Fair Isle in Spring and Autumn

With Covid-19 still largely preventing internal birding again this year I settled for birding trips up north to Fair Isle during the year. 

In spring I was there from late May to the end of the first week of June with Pete Davis and Clive Johnson and was mostly excellent with a number of good birds but overall numbers of migrants were low, which was a theme throughout the year. 

For the spring the highlights were Calandra Lark, Eastern Subalpine Warbler, 3 Rose-coloured Starlings, a Tawny Pipit, a stunning male Bluethroat, more Rustic Buntings you shake a list at, several Icterine and Marsh Warblers, Quail, Wryneck, Red-backed Shrikes, a Red-necked Phalarope, a find in the form of a Byth's Reed Warbler, as well as Puffins, Skua's and other seabirds whilst closed out with a Ring-necked Duck and Lesser Yellowlegs on Shetland. 

I then followed this up with an early autumn, late August, trip. It was a little slower than hoped for but again a few additions to the Fair Isle list were made with the highlights being a Booted Warbler, a lingering Rose-coloured Starling, Barred Warbler, Wood Warblers, a Melodious Warbler and finding an Arctic Warbler however the absolute highlight was the Orca Pod that circled the isle twice one fine day and were seen at extremely close range hunting seals just below the cliffs, stunning. 

And then finally I had 5 weeks from 23rd September through to 26th October. This was a mixed bag really. Migration was mostly prevented from happening by constant westerly winds but that didn't stop quality birds getting through. By the end of the trip it really felt the season was over. Hightlights from this trip were the White'sThrush caught at the Gully, the Baikal Teal, the truly special views of drakeSurf Scoter, the trapped Daurian Shrike, the lingering Woodchat Shrike, a Red-backed Shrike, Buff-bellied Pipit, a Red-flanked Bluetail, 4 Shorelarks, a Blyths Reed Warbler, 2 Red-breasted Flycatchers, a brief Olive-backed Pipit, Kumliens Gull, Glaucous Gull 4 Little Auks, 2 Snow Geese, a couple of Little Buntings, 

Yellow-browed Warblers and Goldcrests were virtually non existant and I was lucky to see two, maybe three, Yellow-broweds. Winter thrushes appeared after a very brief spell of easterlies and it was impressive to see tens of the thousands of Redwing along with hundreds of Blackbirds and Song Thrush whilst Ring Ouzels and Bramling flocks put in a good show along with a few Long-earted Owls and Woodcock but oddly Fieldfare were low in numbers.

The trip was finally closed out with a Humes Warbler at Boddam on Shetland which was slightly over shadowed by the stunning ghstly Siberian Chiffchaff in the same garden. 

Whilst there should have been a little more quality there was still plenty to keep me going through the year and keep me sane. 

Spring: highlights

August: highights

September and October: highlights

Fritillaries in the Wood

Spent the day yesterday butterflying the local wood which was extremely entertaining with my favourite UK butty, the Silver-washed Fritillary, seen well with about six on the wing. This is new for me at Hockley Woods despite trying for a few years here. 

Also seen were probably about five White Admirals and a bumper late emergence of Heath Fritillaries which seem to be about 3 weeks behind their usual peak emergence. 

Plenty of other fresh looking wings in thw wood with pristince Ringlets and Meadow Browns, Large and Small Skippers and a few Red Admirals and Large Whites.  

Super day.

Woodchat Shrike; so close yet so far

With a report of Woodchat Shrike literally 2 minutes up the road from the front door, at Stambridge Mills I went looking, as did a couple of others. I went knowing there was little proper Shrike habitat but a vagrant can always just appear in odd places. Some piles of logs and branches near the fishing ponds looked possible as did the bushes that run away from the cricket pitches along the seawall and the old mill compund but nothing appeared. 

After a couple of hours we gave up wondering if it was genuine or not or just not where we were looking. 

Next morning at around 7:30ish an update was obtained from the finder saying it had been in the horse paddocks the night before and was still present at 7:20pm, when we were still searching Stambrige Mills. Unfortunately the horse paddocks are closer to Rochford Park than the mills so searching there the previous evening was not considered. 

Once I had finished my walk around Doggetts Pits I went straight to the horse paddocks, somewhere where I sometimes walk and had more or less been here a few evenings previously. I passed the horses and walked the hedge line and passed a patch of brambles that I thought 'that looks a likely spot for a shrike' but there was no shrike present. 

I carried on heading towards Stambridge Mills thinking that the bird had almost certainly departed overnight when images of the bird from the previous evening emerged sat on the brambles I had just passed.

I about turned and went back to the gap in the hedge and there on the brambles was the Woodchat Shrike, a stunning male. 

I got some record shots of the bird and then posted on the local grapevine that it was still present and within a few hours all local birders had connected and as the day wore on more and more visitors came. 

It was warm and the bird was actively hunting and feeding and was even heard singing. 

The following day it was cooler and got windier as the day progressed but it continued to show well and by the time I finally left the site around 250 or more birders had come and gone. It was extremely popular. 

There are a lot of images of the bird on Twitter etc but these are amongst my best. Most are wider shots to give a bit more context to the habitat. 

So a pretty rare bird half mile from my front door that was eventually tracked down and enjoyed by many, sweet.

To add to the Mediterranean feel the day before Bowers Marsh had a Glossy Ibis, did the shrike arrive at the same time ?