SHETLAND BIRD NEWS & MORE!

Rare  Bird  Alert  News

MAINLAND

King Eider ad. fem off North Ness, Lerwick.

 

ISLANDS

King Eider at Djubawick, off Hascosay Sound. 

 

https://www.fairislebirdobs.co.uk/latest_sightings.html

Andy Johnson found a male Kingfisher (scarce bird here) at Clickimin Loch in Lerwick today. In a very small window of dry weather after work, I cleaned and disinfected all my bird feeders and hung them up in the shed to dry. I haven't filled them for ages, which means it must have been costing my neighbour Jimmy a small fortune to feed the birds. I then got the hosepipe out to wash down all my plant pots etc that were blasted with crap after my pressure washing last night. That's the garden finished.

 

Birder Paul Harvey highlighted on our WhatsApp group that there are sightings of Nutcracker in Norway currently and suggested we keep a look out – I've never seen one in the UK, I saw one in Austria, many many years ago. It would be fabulous to see one here, fingers crossed. I will make sure I get the nut feeder up tomorrow! Somewhere in my father's photographic collection (in a box somewhere in my office) is a photo of a Nutcracker in his hand at Holme, so looking back at the records on RBA it must have been either 11th or 12th August 1968 – I was aged 3 and have no recollection, but may have seen it 😉😀 I see there was one in Lerwick, on 21st to 23rd August 1968 – the year of the Nutcracker invasion.

 

I'm now on annual leave for a week, which I'm very pleased about as its been really busy at work over the last few weeks. I have several jobs to get done intermingled with birding – jobs I want to get done before the more serious Autumn birding in my two weeks off in October. At the Egyptian Nightjar, Roger Riddington said "its all down hill from here", but is it? I think we will get some mega surprises and at least a first for Britain, that's my prediction!