UNST Autumn 2022: part 1 (29 September -05 October)

I’d stayed with Dave and Brenda at Millfield on Unst in October 2019 (see here) and October 2021 (see here) and with one or two exceptions (in 2019) really enjoyed it. I was most grateful to be able to take advantage of Dave and Brenda's hospitality again this year. I decided to time my visit slightly earlier than previously, mainly because with Lamba Ness being out of bounds due to Space Port developments there would be no seawatching opportunities on Unst, something I'd particularly enjoyed on previous visits.

Wednesday 28 September. I left home just after 08:00 and caught the bus into Brighton arriving 40 minutes before the National Express coach to Gatwick. I realized while on the bus that I’d almost certainly forgotten to pack my waterproof over-trousers. A quick Google search showed a Trespass store near the centre of Aberdeen which I hoped would stock some. The Gatwick coach was on time and with no hold luggage I proceeded through security and, an hour later, boarded the EasyJet flight to Aberdeen which was full. It landed a few minutes early and I was soon on a bus to the Union Square Bus Station. From there it was a few minutes walk to the Northlink Ferry Terminal where I left my main bag. I walked to the Trinity Centre and fortunately Trespass had some pretty decent waterproof trousers my size in a 60% off sale for £32. With almost two hours before I needed to board the ferry I walked around the harbor to Torry Battery and back seeing Goldeneye, 40 Oystercatchers, Kittiwake, 12+ Guillemots, 4 Gannets, Shag and Grey Wagtail. Returning to Northlink I collected my bag, boarded the Hjaltland and found my allocated reclining seat. It actually reclined but I decided to start off sleeping on the floor, moving to the seat – which reclined more than aircraft’s do - halfway through the night when the floor felt a bit hard.

leaving Gatwick

Aberdeen Harbour

                             

Thursday 29 September. I was on deck at dawn and by the time we docked in Lerwick just before 07:30 had seen 38 Eider, 3 Black Guillemots and the first of several Ravens. After 20 minutes at the bus stop outside the ferry terminal it was then connecting bus to Toft, ferry to Ulsta, full minibus to Gutcher and ferry to Belmont on Unst. As I was leaving the ferry I noticed three heads in the water, close to the northern shore and as I anticipated three fully grown Otters emerged from the sea and ran along the seaweed and rocky shore. Not close but a brilliant welcome back to Unst. Jimmy, who Dave and Brenda had bought their house from was driving the minibus up to Haroldswick where he dropped off the other 6 passengers with instructions about when to be back (16:15) and places worth visiting (Heritage Centre & Boatyard, although they all dived straight into Victoria’s Tearooms). We continued to Millfield where it was great to see Dave, Brenda was helping at the Heritage Centre as part of Wool Week. I dumped my stuff, had a cup of tea and Bannock and Saw a Yellow-browed Warbler in the garden before we walked down towards Valyie. We saw Willie on the way and Dave added me to his permit to visit Willie’s fields. Wilma wasn’t in but we saw her on the way back and did likewise. Valyie was virtually birdless, at least compared with last year, although we saw 3 or 4 Yellow-browed Warblers for varying degrees of briefness but 3 Common Rosefinches from previous days appeared to have moved on although a Long-tailed Duck in the bay, Dave’s first of the autumn, was some compensation. We also couldn’t find a long staying Barred Warbler despite it having been seen earlier in the day. Most disappointing though was news of a Hornemann’s Arctic Redpoll seen briefly at Valyie half an hour after we’d been there. We saw a Redstart in Norwick, returned to Millfield and drove to Skaw which was also quiet. There we saw about 20 Common Snipe, 30 Golden Plover and a Yellow-browed Warbler. Single Redwing and Fieldfare were on a fence along Holsten’s Road which was in a very poor condition thanks to Spaceport traffic. Brenda was back when we returned to Millfield having had a successful day with the visitors at the Heritage Centre. Very few of the fences we climbed over had barbed wire, we made a point of avoiding them where possible, but one had ripped the seat of my trousers along two sides of a one inch square.

