Latest sightings
19th September 2024
Weather: Sunny start, warm again until c.midday when cloud descended, becoming a foggy late afternoon and evening. F4 S-SE.
Another fine day of birding, with more September sun before a thick haa rolled in. Nevertheless, a fair few birds were new in, with a Little Bunting ringed in the morning trap round alongside a Barred Warbler, a Wryneck and Red-breasted Flycatcher among the crofts and a Bluethroat along the Walli Burn in the late afternoon. Yellow-browed Warblers were scattered across the Isle, from the comforting cover of Vaila's Trees to the grassy slopes of Dronger. The Siberian Stonechat first found yesterday was still present and spent most of the day around Lower Leogh, while the Tennessee Warbler was once again in attendance, and even twitched by a few day visitors...who became overnight visitors as the visibility deteriorated by the afternoon and flights off-Isle were cancelled. A single Rosefinch remains from our flock of recent days, while a few Grey Herons, two Tree Sparrows and a Grasshopper Warbler were also among the arrivals.
A Little Bunting was a nice surprise in the Plantation Heligoland alongside a Barred Warbler (Alex Penn)
HIGHLIGHTS
SIBERIAN STONECHAT: Present for its second day, mostly around Lower Leogh.
TENNESSEE WARBLER: Present for its sixth day.
Wryneck: One at Pund, then moved souht through various crofts.
Yellow-browed Warbler: 11.
Barred Warbler: One ringed in Plantation.
Bluethroat: One in the Walli Burn.
Red-breasted Flycatcher: One at Quoy.
Common Rosefinch: One at Lower Leogh.
Ortolan Bunting: One at Single Dyke flew to Byerwalls.
Little Bunting: One ringed in Plantation.
Our first day of double-figure Yellow-browed Warblers this autumn (Jonnie Fisk)
Sightings of note: 9 Pink-footed Goose, 14 Wigeon, 1 Teal, 1 Goldeneye, 8 Oystercatcher, 11 Lapwing, 13 Golden Plover, 16 Ringed Plover, 13 Curlew, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 56 Turnstone, 4 Ruff, 3 Sanderling, 8 Dunlin, 63 Snipe, 18 Redshank, 1 Greenshank, 1 Kittiwake, 8 Common Gull, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 23 Great Skua, 1 Razorbill, 1 Great Northern Diver, 1 Cormorant, 6 Grey Heron, 1 Sparrowhawk, 3 Kestrel, 1 Merlin, 3 Carrion Crow, 113 Skylark, 2 Sand Martin, 8 Swallow, 11 Willow Warbler, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 20 Blackcap, 3 Garden Warbler, 8 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Common Whitethroat, 1 Blackbird, 3 Song Thrush, 2 Spotted Flycatcher, 4 Pied Flycatcher, 11 Whinchat, 25 Wheatear, 2 Tree Sparrow, 1 Dunnock, 2 Grey Wagtail, 4 Pied Wagtail, 1 White Wagtail, 13 alba Wagtail, 379 Meadow Pipit, 57 Rock Pipit, 115 Twite, 2 Lapland Bunting, 3 Snow Bunting
Our New World star can still be seen feeding on angelica in the croft gardens (Phil Woollen)
Other wildlife: 1 Painted Lady, 1 Silver Y
Year list: 197
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18th September 2024
Weather: Full sunshine and cloudless skies for most of the day. Warm. F4-5 SSE.
Our second Shetland summer continues, with another day of clement weather and relentless sunshine. It seemingly allowed a few migrant passerines to move on, though bringing with it a few others, including the first Dunnock of the autumn, another Yellow-browed Warbler, at least one Barred Warbler and then a fine Siberian Stonechat found (once again by Rob Hughes and Nina O'Hanlon) at Field Ditch in the mid-afternoon. The Tennessee Warbler stuck for its fourth day - seen intermittently around Chalet and Upper Stoneybrek, with yesterday's four Rosefinches all in attendance and the Pectoral Sandpiper of recent days still about, swapping its Chatham's Land puddle for the comparative sea of Da Water.
This Siberian Stonechat was found near field this afternoon (Alex Penn)
HIGHLIGHTS
SIBERIAN STONECHAT: One showing features of maurus was at Field ditch mid-afternoon.
TENNESSEE WARBLER: Present for its fourth day, though harder to find.
Pectoral Sandpiper: Present on Da Water.
Yellow-browed Warbler: One at Vaila's Trees.
Barred Warbler: Two at Burkle.
Common Rosefinch: Four at the Obs' in the morning.
Siberian Stonechat (Alex Penn)
Sightings of note: 3 Greylag Goose, 10 Pink-footed Goose, 7 Wigeon, 5 Teal, 2 Oystercatcher, 13 Lapwing, 11 Golden Plover, 26 Ringed Plover, 24 Curlew, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 33 Turnstone, 4 Sanderling, 5 Dunlin, 98 Snipe, 24 Redshank, 4 Common Gull, 29 Great Skua, 5 Razorbill, 1 Cormorant, 1 Grey Heron, 3 Kestrel, 1 Merlin, 184 Skylark, 12 Swallow, 7 Willow Warbler, 2 Sedge Warbler, 7 Blackcap, 1 Garden Warbler, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Common Whitethroat, 2 Goldcrest, 1 Blackbird, 2 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Robin, 5 Pied Flycatcher, 7 Whinchat, 8 Wheatear, 1 Dunnock, 1 Grey Wagtail, 3 White Wagtail, 17 alba Wagtail, 543 Meadow Pipit, 1 Tree Pipit, 77 Rock Pipit, 119 Twite, 2 Redpoll sp., 1 Lapland Bunting, 21 Snow Bunting
This flighty Lapland Bunting has been hanging around the cru on Meoness and the Walli Burn in recent days (Luke Marriner)
Other wildlife: 1 Painted Lady, 1 Silver Y, 2 Shetland Bee
Year list: 197
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17th September 2024
Weather: Mostly overcast, but mild. F3-2 SW.
A calm, overcast day, with some new scarce arrivals to keep us occupied. The Tennessee Warbler was present around Upper Stoneybrek again for its third day and seen intermittently by the Obs' team and visiting birders. At Chatham's Land the Pectoral Sandpiper was still catching leatherjackets in its puddle, while the Ortolan Bunting around Gilsetter and Byerwalls was still present and eventually trapped and ringed in Plantation. A juvenile Turtle Dove dropped in nearby shortly afterwards before continuing south and seen later on the Rippack. By midday an Arctic Warbler was in the Observatory garden, to be promptly caught and ringed there, showing it to be a first calendar-year bird in fine fettle. Visting birders Rob and Nina then continued their best efforts at upstaging the Obs' team by discovering the first Yellow-browed Warbler of the autumn in the Plantation and then a flock of three Common Rosefinches down the road at Chalet. A separate Rosefinch was then in the Obs' garden, while the three birds were caught and ringed at various points throughout the afternoon, as was the Yellow-browed Warbler, which became the first here to be included in a new country-wide colour-ringing scheme for this species. A 'blue' Fulmar logged from the Good Shepherd IV, the first Grey Wagtail of the autumn new in and the Lapland Bunting total rising to four were among today's other highlights.
The first Fair Isle record of Ortolan since 2019 has been a pleasant addition to census in recent days (Alex Penn)
HIGHLIGHTS
TENNESSEE WARBLER: Present for its third day, once again mostly around Upper Stoneybrek.
Turtle Dove: A juv. dropped into Byerwalls, then toured areas in the south of the Isle.
Pectoral Sandpiper: The juv. was still at Chatham's Land for most of the day.
Yellow-browed Warbler: The first of the autumn at Plantation, then trapped and ringed.
Arctic Warbler: One at the Observatory garden, later trapped and ringed.
Common Rosefinch: Four; a flock of three dropped into Chalet, with another mobile bird elsewhere. Three birds were then ringed.
Ortolan Bunting: One still present at Gilsetter, then trapped and ringed.
The Tennessee Warbler remains, though it needs to linger a bit longer to break the two-week streak of the first record for Fair Isle (and Britain!) (Alex Penn)
Sightings of note: 5 Greylag Goose, 9 Pink-footed Goose, 17 Wigeon, 6 Teal, 1 Goldeneye, 3 Oystercatcher, 12 Lapwing, 8 Golden Plover, 25 Ringed Plover, 15 Curlew, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 71 Turnstone, 4 Ruff, 3 Sanderling, 7 Dunlin, 3 Purple Sandpiper, 72 Snipe, 84 Redshank, 1 Kittiwake, 2 Black-headed Gull, 30 Common Gull, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 39 Great Skua, 7 Razorbill, 1 Great Northern Diver, 1 'blue' Fulmar, 2 Storm Petrel, 3 Grey Heron, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Kestrel, 1 Merlin, 4 Carrion Crow, 162 Skylark, 16 Swallow, 3 Willow Warbler, 4 Chiffchaff, 1 Sedge Warbler, 9 Blackcap, 1 Garden Warbler, 3 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Common Whitethroat, 2 Goldcrest, 1 Blackbird, 1 Song Thrush, 2 Robin, 1 Pied Flycatcher, 10 Whinchat, 13 Wheatear, 1 White Wagtail, 15 alba Wagtail, 1 Grey Wagtail, 479 Meadow Pipit, 1 Tree Pipit, 73 Rock Pipit, 164 Twite, 1 'Northwestern' Redpoll, 2 Redpoll sp., 4 Lapland Bunting
Just a couple of Rosefinches in a bush (Alex Penn)
Other wildlife: 1 Shetland Bee
Year list: 196
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16th September 2024
Weather: Largely sunny, and warm in sheltered spots. F4-2 SSW.
A chilly morning's trap rounds saw us wondering if yesterday's star bird, Fair Isle's third Tennessee Warbler, was still present after no sign in its favourite croft garden. But once the sun warmed the firmament it was back and actively feeding in the angelicas alongside Willow Warblers, Blackcaps and a Lesser Whitethroat. It would occasionally do the odd circuit up and down the road, but never so active that those who had travelled from Shetland for the day could miss it. An arrival of visiting birders from the mainland resulted in the discovery of a fresh juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper at Chatham's Land, feeding contentedly in a puddle. A Barred Warbler was in the south of the Isle and the Ortolan Bunting from yesterday was still present towards the north side of Gilsetter, while just offshore in Ditfield a Slavonian Grebe and Great Northern Diver were cutting shapes among the Tysties.
The Isle's third Tennessee Warbler showed well for a few happy day trippers and birders arriving for a week's stay (Alex Penn)
HIGHLIGHTS
TENNESSEE WARBLER: Present for its second day, staying faithful to the croft gardens between Stackhoull and Field, with a quick trip down to Shirva. Trapped and ringed later in the day.
Slavonian Grebe: A moulting adult was in Ditfield.
Pectoral Sandpiper: A confiding juv. was found mid-afternoon at Chatham's Land.
Barred Warbler: One at the Haa was then seen at Schoolton.
Ortolan Bunting: One present at Gilsetter again.
In-the-hand study allowed us to age and sex the Tennessee Warbler as a first calendar-year female (Luke Marriner)
Sightings of note: 2 Greylag Goose, 2 Pink-footed Goose, 9 Wigeon, 11 Teal, 1 Goldeneye, 1 Woodpigeon, 6 Oystercatcher, 13 Lapwing, 5 Golden Plover, 9 Ringed Plover, 13 Curlew, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 74 Turnstone, 4 Ruff, 8 Sanderling, 5 Dunlin, 1 Purple Sandpiper, 54 Snipe, 42 Redshank, 1 Kittiwake, 6 Common Gull, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 36 Great Skua, 3 Great Northern Diver, 1 Cormorant, 4 Grey Heron, 1 Merlin, 3 Carrion Crow, 148 Skylark, 15 Swallow, 5 Willow Warbler, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Sedge Warbler, 9 Blackcap, 1 Garden Warbler, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Common Whitethroat, 1 Goldcrest, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 9 Whinchat, 14 Wheatear, 1 Pied Wagtail, 16 alba Wagtail, 338 Meadow Pipit, 29 Rock Pipit, 101 Twite, 1 'Northwestern' Redpoll, 2 Lapland Bunting, 7 Snow Bunting
A Pec' Sand on Chatham's Land, typically approachable and confiding (Luke Marriner)
Other wildlife: 7 Shetland Bee
Year list: 194
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15th September 2024
Weather: Sunny spells, with short showers in the mid-/late afternoon. F4 SSW-SW.
Milder winds with a southerly bent and cool autumnal light made for an exciting census, which began for one member of the team with a couple of Sooty Shearwaters past South Light, while another had the regular Rosefinch at Burkle. A few common migrants and a decent-sized skein of Pink-footed Geese were new in, but all was interrupted by a message on the birder's grapevine by previous FIBO staff members Rob Hughes and Nina O'Hanlon: TENNESSEE WARBLER at Upper Stoneybrek! Within minutes almost all the Isle's resident birders were stood watching this vibrantly saturated New World warbler hanging off the angelicas in the front garden of the croft. In recent days's we'd allowed ourselves some quiet comments about birding being a bit slow... Had the Tennessee whisky sampled the night before at the Haa by one member of the Obs' team been a premonition?! Could that same AW's fancy dress choice of Tennessee icon Dolly Parton for a party earlier in the season have been foreshadowing?! All silliness aside, it was a timely top up of our excitement tanks and enthusiasm guages, as this bright green-and-yellow Nearctic vagrant buzzed out a few laps around the assembled crowd, then took off down the road and into Vaila's Trees, but not before a glancing blow into the back of a stationary van (the bird was unscathed, dear readers)! After pulling a short bunk, lucky AW Luke bumped into it at Field as he continued his interrupted census, before finding a vocal, but brief Ortolan Bunting near Gilsetter. The first Tennessee Warbler for Britain was found here on 6th September 1975, remaining present for a full two weeks and was even trapped and ringed. Incredibly, just four days after the first bird departed the second for Britain was found in the north of the Isle! Some 49 years later, today's Tennessee Warbler is the third record for Fair Isle, coming after a good run in the last two years for this largely September specialist of North America's boreal forest.
