Lights, camera, American!

11th-15th September
Well, we’re half way through September already – where has the time gone?! We’re experiencing a run of westerlies that are making things tough going at times (not least on 15th, when a south-westerly gale combined with a lot of rain to produce miserable conditions), although there are a still birds to be picked out.
It has been a busy time at the Obs, with a film crew staying on the island, which has proved an interesting experience. The film crew also got to see a bit of Obs life, when a scene at North Light was interrupted by an American Golden Plover circling loudly overhead before landing behind the camera (12th). I assume they’ll cut the bit where I scurried into shot to get my telescope back to get a better look at it! That has been it so far in terms of Transatlantic vagrants, although the spell of weather we’re enjoying/enduring at the moment keeps us hoping for more.

The 11th AGP for Fair Isle and the first since 2005.

A calmer day on 13th saw the westerly winds drop away and a selection of birds from the opposite direction make it through. Leading the way was an Arctic Warbler, initially seen at Taft before roaming several of the crofts.

The fourth Arctic Warbler of the autumn showed well at times (here it's at the classic location of Schoolton), but was rather mobile. [EDIT: I've just realised that adding up the number of Arctic Warblers seen this year on Fair Isle was a quadarctic equation. That's a pun on quadratic equation. Not really worth the edit was it? Sorry, but that's what happens when Susannah isn't here to keep my excess punning in check].

The same day also produced a Great Spotted Woodpecker at Easter Lother then Roskillie (a less than annual migrant on Fair Isle, but well predicted by Richard the previous evening who reckoned an unusually large movement on the Norwegian coast would see us getting one soon – we’ll certainly be listening to his next prediction!), along with a Marsh Warbler (at Schoolton), 18 Willow Warbler, Grasshopper Warbler, 2 Reed Warbler, Tree Pipit and Carrion Crow. There were also peaks of Common Rosefinch (5), Red-backed Shrike (3), and Lapland Bunting (10) on 13th, all of which were present throughout. Otherwise it was pretty slow for passerine migration, although the first Snow Bunting of the autumn arrived on 11th (when the first Jack Snipe of the season was also seen), there were 10 Whinchat on 14th (when 70 Wheatears was the highest count since 5th) and Skylarks increased, with 116 on 13th. A Woodpigeon was present throughout and the Subalpine Warbler showed no sign of moving on, roaming the middle of the island until 14th at least.
The gales of 15th did bring the first 15 Pink-footed Geese with them, with other wildfowl during the week including peaks of 38 Wigeon and 26 Teal.

Touchdown. After arriving from Iceland in a SW gale, these Pink-feet were presumably in need of a rest.

At sea there were Sooty Shearwaters on 12th, 14th and 15th, blue Fulmar on 11th and Red-throated Diver on 13th, whilst the big blow of the 15th brought 5 Arctic Terns, a handful of Kittiwakes and the month’s first Common Tern within sight. The calmer days provided several cetacean sightings, with up to 15 White-beaked Dolphins, 15 Porpoise, Minke Whale on 3 dates and a Risso’s Dolphin on 13th. Sadly, none of the cetaceans were seen from the Swan when it provided a sailing trip for the schoolchildren on 14th, although it was still a great experience (Grace managed about 15 minutes before being sick then sleeping through the rest of the trip, although she still enjoyed it apparently ‘yes, it was great!’ ).

The Swan in North Haven.

Susannah is away for a few days and (other than breaking my computer within a few hours of being left by myself and preparing ‘pasta l’orange’ last night when I spilt Grace’s juice on dinner) I seem to be coping. Please bear with me though if it takes a little longer to respond to emails/messages etc than would normally be the case. I’m sure I’ll survive until Wednesday though and then everything will be back to normal!

Ticking along nicely

10th September

It's always nice when office work is interrupted by a Red-backed Shrike just outside the window.

A relatively quiet spell as westerly winds kicked in (and were rather strong by 10th), although a Fair Isle ‘quiet spell’ can still see a few good birds and so it proved, with new arrivals on 9th lead by a Barred Warbler at Schoolton and Red-backed Shrike at Field Ditch and 10th headlined by an elusive (but quite vocal) Little Bunting at the Chalet (our earliest autumn arrival since 1997) and an Icterine Warbler near South Harbour. The Subalpine Warbler was still present to 9th at least, whilst other lingerers included Red-backed Shrike at the Obs (so two were present on the island on 9th-10th), 2 Common Rosefinch still at Kenaby and Lapland Buntings (which increased to 10 on 9th). A Pintail on Utra scrape briefly on 10th and 2 Little Stints on the same day were also worthy of note, but mostly the last couple of days have seen a decrease in most migrants, with only a few dozen Wheatears remaining and Meadow Pipits down to a ‘mere’ 363 yesterday. Today has started calm and with drizzle, it’s not ideal conditions, but the first Yellow-browed Warbler of the year pitched up on Shetland yesterday and there could well be one or two birds lurking out there today.

