More Waxwings

  The last couple of weeks has been a real treat having Waxwings feeding in the garden daily. At the most there were 6 and this has now sadly dropped down to 1 today (20th Nov). As I've mentioned before, the birds were very confiding and even came and fed on an apple I was holding whilst I lay on the ground. The link to the (rather shaky) YouTube video is here taken on my mobile. Below are a few more of my favourites from the last week or so...........

 

  The Autumn migration period is now over with just one or two late stragglers passing through. Recently I had a new tick for both my Shetland list and the Unst one in the form of a Great Tit at Haroldswick (and another a week later - or maybe the same one? at Norwick). Last week I saw a pipit along at the end of the road by The Houb several times, but couldn't pin it down. Finally in the fading light on Saturday afternoon, I managed to photograph it perched on a fence. Looking at the picture, I came to the conclusion that it didn't look or feel like a Meadow P so maybe it was a Tree or even an Olive-backed' ? I do find sometimes that even a 'common' bird out of context - or not in a place that you'd usually see one - can 'throw' me off course so to speak. I'm certain that if I'd have seen the bird down in the Cotswolds rather than skulking about in some wet marshy ground, I'd have known straight away it was a Tree Pipit. On this occasion, I needed Brydon and then later Mike, to confirm its identity. As it turned out, Mike said it was the latest ever record for the species in Shetland.....

 

 

  One species which does turn up in varying numbers each Autumn is Water Rail. I find it hard to believe how they manage to fly across the sea; whether its from Scandinavia or mainland Scotland when they seem to have difficulty flying 50yds ! Catriona saw one running down our drive in front of the car last week but unfortunately I didn't get to it. However, the following afternoon, I saw a bird fly up almost 4ft in to the air from the Rosa bushes closely followed by a cat. The cat stretched out a paw and brought the bird down like some wild cat in the savannah. I shouted and fortunately the cat let go and the bird scurried off unhurt.....

 

Water Rail at Norwick

  We're are now i to the 3rd week of November and we still have a number of Hedgehogs of various sizes wandering around in both the night time and daylight hours searching for food. I'm sure that down south many would be hibernating by now and most would probably not be out and about during the daytime. I think that they do that here possibly for two reasons, one they are trying to build up their fat reserves for when the cold weather really does start and secondly, they don't have any predators - apart from vehicles that is. This one was out in the garden today......

   Last week I was asked to do a 'photo shoot' - or rather take some pictures of my friend Brydon wearing some of the latest Paramo outdoor gear. I took some last year while we were out around Flugga' and one of those was then used in various magazine ads' including RSPBs 'Birds'. I must admit not to like taking 'formal' pictures of folk, but on these occasions it's fun.

  Also last week, I had a trip off island to the bright lights of Lerwick. I quite like going from time to time - it reminds me that we are lucky to live in such a quiet and lovely place (not that I need much reminding I hasten to add) I went to get a few things and to have 4 tyres fitted on my trusty old Suby' - ouch ! I also picked up some spares for a quad bike that I bought a couple of months back. The trip down was really nice, it was a perfectly still, sunny morning (or rather sunrise) and I just wanted to stop every few miles and take pictures. Unfortunately due to time - getting there early enough for the garage, I couldn't stop. Going over Bluemull' I did take a few of my favourite non wildlife type pictures and they were of the bow waves created by the ferry on the very calm water. One similar shot I took last year has been quite a popular picture and has sold a number of times this summer......

   Back at home, I've been busy outside with a number of jobs around the cottage. This has involved concreting some steps, redoing a path and clearing piles of stones and soil from the cottage garden etc. This is where the quad has been invaluable as I've been able to move much more rubble at a time than I'd be able to move with a wheel barrow and with very little effort. Outside of the walled area of the garden, the ground is so rough in places that it would be very difficult ( or impossible) to move anything using a tradition wheel barrow. I then tipped the rubble down in a fenced off area in the field where there is a large hollow in a slight bank. My intention is to build up two of the sides and turn it in to a pond roughly 8 metres by 7metres. I have also just inquired about buying a quantity of Sycamore cuttings /saplings and also some Rosa Rugosa cuttings to plant along one of the boundary walls. It seems silly to buy some of the Rosa's as they grow like weeds in Shetland, but as they are only £1.50 each and also grow very quickly, it will save a lot of time and work.

  As to the cottage? Now it has been re-carpeted, we're going to start advertizing it as a holiday let for next year. Over the next month or so, I'm going to do a blog page for 'Ordaal Holiday Cottage'. It won't be update regularly as it will be just for giving details of the cottage and having pictures of the cottage (inside and out), contact details, links to ferries etc etc. A link to the cottage will then be put on other sites to publicize it - watch this space.

