snood, as Col wants to see it I think.

Shetland is going to be carpeted next week with London birders, Kent birders, Scottish and Irish birders. All sat indoors looking at a howling westerly and drinking Simmer Dim. Sounds good to me, but not quite what I'm bringing all the gear along for. Nevermind though, it's going to be good. Hopefully veery good.

Negative Ghostrider, the pattern is full

It feels rare. It smells rare. It IS rare. Anything could happen. Gannets inland, a Sabine's on the Thames, the east coast awash with Cory's and Leach's. Locally Stu had a Barwit over Leyton. Could I get out? No. A kid's party and a family lunch - the enemies of birders everywhere. All kids birthday parties should be banned in September and October, it's just not on. And social events where people invite themselves to my house should also be banned. I mean fercrissakes, it's mega out there! And if it's mega out there I don't want to be in here!

As it happens I dodged one today, with Suffolk underperforming given the weather, and what promised to be a river watch of epic proportions at Rainham turning out to be just a river showing well but little else. But that's not point. To anybody I know, I don't want to see any of you at the weekends until at least November. It's a myth that birders are antisocial awkward misfits.

I live to bird. Kind of. At the very least it's massively important to me. I had an epiphany the other day, and worked out what I wanted out of the next 40 years, should I be so lucky. It boiled down to just three things. One, I want my family to be happy and to have a great time. Two, I want to see lots of birds, everywhere. And three, I want to take photos of them. Good ones. There is of course an obvious problem, which is that when you add two and three together the answer is not very often one. Simple maths really. And so it was that I managed just an hour birding today on a very murky Wanstead Flats, before being recalled to Chateau L to grit my teeth and smile, followed by having my eardrums forcibly extracted at "Tumble in the Jungle", a dungeon of soft-play hell in Walthamstow. During that hour I saw two Stonechats and a Wheatear. Seeing as how many readers are probably sick and tired of Wheatears now, here is one of the Stonechats. You had better hope they don't stay.

Naaarfaak for migrants

Norfolk actually worked. This is the first time ever. Normally what happens is that I look at a forecast, decide that Norfolk looks really promising, and then go there and see nothing. Today, on a forecast with east in it, there were lots of migrants, decent ones, and though I didn't see them all, I got my fair share - Yellow-browed Warbler, Red-breasted Flycatcher, and Barred Warbler. All good training for Shetland, autumn has started.

Bradders and I left London yesterday afternoon so as to be in place for an early morning seawatch. It was only so-so, with some decent views of Great and Arctic Skuas, and a good Sooty Shear, but otherwise quieter than the forecast had suggested. For a moment it seemed like it was going to be a typical Norfolk day of unfulfilled promise, but when the first bird found down towards Kelling Watermeadows was a Yellow-browed Warbler, I began to change my mind. Soon afterwards news broke of a Red-breasted Flycatcher at Warham Greens, annoyingly our next destination, but we couldn't pass it up. Following in the slipstream (more like jetstream!) of Sir John of Furze were nearly first on site, and had some great views of this brilliant little bird as it flitted along the track. Somehow this is my sixth one in the UK, it wasn't that long ago that this would have been a monster rarity in my book!

Horrible...

We poked around Warham for a couple more hours, plenty of birds but nothing from the east, and again with Shetland training in mind headed to Holme to hone our Barred Warbler identification skills. As we arrived we could see a few people peering into an elder. The bush swayed from side to side, its trunk straining under the weight of the gigantic warbler as it crashed around, half the time I expected a Woodpigeon to clatter out, but it was just the Barred daintily picking off berries as it skipped lightly from branch to branch. Eventually it came most of the way out, and we all backed away in fear. I'd even go so far as to say it was quite showy, and it's not often you can say that about a Barred Warbler.

This is not normal

Finished up the day at Twitchwell dipping a Pec Sand. Lovely light, but most birds just a little distant. Plenty of waders, including a Little Stint, and plenty of typical visitors. My favourite ID today was a lady who found a juvenile Shelduck and wondered if it was a Smew. Then again, I was able to look at a Knot wading around without working out it was a Knot, so I was pleased to get Smew in September, and thanked her very much.

A top day out in warm sunshine, good company, plenty of good birds for once, and plenty of junk food, always a key ingredient in a full day's birding. Hopefully a taste of things to come - on all fronts.

Shetland - third time lucky?

My upcoming trip to Shetland will be my third visit; I thought it might be interesting (on the offchance any geeky birders read this) to go through what I saw on the first two visits. So a pretty nerdy post then. I had to think long and hard to remember what it was I saw; I definitely didn't just go to a really really cool spreadsheet and lift out all the relevant records....

