2008 - November - December

1^st – 10^th December: The early part of December saw very little of note as cold winter weather really set in. A ‘mealy’ Common Redpoll was seen on 1^st. Two dark-bellied Brent Geese remain with the Greylags and two Wigeon and a Common Scoter were other wildfowl sightings. An Oystercatcher lingers as do the odd Skylark and two female Chaffinches. A Waxwing on 3^rd and Glaucous Gull (5^th & 6^th) are the highlights so far.

17^th November: A male Yellowhammer at Auld Haa was the only new sighting.

 
Eurasian Whitefronted Geese Photograph by Deryk Shaw

16^th November:  The Woodlark still frequents the Lower Stoneybrek crop. A Stonechat was at Dutfield, where an adult and a juvenile Whooper Swan were on the sea. Just four Brent Geese were seen but also four Eurasian Whitefronted Geese and a Common Scoter was in South Harbour. There was a report from an islander of a Crane flying around.

15^th November: An improvement in the weather with just showers driven by a gale force southwesterly wind! A wander around the south found that both Woodlark and Shorelark are still present as are five Brent, single Greenland Whitefronted and Barnacle with 195 Greylag Geese. Long-eared Owls are in the Obs Plantation and Plantation. Thrushes (mainly Blackbird & Redwing) are still very evident and other passerines include around a dozen Meadow Pipits, Chifchaff and 60 Snow Buntings.

14th November: A truly horrible day with constant rain and a gradually freshening SW’ly wind, reaching gale force by late afternoon. Not much to report but a male Blackcap was trapped in the Plantation, a Chiffchaff is at Lower Stoneybrek and a Long-eared Owl is sheltering in the Obs Plantation. Five Brent Geese remain and the Greenland Whitefront is with the 185 Greylag Geese. Long-eared Owl Photograph by Deryk Shaw

13^th November: A brisk southwesterly with frequent showers kept census to a minimum. There has been some goose movement overnight with Greylags down to c90 and only 3 Barnacles and 5 Brent Geese left. However, new in are 4 Eurasian Whitefronts with the Greenland Whitefront! A single Waxwing, the Greenfinch and mealy Redpoll were noted. Thrushes seemed much less evident.

Brent Geese Photograph by Deryk Shaw
12th November: Lighter winds from a northwesterly direction. A long day in the south produced some good counts with 190 Greylag Geese plus the Greenland Whitefront, 6 Barnacles and 6 Brent Geese. Thrush numbers were; 200 Blackbird, 130 Fieldfare, 300 Redwing and 6 Song Thrush. Small stuff included; 32 Skylark, 10 Robin, Blackcap, 2 Chiffchaff, Chaffinch, 2 Brambling, Greenfinch, 63 Twite, mealy Redpoll and 190 Snow Bunting. Best of all however were the rediscovery of the Shorelark (now at Shirva) and the Woodlark (now at Lower Stoneybrek). Woodlark Photograph by Deryk Shaw

11^th November: Woodcock are still everywhere with an estimated 400 on the isle. Thrush numbers are a bit less with just 80 Blackbird, 100 Fieldfare and 200 Redwing. Also of note were now 6 Brent Geese, 3 Short-eared owls, 22 Skylark and a Stonechat.

10^th November: Still hundreds of thrushes around with conservative estimates of 200 Blackbird, 320 Fieldfare and 450 Redwing plus 2-300 Woodcock. A Little Auk flew past South Light.

9^th November: The strong wind continues and birding was pretty much the same as yesterday, with the addition of a Grey Phalarope in South Harbour.

8^th November: The gale force southeasterly wind continues but thankfully with very little rain today. The day started well with two Brent Geese outside the Obs (another was found in the south later) and a European Stonechat at Dutfield. A thrash around the south found the Woodlark still present at Midway and an adult Iceland Gull amongst the 1,000+ Herring Gulls. Two ‘Mealy’ Common Redpolls and single Chiffchaff, Chaffinch, Brambling and Greenfinch were also noted, but best of all was a (long-awaited) Olive-backed Pipit flushed from the Utra bird-crop.
After a quick lunch, a stride around the north produced highlights of a Slavonian Grebe in North Haven and a Mistle Thrush at Dronger. Thrush numbers were still high with several hundred each of Blackbird, Fieldfare and Redwing plus a handful of Song Thrush. Woodcock too were plentiful with 45 flushed, but the actual number must have been many times more.

Brent Goose Photograph by Deryk Shaw

Woodlark Photograph by Deryk Shaw

7^th November: A gale force southeasterly wind with frequent rain showers meant that birding was virtually impossible although there were still hundreds of thrushes and many Woodcock around. The Woodlark was still at Midway.

6th November: A brisk, cool southeasterly wind brought in a sizeable influx of thrushes and Woodcock. A mad rush around the isle flushed 40 Woodcock and produced counts of 290 Blackbird, 350 Fieldfare and 550 Redwing. Lots of gulls were also taking refuge including 2,500 Herring Gulls and 800 Great Black-backed Gulls. A Long-eared Owl was at Pund and a fine adult male Sparrowhawk was eating a Redwing at Raeva. Other increased counts included 14 Lapwing, 17 Common Gull, 33 Waxwing, 12 Robin, 25 Goldcrest and 8 ‘mealy’ Common Redpoll. A couple each of Siberian Chiffchaff and Brambling plus a Greenfinch were also noted but the highlight was a Woodlark in the field by Midway.

Long-eared owl Photograph by Deryk Shaw

5^th November: A light easterly wind brought in a few more thrushes with counts of 20 Blackbird, 60 Fieldfare and 250 Redwing. A Long-eared Owl was at Skerryholm, three Siberian Chifchaffs and two ‘mealy’ Common Redpolls were logged but best of all was a Shore Lark at Leogh!!

4th November: An exodus of birding staff was the most significant movement today!! They managed to see a Black Redstart at the Obs before they left and reported five Little Auk on the Fair Isle side of the Good Shepherd crossing (plus 64 nearer Sumburgh). A lonely thrash around the isle produced a male Goldeneye in Furse, a Long-eared Owl in the Plantation, three Waxwings, a couple of Blackcaps and three Common Redpolls (two ‘Northwestern’ and one ‘Mealy’). Waxwings Photographs by Deryk Shaw

3^rd November: A couple of new birds today were 2 Long-eared Owl (1 caught on morning traps and the other at Easterhoull) and a Yellow-browed Warbler at the Obs. The 6 Barnacle Geese, Grey Phalarope (South Haven), 2 Waxwing (Obs) and the tristis Chiffchaff were all still present.

2^nd November: There was again a Grey Phalarope in South Haven, probably not one of the original birds. There were two Waxwing in the Obs garden first thing then much of the afternoon, when was trapped for ringing. Other birds seen included 1 Water Rail, 1 Woodcock, 1 Dunnock, 4 Chiffchaff (including the tristis), 3 Brambling, 1 Greenfinch, 2 Common Redpoll and a high count of 220 Snow Buntings.

Waxwing Photographs by Mark Breaks

1^st November: There were 6 Barnacle Geese and a Greenland White-fronted Goose and the female Goldeneye remained in South Harbour. Both Red-throated and Great Northern Divers were seen during the morning. Waxwing numbers had increased to 6. 4 Woodcock, 4 Blackcap, 1 Chiffchaff, 2 Greenfinch, 2 Common Redpolls and a Yellowhammer were the best of the rest.