birding never sleeps: UNST, part 2 of 3 (08-15 October)

Continuing my very enjoyable stay on Unst - personal guiding from Dave and Brenda's wonderful catering made it hard to imagine anywhere I would rather be in October.

Friday 08 October. A calm morning with light E/SE winds picking up as the day progressed. Feelings of eastern promise failed to materialize, again. From 07:15 we birded sites around Norwick, NorthDale, Haroldswick and Baltasound (Clingera and the pines by the school, as it was finished for the week) with a couple of stops in between. This included calling in on Brydon Thomasson to collect Brenda’s repaired Svarovski binoculars and return a borrowed pair. I spent the last hour of daylight on Clibberswick Hill failing to approach a large flock of Golden Plover although at distance they all looked very normal. The day’s highlight was seeing a very pale juvenile Honey Buzzard that came in from the direction of Lamba Ness soon after 09:00, passed almost directly over our heads at Valyie and continued slowly south. My low point was being behind Dave when he disturbed a Corncrake which dived into cover before I reached him. Despite searching the area for an hour we failed to see it again. Also seen were 6 Wigeon, the 2 male Long-tailed Ducks, 400 Golden Plover, 15 Common Snipe, 2 Razorbills, Great Northern Diver, Grey Heron, 25 Ravens, 3 Chiffchaffs, 13 Blackcaps, 2 presumed blythi Lesser Whitethroats, 2 Goldcrests, 4 Shetland Wrens, 4 Redwings, 2 Robins, Redstart, Whinchat, Dunnock, Tree Pipit, 9 Bramblings and 12 Twite.

Blackcap at Valyie

pale juvenile Honey Buzzard over Valyie

this bird initially had us scratching our heads being reminiscent when first seen of both Osprey and Booted Eagle

it was seen several times by others as it headed south down the island

gliding away on flat wings

Brambling at Valyie

presumed blythi Lesser Whitethroat at Haroldswick

Whinchat at Haroldswick

Twite at Millfield

Norwick from Clibberswick Hill

Song Thrush, not the species I was hoping to see on the dry stone walls of Clibberswick Hill

Saturday 09 October. We birded sites around Norwick from 07:20-10:30 seeing very little in very dull and sometimes drizzly weather. At 11:00 it looked a bit brighter although the wind had picked up. We went to Skaw which was sheltered in places but again saw very little other than distant fight views of a presumed out of habitat Barred Warbler. It disappeared over the brow of a hill, possibly heading towards the cliff edge. We failed to track it down and with the weather deteriorating we headed back. A few glances out of the window at Millfield showed no improvement until mid/late afternoon when I walked for an hour along the coast towards Clibberswick Hill. The black cliffs looked quite menacing and I kept my distance in the strengthening wind. I flushed a small pale finch-like bird out of the corner of my eye that disappeared over the cliff edge giving the impression of whitish pink, possibly a redpoll. Frustratingly I couldn't refind it without ging closer to the edge than I was comfortable with. We did see the 2 Long-tailed Ducks, Red-breasted Merganser, Bar-tailed Godwit, 2 Sanderlings, 3 Razorbills, 2 Black Guillemots, an almost convincing Siberian and 2 Common Chiffchaffs, 8 Blackcaps, 2 Redwings, Wheatear, 20 Brambling, 6 Twite and 8 Siskins.

Siberianish Chiffchaff at Skaw, sometimes it looked more convincing than others

Shetland Wren at Skaw

Cliffs of Clibberswick Hill

Red-breasted Merganser at Norwick

Sunday 10 October. Much as yesterday we birded sites around Norwick from 07:20-10:15 seeing very little in dull and sometimes wet weather. From 10:45-14:15 we walked around Lamba Ness finding shelter during the heaviest showers. The showers were getting heavier and as the wind picked up the intervals between them shortened. In one such interval we visited Burrafirth, rushing back to the car at the Shore Station. We drove around Stove and Harroldswick and were back in Norwick about 16:45, just ahead of a torrential downpour. It soon blew through but any thoughts I had of a final wander onto Clibberswick Hill were scuppered by the approach of more dark clouds. During the day we saw a Pink-footed Goose (Stove) 3 male Long-tailed Ducks (the two at Norwick and one at Burrafirth), 4 Eider, Red-breasted Merganser, Sanderlings, 5 Razorbills, a Carrion and 6 Hooded Crows, 25 Ravens, 2 Chiffchaffs, 6 Blackcaps, Garden Warbler, Redwing, 2 Wheatears, 20 Brambling, 21 Twite, 2 Siskins and 13 Snow Buntings (on Lamba Ness).