Bluethroat, Noss of Spiggie, 2010

My first visit was in 2010, and was amazing. I landed at around midday, and by close of play that day had two new ticks. Here's a list of birds:

Sykes's Warbler		02/10/2010		Channerwick, Shetland
Barred Warbler		02/10/2010		Channerwick, Shetland
Yellow-browed Warbler		02/10/2010		Channerwick, Shetland
Swainson's Thrush		02/10/2010		Levenwick, Shetland
Radde's Warbler		03/10/2010		Sumburgh, Shetland
Citrine Wagtail		03/10/2010		Out Skerries, Shetland
Black-headed Bunting		03/10/2010		Out Skerries, Shetland
Short-toed Lark		03/10/2010		Out Skerries, Shetland
Buff-bellied Pipit		04/10/2010		Eshaness, Shetland
Buff-breasted Sandpiper	2	04/10/2010		Eshaness, Shetland
Yellow-browed Warbler		04/10/2010		Sullom, Shetland
Yellow-browed Warbler		05/10/2010		Quendale, Shetland
Yellow-browed Warbler		06/10/2010		Northdale, Unst, Shetland
Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll		06/10/2010		Norwick, Unst, Shetland
Little Bunting		06/10/2010		Norwick, Unst, Shetland
Lanceolated Warbler		07/10/2010		Skaw, Unst, Shetland
Red-flanked Bluetail		08/10/2010		Geosetter, Shetland
Yellow-browed Warbler	2	08/10/2010		Geosetter, Shetland
Yellow-browed Warbler		08/10/2010		Channerwick, Shetland
Yellow-browed Warbler		08/10/2010		Sumburgh, Shetland
Pallas's Warbler		09/10/2010		Sumburgh, Shetland
Yellow-browed Warbler		09/10/2010		Sumburgh, Shetland
Yellow-browed Warbler		09/10/2010		Fladdibister, Shetland
Yellow-browed Warbler		09/10/2010		Noss of Spiggie, Shetland
Bluethroat		09/10/2010		Noss of Spiggie, Shetland
Pallas's Warbler		09/10/2010		Geosetter, Shetland
Red-breasted Flycatcher		09/10/2010		Channerwick, Shetland

Quite impressive for a week isn't it. Six lifers, including a simply brilliant Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll. I had high hopes therefore for 2011, but it turned out to be the difficult second album. Here's another list of birds - admit it, the inner nerd within you is coming out.

Yellow-browed Warbler		25/09/2011		Brake, Mainland, Shetland
Pallid Harrier		25/09/2011		Brake, Mainland, Shetland
Yellow-browed Warbler		25/09/2011		Quendale, Shetland
Bluethroat		25/09/2011		Quendale, Shetland
Lesser Grey Shrike		25/09/2011		Laxo, Mainland, Shetland
Icelandic Arctic Redpoll		26/09/2011		Voe, Mainland, Shetland
Barred Warbler		26/09/2011		Voe, Mainland, Shetland
Red-breasted Flycatcher		26/09/2011		Eswick, Mainland, Shetland
Yellow-browed Warbler		27/09/2011		Kergord, Mainland, Shetland
Little Bunting		28/09/2011		Whalsay, Shetland
Common Rosefinch		28/09/2011		Whalsay, Shetland
Surf Scoter		28/09/2011		Ronas Voe, Mainland, Shetland
Black-headed Bunting		29/09/2011		Belmont, Unst, Shetland
Desert Lesser Whitethroat		29/09/2011		Uyeasound, Unst, Shetland
Bluethroat		29/09/2011		Northdale, Unst, Shetland
Yellow-browed Warbler		29/09/2011		Northdale, Unst, Shetland
Barred Warbler		29/09/2011		Northdale, Unst, Shetland
Barred Warbler		30/09/2011		Busta House, Mainland, Shetland
Yellow-browed Warbler		30/09/2011		Kergord, Mainland, Shetland

No ticks. Disaster. Even the Sandhill Crane that I snaffled on the way up there had the nerve to remain all week and then "conveniently" relocate to Suffolk where the world and his wife saw it. It's still an impressive list of birds, just not quite as impressive as 2010. Anywhere else in the country with the exception of Scilly your hands would have fallen off due to the amount of high-fiving. As I type this, the first easterly breeze of the autumn has delivered Lancy, Pechora Pipit, Blyth's Reed Warbler, Citrine Wag and a smattering of other bits to the islands. Two of those would be new, and I still have seven days to wait - wish I was off tomorrow! Still, it's promising, very promising indeed. Is the big one out there? Third time lucky?

Wheatear

In common with recent posts where really I have nothing to say at all, I am just going to point you in the direction of more photos. It's not my fault, my life at present is wake up, go to work, come home, go to sleep, wake up, go to work etc. I think it's called being a grown up. Boring, but there you go, it's a miracle I do any birding at all. But I manage to squeeze some in, very very occasionally. This morning was one of those rare occasions, and I slipped out of the sleeping house well before 7am. Definitely a chill in the air, I admit to putting gloves on. The juvenile Stonechat was still around, as were three Whinchats and a Wheatear. Only the Wheatear was prepared to stick around......more here.....