Some rain-washed afternoon sun saw the team out scoffing second and third helpings of the Tennessee Warbler back in the garden of Upper Stoneybrek. The bird was often in the company of a Willow Warbler and could even be seen taking a little break on Brodie (Fair Isle's youngest resident)'s trampoline and swing set. A return to Gilsetter, via a confiding rostrata Redpoll, allowed us to enjoy the reappearance of the juvenile Ortolan, merrily calling away as it sallied from dyke to ditch. We finished the day checking out the mixed wader flock around Pund for rarer visitors, while reflecting on a day featuring seabirds which began life in a burrow on the Falklands, a warbler which had crossed the entire Atlantic from a boggy, buggy forest in Canada, and a spate of other migrants from the far north-west and far north-east. Magic!
Fair Isle's third Tennessee Warbler, but the first since the 70s! (Alex Penn)
Putting on a delightful display in the late afternoon warmth around the garden of Upper Stoneybrek (Alex Penn)
HIGHLIGHTS
TENNESSEE WARBLER: Fair Isle's third record was found late morning at Upper Stoneybrek, and took in neighbouring crofts during the day.
Common Rosefinch: One at Burkle then flew to the Busta crop strip.
Ortolan Bunting: One vocal juvenile around Gilsetter.
After a brief encounter in the morning, this Ortolan was more obliging in the light of 'golden hour' (Alex Penn)
A welcome island tick for Warden Alex Penn, after a few years with no records (Alex Penn)
Sightings of note: 3 Greylag Goose, 60 Pink-footed Goose, 11 Wigeon, 3 Teal, 2 Woodpigeon, 5 Oystercatcher, 13 Lapwing, 18 Golden Plover, 8 Ringed Plover, 13 Curlew, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 146 Turnstone, 4 Ruff, 8 Sanderling, 4 Dunlin, 164 Snipe, 56 Redshank, 1 Black-headed Gull, 3 Common Gull, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1 Arctic Skua, 1 Razorbill, 2 Sooty Shearwater, 1 Kestrel, 1 Merlin, 3 Carrion Crow, 172 Skylark, 13 Swallow, 7 Willow Warbler, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Sedge Warbler, 11 Blackcap, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Goldcrest, 1 Blackbird, 1 Song Thrush, 2 Spotted Flycacther, 2 Robin, 1 Common Redstart, 8 Whinchat, 19 Wheatear, 20 alba Wagtail, 525 Meadow Pipit, 164 Rock Pipit, 137 Twite, 6 'Northwestern' Redpoll, 1 Lapland Bunting, 3 Snow Bunting
Other wildlife: 1 Shetland Bee, 2 Dolphin sp.
Year list: 193
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14th September 2024
Weather: Rain bookending the day, largely overcast with sunny spells in the early evening. F6 S.
A bit of a quieter day, with rain in the morning delaying census, and not too much to report when we were out in the field, though a classic autumn milestone was hit with the first Goldcrest of the season tumbling away in the Obs' garden. A trio of Pink-footed Geese were still touring the Isle, with the Water Rail and a Lapland Bunting also present. Last night the second Delicate (a regular immigrant moth to Britain) for Fair Isle was trapped at Shirva. A seawatch off South Light produced a Sooty Shearwater and five Razorbills, a species which has been hard to come by since they departed their breeding ledges and boulderfields.
Sightings of note: 3 Greylag Goose, 3 Pink-footed Goose, 21 Wigeon, 3 Teal, 1 Goldeneye, 1 Woodpigeon, 1 Water Rail, 9 Oystercatcher, 11 Lapwing, 26 Golden Plover, 19 Ringed Plover, 15 Curlew, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 97 Turnstone, 4 Ruff, 2 Sanderling, 3 Dunlin, 2 Purple Sandpiper, 47 Snipe, 75 Redshank, 2 Black-headed Gull, 3 Common Gull, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 5 Razorbill, 1 Sooty Shearwater, 1 Cormorant, 2 Sparrowhawk, 1 Merlin, 3 Carrion Crow, 147 Skylark, 7 Swallow, 2 Willow Warbler, 1 Reed Warbler, 4 Blackcap, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Goldcrest, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Pied Flycatcher, 1 Common Redstart, 2 Whinchat, 17 Wheatear, 3 Pied Wagtail, 21 alba Wagtail, 562 Meadow Pipit, 53 Rock Pipit, 149 Twite, 2 'Northwestern' Redpoll, 6 Redpoll sp., 1 Lapland Bunting
Year list: 191
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13th September 2024
Weather: Largely sunny with a shower or two in the PM. F4 WSW.
A warmer day with the wind swinging from more northerly to southerly, and plenty of sun, which prompted some Pink-footed Goose passage, as well as our first Lapland Buntings of the year - two on Meoness. Our flirtation with autumn redpolls on the backs of the recent north-westerlies reached new heights with a mixed flock of subspecies, numbering at least 13 and containing four larger, streaky 'Northwestern' birds, around the crofts. A Barred Warbler was at Schoolton and the Rosefinch of recent days was still present, and later caught when the nets at Chapel Plantation were opened. With the arrival of a few birders, and more due in coming days, we're looking forward to what our coverage reveals.
HIGHLIGHTS
Barred Warbler: One at Schoolton.
Common Rosefinch: One first at Lower Stoneybrek, later trapped and ringed at Chapel Plantation.
With the stress of another breeding season out of the way, the Fair Isle Starlings are back to the business of mimicking passage waders, Snow Buntings and the like, often from a mobile perch (Alex Penn)
Sightings of note: 3 Greylag Goose, 20 Pink-footed Goose, 7 Wigeon, 18 Teal, 1 Goldeneye, 69 Rock Dove, 1 Woodpigeon, 6 Oystercatcher, 15 Lapwing, 26 Golden Plover, 1 Grey Plover, 15 Ringed Plover, 16 Curlew, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 85 Turnstone, 2 Knot, 4 Ruff, 3 Sanderling, 11 Dunlin, 47 Snipe, 39 Redshank, 1 Black-headed Gull, 5 Common Gull, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1 Cormorant, 3 Grey Heron, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Kestrel, 1 Merlin, 4 Carrion Crow, 138 Skylark, 7 Swallow, 1 House Martin, 5 Willow Warbler, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Reed Warbler, 15 Blackcap, 1 Garden Warbler, 4 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Common Whitethroat, 1 Blackbird, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Robin, 3 Pied Flycatcher, 8 Whinchat, 20 Wheatear, 76 House Sparrow, 1 White Wagtail, 18 alba Wagtail, 504 Meadow Pipit, 62 Rock Pipit, 131 Twite, 3 Lesser Redpoll, 4 'Northwestern' Redpoll, 6 Redpoll sp., 2 Lapland Bunting, 1 Snow Bunting
Year list: 191
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12th September 2024
Weather: Sunny spells and showers in the afternoon. F6-7 NW.
A similar day to yesterday, with birding far from easy in the strong winds, but enjoyable nonetheless to work our away around a still-soggy Isle. The ringed Barred Warbler appeared again, with another bird a short distance away at Burkle, where the shelter of the garden's shrubs and copse also attracted six Blackcaps and a Rosefinch, which was seen in the south-west of the Isle later in the afternoon. A few Whinchat were still present and a Wryneck was by the Chapel.
HIGHLIGHTS
Wryneck: One at Chapel brae.
Barred Warbler: One at Burkle and the ringed bird in Chapel Plantation.
Common Rosefinch: One first at Burkle and Quoy was seen at Lower Stoneybrek later this afternoon.
Wryneck on the wall along Chapel brae (Luke Marriner)
Sightings of note: 3 Greylag Goose, 1 Pink-footed Goose, 1 Shelduck, 18 Wigeon, 9 Teal, 1 Goldeneye, 2 Woodpigeon, 4 Oystercatcher, 19 Golden Plover, 20 Ringed Plover, 6 Curlew, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 120 Turnstone, 2 Sanderling, 11 Dunlin, 67 Snipe, 68 Redshank, 1 Black-headed Gull, 17 Common Gull, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1 Red-throated Diver, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Sparrowhawk, 3 Carrion Crow, 3 Swallow, 3 Chiffchaff, 1 Reed Warbler, 11 Blackcap, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 5 Whinchat, 1 Redpoll sp., 1 Snow Bunting
Other wildlife: 1 Shetland Bee
Year list: 190
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11th September 2024
Weather: Rain in the morning and scattered light showers through the mid-afternoon and heavier again in the evening, with sunny spells. F7 NW.
Yesterday's deluge drained quickly from the Isle, and once a blustery census had been completed we were again able to access the traps to carry out some repairs where the floodwaters had ripped apart wire mesh or displaced wooden beams. The Gully trap is particularly impressive due to how many layers of vegetation, deposited and accumulated over the years, have been simply stripped away to reveal bare rock once again. The Vaadal bridge had shifted and so was reaffixed and some of the stones on the mill at Finnequoy have been shifted by the torrent that seems to have subsided as soon as it arrived. The Barred Warbler was at Burkle again, and more 'Northwestern' Redpolls were recorded, alongside a Pink-footed Goose and three Snow Buntings; more visitors from the north-west. A Rosefinch in the cover crop at Quoy was a surprise, and a Water Rail found by one of the Isle's canine birders was new in.
HIGHLIGHTS
Barred Warbler: One still at Burkle.
Common Rosefinch: One flew out of the Quoy cover crop and took cover in Schoolton.
Repairs taking place within the Gully trap (Alex Penn)
Sightings of note: 1 Pink-footed Goose, 1 Shelduck, 9 Wigeon, 11 Teal, 1 Tufted Duck, 1 Goldeneye, 2 Red-breasted Merganser, 1 Water Rail, 4 Oystercatcher, 11 Lapwing, 11 Golden Plover, 27 Ringed Plover, 10 Curlew, 68 Turnstone, 1 Knot, 2 Ruff, 7 Sanderling, 5 Dunlin, 49 Snipe, 52 Redshank, 11 Common Gull, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 2 Red-throated Diver, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Sparrowhawk, 6 Carrion Crow, 3 Swallow, 3 Willow Warbler, 2 Reed Warbler, 2 Blackcap, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Common Whitethroat, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Pied Flycatcher, 3 Whinchat, 3 'Northwestern' Redpoll, 1 Redpoll sp., 3 Snow Bunting
Two Red-throated Divers passing over dramatic seas at South Light (Luke Marriner)
Other wildlife: 1 Red Admiral
Year list: 190
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10th September 2024
Weather: Rain from dawn, mostly very heavy, with a wind increasing to gale force by the afternoon. Some 58mm of rain fell in 24hrs (up to 18.00). F8-10 NW!
Heavy rain from dawn combined with powerful winds by the afternoon to make for a very unbirdy day without a census. An incredible amount of water was pouring off the island, with 'new' waterfalls in numerous geos discolouring parts of the sea pink with the runoff, while the narrow roads were frequently forded and modest burns burst their banks in raging brown torrents. Gilsetter became a small lake, its waters escaping through the Finnequoy burn and through the Gully trap, creating some damage for the team to repair once the weather subsides. Similarly, the Vaadal trap, which usually has a small burn flowing through it, was inaccessible as the reservoir above overtopped and gushed down to Gilsetter. On the airfield a few of the Isle's Bonxies took refuge and stood in soggy unison, pointing their bills to the skies in the direction of the rain, as birds often do during heavy showers. A rather sorry Sparrowhawk and a Goldeneye and Red-breasted Merganser in the Haven were probably the most notable birds logged during our adventures around the flooded Isle. Wellies definitely needed for census tomorrow...
Additional info from Dave Wheeler at Field "Looking back through my records Tuesday’s 24-hour rainfall total is the wettest September day in a record stretching back to 1974, easily surpassing the previous highest of 35.7mm of 25 September 2007. The wettest September day in half a century and the third wettest day I have recorded here on Fair Isle. However, it falls well short of the two wetter days: 101.2mm on 10th August 2008 and the wettest 132.6mm on the 9th August 2014"
Wet wet wet! The burn draining through Gilsetter into Finnequoy (past Fair Isle's ancient mill) becomes white water rapids (Jonnie Fisk)
The Vaadal reservoir overtopping and pouring through the Vaadal Heligoland trap (Jonnie Fisk)
The Gully trap becoming a caged burn as Gilsetter drained through it (Jonnie Fisk)
Another angle of the Gully Heligoland, which will need some repairs now in order to be catching birds through the rest of the autumn... (Jonnie Fisk)
Sightings of note: 1 Wigeon, 1 Goldeneye, 1 Red-breasted Merganser, 4 Oystercatcher, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Sanderling, 1 Sparrowhawk, 4 Carrion Crow
Year list: 190
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9th September 2024
Weather: Sunny spells and very light showers in the late morning, becoming sunny in the afternoon and through the evening. F5 WNW.
A mixed day of sun and blustery winds, though it was easy to find warm calm spots on the Isle within which to find birds. A handful of migrants were evident, with a few Barred Warblers and a Red-backed Shrike still clinging on. Story of the day was probably an arrival of Snipe with over 80 recorded on census, almost certainly coming from Iceland, like the Pink-footed Geese today which were our first of the autumn. With the seabird season fully coming to a close, with just young Fulmars foolishly flailing about in unlikely locations, and juvenile Black Guillemots in the bays and sounds, it was time to bring both Obs' boats into storage after safely getting us to and from the Holms and allowing us, and visiting seabird fieldworkers, to explore those parts of the Isle only accessible by sea (unless you are a particularly nimble sheep). With an ...interesting...forecast for tomorrow, it felt like the calm before the storm, and perhaps the two 'Northwestern' Redpolls recorded today mark the vanguard of an arrival of their kind given the wind direction we are predicted...
