FAIR ISLE - East Coast Cliffs and excitment in the evening!

Felt really tired this morning so decided to give Trap round at 7am a miss.

Breakfast - again massive selection of goodies!

Sat chatting to Josie for ages about life, so only had time for a short excursion this morning. Misty and dull weather initially, which looked like it would be ideal conditions! Walked up to the Chalet where there had been a Marsh Warbler earlier, I could hear it singing, but it would not come out from the deep cover in the garden! Walked back via the Haa and Schoolton but nothing else of note was seen.

Lunch: celery soup, bread and butter and cakes!

I decided not to to be downbeat about the lack of rares and made my mind up to have a photography afternoon. I walked a section of Fair isle that I never got round to doing before, from the South Light, east along the cliffs to Sheep Rock. Fabulous scenery along these cliffs with amazing rock formations and tons of seabirds. For a while I just sat on the cliff top enjoying the stunning, sunny afternoon. The waves glittered in the sunshine as they crashed against the dark, jagged rocks. I carried on until I got to a very narrow penninsula, so narrow I probably shouldn't have been walking on it - from here I had fabulous views of shags on nests and drying out their wings and also a very unusual nest with chicks in which I believe is a Hooded Crow's nest as two guests had already found this a couple of days ago. There were also guillemots and razorbills nesting on the cliffs. Two Hooded Crows were sitting on the top of a rock in the sea. Barry and Cheryl suddenly appeared - they had come to look at their Hooded Crow nest again.

Left here and continued along the cliff tops almost as far as Sheep Rock and then turned inland and came out on the road roughly opposite 'Setter'. Walked back along the road past the shop. I wished I had walked the opposite road as when I was just climbing the hill to the lighthouse I had a text from Jack telling me there was a Red backed shrike at Quoy and a male Red spotted Bluethroat at the obs!!!!!

If it had been a Mega I would have gone straight out again, but had dinner first and then Josie very kindly drove Richard, Ines (wonderful Australian, eccentric lady, who lives in Canada and told me she was a Class A Bander [ringer!]) and I to the obs to see the bluethroat. I spotted it sitting on the wire fence around the obs garden but only Richard and I saw it for a second and then it went under cover and didn't come out any more. It was a pity Ines didn't see it, Josie then took Ines back (Ines is very elderly and wouldn't have been able to walk back) and Richard and I walked back to try and find new birds on the way back. One LBJ in the gully and nothing in the Plantation. No sign of the red backed shrike at Quoy, but it was 10.15pm, but still really light!

Will definately be going on trap round tomorrow!