SHETLAND BIRD NEWS & MORE!

Friday 13th June

Rare  Bird  Alert  News

Red-backed Shrike male at Pool of Virkie.

Quail along path to Stanydale Temple, SE of Bridge of Walls.

BLACK-WINGED PRATINCOLE at south end of Loch of Spiggie.

 

Pallid Harrier 1s. male SE of Loch of Cliff, Marsh Warbler at Burrafirth, Unst.

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

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

 

A gorgeous sunny day here! At least four Red Admiral butterflies in my garden as I had my lunch outside. Doing DIY stuff and then popped into Lerwick to buy a couple of tools I needed. Bumped into Jane P. (who was a bank OT in our team on the day I started my job) who was about to catch the bus, so I offered her a lift home to Hamnavoe – always lovely to chat with Jane, who is from New Zealand. As I was about to return home, I checked my phone to see a message about a Black-winged Pratincole at Loch of Spiggie, so didn't divert home to Scalloway!

 

All the usual local birders at the pull in area at the south end of Loch of Spiggie and when I first arrived the Black-winged Pratincole was not in view. Eventually I saw it along with other birders, very distantly over Loch of Spiggie (towards Brow Loch), but it then came flying back across to Setter Marsh (where it was seen before I arrived) and gave spectacular flight views, as it twisted and turned at great speed back and forth over the loch in beautiful evening light. Photography was almost impossible though, too far away. I tried to take a picture when it landed on the marsh, but its not even worth posting – a fuzzy blob! What a spectacular bird! A Bonxie also flew over and there were a pair of Mute Swans with three cygnets.

 

The Black-winged Pratincole was found by Christian Melgar (finder of the Eyebrowed Thrush, follow that man!) and was the third for Shetland, the first one being on Fair Isle in 1927 and the second was on Fetlar in August 2021. I had to leave a bit earlier than I wanted to, as a lady rung up to look at a large rug I have for sale – no sale sadly though.

 

I saw my first Black-winged Pratincole (after 4 dips) at Titchwell RSPB on 3rd June 2009 (see my write up pre when I started my blog in 2010, when I wrote all my bird notes up on Birdforum: https://www.birdforum.net/threads/norfolk-birding.59348/page-329#post-1497568 and my second was at Stiffkey Fen in Norfolk on 16th July 2014.

 

My ordered sheepskin seat pad arrived from "Skyeskyns" for my new yellow swivel chair in my bay window and very nice it looks too. I can't wait for all my house to be unpacked and finished, should be completed by Autumn migration! 😊