SHETLAND BIRD NEWS & MORE!

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Quail in roses in garden at Sumburgh Head Lighthouse.

Red-backed Shrike at North Town, Exnaboe.

Grey-headed Wagtail in quarry at Sumburgh Head and Grutness.

Quail at Swinister Burn, Hoswick.

 

Icterine Warbler at Valyie, Norwick, Unst.

Bluethroat in garden at Millfield, Norwick, Unst.

Red-backed Shrike at Everland, Fetlar.

Common Rosefinch male at Skaw, Whalsay.

 

https://www.nature-shetland.co.uk/latest-sightings.

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

 

After submitting pictures to a birding mag that were requested, I had other important jobs to do, mostly telephone calls. Later on I went out to try and see the Grey-headed Wagtail at Grutness.

 

Arrived on site, which is difficult for parking as the building site seems to be extending further down the road and basically you can't park at Grutness at all currently, so had to drive past the 'garden' and park on the corner, just before the first quarry. Walked back to Grutness Pool, no birders here, no wagtails or Spotted Flycatcher, oh dear!

Ringed Plover at the Grutness Pool

 

 

Two lovely Ringed Plovers landed on the edge of the pool right in front of me and there were 2 Mallards on the pool. A Pied Wagtail was seen along with a fly over Bonxie, a Wood Pigeon and there were good numbers of Arctic Terns, Wheatears and Meadow Pipits. I was surprised the Arctic Terns had returned here with all the colossal building works going on. I spent a long time here, walking back up the road to view from the dry stone wall, back to the pool and so on. Had a lovely chat with a lady called Rosemary who was on a Shetland Wildlife Tour and she so wanted to see the Grey-headed Wagtail. I don't know why, but I presumed it would be on 'show' – I heard that it had been insanely difficult to see by many birders as it was moving around constantly.

GREY-HEADED WAGTAIL

Distantly, but in beautiful evening light at Grutness Pool

 

Rosemary left and a little while later Roger Riddington joined me and not long after he stood here, he spotted it, diving down into a ditch to the right of the Grutness pool and then it flew left and was feeding for quite a while under and around the feet of two Shetland ponies, distantly behind the pool. I put the news out straight away at 21.14. A visiting birder called Bob joined us and got to see this stonking little wagtail just before it disappeared again at around 21.30 and vanished without us seeing we it had gone! A bit later I returned to the pool again and was harrassed by a black labrador and the male owner was not too bothered about this and took far too long to get his dog under control, it was jumping up at me – after the dog decided to bound towards me again and jump up at me again he finally put it on a lead. Luckily I had been holding my camera high up as otherwise there would have been dog dribble on my lens. This if the first incident I have had here with a dog jumping up at me.

 

Robert, another visiting birder, another two birders and also Rosemary returned but sadly they were too late and it did not show again. Whilst standing by the dry stone wall past the garden, all the Arctic Terns and gulls filled the sky and were obviously distressed about something – scanning with my bins, I could see the man I saw earlier walking over the stile, which states clearly no access between May and August and also it doesn't include an off leash black labrador either! He either can't read or doesn't give a hoot about disturbing breeding birds.

 

Its very dangerous birding here at this time of the year – I arrived home at 11pm!!! I hope you get to see the Grey-headed Wagtail before your flight home tomorrow Rosemary! 🤞😊