male Long-tailed Ducks off the beach at Norwick

Brambling at Valyie

Snow Buntings on Lamba Ness

Pink-footed Goose at Stove

Monday 11 October. With NW winds forecast Dave reckoned there were two options, looking for redpolls or seawatching. Dave has a considerable fondness for Hornemann’s Arctic Redpolls having found lots on Unst in recent years, so many he seems to be singlehandedly doing his best to have them removed from BBRC species list. With the winds lighter than forecast we went for the former and were out at 07:35 driving down to Norwick beach. Three male Long-tailed Duck were in the bay but very little was seen on the beach, nearby fields or at Valyie. Switch to plan B, seawatching, but driving towards Lamba Ness the weather looked to be improving and we continued on to Skaw in the hope of redpolls (back on plan A again). We walked out around the headland where a Snow Bunting flew over and Fulmars and Gannets were passing in moderate numbers. With dark clouds approaching we decided to revert to our seawatch plan and headed to Lamba Ness. Fulmars, Gannets and auks were passing at a steady rate and it wasn’t long before Dave picked out a Blue Fulmar and Sooty Shearwater. In two hours from 10:45 we saw 2000+ 'normal' and 5 Blue Fulmars, 400+ Gannets, 20 Sooty Shearwaters, 2 Little Auks (one looked to be in summer plumage), 250+ Razorbill/Guillemots (of which 2/3rds of those identified were the former), 2 Arctic Terns, a Bonxie and best of all a stunning full summer-plumaged White-billed Diver heading north. Also a distant slim small skua flew south which we wished had been closer. We were joined for the last half hour or so by Tony Davidson and his two companions although passage was dropping off and most of the interesting birds had dried up completely. One of his group spotted two tall ‘shark-like’ fins in the water but lost them before anyone could get onto them. A couple of minutes later I saw them momentarily and from the size, colour and pointedness wondered if they were Orcas but surely I would have seen some body? They never reappeared but Ray O’Rielly saw two Orcas at Lamba Ness a couple of hours later … We returned to Norwick to warm up and, with news of a Hornemann’s Arctic Redpoll on Foula, set off at 14:00 on our original quest, walking down to Norwick beach, where a female Long-tailed Duck had joined the two males. A Lesser Whitethroat was in the fields and looking in the trees immediately behind the house at Valyie Dave called ‘Hornemann’s in the sycamore’ or words to that effect. I saw a movement but the bird I was looking at, although quite striking, was brown and heavily streaked so surely not a Hornemann’s. Considerably puzzled, for a few monents until the Hornemann’s Arctic Redpoll jumped in beside it. What a bird! The original, a Northwestern race of Common Redpoll, hardly got another look. The redpolls moved onto the drying shed and roof of Valyie before shooting off around the house. I legged it up the hillside to get a signal and put the news out. Dave walked around the copse without seeing them again so we left. We continued to NorthDale (2 Merlins) and Burrafirth (Red-throated and distant Great Northern Divers). Recent days had been tough but pretty much everything fell into place for us today. Other birds seen included 5 Eider, 50 Golden Plover, 2 Chiffchaffs, 4 Blackcaps, 5 Redwings, 2 Robins, 2 Wheatears, 17 Bramblings, 3 Twite and a Siskin. Also 2 presumed Harbour Porpoises at Burrafirth. In the evening I went out several times to look for the aurora. It was a very cold and dark night with virtually no light pollution but initially almost complete cloud cover. By 23:00 broken clouds covered about half the sky revealing many stars. On the northern horizon between the lower layers of cloud was often a paler wash which, at times and with a vivid imagination, might have been greenish. No shimmering was noted but any would probably have been due to my shivering. Attempts at photography, with phone and camera, produced only all place images despite using a range of shutter speeds on the latter. Rather a disappointment.

