Shetland 2024

 
Paul Chapman and I had flights to Shetland left over after an abortive attempt to twitch the Western Olivaceous Warbler last year – we shifted and salvaged them twice for the princely sum of a fiver, passing on a spring trip in favour of a few days in early October. Paul booked a very nice Airbnb just south of Brae and we flew on early on Thursday 3 October for a 4-night stay. All the great pics here by Paul, used with his permission.

3 October

First stop was Grutness, where Tysties and a nearly full summer-plumaged Great Northern Diver were the pick of the bunch off the pier there. Our first migrant was a blythi Lesser Whitethroat in the Grutness garden.

We gradually worked our way up South Mainland without doing much more than adding common birds to the trip list, then headed to Burn of Sound on the outskirts of Lerwick for what turned out to be a very showy Little Bunting – not a year tick as I’d seen a wintering one in South Devon, but my best views of the species in years. We also heard the first of a shedload of Yellow-browed Warblers on this trip – they were everywhere!

Little Bunting, Burn of Sound

After a bit of shopping for supplies in Lerwick it was on to Aith, where we got very nice views of Golden Oriole and also (eventually) Rose-coloured Starling – both Shetland ticks and the latter a year tick too. It had not escaped my notice that we were also now within easy reach of another Shetland tick – the pair of Magpies that this year bred at Sandness. So we headed that way.

Golden Oriole, Aith

As we passed Turriefield, we noticed Dan Pointon standing by the roadside, so stopped to say hello, which turned out to be a very good move indeed. As we chatted, Paul Harvey waved him down into the field below, and quickly it was clear he’d found something good. When Roger Riddington and Rory Tallack started legging it round from the other side, we headed down to join them. By the time we got there it was confirmed – Shetland’s (and Scotland’s) 1st Eastern Crowned Warbler! We got excellent if fairly brief views, then watched the (very big by Shetland standards) twitch unfold. Later, a Magpie showed well by Sandness school, so that Shetland tick was also duly acquired, though it seemed very small beer indeed compared to the mega rare Phyllosc just down the road.

Eastern Crowned Warbler, Turriefield

We dropped our things at our digs opposite the Valleyfield guesthouse near Brae, then spent last knockings dipping the Red-backed Shrike at Sullom. Great first day, though!

4 October

An early morning solo walk (Paul slept in a bit, understandably knackered after the long drive up and a full day in the field on no sleep) into the very nice little plantation behind our digs produced the inevitable Yellow-browed Warbler but not much else. It was overcast and breezy, which made birding trickier than in yesterday’s lovely conditions, and we struggled a bit on visits to Clickimin and Quendale Mill. We heard the Red-breasted Flycatcher at Geosetter but it wouldn’t show. 

Barred Warbler, Clickimin

Back at Loch of Clickimin we finally saw the Barred Warbler very well, and we finished the day at Hoswick dipping a Snow Bunting and the long-staying Wood Warbler. But we found a Siberian Chiffchaff, which was something at least, after a bit of cat and mouse trying to get a decent view.

5 October

An early start today, heading north to Yell to visit Adrian Kettle, longtime friend of Paul’s from their Essex days (and I’d known him years too – in fact today was the 20th anniversary of Adrian, I, and others twitching Yellow Warbler together on Barra). We quickly headed up to Unst, as a Paddyfield Warbler had been found at Valyie, and the Lanceolated Warbler found there yesterday afternoon was also still present.

Paddyfield Warbler, Valyie

It was a very good day in great company. The Paddyfield showed well in the oat crop (as did a Common Rosefinch, another year tick), but became more elusive, though it showed very well again by the burn mid-afternoon. By then I had seen at least 4 Yellow-broweds and had great views of the Lancy, in the burn, the field nearby, and astonishing naked-eye views down to a few feet in the small pine plantation. We eventually moved on, seeing a Sand Martin and 3 Otters at Haroldswick and a Glaucous Gull at Uyeasound, then headed back to Yell for a delicious spag bol courtesy of Adrian’s wife Tracy, before catching an evening ferry back to Mainland. Great to spend time with Adrian again – it had been too long. Happy day!   

Lanceolated Warbler, Valyie

6 October

The Yellow-browed was still in the Valleyfield plantation early doors, and a few Redwings flew over. After breakfast we went to Sullom plantation again and this time got great views of the Red-backed Shrike, which sadly had a damaged wing so probably would not be able to migrate far.

Next up was Wadbister Voe, where a drake Velvet Scoter (another year tick) showed fairly distantly but reasonably well in the Eider flock, and 2 Otters delighted once again. Both Paul and I noticed the bill on the ‘Velvet’ looked pink rather than yellow/orange, but we put it down to an effect of either light or distance, only to find out a few days after we got back that the bird had been re-identified as a White-winged Scoter – even better! At Strand Loch there was no sign of the Pintail seen earlier, but Jackdaw was another (fairly sad) Shetland tick.

Red-breasted Flycatcher, Maywick

At Hoswick the Snow Bunting showed ludicrously well at the Orca Inn, then we legged it to Maywick for good views of Red-breasted Flycatcher before the rain arrived. We ended up at Kergord looking for an Olive-backed Pipit, but as we arrived Dominic Mitchell was running out of the plantation having unwittingly got too close to a wasps’ nest – they were still chasing him. It was a bit comical to watch, but concerning too – one stung him in the mouth and he spent a while in A&E in Lerwick that evening as a precaution, but was fine, thankfully. Shortly afterwards the OBP flew past a small group of us calling – I’ve now seen three OBPs on Shetland, all in flight. One on the deck would be nice!

At about 7.20pm, back at Valleyfield, I popped out for a cigarette and almost immediately heard a wader flying over calling. It sounded very like an American Golden Plover, but I’m not claiming it.

7 October

Our last day, so after a walk round the plantation ‘patch’, confirming a major arrival of Redwings but finding little else, we packed up and left our temporary home – excellent it was too. Back to Kergord where we failed to relocate the OBP, then started working our way south. Much the same stuff at Wadbister, then a dash to Stromfirth for a reported OBP that the original observer had realised was in fact a Tree Pipit by the time we got there. No worries – a trip tick, it showed well, and we saw a couple of Ring Ouzels on the way there, so not wasted time.

Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler, South Nesting

We were just heading past Lerwick when mega alert went off again – Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler at Garth in South Nesting! Andrew Lawson and crew had found another goodie. Neither of us needed it, but it had been 23 years for me and 32 for Paul since we’d seen one in Britain. Peg it! Great flight views soon after we arrived, though it showed even better after we left. We had to think about heading south though. Another failed attempt at Kergord (as we were passing close by anyway), then down to Sandwick/Hoswick where we saw Black-tailed Godwit, Wood Warbler briefly (both Shetland ticks), Garden Warbler, and the Snow Bunting again (which was really wacky – I’ve never seen one in a tree before).

Snow Bunting in a sycamore, Hoswick

As we were leaving, an Arctic Warbler broke from near Lerwick. We could have made it to the site in about 20 minutes, but it was nearly 4.30pm and we had to be at Sumburgh airport for about 6.30, so we deffed out and continued south. No luck with Twite, sadly, but 6 Long-tailed Ducks and 3 species of diver in West Voe Bay right by the airport finished the trip off nicely.

In the 5 days I recorded 93 species, including 14 year ticks and 10 Shetland ticks. No ticks, but several high-calibre headline birds, a good back-up cast, and great company made for a brilliant trip.