8th September

8th September

Several people have asked about Storm Petrel ringing recently. After discussions last month with the BTO, it was agreed that we would continue to catch Storm Petrels no more than once a week (and without the Swinhoe’s tape being played) for the duration of the normal Storm Petrel season. Now that we have got to the second week of September that season has come to an end, so there will be no more Storm Petrel ringing sessions this year. We hope that all visitors to the island this autumn will understand and respect our statement on this, which has been agreed in consultation with the BTO Ringing Unit and Chair of Ringing Committee.

Now for the bird news: there is no news. Well, that’s not strictly true but, although the autumn is well and truly upon us, it is fair to say that yesterday was not quite what we were hoping for. Don’t get me wrong, it was a very pleasant day’s birding, but there were seemingly few new arrivals despite the apparently good conditions.
I was fortunate enough to be in South-west census, which seemed to hold the bulk of the limited number of migrants, but the totals for the whole island were fairly scant with just 2 Redstart (the first of the month), 3 Willow Warbler, 2 Blackcap, 4 Garden Warbler, 2 Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler, 3 Spotted Flycatcher, 3 Whinchat, 3 Pied Flycatcher, 3 Swallow and 6 Siskin. There was also an increase in alba Wagtails, Wheatear, Meadow Pipit (690), Rock Pipit (111) and Twite (238).

Some migrants had increased in numbers slightly, such as Spotted Flycatchers, but generally it was surprisingly thin pickings.

The highlights were mostly lingering birds, with a Red-backed Shrike still at the Obs, Subalpine Warbler still at North Shirva, 4 Common Rosefinch (one up on the previous day) and 9 Lapland Buntings.
Technically, the bird of the day was Little Stint (the first of the year), with birds seen at North Haven, Barkland and South Light (although possibly just one individual was involved in all the sightings).

The long-staying Subalpine Warbler (it first arrived on 5th July and is now the longest-staying Subalp in Fair Isle history) has now started showing a bit better, usually around North Shirva. It has comfortably outstripped the stay of even 'Albi' the eastern Subalp, who remained at the Obs for around 5 weeks in spring 2011.

A small number of Common Rosefinches are now roaming the island. 

The other birds of note were the first Red-breasted Merganser for a while, a blue Fulmar circling in Grey Geo and the 2 Tree Sparrow that have been with us for the whole summer (although sadly there is no sign of any youngsters!).

The clear waters around Fair Isle attract a few people in for a swim

As we’re into westerly winds now, it seems likely that it will remain quiet for a while, but one of the great things about birding Fair Isle is that you just never know…

Here we go...?

7th September
A relatively quiet day on 6th was enlivened by an Arctic Warbler at Pund which proved to be the third individual of this species in three days! The other highlights of the day were a Red-backed Shrike at the Mast that was presumed to be the same bird that was seen later at Field ditch and three Common Rosefinch, with one at the Obs and two together at Midway (one at Shirva was presumed to be one of these two, but could possibly have been a fourth bird). The Subalpine Warbler was also still present, whilst a Merlin was newly arrived.

The Arctic Warbler at Pund showed a lot better than the somewhat elusive bird the previous day on the cliffs near North Light. Plumage details indicate that this was a new bird (and yesterday's individual seemed to have an injured right wing).

Bird movement started early on 7th, when at least 4 Greylag were calling so noisily as they circled the Obs at 1.45am they woke every staff member on the east side of the staff corridor! By the start of census though, the strong North wind had brought light drizzle and poor visibility as fog dropped over the hills, with very few birds noted. In the South-east census area I had managed brief views of a Common Rosefinch at Burkle and a Whitethroat at Haa, but otherwise was completely migrant-free, with similar stories from South-west and North. Combined with a cack-handed attempt at jumping a ditch in Boini Mire that left me with boots full of water and dropping my notebook down the cliffs of Meoness (where it thankfully landed in a rescue-able area of the South Harbour beach), it seemed like one of those days. A Siskin coming in off the sea at Klinger’s Geo raised hopes that things were about to kick off (I was desperate for any positive signs!) and when I ran the Gully trap on the way back to the Obs there was a Blyth’s Reed Warbler, Red-backed Shrike, Blackcap and 2 Siskins in there! As the wind eased and the fog eventually lifted in the late afternoon, it became clear that this wasn’t a remarkably localised fall; there were migrants starting to appear around the island. An hour or so chekcing the crofts before dinner produced: 14 Willow Warbler, 5 Garden Warbler, 4 Blackcap, 3 Whitethroat, 3 Whinchat, 2 Spotted Flycatcher and 9 Siskin, whilst another Common Rosefinch around the traps may have been newly arrived.

