Feeding on Elderberries at Loch of Asta
near Tingwall/Scalloway
It started off as a normal day at work. My colleagues and I went to the canteen and came back down to the office to enjoy our lunch as usual. I looked at my phone for any bird news at around 12.40pm. The first thing that flashed up was about parking and issues, this could only mean one thing, there must be a serious bird somewhere. Scrolling further, I could not believe what I was reading! The Siberian Thrush that I had dipped on Monday evening, had now been refound 1.9 miles away from MY house!!! At Loch of Asta, next to Tingwall Loch. I almost shouted "NOooooooooooo"! This must have alarmed my colleagues a little! I simply could not believe this was actually happening. Was it the same bird? There is talk of it being a brighter and possibly second bird I heard on site later on. But right now at this moment in time I was at work. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my job, but a Siberian Thrush round the corner from my house!!! This was pure torture to say the least. It was one of the most stressful afternoons at work ever in my life! Most of our afternoon was a OT meeting. My official finish time on a Thursday is 4.08pm, I left at 4pm (with permission of course).
Obviously I had all my birding gear in the car already so that wasn't an issue. Arrived on site and walked down to the lochside in my work shoes. Both my pairs of wellingtons were at home. When I could see birders standing in the loch, I knew I was going to be drying out another pair of shoes later on. I wasn't going to risk returning home just to keep my feet dry and miss what could only be one viewing of this incredible bird or dare I say it none. Joining the now much smaller crowd than was there earlier (looking at the crowd shots on social media this evening) I stood and waited. I'm actually glad I decided to immerse my shoes and trousers in the water as the grip on my walking/work shoes would have been better than the tread on my wellies and less risk of falling over on the slippery stones. Plus I didn't care about my shoes or trousers or me come to that, I just needed to keep the camera dry.
At 4.54 I caught a glimpse of my first ever Siberian Thrush and in the same minute I managed to reel off 25 photos, only one of which was worth publishing. It appeared behind some leaves of the elderberry bush to feed on some berries. It was insanely exciting to be watching this. I couldn't believe my luck, just WOW! What a bird! I felt quite emotional to be honest. So lovely to share this special moment with other birders I knew here and others. I never saw it again. Birders with their thermal imagers seemed to think it was still there until much later on and a few people had glimpes of the bird again, but I didn't see it anymore after my initial sighting. There was also a Song Thrush which was was nice to see. The finders returned for as they put it "second helpings' and it was great to meet them. The Siberian Thrush had been very elusive all day and when it did show, it wasn't for long and would then disppear into the warmth of the lower branches and ground for cover on what was a very windy day. It started raining, which made standing in the water feel even more chilly!
When I left there was only one couple left who had only just arrived as they had been on Fetlar all day, I don't think they saw it sadly. Huge thanks to everyone on site for making this such an incredible evening and to the finder Simon Nichols and his group – thank you SO much!
As soon as I got in my house I had to remove the dripping wet shoes etc. Jumped in shower and then lit the fire to dry my coats and camera bag ready for the morning. The shoes will take days to dry, but I have another two pairs. I think it would be highly sensible to wear my wellies tomorrow!
Now have TWO WEEKS OFF, here we go!!!
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