leaving Toft on the Yell ferry

Common Snipe at Skaw

Golden Plover at Skaw

Friday 30 September. We woke to strengthening winds and walked down to Norwick and on to Valyie before the weather deteriorated. It was very quiet with the Long-tailed Duck in the bay and we had brief views of a Yellow-browed Warbler and 2 Brambling (my first finches this visit). We returned mid-morning so Dave and Brenda could have their Covid booster and flu jabs at the Health Centre. As they were preparing to leave Brenda spotted a pale sparrow-like bird fly into the garden. An Ortolan Bunting, it hopped down the drive, around the patio and flew into bushes in the bottom corner and disappeared. We left for the Health Centre and I wandered around the Doctor’s Garden seeing a Yellow-browed Warbler just before the rain started. After lunch I walked up Clibberswick Hill although it was hard work into a 70 mph wind and at times driving rain. I didn’t make to the top but went far enough to find a single then a group of 3 Snow Buntings before turning around. Thankfully my waterproof trousers were pretty good, until I kneeled/sat down to watch the Snow Buntings. I saw two more on my return although one was probably the first I’d seen. The weather didn’t improve and I didn’t venture out again. While drying out I noticed one of my trousers’ seams had come undone. Two days in and both pairs damaged although Brenda mended the first and the second wasn't serious (and lasted until I arrived home)!

Ortolan Bunting through Millfield's kitchen window, a great find by Brenda

                           

Lamba Ness from East Hill, a not atypical Unst autumn weather window for a Space Port!

Saturday 01 October. A nicer morning but still a moderate wind and some sharp showers. We walked down to Norwick Beach seeing an Otter running across the sand and into the sea. On to Valyie where we saw 2 Yellow-browed Warblers, 3 Tree Sparrows (in flight), a Siskin and yesterday’s Ortolan Bunting (relocated from Millfield by Martin who was a few metres ahead of us at this point, having been 2 metres behind for the previous hour). Four more Siskins were seen in Norwick as we walked back. Mid-morning we drove to Northdale where an exhausted looking Barn Owl (first for Unst for over 100 years) had been seen roosting by Scott. No luck despite trying hard with my thermal imager although a female Hen Harrier hunting in the valley was some compensation. We continued to Haroldswick but only managed a Blackcap at the site we visited. Walking back to the car we learnt that the roosting Barn Owl had been seen again by Roger, assisted by his thermal imager, and arranged to meet him there to help us find it. It wasn’t where he’d previously seen it, before our first visit as it turned out, or in the immediate area. We tried the nearby marsh and a quarry on the way to Burrafirth but saw nothing. At the Shore Station we met Robbie who had frustratingly just seen a probable Horneman’s Arctic Redpoll fly over calling in our direction. Another near miss although checking the nearby Hermaness car park we saw the blythi Lesser Whitethroat that had been present for a while. We returned for tea and with Brenda revisited Northdale where, as the light was almost gone, the Barn Owl was picked out on a distant post giving identifiable views through a telescope. Suggestions that there might be an Aurora had me checking the sky three times between 10-11pm but despite broken cloud nothing was visible to my eyes or on a few speculative photos.

Yellow-browed Warbler at Valyie, showing quite an obvious crown-stripe

the Ortolan Bunting had moved to Norwick

Siskin in Norwick

Saxavord Space Port head offices, cunningly disguised as the local toilet block

Orange-peel fungi on Unst

Sunday 02 October. We walked down to Norwick in an unexpectedly strong westerly wind. Little was seen there or on the way. Valyie was a better with male and female Merlins, 2 Yellow-browed Warblers, Goldcrest, Spotted Flycatcher and 3 Bramblings. We failed to get to grips with a puzzling small plain brown warbler giving a few very brief mainly flight views keeping very low in the sycamores at the bottom of the burn (flying once into the conifers and back). Back at Norwick Dave recorded no beached birds on his monthly survey but a smart juvenile Sanderling there was nice. After an early lunch we drove to Burrafirth for Dave’s other survey finding single Gannet and Guillemot corpses, and a live Wheatear. This year at the nearby Hermaness gannetry an estimated 5000 birds (17%) have died of Avian Flu. Tragic. Above the Shore Station the blythi Lesser Whitethroat was still present, although performed no better for my camera although it gave me chances. The rest of the day was spent at Skaw which was quiet except for a flock of 9 Snow Buntings and some flyover Twite. In the evening we learned that a pale unstreaked acro had been seen in the field adjacent to the burn at Valyie, presumably our plain brown warbler from the morning. An Unst birders WhatsApp group message from Robbie Brooks had us going out to look for the Aurora. Fortunately there was limited cloud cover and it was obvious that something major was going on with an extensive pale glow to the north. I saw a green and briefly a yellow tinge in the sky, once with a shimmering curtain effect and once with the green being quite prominent. The only disappointment is that all my photos with iPhone & DSLR and all bar two taken with a pocket camera appear completely black although later brightening revealed several of the pocket camera images taken at 15 seconds (the longest exposure possible) were not..