the Norwick Long-tailed Ducks had increased again

Shags at Skaw

Dave seawatching at Lamba Ness. It sometimes pays to check the foot of a rainbow

This superb White-billed Diver was a more than adequate pot of gold (photo: Dave Cooper)

Northwestern (Common) and Hornemann's Arctic Redpolls at Valyie

no doubt who was the boss

Northwestern (Common) Redpoll at Valyie

it took me a while to adjust to the redpolls on Shetland. On my last visit (October 2019) there were lots of frosty Mealy Redpolls around and I saw 2 Arctics, one each of Coues's and Hornemann's. This time there were very few Mealys. 'Northwesterns' were the most frequent Common Redpolls seen with a couple of Greenlands for good measure. Northwesterns

Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll and ghost House Sparrow at Valyie

what a bird, those trousers!

Tuesday 12 October. We seawatched at Lamba Ness from 08:10-10:35, the highlight of me was 12 Sooty Shearwaters. Dave also saw 4 Blue Fulmars and 2 Little Auks which I failed to pick up. The cold was starting to take effect so we returned to ‘Redpoll mode’ and continued to Skaw but all we could find was the ‘Siberian’ Chiffchaff. Today it looked a bit more convincing than it had a few days ago but maybe that was down to the light. We headed to Norwick Beach to meet Matt Eade leading a Naturetrek group. He’d justseen a Hornemann’s Arctic Redpoll, presumably the one we’d found the previous day at nearby Valyie. We had a flight view of it as it shot off along the cliffs towards the start of Lamba Ness. We returned to Millfield where Brenda had found a flock of four redpolls in the garden – three Commons (a juvenile Mealy and two Northwesterns) and, another Hornemann’s Arctic Redpoll! After spending some time with the redpolls, which were quite mobile, we drove to Burrafirth and saw 2 Common Redpolls at the Shore Station, one a large brown streaked Greenland type the other a paler less streaked Northwestern which are now the more predominant type occurring on Unst in autumn. Subsequent stops didn’t produce anything further. As well as the birds mentioned above I saw 6 Eider, 7 Long-tailed Ducks, 4 Sanderling, 150 Kittiwakes, a Bonxie, 500 auks, 2 Red-throated Divers, 5000+ Fulmars, 1000 Gannets, Blackcap, Brambling, 7 Twite and 2 Siskins. While writing up notes in the evening I became violently ill, hot and shivery and very weak. Apparently I also looked very pale and Dave and Brenda called a doctor (on an isolated island one takes no chances). Fortunately he could find nothing fundamentally wrong with me, gave me some tablets for nausea and thought with rest I’d be back to normal in a day or two. I was to let him know if I wasn’t. Very impressive service from the local doctor.

Sooty Shearwater passing Lamba Ness (photo: Dave Cooper)

Siberian Chiffchaff at Skaw

Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll at Millfield, a different bird with a more extensive peachy hood and a few pencil-thin streaks on the undertail coverts