This Blyth’s Reed Warbler was a surprise find in the Gully, although it has now occurred for five consecutive autumns on Fair Isle, with this bird being about the 35th for the island (subject to acceptance and the acceptance of a couple other birds still under consideration).

With the wind now in the east and tomorrow looking set to be a pleasant day with the wind still from the right direction, there is a real sense of anticipation buzzing around the Obs tonight, so let’s see what happens…

Arctics on a Roll

5th September
Another pleasant day's birding, with the North grabbing the lion's share of the best new birds. Top of the pile was an Arctic Warbler on the cliffs between North Light and Kirn o'Skroo (on a section of cliff that, remarkably, seems not to have an official name - although North Hol o' Kristal Kame would probably be close). Richard discovered this elusive beasty just before lunch and, although it could go missing for long periods, it showed well at times. Crucially, it showed well enough that the abscence of a ring was noted - so it was obviously not the previous day's bird.
Two Barred Warblers in the North (including a showy bird at the Obs) were also new in, whilst the day's roll call also included Corncrake (flushed from Furse, so another one for Richard in the North!), Common Rosefinch (at the Obs), the male Western Subalpine Warbler (I think they're just about split now...), 2 Icterine Warblers (Double Dyke and Stackhoull), 4 Lapland Buntings and a Wood Warbler at Upper Stoneybrek (the first of the autumn).
Counts of some migrants increased slightly with 4 Blackcap, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Whitethroat, 3 Sedge Warbler, 5 Pied Flycatcher,  5 Cormorant, Kestrel and Woodpigeon all noted, whilst the impressive Meadow Pipit passage of the last week or so saw numbers rise to 976 today! There were also 9 Storm Petrels seen from the Good Shepherd (in Fair Isle waters).
The prediction for the east coast to keep a look out seems to have been a reasonable one as the Farne Islands scored a Yellow-breasted Bunting (see photos here), reminding me of the last bird there in 2003, which I missed as it turned up on the day I was travelling back to the islands from holiday. Formerly a 'Fair Isle special', with virtually annual records (there was only one blank year in the 1980s and 1990s), the decreasing European population has seen records drop off alarmingly and, since 1999, there have only been records on Fair Isle in 2001, 2003 and 2006. Another factor that may have had an impact on Fair Isle records are the much smaller number of oat crops grown on the island now, making an YBBs that do turn up harder to track down. The Obs crop strips have not grown well this year (seemingly a combination of weather and Rock Doves), but we do have some left over seed that we'll be broadcasting amongst them this afternoon to see if we can lure one of these stripy beauties for ourselves.

Cheeky Arctic Monkey

4th September
When I was birding on the east coast, I remember that any spells of good weather in the autumn always seemed to strike Shetland (and Fair Isle in particular) a day or two before they reached us; a fall on Shetland always made things seem more promising for the next morning’s birding. If that’s still the case, then gird your bins for a potentially rather interesting weekend. With easterly winds set to kick in from Friday, we were hoping that maybe a bird or two might get pushed ahead of them and arrive on Thursday (when the forecast is for very light north-westerlies), but things seem to have started earlier than we expected.
A Common Rosefinch on Wednesday at North Light was the pick of the new birds for the day, seemingly swept along on the never ending supply of Meadow Pipits that are pouring south at the moment (around 100 were counted from the Good Shepherd as it made its way to Grutness yesterday for example), but today saw a notable (albeit small) arrival of birds.

The Obs Icterine Warbler,which showed well outside the library all day.

The day started with an Icterine Warbler at the Obs (with the lingering bird still at Midway), and quickly stepped up a notch with an Arctic Warbler in the Gully just after breakfast. A BB rarity (for now at least) on not especially promising conditions (a brisk southerly wind following days of westerlies) as one of the first birds of the day – nice. A Corncrake in the Plantation was also good, whilst a Common Rosefinch at Lower Stonybrek may have been yesterday’s bird relocating down the island. The first Lapland Bunting of the autumn was on the airstrip and other migrants either appeared for the first time in the month or increased in numbers, with 20 Willow Warbler, 5 Garden Warbler, 2 Sedge Warbler, Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat, Grasshopper Warbler, 7 Whinchat, 3 Pied Flycatcher, Tree Pipit, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and 8 Swallow. Also increasing were Meadow Pipits, with 913 (exactly!) counted on census.

