Monday 11 May 2015

11th May 2015 Unst S3

On an early morning visit to Skaw we flushed a roadside drake Pintail and bumped into Robbie Brookes there, where 5 Barnacle Geese, Tree Pipit and a male Common Redstart were seen. We then tried Norwick where the Iceland Gull was again present and Northdale where 3 Golden Plover were seen in a field and the Whooper Swan remained. On our way to Baltasound the Haroldswick pools proved a hotspot for migrants with a Whinchat the best. Halligarth held a male and female Pied Flycatcher. The short journey to an afternoon visit to Burrafirth was enlivened by a stop at a garden where screaming Gulls alerted us to a Rough-legged Buzzard flying over high that headed off northeast and we then found a different Iceland Gull at Haroldswick Recreational Field. A return to Norwick beach coincided with rain arriving so we called it a day but as the weather cleared mid-evening a walk to Norwick produced an Osprey flying northeast at 7.45pm.

Whooper Swan 1 adult
Greylag Goose c.50
Barnacle Goose 5
Mallard 2
Pintail 1 drake
Red-throated Diver c.6
Rough-legged Buzzard 1 juvenile NE at 2.45pm
Osprey 1 NE at 7.45pm
Golden Plover 3
Dunlin c.12
Snipe c.5 including drumming
Arctic Skua c.6
Iceland Gull 2
Black Guillemot c.10
Wood Pigeon c.10
Swallow c,10
House Martin 2
Chiffchaff 2
Willow Warbler 2
Blackcap 8
Whitethroat 3
Redwing 3
Pied Flycatcher 2
Redstart 2 males
Whinchat 1
White Wagtail 3
Pied Wagtail 4
Tree Pipit 1
Twite 5
Reed Bunting 4




Arctic Skuas near Lamba Ness (lower two JFC)


Barnacle Geese at Skaw

Male Common Redstart at Skaw

Rock Dove at Skaw (JFC)

Male White Wagtail at Norwick Beach
conveniently revealing the colour of its rump between its middle tertials

Male Whinchat at Haroldswick (JFC)


Female Pied Flycatcher at Halligarth (lower JFC)


Male Pied Flycatcher at Halligarth (JFC)




Juvenile Rough-legged Buzzard over Norwick (lower JFC)



Juvenile Iceland Gull with Lesser Black-backed Gulls at Haroldswick (lower two JFC)
another bleached individual but this one showed a dark iris

Shetland Wren at Norwick

Osprey pursued by a Raven over Norwick

Norwick Beach