it was also seen at the same time as the Norwick individual

with Northwestern Redpoll

quite a size difference even though the Hornemann's is closer

Hornemann's back in the garden

Eider at Burrafirth

Long-tailed Duck at Burrafirth

Greenland Redpoll at Burrafirth

a much browner bulkier bird than the other Northwestern types we were seeing

Northwestern Redpoll at Burrafirth

much whiter below

Wednesday 13 October. I woke after a reasonable night – thankfully no dashes to the toilet - feeling much better if rather weak. A very light breakfast had no ill effect and we walked down to Valyie. Four Long-tailed Ducks in the bay, 30 Redwings overhead, a Wheatear on the beach and 8 Bramblings in the area but we couldn’t find either of yesterday’s Hornemann’s Arctic Redpolls. With news of 4 Orcas heading north out of Haroldswick Bay we headed for Lamba Ness in the hope of catching them. Just over an hour later Dave picked out one some distance to our north and I got onto it for a couple of seconds as it dived. Despite intense scanning we never saw it again. Not the way I’d hoped to see one. Four were seen in Norwick Bay at about this time and we wrongly assumed that they were still on their way as it seems very likely they all passed Lamba Ness submerged, very frustrating. While watching for the Orcas I saw a Bonxie, 2 Puffins and 10 Snow Buntings but hardly any auks and comparatively few Fulmars and Gannets. A Pink-footed Goose was with the Greylag Geese at Inner Skaw. We drove to Burrafurth where the Orcas had been seen the previous day to find we’d missed them by half an hour. Long-tailed Duck, Black Guillemot and Great Northern Diver were little compensation. Later the Orcas were seen at Westing, an option we’d considered but dismissed as being too much of a long shot as they rarely came into the bay there. They had but would hopefully circuit Unst again before I left although on today's performance they may need to do so several times before I get a decent view. At Burrafirth we flushed a Jack Snipe and saw 5 Twite. In Norwick a Northwestern and Brenda’s Hornemann’s Arctic Redpoll were on a wall by the road junction and there were 5 Long-tailed Duck in the bay (4 males and a female). A return visit to Valyie added Chiffchaff a few more Redwings and Bramblings.

Orange Peel fungi in Quoys Quarry

Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll beside the road in Norwick

looking very much like the one Brenda found yesterday

the accompanying Northwestern Redpoll

Thursday 14 October. A day of strong winds, shifting from W to NW as the day progressed with heavy showers lessening and the temperature dropping. We checked Norwick Beach at 07:50 seeing an Eider and 4 Long-tailed Duck (3 adult males) before heading to Lamba Ness. There we seawatched from 08:10-10:20 by which time the cold was taking effect. I saw 2 Bonxies, 2 Sooty Shearwaters, 3000 Fulmars (Dave saw 2 Blue Fulmars), Merlin and Snow Bunting. We tried again from 12:45-14:05 seeing male Long-tailed Duck, Great Northern Diver, Sooty Shearwater and 8000 Fulmars (with another Blue Fulmar for Dave). Skaw provided no shelter and just a Shetland Wren (one of three seen today). From 15:15-17:45, with Dave catching up on paperwork, I walked down to Valyie, up the ravine and back by the old road. I saw Brenda’s Hornemann’s Arctic and 2 Northwestern Redpolls in a Norwick garden, 8 Long-tailed Duck, including 4 adult males, off the beach. Other sightings during the day included Jack Snipe, 15 Ravens, 2 Blackcaps, 30 Redwings, a Robin, 20 Chaffinches and 14 Twite.

Hornemann's Arctic and Northwestern Redpolls in a garden in Norwick

and vice-versa

Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll in Norwick

Lamba Ness from the top of the old road

Norwick and the top of the old road

Clibberswick Hill

Friday 15 October. With the wind back to NW, and quite strong, we seawatched from Lamba Ness from about 07:50-10:20. Very impressive numbers of Fulmars were passing. I did several timed counts of 200 and initially it took 75-80 seconds for that many to pass, falling to 55-60 seconds then rising to 95 seconds. Crude calculations suggested 25,000 flew north (an average of 10,000 per hour). Amongst them I saw 9 Blue Fulmars although I missed several others. We also saw 3 Bonxies, a Black Guillemot and over 100 unidentified auks, a Red-throated Diver, 11 Sooty Shearwaters, 250 Gannets and 20 Snow Buntings. Very enjoyable, until the cold set in, but we’d hoped such an Arctic blast might have produced a bit more variety. After returning for a welcome cup of tea we waked down to Norwick Beach where there were 7 Long-tailed Duck, a Sanderling and a Razorbill. In strengthening winds Valyie produced a Chiffchaff, 15 Bramblings, both Hornemann’s Arctic Redpolls together with 2 Northwestern Redpolls (nice that they’d joined up) and 2 Siskins. After a late lunch, during which time we missed a couple of heavy showers, we drove to Haroldswick and walked a circuit around the area seeing 2 Northwestern Redpolls (possibly those from the Shore Station a few days ago as one looked very good for a Greenland). A final look at Norwick Beach produced 10 Long-tailed Duck.