A streaky 'rostrata' Redpoll around the Haa, with another at Wirvie Burn, were evidence of arrivals from the north-west (Alex Penn)
HIGHLIGHTS
Red-backed Shrike: One still at Boini Mire.
Barred Warbler: Three; singles at Setter, Burkle and Vaila's Trees.
Reed Warblers continue to test our fieldcraft skills (Alex Penn)
Sightings of note: 4 Pink-footed Geese, 15 Wigeon, 10 Teal, 1 Tufted Duck, 1 Goldeneye, 1 Red-breasted Merganser, 1 Woodpigeon, 4 Oystercatcher, 12 Golden Plover, 25 Ringed Plover, 12 Curlew, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 69 Turnstone, 3 Knot, 10 Sanderling, 23 Dunlin, 4 Purple Sandpiper, 83 Snipe, 1 Common Sandpiper, 30 Redshank, 2 Common Gull, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1 Great Northern Diver, 1 Sooty Shearwater, 1 Merlin, 1 Peregrine, 4 Carrion Crow, 34 Skylark, 5 Swallow, 7 Willow Warbler, 5 Chiffchaff, 1 Sedge Warbler, 5 Reed Warbler, 8 Blackcap, 3 Garden Warbler, 5 Lesser Whitethroat, 5 Song Thrush, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Pied Flycatcher, 4 Whinchat, 32 Wheatear, 16 alba Wagtail, 488 Meadow Pipit, 1 Tree Pipit, 67 Rock Pipit, 52 Twite, 2 'Northwestern' Redpoll
Other wildlife: 2 Red Admiral, 1 Painted Lady
Year list: 190
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8th September 2024
Weather: Thick fog until the afternoon, remaining murky and overcast. F4 NW.
Those who know what life is like on islands in the north will not be surprised to hear that after a few days of sustained sun and warmth, today was a fog-out, with poor visibility until the afternoon. As a result, no census was undertaken and today's counts are a token offering from the day's birding. The Red-backed Shrike was still favouring the Stackhoull area, where a Barred Warbler also remained. A Wryneck was seemingly new at Shirva, and migrant ducks still linger on and around the Isle's waters, with a Goldeneye and a Red-breasted Merganser still in the north and a flock of Wigeon mostly to be found on Da Water, with a couple of herons too, though, like their Little Egret friend of recent days, they also seem unable to avoid the infamous Fulmar's brew...
Yesterday's ringed Barred Warbler at Burkle - ringed in Shetland? Or further afield...? (Luke Marriner)
HIGHLIGHTS
Wryneck: One at Shirva.
Red-backed Shrike: One at Boini Mire.
Barred Warbler: One at Vaila's Trees.
Sightings of note: 3 Greylag Goose, 17 Wigeon, 11 Teal, 1 Goldeneye, 1 Red-breasted Merganser, 2 Oystercatcher, 6 Golden Plover, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 100 Turnstone, 4 Knot, 6 Sanderling, 7 Dunlin, 1 Black-headed Gull, 3 Common Gull, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 3 Common Tern, 2 Grey Heron, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Kestrel, 1 Merlin, 2 Carrion Crow, 5 Swallow, 10 Willow Warbler, 6 Chiffchaff, 2 Reed Warbler, 8 Blackcap, 4 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Robin, 1 Pied Flycatcher, 1 Redstart, 5 Whinchat, 1 Tree Pipit
Other wildlife: 2 Red Admiral
Year list: 190
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7th September 2024
Weather: Another scorcher, by Fair Isle standards, with relentless sun and a hazy horizon. F4 SE.
It seems to be a second coming of summer in Shetland, with another day of t-shirt weather and a pleasant south-easterly breeze, though it seems as if any substantial arrival of migrants riding the airflow may have passed us by. A Red-breasted Flycatcher bothering the Wheatears in Smirri Geo was presumably the bird seen at Raeva yesterday, and the three Barred Warblers seen yesterday were all still in attendace, with another scooting around the nettles at Pund with a few Blackcaps and a Song Trush. A Rosefinch was at the Observatory, determinedly pursuing a Lesser Whitethroat. A rise in common migrant numbers kepy us busy, and morale was buoyed by the reports of other birds turning up along the east coast and Northern Isles.
A juv. Merlin sat on the trap at Plantation, note the ring, which we presume it gained in Shetland! (Alex Penn)
HIGHLIGHTS
Barred Warbler: Four; birds at Burkle (ringed), Pund, the Setter potato rig and Vaila's Trees/Stoneybrek.
Red-breasted Flycatcher: One in Smirri Geo, presumaby yesterday's bird.
Common Rosefinch One at the Obs'.
A Red-breasted Flycatcher in Smirri Geo, presumably yesterday's bird on a wander (Jonnie Fisk)
Sightings of note: 3 Greylag Goose, 16 Wigeon, 11 Teal, 1 Red-breasted Merganser, 2 Oystercatcher, 14 Lapwing, 12 Golden Plover, 30 Ringed Plover, 1 Whimbrel, 10 Curlew, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 17 Turnstone, 3 Knot, 4 Ruff, 19 Sanderling, 28 Dunlin, 34 Snipe, 3 Common Sandpiper, 18 Redshank, 2 Black-headed Gull, 27 Common Gull, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 2 Grey Heron, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Kestrel, 1 Merlin, 3 Carrion Crow, 99 Skylark, 14 Swallow, 1 House Martin, 18 Willow Warbler, 5 Chiffchaff, 3 Reed Warbler, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 10 Blackcap, 10 Garden Warbler, 4 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Whitethroat, 1 Blackbird, 3 Song Thrush, 3 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Robin, 4 Pied Flycatcher, 3 Redstart, 12 Whinchat, 57 Wheatear, 2 Pied Wagtail, 3 White Wagtail, 29 alba Wagtail, 488 Meadow Pipit, 1 Tree Pipit, 108 Rock Pipit, 74 Twite
A Painted Lady among a modest total of Red Admirals recorded today (Jonnie Fisk)
Other wildlife: 22 Red Admiral, 3 Painted Lady, 1 Small Tortoiseshell, 16 Silver Y, 1 Plutella xylostella, 5 Shetland Bee
Year list: 190
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6th September 2024
Weather: A morning of thick sea fret, burning off by late morning into a warm day of blazing sunshine. F3 SE.
Another hot day in the Fair Isle bubble, after thick fog burnt off by late morning to become a storming day of sun. Many of our recent stand-out birds were still present, with a new Barred Warbler in the rosas at Skettyholm and a charming Red-breasted Flycatcher flicking around in the cavern of North Raeva. Elsewhere a handful of Robins signalled the oncoming 'autumn proper' and the Isle's fourth Little Egret was still present, though bears all the hallmarks of one who has bumped into one too many Fulmars. Closer to the ground, a few Rush Veneer moths were evidence of migration occurring on a smaller scale, with plenty of Silver Ys featuring in log too, and news of migrant species such as Dark Sword Grass, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Plutella xylostella etc. featuring in the moth traps dotted around the crofts. Possibly biggest news of the day, however, was a female darter (Sympetrum) species on Buness which narrowly escaped being eaten by a Meadow Pipit before it was identified as being an odonata species by the observer. It moved quickly off towards the east side of Buness and could not be relocated. All species of dragonfly are extremely rare on Fair Isle, and this is the second record of a Sympetrum of any kind, though similar to the first record in 2001, it sadly wasn't identified to species.
A lovely find at Raeva, and our first of the year: a Red-breasted Flycatcher (Alex Penn)
HIGHLIGHTS
Little Egret: Rather sorry looking individual on Golden Water.
Red-backed Shrike: One at Vaila's Trees again.
Barred Warbler: Three; one at Skerryholm, and at Setter potato rig and Vaila's Trees.
Red-breasted Flycatcher: One in North Raeva.
Common Rosefinch One still in the Skadan crop strip.
Fog rolling over Vaasetter as it quickly vanished from the skies late morning (Luke Marriner)
Sightings of note: 3 Greylag Goose, 12 Wigeon, 11 Teal, 2 Tufted Duck, 1 Goldeneye, 1 Red-breasted Merganser, 1 Woodpigeon, 2 Collared Dove, 3 Oystercatcher, 16 Lapwing, 8 Golden Plover, 39 Ringed Plover, 3 Whimbrel, 14 Curlew, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 33 Turnstone, 2 Knot, 4 Ruff, 18 Sanderling, 15 Dunlin, 19 Snipe, 1 Common Sandpiper, 43 Redshank, 1 Black-headed Gull, 4 Grey Heron, 1 Kestrel, 2 Carrion Crow, 10 Swallow, 1 House Martin, 15 Willow Warbler, 3 Chiffchaff, 2 Reed Warbler, 4 Blackcap, 5 Garden Warbler, 3 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Whitethroat, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 2 Robin, 3 Pied Flycatcher, 3 Redstart, 8 Whinchat
Other wildlife: 12 Red Admiral, 2 Peacock, 15 Silver Y, 5 Shetland Bee
Year list: 190
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5th September 2024
Weather: A snap back to reality after yesterday's warmth. Cool and overcast. F5 NE.
Yesterday's blazing early autumn warmth clearly inspired some birds to move on, as census was quieter than recent days. There was still plenty to catch up with, though, including the two Barred Warblers, a Red-backed Shrike and Rosefinch of recent days still in attendance. A Nightjar, first seen yesterday evening around Midway, was rediscovered roosting on a fenceline at Vaila's Trees, often to be seen alongside a Red-backed Shrike or Barred Warbler. A Wryneck at the Haven was new, if quite brief, and a Painted Lady and handful of Convolvulus Hawkmoths caught in moth traps operated by various islanders were evidence of insect migration taking place.
Yesterday's Nightjar was found day-roosting on the fenceline at Vaila's Trees, where it received some admirers, not least this Willow Warbler (Alex Penn)
Lifting his bins' to a Barred Warbler in the bushes, AW Luke was treated to views like this of our fourth Nightjar of the year (Luke Marriner)
HIGHLIGHTS
Little Egret: One touring the Isle's burns.
Wryneck: One on the beach at South Haven.
Nightjar: One sat on a fenceline at Vaila's Trees.
Red-backed Shrike: One at Vaila's Trees.
Barred Warbler: Singles at Setter potato rig and Vaila's Trees.
Common Rosefinch One still in the Skadan crop strip.
The Isle's Black Guillemots are pretty much the only auks left now, milling about offshore in various states of salt-and-pepper-iness as they moult from their black summer to largely white winter plumage (Jonnie Fisk)
Sightings of note: 3 Greylag Goose, 13 Wigeon, 19 Teal, 1 Tufted Duck, 1 Goldeneye, 2 Woodpigeon, 2 Collared Dove, 13 Oystercatcher, 16 Lapwing, 15 Golden Plover, 38 Ringed Plover, 1 Whimbrel, 15 Curlew, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 2 Black-tailed Godwit, 37 Turnstone, 6 Ruff, 9 Sanderling, 29 Dunlin, 43 Snipe, 1 Common Sandpiper, 25 Redshank, 1 Black-headed Gull, 8 Common Gull, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Carrion Crow, 75 Skylark, 4 Swallow, 13 Willow Warbler, 3 Chiffchaff, 3 Reed Warbler, 7 Blackcap, 4 Garden Warbler, 4 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Blackbird, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Robin, 2 Pied Flycatcher, 2 Redstart, 8 Whinchat, 60 Wheatear, 21 alba Wagtail, 406 Meadow Pipit, 1 Tree Pipit, 53 Rock Pipit, 87 Twite
Other wildlife: 3 Red Admiral, 1 Painted Lady, 6 Silver Y, 5 Shetland Bee
Year list: 189
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4th September 2024
Weather: Cloudy start, with a light bit of drizzle then became a glorious sunny day, with the wind dropping right off. F3-1 NE.
A long, heady day of sun, warmth and birds! A slightly drizzly morning saw the Little Egret back around South Light before being relocated on the burn in Finnequoy. Census brought with it a similar story to the last few days of easterlies, with nice numbers of classic passage passeries, before loud chorus of Ravens heralded the arrival of an adult White-tailed Eagle which flew down the Isle, blogged about, and returned north along the west cliffs. This is our third encounter with this species on the Isle so far this year, after two birds in the spring. A group of Risso's Dolphins pranced about offshore mid-afternoon, as seen from Meoness, with a Minke passing the Isle at the same time. Three Barred Warblers were about again, the Red-backed Shrike continued to stalk the shrubs at Vaila's Trees, a Rosefinch was still in the Skadan Crop strip and the angelicas around Shriva and Midway were once again the haunt of an enchanting Greenish Warbler. Later this evening a roosting Nightjar was found on the same ground, and the Citrine Wagtail put in an appearance as it called over Utra Scrape shortly before sunset, and the day was seen out by some distant White-beaked Dolphins past Malcolm's Head.
A Nightjar was a surprise find at Midway. Here it is sat on the bridge at Meadow Burn (Alex Penn)
As they always do, this eagle agitated the Isle's Bonxie population, allowing us to count 110 birds in the air at once (Jonnie Fisk)
HIGHLIGHTS
White-tailed Eagle: An adult toured the Isle with a Bonxie entourage throughout the afternoon.
Little Egret: One around South Light.
Nightjar: One flushed from the dyke bordering Houll/Midway.
Red-backed Shrike: One at Vaila's Trees again.
Greenish Warbler: One around Shirva and Midway.
Barred Warbler: Three; singles at Setter potato rig, Shirva and Busta.
Citrine Wagtail: Mobile over Utra Scrape this evening.
Common Rosefinch One still in the Skadan crop strip.
