SHETLAND TRIP – DAY 12: Glorious Weather, Dolphins & A Little Bunting!

LITTLE BUNTING

Helli Ness, Cunningsburgh, Shetland

None of my Little Bunting pictures are sharp, too distant on wall, but still lucky to get these!

 

The most glorious day since I arrived and I'm up seriously late because of photographing the Northern Lights!!! I could have done with heavy rain today, oh well! You can't burn the candle at both ends, not at my age anyway! After having a catch up with both my sisters on the phone, I had brunch. It was so stunning outside, I didn't want to leave the cottage. The views over Levenwick with total blue skies, fluffy white clouds and the sea were breathtaking. I sat on the seat for a while, just simply enjoying the views. I had two Blackbirds feeding in the garden whilst here, along with Starlings and House Sparrows.

Dawn from the cottage at Levenwick

Sunrise from the cottage at Levenwick

 

 

The view in daylight of my Northern Lights pictures!

 

Glorious views over Levenwick this morning

Sitting on the seat outside the cottage

A WhatsApp message came up on the Cetacean group that a group of Dolphins were being watched at Levenwick!!! Quickly grabbed and set up my scope from the cottage and initially after lots of scanning, I couldn't pick them up. Then another message came up about them being between two fishing boats – this message nailed it for me! I picked them up between the fishing boats, although distant I could see them breaching and glittering in the brilliant sunshine – wow! Lucky me, seeing these from my living room, doesn't get much better than that! Hugh H. confirmed later that these were White-beaked Dolphins, which he viewed from Levenwick and later when then moved south to Sumburgh Head, giving several people fantastic views this afternoon. See Hugh's fabulous video of them here.

After news of a Little Bunting came up at ruined buildings 'Helli Ness' at Cunningsburgh I decided to go and have a quick look, before heading elsewhere. 'Quick look' was exactly the opposite! I found out on site, that the Little Bunting had been found by a local birder and it can only have been! It would have been highly unlikely that any visiting birder even knew about this remote spot, never mind walked all that way!

On route to the Little Bunting – note ruins and birders in distance!

 

The Little Bunting location – the far end of this building!

 

A photographer's nightmare! Can you see the Little Bunting?!

I thought this was going to be my best shot!!!

 

LITTLE BUNTING

Helli Ness, Cunningsburgh, Shetland

 

The walk back from the Little Bunting

 

 

So, after following a very kindly 'dropped pin' on Google maps by the finder on the WhatsApp group, I found myself by some houses in Cunningsburgh in a remote farm area. A man told me that 'birders had walked up there', pointing up hill along a long farm track. I've been eating so many naughty and wonderful cakes here, that the walk would do me good, so had no issues with a long walk. After I climbed up the long track I paused and scanned, to see birders that looked like dots on the horizon at some derelict ruins. After boggy walking, two farm gates to contend with, a walk through a gap in a large stone wall and another boggy trek uphill, I eventually arrived on site!

A birder was just leaving and the first thing I said was "you're going to tell me its gone, now I've walked all this way?" He smiled and said "no, its still there, inside the building"! More birders leaving informed me there was a queuing system to look and I could understand why when I approached the derelict building, which had only one opening doorway – once inside approximately only four people could stand to view the other end of the long grassy stuff, where a very chilled, but very elusive Little Bunting was feeding! You couldn't believe that you hardly saw this bird in there, occasionally you would have a glimpse of a wing or tail if you were lucky. There was no way, you were getting any photos, as the grass type plant obscured all views of the Little Bunting. It just goes to show how many good birds are undiscovered in Shetland right now – here we were, standing inside a roofless building and you would never know there was a bird in there – it skulked around like a little mouse and would then disappear out of view for ages! At one point and for no reason, it flew up and sat on the wall for a nano second, before flying out of the building. We couldn't find it and then later.... it appeared back in the building again!

Later, everyone had left apart from an elderly birder (a lovely man who I remember seeing on my last trip two years ago) and myself – he stood inside and I stood outside, in hope that it would fly out of the building again – time passed by, I waited and waited and nothing happened. The afternoon was disappearing fast. I returned to the doorway of the building again and the Little Bunting was still in there, but then duly flew out of the building and this time I saw where it landed – on a stone wall and long enough for me to get some brilliant views and some pictures at last! The Little Bunting then vanished again. I trudged back over the boggy moorland and a Norfolk birder, 'Dave' was hurrying out to see it – I told him there was only one birder left and how difficult it was to see, so I don't know if he got to see it or not.

A cottage near The Orca Country Inn, Hoswick

 

I returned to my car and headed to Hoswick to try and see the newly found Red-breasted Flycatcher in the car park at The Orca Country Inn, but realised I should have just gone straight home, as the light was now dire and nearly all birds would have been tucked up in their roost spots for the night. I left and headed to Sandwick Bakery (which I had discovered the other day) to see what time they were open tomorrow, to discover they were still open! It was just before 6.30pm (closing time). I discovered to my delight that they sold the fabulous macaroni cheese pies that I had a couple of years ago! Also bought some more naughty treats and headed home.

I didn't realise until today that BIRDGUIDES had listed my Red-eyed Vireo picture in their list of 'Other Notable Images' in their Photo of the Week section, thank you very much.