  Robbie

  A  day after we arrived back, we had a light covering of snow on the hills and by heck it felt cold ! I had a couple of hours out with Brydon to look for the Humes Warbler he'd found at Norwick last week that was still around. Unfortunately the bird wasn't to be seen, but we did have a pipit fly up from the roadside in front of the car. Brydon had a feeling it could be something special, but despite searching we couldn't find the bird again.

   The following day I was over at Norwick again and had a pipit on the road in front of me. Having a really poor view through the front windscreen with my bins', all I could really see was that it had quite a distinctive head patten. Fortunately I saw where the bird landed and manged to get some record shots. My first thoughts when I saw it some way in front of the car was that it was an Olive-backed Pipit, however, now I could see the rest of it I could clearly see it had plain flanks and a mostly plain breast (just a bit of streaking on the throat). Checking 'Collins', I came to the conclusion it was one of two,  Richards Pipit - quite rare on Shetland - or Blyth's Pipit - very rare. Richard's tend to have the appearance of being long-legged and long tailed and in my limited experience of Richard's, this bird didn't appear to have either. Unfortunately this bird didn't turn out to be a Blyth's, just a small Richard's Pipit - still nice to find though.......

Richard's Pipit at Norwick

  Later on in the day (around 4-30pm), I was heading back home in the now fading light, when I noticed a small bird running along the roadside in front of my car. Slowing down, all I could see of it was a prominent white eye stripe - I've got to nail this one, what ever happens. The bird had gone in to the long grass of the roadside ditch and most likely wouldn't be very easy to flush. I reached a gateway to a field and no bird had appeared, it must have popped over the wall in to some even thicker vegetation. Walking this through, the bird flew up and along on to our boundary wall, the trouble was, I was someway from our drive to count it  as a garden tick - what ever it was! A short time later, I re-found the bird as it was making its way down along the base of the wall of our field. I fired off a few frames at a ridiculously high ISO (5000 ISO) and then lost the bird in some bushes in the garden. Putting the shots straight onto the PC, I discovered what it was - a Bluethroat - either a female or a 1st winter bird as they have a very similar plumage..........

  A few days later (29th) I was heading up to towards Skaw from Norwick when I noticed a pale looking chat sitting on a roadside fence. For a split second I though ' female Whinchat', but then noticed its size and shape etc and realized it was a Stonechat. As it was so pale, I checked in 'Collin's' which confirmed my  thoughts it could possible be a 'Siberian' one (although I'd never seen one before). Two of the pointers were, lack of streaking on the rump and lack of streaking on the breast - both of which this bird had :)   .....

Siberian Stonechat, Norwick

  At just after midnight on the 30th, it was lovely and clear (and also very frosty) and also a full moon - called the 'Hunters Moon'. I went out to take some photographs and in no time at all I couldn't feel the ends of my fingers. It was one of those magical nights with no wind, no sound apart from the water gently lapping on the shore and a few geese calling......

Baltasound by moonlight - 00.30am Oct 30th 2012

  Later on at around 8am, I headed off around the field and down to the shore for one of my regular walks. I was expecting it to be a clear frosty morning but sometime late last night, cloud had come in and the place had 'warmed' up as it was now damp and cloudy. Heading across the small salt marsh area by the pools (hoping for a Jack Snipe), I heard a strange noise - a sort of a cross between a hiss and a cough. At first I though it was one of our cats but then saw just a few yards in front of me, an otter curled up amongst some tussock grass. I thought immediately it must be injured as it would usually be very difficult to get this close to one out in the open so easily. At first it didn't attempt to move away, but then after a couple of minutes it turned (looking slightly disorientated) and headed for the shingle bank. Sure enough, it was injured as it limped quite badly, holding its front right foot up off the ground. It was a male, but I didn't know if it was the male we see around here regularly and can only assume it had been in a fight with another male. It headed back in to the water and seemed to swim and dive normally - lets hope it's ok.

  Just as we'd left to go on holiday a couple of weeks ago, there had been an arrival of Waxwings in Shetland and I was thinking I'd miss out on them again. Well thankfully they were still around and I managed to see a few around Unst over the last few days of October and into November. On the 2nd, just as it was getting light, I looked out of the bedroom window to see six feeding around an apple I'd put out the day before (I'd been to Lerwick that day). It has been the one bird that I'd wanted to get in the garden up here, so I was one happy bunny ! Over the next couple of days, I had some really special times watching and photographing them and at times, from very close quarters. As the Rosa bushes don't usually produce much in the way of berries, I fixed up a bolt on which I could hang a apple. This was useful on two counts, one was to benefit taking pictures of them, the other was to stop the chickens from eating it all. I don't normally do 'bird on stick' type photography, but this allowed me to position the food in a suitable position without a distracting and cluttered background. Below are a few of my favourites................

  Robbie