The Skadan crop is still keeping this Rosefinch topped up with seed (Jonnie Fisk)
Sightings of note: 1 Greylag Goose, 15 Wigeon, 27 Teal, 2 Tufted Duck, 2 Goldeneye, 1 Red-breasted Merganser, 1 Swift, 1 Woodpigeon, 1 Collared Dove, 16 Oystercatcher, 16 Lapwing, 16 Golden Plover, 46 Ringed Plover, 16 Curlew, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 2 Black-tailed Godwit, 27 Turnstone, 6 Knot, 9 Ruff, 17 Sanderling, 34 Dunlin, 23 Snipe, 5 Common Sandpiper, 35 Redshank, 2 Kittiwake, 2 Black-headed Gull, 10 Common Gull, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 110 Great Skua, 1 Arctic Skua, 2 Puffin, 1 Great Northern Diver, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Kestrel, 1 Peregrine, 3 Carrion Crow, 82 Skylark, 22 Swallow, 30 Willow Warbler, 4 Chiffchaff, 3 Sedge Warbler, 5 Reed Warbler, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 16 Blackcap, 6 Garden Warbler, 4 Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Common Whitethroat, 1 Blackbird, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Robin, 4 Pied Flycatcher, 3 Redstart, 8 Whinchat, 84 Wheatear, 4 White Wagtail, 45 alba Wagtail, 716 Meadow Pipit, 1 Tree Pipit, 76 Rock Pipit, 79 Twite
Other wildlife: 29 Red Admiral, 2 Peacock, 13 Silver Y, 5 Shetland Bee, 1 Minke Whale, 3 Risso's Dolphin, 5 White-beaked Dolphin
Year list: 189
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3rd September 2024
Weather: A sunny start became largely overcast with the threat of rain, becoming realised mid-afternoon with some light precipitation. F4-2 SSE.
Another exciting day to be in the field, with plenty of lingering scarcities and the feeling in the air that something new and exciting could be in the next stand of rosa or down the next cliff. Yesterday's brief Greenish Warbler was relocated at Schoolton, before bouncing around the angelicas at Midway, and was able to be fully appreciated by the team. The Isle's fourth Little Egret was present again, though seems slightly shopsoiled, suggesting it has had an unfortunate encounter with a Fulmar. A few Barred Warblers remained, the Red-backed Shrike was around Shirva still and the Citrine Wagtail was back on Da Water for a while. A couple of Sparrowhawks are making a dent in the local Wheatear population, with some passage Kestrels bothering the birds too. A second Goldeneye joins the continuing bird in the north, a September Swift was logged and 10 Red Admiral were recorded across the census routes.
Silky tones of our first Greenish Warbler of the year (Alex Penn)
Much to enjoy as it tumbled through the angelica at Midway (Luke Marriner)
HIGHLIGHTS
Little Egret: One around South Light.
Red-backed Shrike: One at Shirva again.
Greenish Warbler: One around Schoolton and Midway.
Barred Warbler: Three; singles at Setter potato rig/Pund, Vaila's Trees and Chapel plantation.
Citrine Wagtail: One at Da Water.
Common Rosefinch One still in the Skadan crop strip.
The Rosefinch enjoying the cover and cuisine of the Skadan crop strip (Alex Penn)
Sightings of note: 1 Shelduck, 7 Wigeon, 19 Teal, 2 Tufted Duck, 2 Goldeneye, 1 Swift, 2 Woodpigeon, 20 Oystercatcher, 15 Lapwing, 14 Golden Plover, 34 Ringed Plover, 19 Curlew, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 2 Black-tailed Godwit, 51 Turnstone, 4 Knot, 9 Ruff, 21 Sanderling, 13 Dunlin, 1 Purple Sandpiper, 35 Snipe, 4 Common Sandpiper, 54 Redshank, 1 Greenshank, 1 Kittiwake, 1 Black-headed Gull, 37 Common Gull, 3 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1 Red-throated Diver, 1 Cormorant, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Sparrowhawk, 3 Kestrel, 1 Peregrine, 2 Carrion Crow, 77 Skylark, 13 Swallow, 27 Willow Warbler, 6 Chiffchaff, 2 Sedge Warbler, 5 Reed Warbler, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 9 Blackcap, 6 Garden Warbler, 6 Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Common Whitethroat, 1 Blackbird, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 12 Pied Flycatcher, 6 Redstart, 13 Whinchat, 90 Wheatear, 3 Pied Wagtail, 57 alba Wagtail, 649 Meadow Pipit, 2 Tree Pipit, 57 Rock Pipit, 114 Twite
Other wildlife: 10 Red Admiral, 4 Shetland Bee
Year list: 189
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2nd September 2024
Weather: Overcast, very light rain c.midday then showers from late afternoon. F5 SE.
A great day to be out in the field, and probably the most exciting birding of our autumn so far. After yesterday's Great White Egret 'excitement', the arrival of a Little Egret, fishing in the waters around Shalstane, carried the momentum, and becomes only the fourth to be recorded for the Isle. In slightly more predictable south-easterly fare, our first Wryneck of the autumn was unearthed, with a few new Barred Warbler too, joining the birds still present from yesterday and taking the total to five. One the cliffs, Pied Flycatchers, Redstarts, Willow Warblers and Whinchats continued to entertain, with a Red-backed Shrike at Shirva, a Turtle Dove flushed from the ringing hut marsh, a Wood Warbler at Lericum and a couple of Rosefinches keeping the local grapevine busy. As two of the team were undertaking afternoon trap rounds after a very pleasant census each, the Isle's 70th record of Thrush Nightingale was caught at Burkle, and ringed by the third member of the Obs' crew, making for a very happy AW. A slighty soggier re-thrashing of the Isle in the PM brought more results on the cliffs of the south west, with a beachbound Barred Warbler in Steensi Geo and the first Greenish Warbler of the year flitting briefly above Kroga Geo. Good stuff!
Another day where the 'bird of the moment' is an...egret! (Alex Penn)
The first Thrush Nightingale of the year from the nets at Burkle (Deryk Shaw)
HIGHLIGHTS
THRUSH NIGHTINGALE: One ringed at Burkle.
Turtle Dove: Juvenile at Ringing Hut Marsh.
Little Egret: One on Shalstane and around the rocks of South Light.
Wryneck: One along the Hill Dyke.
Red-backed Shrike: One at Shirva.
Wood Warbler: One on the cliffs at Lericum.
Greenish Warbler: One at Kroga Geo, our first of the year.
Barred Warbler: Five; singles at Schoolton, the Setter potato rig, Pund, Vaila's Trees and on the beach at Steensi Geo.
Common Rosefinch Two; at North Naaversgill and in the Skadan crop strip.
Wood Warbler on the cliffs at Lericum (Jonnie Fisk)
Sightings of note: 6 Wigeon, 13 Teal, 2 Tufted Duck, 1 Goldeneye, 2 Woodpigeon, 13 Oystercatcher, 15 Lapwing, 1 Golden Plover, 76 Ringed Plover, 2 Whimbrel, 10 Curlew, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 46 Turnstone, 5 Knot, 1 Ruff, 9 Sanderling, 17 Dunlin, 38 Snipe, 1 Common Sandpiper, 21 Redshank, 1 Greenshank, 2 Black-headed Gull, 52 Common Gull, 3 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 3 Grey Heron, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Kestrel, 1 Peregrine, 4 Carrion Crow, 95 Skylark, 4 Swallow, 28 Willow Warbler, 9 Chiffchaff, 2 Sedge Warbler, 3 Reed Warbler, 4 Blackcap, 9 Garden Warbler, 8 Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Common Whitethroat, 1 Song Thrush, 2 Spotted Flycatcher, 21 Pied Flycatcher, 4 Redstart, 7 Whinchat, 98 Wheatear, 3 Pied Wagtail, 1 White Wagtail, 33 alba Wagtail, 657 Meadow Pipit, 3 Tree Pipit, 65 Rock Pipit, 81 Twite
Other wildlife: 7 Red Admiral, 3 Shetland Bee
Year list: 189
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1st September 2024
Weather: Largely overcast and cooler than of late. F5 SE.
An immediately 'birdy' feeling as we set out on census was realised with an arrival of passage passerines on the back of these easterly winds. A less subtle surprise was a Great White Egret plonked on Utra Scrape with a Grey Heron mid-morning, which took to the skies and, after some harassment from a few Bonxies, went north up the east coast and appeared to leave the Isle. By mid-afternoon it was back, with its heron entourage now numbering four, and they headed south off Skadan and out to sea. This was the second record of Great White Egret for the Isle after a bird in May 2015, but it will shock no one when we say with some confidence that surely records are set to increase given the changing status of the species in the UK (the first breeding record for Scotland came earlier this year). The cliffs of the north and the crofts of the south put in a great showing of migrants, with Willow Warblers in abundance at certain sites and a surprise jump in numbers of Blackcap and Chiffchaff, given the time of year. Two new Barred Warblers - one ringed in Plantation and one at the Observatory - joined the two lingering birds at Burkle and Vaila's Trees, the 'regular' Citrine Wagtail was in the vicinity of Da Water and a juvenile Little Stint visited Muckle Uri Geo in the afternoon.
A Pied Fly on the cliffs of the Isle's north (Alex Penn)
A Great White Egret recieves a Bonxie welcome (Jonnie Fisk)
HIGHLIGHTS
Little Stint: A juvenile at Muckle Uri Geo.
Great White Egret: One on Utra Scrape, which then tracked north along the east coast and returned off the south of the Isle. The second record for Fair Isle.
Barred Warbler: Four; at Chapel/Burkle, Vaila's Trees, Observatory & Plantation.
Citrine Wagtail: Still present and mobile around the south of the island.
The first Barred Warbler to be ringed this autumn (Alex Penn)
Lovely to be birding an island full of lemon-yellow Willow Warblers making their first attempt at a Sub-Saharan migration (Alex Penn)
Sightings of note: 8 Wigeon, 18 Teal, 1 Goldeneye, 9 Oystercatcher, 15 Lapwing, 9 Golden Plover, 46 Ringed Plover, 8 Curlew, 34 Turnstone, 2 Knot, 3 Ruff, 15 Sanderling, 14 Dunlin, 1 Purple Sandpiper, 19 Snipe, 17 Redshank, 2 Black-headed Gull, 142 Common Gull, 3 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 4 Grey Heron, 3 Carrion Crow, 133 Skylark, 11 Swallow, 42 Willow Warbler, 11 Chiffchaff, 5 Sedge Warbler, 2 Reed Warbler, 7 Blackcap, 4 Garden Warbler, 4 Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Common Whitethroat, 2 Blackbird, 18 Pied Flycatcher, 1 Redstart, 8 Whinchat, 143 Wheatear, 2 White Wagtail, 36 alba Wagtail, 841 Meadow Pipit, 1 Tree Pipit, 90 Rock Pipit, 31 Twite
Year list: 185
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31st August 2024
Weather: Largely cloudless and sunny. F5 SE.
Not much in the way of change, though the winds and weather still brings us promise of a good arrival. The Barred Warblers around Burkle and Vaila's Trees were still present, as was the Citrine Wagtail at Da Water, with a Red-backed Shrike right at the north of the Isle, perched atop the famous foghorn. A Manx Shearwater passed offshore, though yet to master the delicate act between air and sea are this year's Fulmar fledgelings, which can often be found flailing in unlikely locations as their new-found powers of flight fail them and they become grounded, often far from a convenient cliff from which to attempt another take off. The team do their best during these moments, catching, ringing and releasing these casualties back onto the sea to continue what may end up being their long, long lives.
A Barred Warbler showing unusually well at Vaila's Trees (Alex Penn)
HIGHLIGHTS
Red-backed Shrike: First calendar-year on the foghorn at North Light.
Barred Warbler: Two - around Burkle/Chapel Plantation, and in the Vaila's Trees.
Citrine Wagtail: Still present around Da Water.
As well as passage passerine migrants, you are just as likely to come across grounded Fulmar fledgelings while censusing at this time of year (Alex Penn)
Sightings of note: 3 Wigeon, 6 Teal, 14 Oystercatcher, 2 Lapwing, 2 Golden Plover, 43 Ringed Plover, 21 Curlew, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 55 Turnstone, 7 Knot, 1 Ruff, 15 Sanderling, 24 Dunlin, 22 Snipe, 15 Redshank, 2 Black-headed Gull, 10 Common Gull, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 2 Arctic Skua, 1 Puffin, 1 Manx Shearwater, 1 Cormorant, 5 Carrion Crow, 98 Skylark, 3 Sand Martin, 10 Swallow, 6 Willow Warbler, 4 Chiffchaff, 7 Sedge Warbler, 1 Reed Warbler, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 6 Whinchat, 126 Wheatear, 1 White Wagtail, 29 alba Wagtail, 834 Meadow Pipit, 76 Rock Pipit, 37 Twite
Other wildlife: 1 Peacock, 4 Shetland Bee
Year list: 183
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30th August 2024
Weather: Rain overnight, but a bright and sunny day - warm out of the wind. Light rain shower early evening. .
A night's dazzling session included a Black-tailed Godwit, three Common Gulls, eight Snipe, nine Dunlin and a Shelduck ringed, amongst others. The Shelduck becomes only the 6th member of its species to be ringed here, last in 1997, and the Black-tailed Godwit similarly only the fifth! A warm, sunny day followed once dawn broke, with two Barred Warblers in the crofts and further inspection of the Citrine Wagtail still present on Da Water proved it to be a different bird to the one earlier in the month. It performed well, buzzing away vocally from a prominent perch. A few more Whinchat were in evidence though the cliffs were rather bare of migrants, suggesting the fair weather meant birds could hop straight to the cover of the crofts. Evening roost ringing at the Obs' produced a male White Wagtail and a control Swallow with a Czech ring...we look forward to finding out where this bird has come from.
The Citrine Wagtail at Da Water swinging in the breeze (Alex Penn)
HIGHLIGHTS
Barred Warbler: Two - at Chapel plantation, and in the gardens of Upper and Lower Stoneybrek.
