SHETLAND BIRD NEWS & MORE!

Saturday 24th October

Rare  Bird  Alert  News

MAINLAND

Western Bonelli's Warbler still at Frakkafield.

Hoopoe at Quendale Mill.

Bluethroat, Little Bunting, Mealy Redpolls x 30 in crop at Hillwell.

King Eider ad, fem still off Twagoes Road, Black Redstart male at Lerwick. 

Firecrest, Siberian Chiffchaffs x 2 in gardens at end of Troswick Road, Boddam.

ISLANDS

CHESTNUT BUNTING 1w still, Siberian Chiffchaffs x 2 at Buness Farm, Hawfinch at Halligarth, Baltasound, UNST.

Little Bunting, Black Redstart, Long-eared Owls x 2, Siberian Chiffchaff, Richard's Pipit, Lapland Bunting, Ring Ouzel on OUT SKERRIES.  

Hume's Warbler in plantation at Skaw, ISLE OF WHALSAY.

Pectoral Sandpiper at Weatherhead, FETLAR.

 

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

 

Cracking 😉 news today! News of a NUTCRACKER found by Neil Cooper in a garden on Friday 23rd October in Mundesley, Norfolk and seen again today on Saturday 24th, much to the delight of Norfolk birders and others travelling from afar! Fabulous news! See Steve G's picture here, Ashley Banwell's here and all my reposts of photos from others on Twitter.

 

Norfolk hits the jackpot with the first Nutcracker in the UK since one in Castletown (Highland) on 10th November 2021 for one day only. The Last Nutcracker in Norfolk was on 25th September 1979 at Itteringham for one day only and this is the first twitchable Nutcracker since 1968!!! See my post in September re my father's sighting and record for Holme.

 

In Shetland the only record of Nutcracker was in Lerwick 21st to 23rd August 1968. Will we be lucky here and get a second record and more importantly for me if we are going to have one, can I see one before dusk on Sunday please?!!! 😅 Clocks go back at 2am, back to work on Monday and this means no more birding after work from Monday to Thursday until Spring time – what a depressing thought. The positive news is I have Friday, Saturday and Sunday, yay! I will have to get up very early every morning to watch my bird feeders before leaving for work.

 

News from today – put an apple under my bird feeders for Nutcrackers, demolished by Starlings in under an hour! I now have a second leucistic House Sparrow in the garden. Lots of Redwings and Blackbirds on Gallow Hill behind my house and rummaging amongst the leaf litter alongside the long stone wall. 60mph winds and heavy rain. The Shetland ponies next to my house were extra friendly and came to the gate to be made a fuss of which is very unusual, maybe they were hoping for a treat of some kind or maybe they were just fed-up, their coats were drenched.

 

Went out in the afternoon for a short while and returned to the Firecrest at Troswick, not because I needed to see it again, but because I loved that little spot right next to the loch and the sea – what a great place for finding something good. I did see the Firecrest briefly and also 1 Goldcrest, a Robin and a few Blackbirds, but conditions were far from ideal. Went to Quendale Mill to search for the Hoopoe but it was not seen again after the first sighting I heard, no luck with that. The wind was much stronger now and the sea at Quendale looked ferocious. Had a drive around Brake and found lots of Redwings and Blackbirds feeding in a stubbly field. Returned home, lit the fire and watched Strictly, which was not exactly brilliant this week. Far better by miles was watching Amy Winehouse at Glastonbury.