Shetland Wren at Valyie

Eider at Burrafirth

Snow Buntings at Skaw

Lamba Ness being bulldozed to create the world's most exposed space port on a rare autumn day when the sun shone and the winds were less than 20 mph

aurora from Millfield

Norwick Bay just about discernable in some images, with a bit of imagination!

Dave did much better than me, one of the more impressive displays he had seen (photo: Dave Cooper)

Monday 03 October. The wind had dropped and we walked down to Norwick hopeful of a better day. The Long-tailed Duck was back in the bay and we saw 2 Yellow-browed Warblers and a blythi Lesser Whitethroat at Valyie before bumping into the birder’s who’d seen the unstreaked acro the previous evening. It was still about, but spending most of its time hidden in the crop and being no easier to see. We spent the rest of the morning on it before obtaining a perched view through binoculars. The consensus was it being a Blyth’s Reed Warbler and after another hour or so, during which time Matt Eade arrived with his group, Dave obtained confirmatory images. After chatting to Matt we left and on the way back to Millfield saw the Ortolan Bunting flying over and dropping into Norwick. We could not find it where we thought it went, or nearby. More frustrating was flushing a dark pipit from a roadside ditch which appeared to drop into the graveyard. It called three times sounding like an Olive-backed Pipit but again we failed to locate it. After a late lunch and with the wind dropping further we decided to walk the Haroldswick loop but saw nothing (Bluethroat and Barred Warbler had been seen there earlier, and both species were seen at the Brewery Marsh while we were at Haroldswick). We came back via Feall (also nothing) and Northdale (Yellow-browed Warbler for Dave, nothing for me – I was looking the wrong way). Back at Millfield Dave flushed a pipit from the edge of a flowerbed and flew into a sycamore in the most densely part of the garden. I picked it up in the thermal imager as an orange spot but we couldn’t see it deep in the vegetation, nor could we after a few minutes when it appeared to flick away. The bird was silent but its behavior suggested it being the earlier almost certain Olive-backed Pipit might be a good call. A frustrating end to a pretty frustrating day. 100% cloud cover put paid to any Aurora watching on a night that might have a similarly high level of activity.

Blyth's Reed Warbler at Valyie (photos: Dave Cooper)

Tuesday 04 October. Heavy overnight rain persisted into the morning as did the strong SW wind, about the worst possible conditions for Shetland. After a leisurely breakfast we left at 10:00 and walked down the road to Norwick and Valyie. Two flocks totaling about 40 Lapwings struggled into Norwick as did a few Common Snipe. Although it took a while to realise that small flocks of Greylag Geese were arriving too, and continued to do so throughout the day. At least 100 Redwings were seen around Valyie, flying in and out of the conifers and onto the open hillside above. A few more finches were evident but in small numbers with Chaffinch, 7 Brambling, 4 Twite, 3 Greenland and a Lesser Redpoll and 3 Siskins. Dave saw a Yellow-browed Warbler but we had little else and returned for lunch at 13:00. At 14:00 we drove to Skaw and walked a southern circuit where a flock of 22 Snow Buntings flew over twice and we also saw 7 Twite, up to 50 Redwings and a Woodpigeon. The Brewery Marsh produced a smart male Bluethroat but we drew another blank, other than more Redwings, on the Haroldswick circuit before returning at 18:00.

Golden Plover at Saxavord

Bluethroat at Saxavord

Shetland Ponies having another bad hair day

Wednesday 05 October. Heavy rain pre-dawn had eased off by 08:00 when we left to walking down to Norwick and Valyie. The wind was more southerly but still strong. A small flock of Lapwings and another of Greylag Geese came in but there were fewer thrushes about. We had more fleeting views of the Blyth’s Reed Warbler (a flight view which I briefly saw through binoculars was the best I managed), 2 Yellow-browed Warblers, a blythi Lesser Whitethroat, Spotted Flycatcher and 9 Bramblings. With news of a flock of 6 Glossy Ibis at Skaw we walked back to Millfield for a quick drink before driving there. Scott and Angela, the finder, were standing by the road and pointed out the Glossy Ibis 100m away on the other side of the valley. They appeared to be feeding actively but were rather skittish and several times flew short distances. At Burrafirth we saw the blythi Lesser Whitethroat at the Shore Station but a walk along the burn produced nothing, as had both previous visits. We returned for lunch at 13:15 before setting off again at 14:00. At Northdale we saw another Yellow-browed Warbler, various sites around Haroldswick a Merlin, the Brewery Marsh nothing and Norwick Beach a Sanderling.

Glossy Ibises at Skaw

Rock Pipit at Burrafirth