Citrine Wagtail: First calendar-year at Da Water again today, with better views confirming it to be the second of the autumn.
A few Ruff have graced the island recently (Alex Penn)
Sightings of note: 1 Shelduck, 7 Wigeon, 14 Teal, 13 Oystercatcher, 4 Lapwing, 6 Golden Plover, 53 Ringed Plover, 2 Whimbrel, 12 Curlew, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 9 Black-tailed Godwit, 23 Turnstone, 8 Knot, 1 Ruff, 22 Sanderling, 20 Dunlin, 17 Snipe, 55 Redshank, 4 Black-headed Gull, 74 Common Gull, 10 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1 Arctic Skua, 2 Sparrowhawk, 1 Carrion Crow, 160 Skylark, 2 Sand Martin, 11 Swallow, 1 House Martin, 5 Willow Warbler, 4 Chiffchaff, 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 Garden Warbler, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Ring Ouzel, 1 Blackbird, 1 Pied Flycatcher, 7 Whinchat, 141 Wheatear, 2 White Wagtail, 61 alba Wagtail, 738 Meadow Pipit, 68 Rock Pipit, 21 Twite
A passage Whinchat (Alex Penn)
Other wildlife: 1 Red Admiral, 1 Peacock, 2 Shetland Bee
Year list: 183
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29th August 2024
Weather: Sunny spells with light rain in early afternoon followed by heavier showers in the late afternoon and evening. F4-6 SW.
A handful of yesterday's migrant passerines were still present where we left them yesterday, plus a few new additions included some Whinchat, more Willow Warblers and our first Red-backed Shrike and Icterine Warbler of the autumn. A Sooty Shearwater was seen off the north of the Isle by birders departing on the Good Shepherd IV, a Water Rail flew over the Vaadal and in the early evening the first Gadwall of the year was joined by a Citrine Wagtail on Da Water while the heavens opened.
An Icterine Warbler of the year, finding refuge in the Plantation Heligoland stand (Alex Penn)
HIGHLIGHTS
Red-backed Shrike: First calendar-year bird at the Mast.
Icterine Warbler: Singles in the Plantation Heligoland and at Burkle
Citrine Wagtail: First calendar-year at Da Water late afternoon.
The first Red-backed Shrike of the autumn braving the altitude around the Mast (Alex Penn)
Sightings of note: 1 Shelduck, 1 Gadwall (first of the year), 3 Wigeon, 17 Teal, 1 Goldeneye, 1 Water Rail, 16 Oystercatcher, 5 Lapwing, 1 Golden Plover, 85 Ringed Plover, 1 Whimbrel, 18 Curlew, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 5 Black-tailed Godwit, 62 Turnstone, 4 Knot, 14 Sanderling, 20 Dunlin, 7 Purple Sandpiper, 25 Snipe, 41 Redshank, 12 Black-headed Gull, 105 Common Gull, 15 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 4 Arctic Skua, 1 Sooty Shearwater, 1 Grey Heron, 4 Carrion Crow, 68 Skylark, 3 Sand Martin, 12 Swallow, 1 House Martin, 8 Willow Warbler, 3 Chiffchaff, 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Blackcap, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Whinchat, 149 Wheatear, 5 Pied Wagtail, 67 alba Wagtail, 818 Meadow Pipit, 78 Rock Pipit, 46 Twite
Other wildlife: 2 Shetland Bee
Year list: 183
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28th August 2024
Weather: A sunny start became a warm day, with the skies darkening with cloud by early evening as the wind increased in strength. F4-6 SE.
Hotly anticipated south-easterlies blew, and the team bounded into census full of optimism. A few new birds were in evidence, including two Pied Flycatchers, a Reed Warbler, a Lesser Whitethroat and a brief brown Rosefinch in the garden at Burkle, as well as five bright yellow juv. Willow Warblers. We recorded no Arctic Skuas today, appearing to mark the close of a terrible breeding year for them, with just one pair hatching chicks which were promptly predated. It's now two years since Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza caused significant mortality in the Gannets here, but fortunately, the birds have bounced back, and breeding numbers in 2024 are at their highest ever! At those gannetries which are monitored for productivity studies the first of the spangled grey juveniles had left the nests, while a pair or two have just hatched chicks...they may come into trouble come the first proper westerly storm of the autumn!
HIGHLIGHTS
Common Rosefinch: A brown bird at Burkle c.09.30hrs.
It's now two years since HPAI caused significant mortality in the Isle's Gannts, but reminders are clear in the colonies, with lots of dark-eyed individuals present (Alex Penn)
Sightings of note: 10 Wigeon, 7 Teal, 1 Goldeneye, 15 Oystercatcher, 14 Lapwing, 2 Golden Plover, 89 Ringed Plover, 5 Whimbrel, 20 Curlew, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 9 Black-tailed Godwit, 96 Turnstone, 6 Knot, 3 Ruff, 38 Sanderling, 32 Dunlin, 5 Purple Sandpiper, 33 Snipe, 38 Redshank, 7 Black-headed Gull, 77 Common Gull, 2 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 2 Puffin, 1 Cormorant, 1 Sparrowhawk, 3 Carrion Crow, 105 Skylark, 3 Sand Martin, 8 Swallow, 5 Willow Warbler, 2 Chiffchaff, 3 Sedge Warbler, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Blackcap, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Blackbird, 1 Robin, 2 Pied Flycatcher, 119 Wheatear, 3 White Wagtail, 62 alba Wagtail, 758 Meadow Pipit, 70 Rock Pipit, 76 Twite
Other wildlife: 3 Red Admiral, 1 Silver Y, 4 Shetland Bee
Year list: 182
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27th August 2024
Weather:A very wet and wild start, with the sun putting in an appearance from midday and the wind dropping off from mid-afternoon. F7-4 S.
Another showery start, with rain lashing the windows of South Light on the back of a strong southerly gale. A sunny census soon followed, with little to report once completed - the continuation of a Ring Ouzel in South Restensgeo, with a Goldeneye in Furse below, as well as the summering Lesser Whitethroat and a Sparrowhawk putting up the passing hirundines. Arctic Skuas have all but disappeared and Puffins are notable by their absence after a spring and summer of their kind coating the clifftops. Now only those still dilligently feeding young are seen, before they too head out for a winter on the waves.
Sightings of note: 8 Wigeon, 6 Teal, 1 Goldeneye, 13 Oystercatcher, 6 Lapwing, 5 Golden Plover, 35 Ringed Plover, 17 Curlew, 9 Black-tailed Godwit, 98 Turnstone, 2 Knot, 30 Sanderling, 26 Dunlin, 2 Purple Sandpiper, 24 Snipe, 39 Redshank, 1 Greenshank, 2 Kittiwake, 9 Black-headed Gull, 162 Common Gull, 7 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1 Common Tern, 1 Arctic Skua, 2 Puffin, 2 Grey Heron, 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Carrion Crow, 1 Sand Martin, 12 Swallow, 2 Willow Warbler, 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Ring Ouzel, 2 White Wagtail, 1 Tree Pipit
Other wildlife: 1 Red Admiral, 9 Shetland Bee
Year list: 182
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26th August 2024
Weather: Heavy showers throughout the morning, clearing by midday and becoming hot and still. F5-2 SW.
A showery census soon became hot and still, with a few juv. Willow Warblers and the Ring Ouzel still present in the north, large groups of waders strolling on the grazed sward and a few misplaced young Fulmars sat incongruously in fields or 'inland' after a botched attept at sustaining flight. The first fledged Black Guillemot juvenile of the 'summer' was seen, and the three other auk species which share the Isle with them are becoming harder to find. A Barred Warbler was at Shriva in the mid afternoon, and the Citrine Wagtail from recent days reappeared while the AWs fiddled about with the Vaadal trap roof. A report of a Sabine's Gull 10 miles off Fair Isle from a boat-bound birder late morning continued the amazing run of sea-birding this summer.
HIGHLIGHTS
Sabine's Gull: A juv. from a vessel 10 miles east south-east of the Isle.
Barred Warbler: One at Shirva.
Citrine Wagtail: One around Vaadal reservoir.
Sightings of note: 4 Wigeon, 7 Teal, 1 Woodpigeon, 34 Oystercatcher, 15 Lapwing, 7 Golden Plover, 79 Ringed Plover, 3 Whimbrel, 17 Curlew, 5 Black-tailed Godwit, 110 Turnstone, 11 Knot, 1 Ruff, 16 Sanderling, 25 Dunlin, 31 Snipe, 83 Redshank, 1 Greenshank, 1 Kittiwake, 15 Black-headed Gull, 77 Common Gull, 5 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 3 Arctic Skua, 1 Storm Petrel, 1 Cormorant, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Sparrowhawk, 3 Carrion Crow, 92 Skylark, 1 Sand Martin, 14 Swallow, 1 House Martin, 3 Willow Warbler, 6 Chiffchaff, 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Ring Ouzel, 1 Blackbird, 160 Wheatear, 1 Pied Wagtail, 4 White Wagtail, 82 alba Wagtail, 503 Meadow Pipit, 1 Tree Pipit, 82 Rock Pipit, 51 Twite
Twite are beginning to build in number, and can be found feeding on seedheads of plants like this Angelica (Jonnie Fisk)
Other wildlife: 2 Red Admiral, 1 Small Tortiseshell (first of the year), 4 Shetland Bee
Year list: 182
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24th & 25th August 2024
Weather: Sunny spells and some showers.
The Citrine Wagtail had moved south down the island on the 24th, and was not seen at all on the 25th. A Grasshopper Warber was at Quoy on the 25th, and a modest group of Black-tailed Godwits continue to feed around the base of Malcom's Head, with six Ruff recorded on the 24th too. A good wader ringing session was had during the cloudy night, with Sanderling, Knot, Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Turnstone and Redshank among the mix, plus three Storm Petrel retraps and a bonus Black-headed Gull.
HIGHLIGHTS
Citrine Wagtail: Present around Hill Dyke on 24th.
A selection of the waders ringed during an evening session in Muckle Uri Geo (Alex Penn)
Sightings of note: 2 Wigeon, 34 Teal, 19 Oystercatcher, 11 Lapwing, 5 Golden Plover, 77 Ringed Plover, 1 Whimbrel, 19 Curlew, 10 Black-tailed Godwit, 95 Turnstone, 10 Knot, 6 Ruff, 59 Sanderling, 25 Dunlin, 1 Purple Sandpiper, 27 Snipe, 67 Redshank, 11 Kittiwake, 11 Black-headed Gull, 154 Common Gull, 21 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1 Arctic Tern, 6 Arctic Skua, 1 Guillemot, 1 Red-throated Diver, 1 Great Northern Diver, 3 Storm Petrel, 4 Cormorant, 4 Grey Heron, 1 Sparrowhawk, 4 Carrion Crow, 93 Skylark, 3 Sand Martin, 10 Swallow, 1 House Martin, 4 Willow Warbler, 3 Chiffchaff, 1 Grasshopper Warbler, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 135 Wheatear, 1 Pied Wagtail, 4 White Wagtail, 69 alba Wagtail, 495 Meadow Pipit, 72 Rock Pipit, 75 Twite
Other wildlife: 2 Red Admiral, 3 Silver Y, 4 Shetland Bee, 2 European Eel
Year list: 181
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23rd August 2024
Weather: Overcast start becoming fine and sunny. F3-5 SW.
A much more pleasant day to be out and about, with an autumnal feeling in the warm air. A Goldeneye, Marsh Harrier and Shelduck were new in, plus a few more passage passerines and a couple of Ruff picking about the short sward of the south. The Citrine Wagtail continues to delight those that visit it at Golden Water, and a surprise sighting in the north of the Isle was an adult Ring Ouzel in rather dramatic moult...where has that been hiding?
HIGHLIGHTS
Marsh Harrier: A cream-crown south over the island while mobbed by Ravens.
Citrine Wagtail: Still present on Golden Water.
One of 2024's Bonxie chicks, now a fully fledged juvenile, identifiable for years to come thanks to its white Darvic ring (Alex Penn)
Sightings of note: 2 Greylag Goose, 1 Shelduck, 2 Wigeon, 31 Teal, 1 Goldeneye, 76 Oystercatcher, 28 Lapwing, 1 Golden Plover, 72 Ringed Plover, 2 Whimbrel, 16 Curlew, 9 Black-tailed Godwit, 108 Turnstone, 6 Knot, 2 Ruff, 68 Sanderling, 31 Dunlin, 2 Purple Sandpiper, 24 Snipe, 59 Redshank, 2 Kittiwake, 11 Black-headed Gull, 66 Common Gull, 15 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 7 Arctic Tern, 7 Arctic Skua, 1 Guillemot, 1 Great Northern Diver, 1 Cormorant, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Sparrowhawk, 5 Carrion Crow, 83 Skylark, 1 Sand Martin, 12 Swallow, 4 Willow Warbler, 5 Chiffchaff, 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 Ring Ouzel, 1 Blackbird, 131 Wheatear, 4 Pied Wagtail, 2 White Wagtail, 29 alba Wagtail, 326 Meadow Pipit, 100 Rock Pipit, 52 Twite
Other wildlife: 2 Red Admiral, 3 Silver Y, 10 Shetland Bee
Year list: 181
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22nd August 2024
Weather: Rain in the morning, becoming sunny with gale force winds. F8 SW.
A day of difficult birding conditions with high winds ripping through all stands of cover and keeping birds low. The Citrine Wagtail was still present around Golden Water, but apart from a single group of Turnstone numbering 91, there was not too much else of note. Our Assistant Warden, Luke, was welcomed into his 20s with a kingfisher-themed cake and serendipitously gained a birthday ringing tick, with an immature Cormorant caught in Muckle Uri Geo in the evening.