The supercillium stopping short of the nostrils, large bill, mottled ear coverts, prominent square wingbar on the greater coverts, second wing bar on the median coverts and dusky underparts are all  useful identification features of this classic Arctic Warbler. Wing, bill length and bill depth measurements also fell outside the range of Greenish Warbler, in this particularly robust individual.

Hopefully it’s a promising taster of things to come, I suspect there’ll be a few more good birds (and hopefully good counts of common migrants) to report soon – and a few more things arriving down the east coast as well. Good luck and enjoy it!

Early September update.

3rd September (early am update)

The second Swinhoe's Petrel was retrapped again last night, when weather conditions were good for catching petrels. This was the first ringing session since the night of 16th/17th August, and was carried out following the guidelines from the BTO. Only Storm and Leach's Petrel tapes were used, at our usual site. After about an hour, and after catching 8 Storm Petrels, the Swinhoe's was caught. At that point, and again following the BTO's guidelines, trapping operations ceased - the tape was turned off and the net furled. The Swinhoe's Petrel was processed and released quickly; no photos were taken. As agreed with the BTO, we have contacted them to report the recapture, and we are now waiting for further guidance. Until we have that there will unfortunately be no more petrel ringing sessions.

Our third Citrine Wagtail of the year was found in strong westerly winds at Easter Lother Water on 31st (although it was probably heard at Wirvie the day before during a day of alba wagtail passage, when 107 were counted) and was still present to 2nd. Other highlights included the Thrush Nightingale, which relocated to Schoolton and remained to 30th, the Icterine Warbler which continued to show well at Stackhoull until 2nd, Corncrake sightings on 30th and 31st and a Common Rosefinch still on 29th.
With the weather conditions over the last few days generally rather unpleasant, other than a brief break yesterday evening, there have not been a lot of new arrivals with most passerine migrants being lingering birds (including over 600 Meadow Pipits, although some southerly passage of this species was still being observed). Some new things did sneak through, with 7 Crossbill (30th), a Sedge Warbler and Woodpigeon (both 30th), whilst Tree Pipits peaked at 6 on 29th when there were also 29 Swallows.
The westerly gales brought another fresh pulse of waders and wildfowl to the island with the undoubted highlight being the three Pintail that flew east past South Light amongst a small group of Wigeon on 1st. Although an annual visitor to Fair Isle in very small numbers, these were the first I’d managed to connect with, so it was well worth spending 90 minutes in the back of the Transit (the preferred seawatching location when it’s raining so hard you could drown standing up) with Richard! Other counts included up to 45 Teal, 33 Wigeon and 4 Greylag, with a Tufted Duck seen on 1st.
Seawatching was otherwise fairly quiet, although there were 3 Sooty Shearwater on 31st, 5 Storm Petrels seen from the Good Shepherd on 29th (with a rare diurnal land-based sighting from Buness on 31st) and a ‘blue’ Fulmar on 29th. There were also small numbers of Kittiwakes offshore, along with 3 Arctic Terns (1st) and another arrival of Lesser Black-backed Gulls to the island, peaking at 47 on 1st.
There were no rare waders discovered (yet), but counts included up to 5 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Ruff, 45 Golden Plover and singles of Knot, Greenshank and Whimbrel. There was also a peak of 8 Grey Heron (30th).
One of the most impressive sights of the period was a day of multiple cetacean sightings on 30th. The initial call of ‘dolphins, distantly off Buness’ got people running out the Obs and the speed picked up a bit when 5 magnificent Killer Whales, including three huge bulls, surfaced a bit further out (it was especially pleasing for those visitors whose plane was delayed and were therefore able to see these special cetaceans, rather than just flying over Buness on their way home wondering what the crowd was looking at). The dolphins came closer and revealed themselves to be 40 White-beaked Dolphins and by the end of the day, there were another 2 White-beaked Dolphins seen, along with Minke Whale and 4 Porpoise.

Causing a splash. Some of the White-beaked Dolphins hunting off Buness.

After another morning of mizzly fog, things are starting to brighten up and, with White-rumped and Pectoral Sandpipers found yesterday in Shetland, we’re hopeful there’ll be something to be found out there soon...