Shetland 10 th -15 th October 2016

Transcription

1 Shetland 10 th -15 th October 2016 Introduction This logistical report covers a 6 day birding trip to Shetland, based on the mainland, with the aim to find our own birds whilst twitching any species that were lifers for the group. 4 of us travelled Sean Foote, Matt Phelps, Amy Robjohns and I, and we were pleased with our final species list of 106. Matt and Amy have completed reports that go into more day by day detail, and you can find them here and here. Shetland is proving more and more popular for autumnal birding in recent years, surely surpassing Scilly by now, both in terms of bird quality and birders visiting. The emphasis on Shetland is very much finding your own birds. Much foot-soldiering is required, and as four keen patch-watchers we revelled in this type of trip. However, it must be said that a pager or subscription to a bird news service is highly recommended if you are to get the most out of your trip to Shetland. I was fortunate enough to be on a Shetland News WhatsApp group too. Not one day went past when we didn t act on news on a bird, and you have to be prepared to bomb it to the other side of the islands (often catching multiple ferries) to see reported megas. The weather was surprisingly pleasant during our stay. The first 3 days were actually calm and sunny, perhaps not ideal for bringing down birds, and only on the last few days did we experience wind, cloud and rain, though the latter was minimal. The easterly winds typical of this autumn were present throughout. Accommodation and transport We stayed on the mainland, in Papil on West Burra. An extremely comfortable guesthouse had everything we needed to cook, be online and sleep well, and for 85 a head for 6 nights it was very reasonably priced. We had travelled by car from Surrey, catching the hour overnight ferry from Aberdeen. This was no snip at 200 each (return), but the sleeping arrangements were much better than I had anticipated, with us 3 guys having a room to ourselves complete with a bed, shower, toilet and hot drink making facilities. The journey over was fine the one back was very bumpy, and whilst I personally didn t feel queasy, it was practically impossible to sleep in such conditions. The main bonus of the ferry was the fact we could take our own car. The other option would be to fly from Aberdeen, and rent, which almost all the birders we met seemed to have done. This would perhaps be a better option in the future, to save on wear and tear on the car. Literature As previously mentioned, Shetland birding at this time of year is very much a combination of finding your own or reacting to news. Thus, there is limited literature that helps for this time of year. Hugh Harrop s Where to Watch Birds in Shetland (2000) was useful, and a few trip reports by Phil Andrews helped set the scene. Ultimately though, an OS map (or the collection of 4 that complete the islands) is all that s needed.

2 Itinerary Sunday 9 th October Departed Surrey at c.05:00. Arrived at Aberdeen at c.16:00. Caught the overnight ferry to Lerwick. Monday 10 th October Arrived in Lerwick c.07:30. Birded Scousburgh, Papil and Bressay (ferry from Lerwick required for latter). Tuesday 11 th October Birded Papil, Dale of Walls and Brake. Wednesday 12 th October Birded Papil, Loch of Spiggie, Sumburgh and Unst (ferry from mainland and Yell required for latter). Thursday 13 th October Birded Ringasta, Grutness, South Collafirth and Weisdale. Friday 14 th October Birded Weisdale, Sumburgh, Scatness and Loch of Spiggie. Saturday 15 th October Birded Papil, Weisdale and Toab. Caught the overnight ferry from Lerwick at 19:30 to Abderdeen. Sunday 16 th October Arrived in Aberdeen c.07:15. Drove home, arrived in Surrey c.18:30. Highlights Siberian Accentor, Taiga Flycatcher, Black-faced Bunting, Red-flanked Bluetail, Olive-backed Pipit, Pied Wheatear, Richard s Pipit, Arctic Warbler, Little Bunting, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Rosecoloured Starling, Bluethroat & Ortolan. Species list Asterisk* = lifer for at least one of the group 1. Mute Swan 2. Whooper Swan 3. Greylag Goose 4. Pink-footed Goose 5. Barnacle Goose 6. Shelduck 7. Wigeon 8. Shoveler 9. Teal 10. Mallard

3 11. Tufted Duck 12. Scaup 13. Eider 14. Common Scoter 15. Long-tailed Duck 16. Goldeneye 17. Red-breasted Merganser 18. Goosander 19. Red-throated Diver 20. Great Northern Diver 21. Slavonian Grebe 22. Little Grebe 23. Fulmar 24. Gannet 25. Cormorant 26. Shag 27. Grey Heron 28. Coot 29. Moorhen 30. Oystercatcher 31. Golden Plover 32. Ringed Plover 33. Lapwing 34. Purple Sandpiper 35. Curlew 36. Turnstone 37. Dunlin 38. Buff-breasted Sandpiper* 39. Redshank 40. Bar-tailed Godwit 41. Snipe 42. Great Skua 43. Black Guillemot 44. Razorbill 45. Kittiwake 46. Black-headed Gull 47. Common Gull 48. Herring Gull 49. Lesser Black-backed Gull 50. Great Black-backed Gull 51. Rock Dove/Feral Pigeon 52. Woodpigeon 53. Collared Dove 54. Short-eared Owl 55. Pallid Harrier 56. Merlin 57. Peregrine 58. Kestrel

4 59. Sparrowhawk 60. Rook 61. Hooded Crow 62. Raven 63. Goldcrest 64. Skylark 65. Arctic Warbler* 66. Pallas s Warbler* 67. Yellow-browed Warbler 68. Chiffchaff 69. Blackcap 70. Lesser Whitethroat 71. Wren 72. Starling 73. Rose-coloured Starling* 74. Blackbird 75. Fieldfare 76. Song Thrush 77. Ring Ouzel 78. Redwing 79. Robin 80. Bluethroat* 81. Red-flanked Bluetail* 82. Red-breasted Flycatcher* 83. Taiga Flycatcher (BBRC pending)* 84. Redstart 85. Wheatear 86. Pied Wheatear* 87. Siberian Accentor* 88. Dunnock 89. House Sparrow 90. Yellow Wagtail (probable Eastern) 91. Grey Wagtail 92. Pied Wagtail 93. Richard s Pipit* 94. Olive-backed Pipit* 95. Meadow Pipit 96. Rock Pipit 97. Chaffinch 98. Brambling 99. Twite 100. Redpoll sp 101. Hawfinch 102. Ortolan Bunting* 103. Little Bunting* 104. Lapland Bunting* 105. Black-faced Bunting* 106. Reed Bunting

5 Summary I would highly recommend Shetland as a trip for any birder, and almost a must for a serious British birder. Pleasingly, once there I learnt it was a lot less twitchy than I thought, with the various groups of birders out there pretty much all intent on finding their own stuff. If you are prepared to put in the effort, you will be rewarded with wonderful self-finds Taiga Flycatcher, Olive-backed & Richard s Pipits, Arctic Warbler, Bluethroat and multiple Yellow-browed Warblers to name just a few of ours. I will definitely be back one day.

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