HIGHLIGHTS
Citrine Wagtail: Still present on Golden Water.
A brief dinner guest at South Light before being sent on its way again (Alex Penn)
Sightings of note: 18 Greylag Goose, 3 Teal, 29 Oystercatcher, 1 Lapwing, 1 Golden Plover, 3 Whimbrel, 101 Turnstone, 4 Knot, 49 Sanderling, 10 Dunlin, 3 Kittiwake, 8 Black-headed Gull, 112 Common Gull, 20 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 9 Arctic Tern, 1 Guillemot, 1 Cormorant, 2 Grey Heron, 2 Sparrowhawk, 1 Carrion Crow, 3 Swallow, 1 Willow Warbler, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Sedge Warbler
Other wildlife: 1 Red Admiral, 4 Shetland Bee
Year list: 180
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21st August 2024
Weather: Sunny spells until mid afternoon, becoming overcast with some light rain, before heavy rain set in from late afternoon and continued until dark, with an increasing wind. F6-8 SSE.
A good night ringing Storm petrels was had, seeing the team into the wee small hours of the 21st under a dazzlingly bright moon. A slightly quieter census than yesterday, with just a handful of passage migrant passerines, but the first Greylag Goose flocks of the autumn, still good numbers of waders and the Citrine Wagtail still swaggering around on Golden Water. Arctic Terns and Kittiwakes have all but left us, and Guillemots and Razorbills have departed after a poor breeding season. Twite are flocking in decent sized groups and our first nest of Fair Isle-bred Swallows have departed their nest at Brecks, just as the first Fair Isle lambs left the island onboard the Good Shepherd IV, leaving the croft parks a little quieter than before.
HIGHLIGHTS
Citrine Wagtail: Present in the north of the Isle.
One of 126 Storm Petrels processed during the night 20th-21st August, with the bright moon as a backdrop (Jonnie Fisk)
Sightings of note: 18 Greylag Goose, 1 Wigeon, 5 Teal, 38 Oystercatcher, 9 Lapwing, 1 Golden Plover, 57 Ringed Plover, 3 Whimbrel, 28 Curlew, 9 Black-tailed Godwit, 69 Turnstone, 13 Knot, 1 Ruff, 62 Sanderling, 29 Dunlin, 1 Purple Sandpiper, 23 Snipe, 56 Redshank, 8 Black-headed Gull, 29 Common Gull, 10 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 5 Arctic Tern, 20 Arctic Skua, 1 Sooty Shearwater, 1 Cormorant, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Carrion Crow, 83 Skylark, 13 Swallow, 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 Reed Warbler, 193 Wheatear, 1 Pied Wagtail, 7 White Wagtail, 37 alba Wagtail, 319 Meadow Pipit, 60 Rock Pipit, 65 Twite
Other wildlife: 4 Red Admiral, 3 Silver Y, 5 Shetland Bee
Year list: 180
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20th August 2024
Weather: Sunny all day, with wind decreasing from midday. F5-2 SW.
The momentous first Barred Warbler of the autumn appeared in the well-watched cover of the Schoolton garden before buzzing over the road to Quoy - a fairly typical arrival date for this large eastern species. Waders put in a strong showing, including our highest day count of Sanderling ever (70), beating the previous record of 57 in 2017. The Citrine Wagtail has now been here a week and remains faithful to Golden Water, and was later heard calling over the Haven. More effort was put into seawatching, once again due to the ongoing Great Shearwater experience off Sumburgh head, but two Sooty Shearwaters remained the only prize for Fair Isle's watchers. A Garden Warbler was trapped in Gully, with a few passage warblers and chats logged, as well as mixed flocks of hirundines. Most of all, it was just pleasant to complete a full autumn census in the sun,
HIGHLIGHTS
Barred Warbler: One at Schoolton.
Citrine Wagtail: Present in the north of the Isle.
Passage Black-tailed Godwits (Alex Penn)
Sightings of note: 4 Wigeon, 35 Teal, 36 Oystercatcher, 3 Lapwing, 1 Golden Plover, 127 Ringed Plover, 1 Whimbrel, 16 Curlew, 29 Black-tailed Godwit, 96 Turnstone, 2 Knot, 70 Sanderling (new record count), 19 Dunlin, 14 Purple Sandpiper, 18 Snipe, 64 Redshank, 14 Black-headed Gull, 88 Common Gull, 30 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 15 Arctic Tern, 22 Arctic Skua, 1 Red-throated Diver, 126 Storm Petrel, 2 Sooty Shearwater, 1 Cormorant, 4 Grey Heron, 1 Sparrowhawk, 4 Carrion Crow, 81 Skylark, 5 Sand Martin, 14 Swallow, 1 House Martin, 2 Willow Warbler, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Sedge Warbler, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Whitethroat, 1 Blackbird, 1 Robin, 1 Whinchat, 175 Wheatear, 3 Pied Wagtail, 5 White Wagtail, 59 alba Wagtail, 271 Meadow Pipit, 70 Rock Pipit, 48 Twite
The fruiting seedheads of Angelica make for great springboard perches for passage warblers like this Sedge Warbler (Alex Penn)
Other wildlife: 2 Red Admiral, 2 Silver Y, 14 Shetland Bee
Year list: 180
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19th August 2024
Weather: Wet and windy, with frequent prolonged showers. F6 S-SW.
Morning news from south mainland Shetand's seawatchers of a run of large shearwaters spurred a South Light vigil across most of the day, with watches taken from other points of the island as the weather continued to be grim and stormy. The Good Shepherd IV's resident birder added Cory's Shearwater to the island yearlist with one past the boat 10 miles from the Isle, with a Basking Shark also seen from the vessel on the same crossing. By the end of the day, some 40 Great Shearwaters had passed Sumburgh, but our total here remained at zero, with four Sooty Shearwaters, three Manx Shearwater, 23 Storm Petrels and a 'blue' Fulmar the best of the action over the sea from land. Cory's Shearwater has only been previously recorded in three other years in Fair Isle history and the last record was in 2005. Incredibly, in 1965 some 88 birds were recorded during a spell of five days during what was a phenomenal shearwater autumn. The young Citrine Wagtail was once again picking around Golden Water and the handful of passage passerines were presumably similarly lingering birds from recent days.
HIGHLIGHTS
Cory's Shearwater: One past the Good Shepherd IV c.10 miles from Fair Isle late morning.
Citrine Wagtail: The bird from previous days was at Golden Water.
Sightings of note: 2 Wigeon, 6 Teal, 13 Lapwing, 1 Whimbrel, 2 Black-tailed Godwit, 31 Turnstone, 7 Knot, 20 Sanderling, 5 Dunlin, 3 Purple Sandpiper, 1 Common Sandpiper, 9 Black-headed Gull, 42 Common Gull, 18 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 13 Arctic Tern, 23 Storm Petrel, 1 'blue' Fulmar, 4 Sooty Shearwater, 3 Manx Shearwater, 1 Cormorant, 2 Carrion Crow, 4 Swallow, 2 Willow Warbler, 1 Whitethroat, 1 Whinchat
Other wildlife: 1 Basking Shark
Year list: 180
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14th - 18th August 2024
A few days of breezy south-westerly winds dominating, with the team’s attention focused mostly on seawatching, checking the waters and sheltered bays and counting flocks of waders and gulls grounded by the weather. The standout birding highlight was the isle’s first land-based record of Great Shearwater since 1986, with one passing South Light at close range on 15th, amongst small numbers of Sooty and Manx Shearwaters. Another good early autumn bird came in the form of a smart Citrine Wagtail, found on 14th and remaining until 17th at least, and some moderate wader passage through the period included an isle record flock of 62 Black-tailed Godwit taking a break on Meoness on 16th. A reasonable display of bioluminescence ('mareel') in the Haven on the night of 17th also saw what appeared to be Mauve Stinger jellyfish (Pelagia noctiluca) washing ashore.
A close encounter with a Great Shearwater past South Light on the 15th (Alex Penn)
HIGHLIGHTS
Great Shearwater: One flew east past South Light on 15th.
Citrine Wagtail: A mobile first calendar-year bird toured the south on 14th, before relocating to the northern waters on subsequent days.
Our first Citrine Wagtail of the year was first picked up in flight over the crofts on the 14th (Alex Penn)
After a Sparrowhawk managed to weasel out of the Vaadal trap, this Green Sandpiper lurking in the burn was a fantastic consolatory prize (Alex Penn)
Sightings of note: 1 Shelduck, 1 Wigeon, 1 Teal, 1 Common Scoter, 1 Goldeneye, 2 Swift, 3 Golden Plover, 5 Whimbrel, 3 Bar-tailed Godwit, 62 Black-tailed Godwit, 37 Turnstone, 10 Knot, 16 Sanderling, 10 Dunlin, 9 Purple Sandpiper, 1 Green Sandpiper, 32 Redshank, 1 Greenshank, 8 Black-headed Gull, 14 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 3 Common Tern, 197 Arctic Tern, 1 Razorbill, 1 Great Northern Diver, 2 Storm Petrel, 11 Sooty Shearwater, 6 Manx Shearwater, 4 Grey Heron, 1 Sparrowhawk, 4 Carrion Crow, 2 Sand Martin, 14 Swallow, 3 Willow Warbler, 1 Chiffchaff, 2 Sedge Warbler, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Blackcap, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Whitethroat, 1 Whinchat, 1 White Wagtail, 40 alba Wagtail
Other wildlife: 2 Red Admiral, 1 Painted Lady, 2 Peacock, 17 Shetland Bee
Year list: 179
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13th August 2024
Weather: A night of thick fog spilled into the day, with a strong sun burning it off by late morning. The wind picked up throughout the day, with a couple of short rain showers late afternoon. F 4-7 S/SW.
After the previous day's tempestual weather, the 13th began calm and foggy, becoming sunny and warm by late morning, prompting a few butterflies to take wing. The continued south-easterlies finally brought with them a few passage migrant passerines, with the first Whinchat and Sedge Warbler of the autumn, as well as a Pied Flycatcher on the north-west cliffs and a yellow juv. Willow Warbler in the Crofts. The modest seige of Grey Herons linger, with one rather sorry-looking oiled juvenile but there was no sign today of the Isle's celebrated Kingfisher.
Sightings of note: 4 Teal, 1 Swift, 2 Golden Plover, 2 Whimbrel, 16 Turnstone, 5 Knot, 8 Sanderling, 7 Dunlin, 9 Redshank, 1 Greenshank, 4 Black-headed Gull, 345 Common Gull, 10 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 4 Grey Heron, 5 Carrion Crow, 3 Swallow, 1 Willow Warbler, 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 Pied Flycatcher, 1 Whinchat
Other wildlife: 2 Red Admiral, 1 Painted Lady, 2 Peacock, 17 Shetland Bee
Year list: 177
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10th - 12th August 2024
Weather: Swinging between hot and humid, and the odd chilly shower of drizzle. 12th was stormy with heavy rain, thunder and lightening. F4-8 SE.
The discovery of the first 'twitchable' Kingfisher for Fair Isle dominated discussion during the following days, with many of the island having never seen one before in their lives, such is the bird's rarity in the Northern Isles. One character who is conversely very well-acquainted with Kingfishers, but for whom one on Fair Isle would launch any of the others he'd seen out of the park, was Acting Warden Alex Penn, who had been enjoying a summer break on the Western Isles and for whom travel plans back to Fair Isle had been disrupted due to the weather. A tense two days followed, but as he bobbed past the North Haven breakwater on the 11th, our small orange and blue bird was still present a corner of that same bay and surely becomes the new 'best bird' on his Good Shepherd IV list? There was little change elsewhere and despite some drifty feeling south-easterlies, we are without passage passerine migrants. A couple of colour-ringed waders among the changable flocks of Knot, Sanderling etc. have perked our interest, and the (mostly juvenile) Arctic Tern flock around South Light remains impressive, especially when supplemented with a backdrop of hundreds of Gannets diving into a crashing sea, as we saw on the 12th, with a Sooty Shearwater weaving its way through east for good measure. The next two days look settled and warm again, and we await the first Barred Warbler of autumn...
Fair Isle's sharpest shooter (with a lens, not a rifle) was lucky that the Haven Kingfisher lingered for his return (Alex Penn)
HIGHLIGHTS
Kingfisher: The second record for Fair Isle stayed faithful to the North Haven sea caves over the 10th & 11th.
The pleasing floral background of the Skadan Obs' cover crop strip, which we hope to be hotching with passerines later in the autumn (Jonnie Fisk)
Sightings of note: 2 Teal, 1 Common Scoter, 1 Swift, 1 Whimbrel, 36 Turnstone, 14 Knot, 1 Ruff, 14 Sanderling, 7 Dunlin, 1 Purple Sandpiper, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Green Sandpiper, 10 Redshank, 2 Black-headed Gull, 96 Common Gull, 31 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 278 Arctic Tern, 2 Storm Petrel, 1 Sooty Shearwater, 4 Grey Heron, 1 Sparrowhawk, 4 Carrion Crow, 4 Swallow, 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Blackcap, 1 Lesser Whitethroat
Other wildlife: 1 Red Admiral, 3 Shetland Bee
Year list: 177
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8th & 9th August 2024
Weather: Sunny and warm, with a cooler wind. F5-3 SW-SE.
The second Hill Caa of the summer was underway by late morning, as the islanders, returning family members and visiting guests took to the north and attempted to scoop up the wily sheep from Tor 'o da Ward Hill, Dronger, and other ovine haunts. Many of these animals have evaded capture for multiple years, and their fleeces were something to behold as they lolloped into the cru by the Plantation Heligoland after a few hours of herding. South Light and South Harbour are still good places to catch up with the lingering flock of Arctic Terns (with a couple of Common Terns) and tally passage waders. It was during this task that AW Luke turned his scope to the sea - on the promise that high winds and rough seas of recent days would produce some offshore movement. A Balearic Shearwater was not what he was expecting, and if accepted would constitute the first record for Shetland. Not to be outdone, some visiting Swiss birders reported a Kingfisher in the Haven the following day, which was duly relayed to the local birders and refound by diligent AW Luke as it fished under the cliffs and in the sea caves of the North Haven waters. With just one previous record -a little-observed bird off the south of the island in September 1999- it produced a sizeable twitch, everyone 'needed' this! Two BIG birds to start off our autumn, though maybe not the duo anyone would have predicted...
Fair Isle's second Kingfisher on the tideline cliffs at North Haven (Jonnie Fisk)
HIGHLIGHTS
Balearic Shearwater: One flew east past South Light 16.20hrs on the 8th.
Kingfisher: A surprise bird on the cliffs at North Haven from mid-afternoon until the evening on the 9th. The second Fair Isle record.
A Dunlin ringed during a dazzling session, making the most of the return of dark nights! (Luke Marriner)
Sightings of note: 7 Teal, 1 Swift, 3 Golden Plover, 1 Grey Plover, 2 Whimbrel, 38 Turnstone, 15 Knot, 15 Sanderling, 13 Dunlin, 5 Purple Sandpiper, 1 Green Sandpiper, 17 Redshank, 2 Greenshank, 11 Black-headed Gull, 63 Common Gull, 64 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 2 Common Tern, 130 Arctic Tern, 3 Manx Shearwater, 2 Grey Heron, 1 Sparrowhawk, 4 Carrion Crow, 4 Swallow, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Blackcap, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Blackbird, 1 Pied Flycatcher
Other wildlife: 8 Shetland Bee
Year list: 177
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5th - 7th August 2024
Weather: Mixed sun and showers, with some strong winds and high seas. F4-6 S-SSE.
A massive autumn milestone was reached with the first two Pied Flycatchers of the season, one at Smirri Geo and one on the Good Shepherd IV Noost on the 5th. With the seabird season ebbing away, despite still being thousands of birds present, our job list priority now goes to the ringing of Fulmar chicks, which are starting to resemble actual Fulmars - and not animated bags of vaccum cleaner fluff - by the day. This is not a particularly enviable job, as each chick seems able to pay respectable homage to that scene from the Exorcist, leaving us covered in evil-smellig oil, regurgitated fish, and sometimes live intestinal worms. Their name (a mashup of the Norse words 'ful' = foul, and 'mar' = gull) has never seemed more appropriate. After another day of pungent Fulmar 'fun' and a tour of the Isle's Bonxie terriroties to log fledged birds (and retireve rings of young which have died) a heavy rain shower dropped in decent numbers of waders. Some 67 Turnstone, a flock of adult Knot and a juvenile Spotted Redshank were among the totals, the latter being less than annual here. At a similar time in the evening, two Sooty Shearwater were observed in Fair Isle waters, following the Northlink ferry as it lurched through the waves. Despite autumn being in the air, our summering Lesser Whitethroat and Blackcap remain, and the Isle's two pairs of nesting Swallows are yet to fledge their young.
HIGHLIGHTS
Spotted Redshank: Juvenile at Easter Lother Water, dropping in with the rain late evening.
A juvenile Spotted Redshank, our first of the year and not an easy bird to cacth up with in Fair Isle (Luke Marriner)
Sightings of note: 6 Teal, 1 Goldeneye, 3 Golden Plover, 1 Whimbrel, 67 Turnstone, 15 Knot, 21 Sanderling, 13 Dunlin, 7 Purple Sandpiper, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Green Sandpiper, 27 Redshank, 2 Greenshank, 5 Black-headed Gull, 654 Common Gull, 5 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 167 Arctic Tern, 2 Sooty Shearwater (first of the year), 2 Grey Heron, 4 Carrion Crow, 4 Swallow, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Blackcap, 2 Pied Flycatcher, 1 Blackbird
Other wildlife: 1 Large White Butterfly, 1 Silver Y, 2 Shetland Bee
Year list: 175
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1st - 4th August 2024
Weather: Warm and sunny. F3 S-SE.
The third consecutive inshore fish survey was carried in the seas of the Fair Isle Marine Protected Area with the ship MFV Atlantia II and a survey team from University of the Highlands and Islands, Shetland able to repeat and expand the previous year's trawl survey coverage to 10 locations. Amazing footage of Flapper Skates was recorded, and trawl results included some John Dory - not a fish most would expect to record in the seas around Fair Isle! The Obs' team have been retrieving GLS tags from Puffins first deployed in 2021 around Buness and Roskillie, with another Storm Petrel ringing session on the night of the 1st, with 139 birds processed. An early autumn surprise on the Isle's water bodies was two young Goldeneye, one each on Golden Water and Da Water, which were present 2nd - 3rd. A Hobby was dashing around the Crofts and Malcolm's Head on 4th before relocating to the north cliffs where it chased around after Fulmars.
An impressive Flapper Skate being measured and tagged before returned to the waters (Photo via Katie Cubbin / FIMRO)
HIGHLIGHTS
Hobby: One over Utra on 4th, carrying north west along to the peak of Malcolm's Head and seen at Eastern Lother early evening.
Sightings of note: 2 Teal, 1 Tufted Duck, 2 Goldeneye, 1 Scaup, 24 Turnstone, 4 Sanderling, 1 Dunlin, 1 Common Sandpiper, 6 Redshank, 17 Black-headed Gull, 511 Common Gull, 6 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 114 Arctic Tern, 139 Storm Petrels, 5 Grey Heron, 2 Carrion Crow, 1 Sand Martin, 4 Swallow, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Blackcap, 1 Lesser Whitethroat
Other wildlife: 5 White-beaked Dolphin, 1 Painted Lady, 1 Peacock, 1 Shetland Bee
Year list: 173
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29th - 31st July 2024
Weather: Warm and sunny. F3 S-SE.
More sunny days of silage baling, and mopping up the dregs of seabird monitoring in what has been a pretty poor year all over for the fortunes of the various species here. The Scaup continues to be seen on Da Water and the calmer, dry nights have allowed for more Storm Petrel ringing. Flotsam in South Harbour included a plastic crate and a buoy adorned with goose barnacles, rather fitting arrivals alongside the Marine Protected Area's inshore fish survey which is trawling, filming and sampling marine life across the Isle's coast, including targeting areas identified as Shag foraging zones during this spring's tagging project for the species - a great example of joined-up thinking and cooperative action within the MPA.
A Fulmar chick reaching peak fluff-blobbiness (Jonnie Fisk)
Sightings of note: 2 Teal, 1 Scaup, 1 Swift, 10 Turnstone, 4 Sanderling, 5 Dunlin, 9 Purple Sandpiper, 3 Redshank, 1 Greenshank, 28 Black-headed Gull, 82 Common Gull, 23 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 74 Arctic Tern, 193 Storm Petrels, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Kestrel, 2 Carrion Crow, 4 Swallow, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Blackcap, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Blackbird, 1 Crossbill
Other wildlife: 2 Peacock Butterfly, 1 Magpie Moth, 4 Shetland Bee
Year list: 173
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26th - 28th July 2024
Weather: Largely sunny and mild, with scattered light showers. F4-2 SW.
While we may still be in a sunshine deficit for this summer, recent days have done their best to repay that meterological debt. The last of this year's class of Bonxie chicks were found and ringed, with a great disparity in their sizes. Some are still largely fluffy chicks, with others will be flying in less than a week. Sadly, as with almost all seabirds this year, a twinge of sadness is married to this monitoring, as more and more dead chicks are uncovered. The silage fields continue to be cut, providing fresh hunting ground for the growing numbers of gulls and waders passing through Fair Isle in their limbo between breeding and wintering. It provides a good chance to make some comprehensive Common Gull counts, and as decreed, a Ruff was found among them on the 28th - our first of the year, with hopefully more to follow. The Scaup was back on Da Water and A cloudy night called for more Storm Petrel ringing on the 28th, with some 40 birds caught to the backdrop of a peeping nocturnal Common Sandpiper. Being able to show a few visitors to the Isle these adventurous peerie seabirds in their own crepuscular realm was a delight during these times in which the Observatory is still being built.
Sightings of note: 1 Scaup, 2 Swift, 1 Golden Plover, 1 Whimbrel, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 34 Turnstone, 1 Ruff (first of the year), 5 Sanderling, 5 Dunlin, 1 Common Sandpiper, 5 Purple Sandpiper, 6 Redshank, 25 Black-headed Gull, 170 Common Gull, 9 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 180 Arctic Tern, 110 Storm Petrel, 1 Cormorant, 3 Carrion Crow, 4 Swallow, 1 Willow Warbler, 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Blackcap, 1 Lesser Whitethroat
Busy baling (Jonnie Fisk)
Other wildlife: 1 Red Admiral, 2 Peacock Butterfly, 1 Shetland Bee
Year list: 173
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24th - 25th July 2024
Weather: .
More warm weather and calm seas on the 24th off the south allowed us to perform another Puffin productivity plot visit to Greenholm, the island's pink coating of thrift when we first ventured over in May now replaced by the white icing of mayweed flowers. It didn't take long of us to find many of our study species not far off fledging, while a lesser number are surprisingly fresh out the egg! A retrap of an adult Puffin was the first time this particlar female had been recorded since her first encounter with a ringer as a chick 13 years ago. The team trod around Vaasetter and the parks for more Bonxie chicks to ring, with just five found to furnish with Darvics, plus the now typical scenes of predated or starved chicks dotted across the heather. Dronger and Swey was the order of the day on the 25th, with some 20 more Bonxie chicks found acoss these classicly territory-dense northern swathe of the Isle. Stomping around and scanning the floor always turns up curios and among the old Eider nests, snipe skulls and flowering Bog Asphodel, a couple of old Bonxie rings were found, from birds ringed as chicks in 2010 and 2018. The freshly cut and baled fields of silege across the crofts are irresistable to waders and gulls, providing an opportunity to garner large counts of Common Gulls, including some smart, velvety juveniles. Wader passage continues apace, with a red adult Bar-tailed Godwit snoozing among massed Curlews and Oystercatchers, and more Sanderling, Knot and a Purple Sandpiper off the rocks at South Light. The tatty drake Scaup is still present, and even took a wander to Muckle Uri Geo.
At peace among the Puffins of Greenholm (Jonnie Fisk)
Sightings of note: 1 Scaup, 6 Whimbrel, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 11 Turnstone, 1 Knot, 3 Sanderling, 7 Dunlin, 1 Purple Sandpiper, 11 Redshank, 1 Greenshank, 14 Black-headed Gull, 361 Common Gull, 4 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1 Peregrine, 2 Carrion Crow, 3 Swallow, 2 Lesser Whitethroat
A medium-sized Bonxie chick, with North Light as a backdrop (Jonnie Fisk)
Other wildlife: 1 Magpie Moth
Year list: 172
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20th - 23rd July 2024
Weather: Largely warm and sunny, with hot weather on 22nd and 23rd. Heavy rain overnight on 20th.
A busy few days in the Fair Isle bubble. The team has gradually been continuing to cover the Bonxie breeding areas to find and ring this year's young. A pleasant surprise on the 21st came with a Marsh Warbler in Plantation Heligoland, but slightly more significant was the discovery of a brood of two Dunlin chicks at Mire o' Vatnagaard. This spring saw Dunlins linger around this area of the north, with plenty of singing, but it is a credit to their secretive habits once their clutch is laid that they remained undetected until now. This is only the eighth breeding attempt of this species for Fair Isle, the last being in 2020 - so a real treat to witness! The 22nd was the first Hill Caa of the summer, where the community all pitch in, be it with dogs, quad bikes, crooks or just sheer naive enthusiasm (I think that covers our Assistant Wardens...) to round up the hill sheep; those animals of the hardy Shetland breed which graze and lamb in the hilly, cliffy, wild north of the island, almost entirely without assisstance. However, fleeces must be shorn, for the comfort and health of the stock if nothing else, and this year's lambs require a dose of medication, and the rams among them are castrated to prevent uncontrolled breeding which would present anothe challenge to these already plucky animals. As usual, the team took part in clipping, an acquired skill soon happily attempted after some guidance from a few sage locals. Fuelled on by good community vibes and some cake, a night of Storm Petrel ringing saw 78 birds processed including a bird ringed in Portugal in June 2023, and recaptured of Fair Isle birds from August 2019 and July 2021. Many of the parks have been left ungrazed over the summer, to be cut for silage, which began this week, and the team leant a hand with baling and wrapping across the various crofts in the south, all under blazing sunshine!
One of two Dunlin chicks in the north of the Isle - only the eigth time breeding has been recorded here (Alex Penn)
HIGHLIGHTS
Wood Sandpiper: Two at the Da Water on 20th and one on 21st.
Marsh Warbler: One trapped and ringed in plantation on 21st.
Summer is the time for us to be reacquainted with some of Fair Isle's most captivating nocturnal breeders (Alex Penn)
Sightings of note: 3 Teal, 1 Tufted Duck, 1 Scaup, 5 Swift, 1 Woodpigeon, 1 Collared Dove, 1 Whimbrel, 14 Turnstone, 8 Knot, 22 Sanderling, 4 Dunlin, 1 Purple Sandpiper, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Green Sandpiper, 16 Redshank, 17 Black-headed Gull, 259 Common Gull, 11 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1 Common Tern, 2 Great Northern Diver, 78 Storm Petrel, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Kestrel, 1 Carrion Crow, 4 Swallow, 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Lesser Whitethroat
Other wildlife: 1 Red Admiral, 1 Painted Lady, 1 Peacock Butterfly, 1 Silver Y, 1 Shetland Bee, 2 Magpie Moth, 2 Harbour Porpoise
Year list: 172
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16th - 19th July 2024
Weather: An overcast start became increasingly foggier, with drizzle from late afternoon. F3 W.
The team were back on the water over recent days, with more auks in their sights for continued GLS tag deployment. While at sea level, the view from the geos to the north of Sheep Rock was not encouraging from a breeding productivity perspective, with chicks vanishing by the day. Our Guillemot study plot further north at Peitron is now so empty it is not worth monitoring. It seems the previous winter's mass die-off event of the species, twinned with a cold, wet summer so far has led to this sobering situation. A handful of warmer, sunny days allowed us to search out some more Arctic Tern chicks for ringing at Buness, and prolonged study in the sun of the rocks off South Light and around Smirri Geo is producing more migrant Sanderling, Knot and Purple Sandpiper. Our first, and hotly anticipated Storm Petrel ringing session at the Haven took place on the night 18th-19th, with 64 new birds ringed, a retrap bird (ringed here in July 2020), and a Norwegian-ringed control. Our final few cruise ships of the summer paid their fleeting visits to the Isle, mostly arriving in fog but departing with sun, and the Fair Isle community must be commended for its organisation and coordination which pulls together many different threads to be able to offer visitors an interactive, informative and insightful view into life on this island. We ended the week with something quite momentous: the first Great Skua chicks to be ringed here since the outbreak of HPAI three years ago. Our quest began at Homisdale, and by the early evening some 17 stompy blonde chicks can be now identified from afar thanks to their alpha numeric rings.
HIGHLIGHTS
Wood Sandpiper: Two at the Da Water on 19th.
The Arctic Tern cloud which descends on Buness when you stray too close to thier colony (Jonnie Fisk)
Sightings of note: 1 Teal, 1 Tufted Duck, 7 Swift, 1 Woodpigeon, 1 Whimbrel, 12 Turnstone, 4 Knot, 5 Sanderling, 1 Dunlin, 3 Purple Sandpiper, 1 Green Sandpiper, 16 Redshank, 1 Black-headed Gull, 47 Common Gull, 6 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 3 Common Tern, 2 Great Northern Diver, 66 Storm Petrel, 1 Grey Heron, 3 Carrion Crow, 2 Swallow, 1 Lesser Whitethroat
A Guillemot from North Mila Hesslands which now sports a GLS tag, ready for retrieval next year (Jonnie Fisk)
Other wildlife: 1 Red Admiral, 2 Shetland Bee
Year list: 172
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14th & 15th July 2024
Weather:Largely foggy and damp. F4 W.
The team were back on Buness aiding with Puffin ringing and sampling with NTS's seabird scientist, as a westerly wind swirled the massed birds around us in impressive fashion. The first Arctic Tern chicks were ringed around South Light, with hopefully many more to come from the colony also at Buness. The damp weather was conducive to more wader passage, with an impressive count of 47 Purple Sandpiper on the rocks by Muckle Uri Geo on the 15th, all of them in variable summer plumage.
An Arctic Tern chick, getting its start to life among the rock strata off South Light (Alex Penn)
Sightings of note: 1 Teal, 2 Swift, 1 Whimbrel, 7 Turnstone, 1 Knot, 1 Sanderling, 2 Dunlin, 47 Purple Sandpiper, 41 Redshank, 1 Black-headed Gull, 8 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 2 Great Northern Diver, 1 Cormorant, 1 Grey Heron, 3 Carrion Crow, 3 Swallow, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Garden Warbler
It'll never not feel novel to witness Purple Sandpipers in their various iterations of summer dress (Luke Marriner)
Other wildlife: 1 Shetland Bee
Year list: 172
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12th & 13th July 2024
Weather:.
With a murky few days, we were glad for the company of National Trust for Scotland's Ellie Owen, who was on the island with Puffin fieldwork. With weather once again hampering our plans to be out on the Obs' boat or ringing chicks, we were grateful to be kept busy with a task in hand as at least 50 birds were required for this study on avian influenza in the species. Buness, with its famed tame Puffins and slightly sheltered slopes in a north-westerly wind, was chosen for this venture, and proved quite fruitful, with a mix of breeding and non-breeding birds caught and processed.
Sightings of note: 1 Swift, 1 Turnstone, 18 Redshank, 1 Greenshank, 1 Black-headed Gull, 6 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1 Red-throated Diver, 1 Great Northern Diver, 1 Grey Heron, 4 Carrion Crow, 4 Swallow, 3 Chiffchaff, 1 Blackbird
Other wildlife: 2 Shetland Bee
Year list: 172
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8th - 11th July 2024
Weather: Warm, with full sun on 8th & 9th. A rainy day on 10th and a wet start became a largely grey day with the odd sunny window on 11th.
A busy few days of seabird fieldwork. A sunny, warm 8th set us up for a 20+-hour Puffin feed watch at Roskillie, with 30+ burrows marked for monitoring. While the team's concentration was of course at all times focussed on the comings and goings of Puffins with billfulls of fish, the antics of hunting Bonxies, calling Great Northern Divers, a passing Flapper Skate(!!) in Furse, and the shapes of distant Orca steaming towards the Isle from Shetland (thanks to an early warning from a passenger on the Northlink via the Shetland Cetacean warning group!) all provided moments of entertaiment. A Common Tern flew over Roskillie during the Puffin watch, the first record of the year of this species which used to breed on the Isle. A Hawfinch was in Vaila's Trees and more Four-lined Polycera nudibranchs were unearthed during some quick pontoon dipping in the Haven, as well as what might be Eubranchus exiguus - another nudibranch - many of which were feeding on the hydroids attached to kelp. Another sunny, still day blessed us with the chance to spend the following morning catching Puffins at Tor 'o da Ward Hill for food sampling, followed by a island circumnavigation in the Obs' boat to complete a Gannet colony count and make the most of still seas. The afternoon was spent on Greenholm, sadly Orca-less this time, to once again monitor the productivity of the Puffins of the study plot, while dodging the pre-vomit spasms of the Fulmar chicks which have hatched since last we landed there. A glorious Puffiny sunset at South Green rounded off a fantastic 14-hour day in the field. For once we welcomed a rainy day, as the weather returned to this summer's fine form by the 10th. It was a chance to analyse and record the results of the previous day's Puffin food sampling; weighing each catch, identify the species, and measuring each fish caught. This year's catch of the day among the sample size included hundreds of small, glassy sandeels, rockling, smaller numbers of clupeids (forage fish like sprats and herrings), and a handful of juvenile flatfish species. One of our samples from a single bird totalled over 90 fish items! All data collected contributes to the UK Seabird Monitoring Programme's long-term database. On the 11th, a female Nightjar was flused during a push of the Gully trap, though after settling on the roadside at Homisdale it headed back towards the mouth of Finnequoy and wasn't seen again, and the first juvenile Wood Sandpiper of the autumn was mobile around Da Water.
Plodding down Tor 'o da Ward Hill on a calm morning, to set up a mist net for Puffin food sampling (Jonnie Fisk)
HIGHLIGHTS
Nightjar: A female flushed from the slopes of Gully on 11th.
Hawfinch: A female at Vaila's Trees on the morning of 8th.
Female Hawfinch at Vaila's Trees (Alex Penn)
Alex Penn at the helm of the Observatory's mighty vessel, rounding the east side of Sheep Rock (Jonnie Fisk)
Sightings of note: 1 Teal, 6 Swift, 1 Woodpigeon, 2 Collared Dove, 5 Turnstone, 1 Dunlin, 1 Common Sandpiper, 23 Redshank, 1 Wood Sandpiper, 5 Black-headed Gull, 12 Common Gull, 5 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1 Common Tern (first of the year), 2 Great Northern Diver, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Peregrine, 2 Carrion Crow, 1 Sand Martin, 3 Swallow, 3 Chiffchaff, 1 Lesser Whitethroat
No finer way to end a busy Obs' day, than with the Isle's Puffins at sunset (Jonnie Fisk)
Other wildlife: 3 Silver Y, 6 Shetland Bee, 4 Orca, 2 Risso's Dolphin
Year list: 172
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6th - 7th July 2024
Weather: Overcast and cool on the 6th, with rain mid afternoon. Wet all day on 7th, with a cold wind. F4 NW.
Swelly seas kept us grounded during a drizzly couple of days, providing an opportunity to turn to the upkeep of the Plantation Heligoland, and preparing our Puffin feed watch site at Roskilie for an all-day vigil this coming week. A couple of Great Northern Divers remain around the Haven and Furse, with a Kestrel a new migrant in. A tideline corpse of a Great Black-backed Gull was checked (as all dead birds are here) for a ring and presto! It had sported one in life, and after inputting the ring number, we were surprised to discover this individual was not only ringed in 1994 as a chick - making it 30 years old, but also now held the longevity record for a Great Black-back according to the BTO!
Our recent cross-island Great Skua nest mapping has ended, with with many of the season's early chicks now sporting a 'blonde' cast to their down (Jonnie Fisk)
Sightings of note: 27 Redshank, 13 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 2 Great Northern Diver, 1 Kestrel, 1 Carrion Crow, 4 Swallow, 1 Chiffchaff
Year list: 171
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4th - 5th July 2024
Weather: A bright day on the 4th broke into sunshine after midday. The 5th saw low cloud and drizzle over the north, with a cold wind. F4-3 NW.
As the summer rolls on, our seabirds are going through their annual motions, admittedly later and, for some, in much reduced number than we would hope ths season. Nevertheless, the first Kittiwake chicks of the year are here, as well as the first youngsters for our Arctic Tern colony, and Fulmars are beginning the be joined on their nests by impossibly fluffy chicks. Our (so far) sole nest of Arctic Skuas have hatched two young, while across the hillsides and parks of the Isle, a great deal more Bonxie chicks are in various states of growth, with many still on eggs during this protracted breeding season. A rather tatty moulting Marsh Warbler was a surprise find in the Gully on the 4th, just adding to the remarkable tally of Marsh Warblers we've encountered this spring (...or is this an 'autumn' record?). With settled seas off the east of the island, the team took to the North and South Ramnigeos for the new Obs' boat's maiden voyage, with a view to catching and ringing more auks. This year we have been equipped with GLS tags to deploy on breeding Guillemots and Razorbills and we were able to tag 13 Razorbills during a fine day on the water.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Marsh Warbler: Our 30th individual Marsh Warbler of the year was trapped and ringed in Gully on the 4th.
A Razorbill with Seatrack GLS tag, before being returned to its nesting crevice (Alex Penn)
Nosing the boat into South Ramnigeo towards the Razorbill colony on the boulder beach, and its cliffsides covered in Guillemots (Jonnie Fisk)
Sightings of note: 1 Red-breasted Merganser, 2 Turnstone, 4 Redshank, 8 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1 Great Northern Diver, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Short-eared Owl, 2 Carrion Crow, 4 Swallow, 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Blackcap, 2 Mealy Redpoll
Other wildlife: 2 Shetland Bee, 4 Risso's Dolphin
A Risso's Dolphin flinging itself around the waters off South Harbour (Alex Penn)
Year list: 171
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2nd - 3rd July 2024
Weather: The 2nd was sunny and warm out of the wind. Cloud descended late afternoon, followed by a drizzly end to the day. An overcast but humid start then became a day of showers on the 3rd. F4- W
More Gannet, Guillemot and Great Skua work took place during the sun on the 2nd, as well as a prolonged stop at Buness to build a large photographic log of Puffin portraits for a project on ageing (which can be done via the study of the birds' beaks). We are hopeful for calmer seas towards the end of the week, in order to take to the water in the new Obs' boat...
A Short-eared Owl at Wirvie, with an onlooker (Alex Penn)
A Wheatear of the year, with not much time left before it makes its first attempt at crossing the Sahara (Jonnie Fisk)
Sightings of note: 1 Collared Dove, 1 Whimbrel, 5 Turnstone, 4 Redshank, 4 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 3 Great Northern Diver, 1 Short-eared Owl, 1 Carrion Crow, 2 Swallow, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Blackcap, 2 Lesser Whitethroat
Other wildlife: 1 Red Admiral
Year list: 171
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30th June & 1st July 2024
Weather: Prolonged periods of drizzle or rain. Sunny spells evening of 1st July. F4-7 WNW.
We continue to wait for suitably dry and warm days to be able to continue some of the more hands-on seabird monitoring. The Hurtigruten ship Maud brought over 400 passengers onto the island on the 30th; and despite some pretty wet weather many were able to enjoy the antics of the Buness Puffins as they brought in small fish to expectant chicks within their burrows. July arrived with low cloud and rain, and in the absence of reliable visibility for Gannet monitoring or dry conditions for Bonxie work, the team got the new Obs' boat in the water of the Haven, where it joined a lingering Great Northern Diver. Afterwards, in the shadow of the Good Shepherd, some casual study of the kelp and dulse attached to the Haven pontoon became more enthusiastic with the discovery of multiple juvenile Lumpsuckers and delicate Four-lined Polycera nudibranchs, a Montagu's Sea Snail (actually a fish species, with similar suction power to the Lumpsucker), Pleurobrachia pileus - the comb jellyfish known as the Sea Gooseberry, and what may be Placida dendritica - another 'sea slug' species, and the first record for Fair Isle. Worth getting wet for!
A Four-lined Polycera (Polycera quadrilineata) (Alex Penn)
Another polycera (left) and another 'sea slug' species (possibly Placida dendritica) (Alex Penn)
One of several juvenile Lumpsuckers found among kelp on the Haven pontoon - one was even pink (Jonnie Fisk)
Sightings of note: 3 Greylag Goose, 2 Wigeon, 1 Collared Dove, 6 Turnstone, 1 Dunlin, 13 Redshank, 4 Black-headed Gull, 44 Common Gull, 8 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 3 Great Northern Diver, 4 Carrion Crow, 6 Swallow, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Blackcap, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Blackbird
A polycera hitching a ride on the largest Blue-rayed Limpit we'd ever seen (Alex Penn)
Year list: 171
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