30th March 2026 Lerwick NW5 Squally showers

The joys of a trip to Lerwick... a 4.45am alarm, car MoT & service, Tescos and a visit to the dentist all to look forward to and with a weather forecast suggesting that we might not even get there due to northwesterly gales grounding the ferries! I rarely leave home without optics and/or a camera but there really seemed little point in taking them with us today... car dropped off, an extensive tour of Tescos completed and with a little time to kill before the dentist, saw us drive to the Fjara cafe which is closed on a Monday, so we knew the car park would be empty... Partially recline car seat, enjoy the view of Bressay, watch a few Purple Sandpipers on the rocks and a Gull flies past heading north at a range of probably c.100m... but it looked rather small and it's underwings looked strikingly white lacking the dark 'shadow' on the underside of the primaries of a Black-headed Gull... I remarked to Brenda that it looked like a Bonaparte's(!)... and continued to watch it fly across the bay before it joined a small melee of Gulls along the foreshore of the Sletts. We took a drive round, found the small flock of Gulls comprised mainly of Herrings with just two Black-headed-type Gulls sat on the water... With the naked eye there appeared to be a size difference... Whilst walking closer, they flew and the smaller bird looped around and flew close past me before settling on the water a little further along the coast... I'd seen its strikingly white underwings and a crisp black trailing edge to its primaries... it really was a Bonaparte's...!! I typed out the relevant message to Whatsapp but then had second thoughts about sending it... I hadn't seen its bill colour, its leg colour, or a grey nape... what if it didn't linger and was never seen again... Instead I decided to phone Phil Harris who lives nearby and tell him that I was 99% sure that I was watching a Bonaparte's Gull at the Sletts but without optics! On being joined in a matter of a few minutes, I'd literally just seen it fly off back towards Fjara... but had then noticed another small melee of Gulls just to the south. We took a drive back round, back into the car park and I started squinting at a couple of Black-headed Gulls, when I heard a hoot from behind us, Phil had found it sat very close on the sea just off the rocks - phew! Rebecca obtained some brilliant images before it soon flew off towards Pullars Loch. We had no option but to depart for the dentist but Phil and Rebecca soon relocated it at the loch. With grateful thanks to Rebecca for kindly sending me her following images:

Bonaparte's Gull at Lerwick (all copyright Rebecca Nason)

27th March 2026 Unst SW5 Showers

A few species seen whilst we completed the monthly SOTEAG beached bird surveys including a light scatter of Icelandic Redwings.

North Unst: c.20 Icelandic Redwings.

Norwick: 6 Purple Sandpipers, Long-eared Owl & 2 Tree Sparrows.

Haroldswick: Black Redstart.

Purple Sandpipers at Norwick

Icelandic Redwing at Norwick

26th March 2026 Unst & Catfirth, mainland Shetland

We awoke to a covering of snow but it had virtually all melted by the time that I left for work. The Black Redstart appeared to think nothing of feeding among the partially snow-covered rocks.

Haroldswick: Black Redstart.

Catfirth: 3 Whooper Swans, Sparrowhawk & 2 Rooks.

Black Redstart at Haroldswick

24th March 2026 Unst SW9 Showers

Norwick: 2 Tree Sparrows.

Haroldswick: 9 Whooper Swans & Black Redstart.

Uyeasound: 7 Taiga Bean Geese & Greenland White-fronted Goose.

Whooper Swan on the sea at Haroldswick

Otter with prey

Greenland White-fronted Goose with Greylags at Uyeasound

Taiga Bean Geese at Uyeasound

A flock of jumpy Bean Geese that were first seen by Brydon on Sunday. We today obtained a series of rather distant and brief views as they proved incredibly wary in very stormy weather but at least we were watching them in nice light between the heavy showers!

It’s fair to say that I’ve never found the identification of Taiga and Tundra Bean Geese straightforward but that’s probably no surprise given: 

Separating Taiga and Tundra Bean Geese from each other is often difficult, or even impossible, due to the occurrence of individuals with intermediate features (the extent to which these intermediate features are a result of hybridisation is not known. Family groups can be easier to identify due to their more or less homogenous features. (van Duivendijk 2024).

Here's a few annotated images...

As for comparative size, based on the following two images I think it's safe to say that you would estimate a 20% weight difference...

Greenland White-fronted Goose (centre) and 2 Taiga Bean Geese

Comparative average weights per BWP: Taiga 2843-3198, Tundra 2374-2668 & Greenland 2526-2543

Taiga Bean Goose and Greenland White-fronted Goose

Alongside the Greenland White-fronted Goose it’s easy to appreciate not only the overall larger size but also the longer, thicker neck and more attenuated rear end of the Taiga Bean Goose.

Greylag Goose (left) and 6 Taiga Bean Geese

Clearly the two species appear comparable in size.

Average lengths are given for Greylag Goose as 79cm and Taiga Bean as 83cm (van Duivendijk 2024).

Taiga Bean Geese at Uyeasound

Whilst distant, it's hard to imagine Tundra Bean Geese ever taking on the long-necked appearance, head shape and bill shape profiles of the left two individuals and the long attenuated bodies of the left and right individuals.

But, as so often is the case with Bean Goose identification, not everything appeared quite so straightforward...

I was less keen on the appearance of the left individual. Whilst it appears little different in size to the accompanying Taiga, it consistently appears to have a more triangular, thicker-based, less slender bill with a slightly swollen base to its lower mandible, albeit its culmen appears concave. Additionally, its bill pattern resembles that of a Tundra, although c.10% of Taiga show similar bill patterns (van Duivendijk 2024). I wouldn't have wanted to see it as a lone individual and can easily imagine considering it a large gander Tundra or a so-called 'Dutch intergrade'...

23rd March 2026 Unst W4 Overcast

Norwick: 3 Woodpigeon, 20 Skylark, Robin, 4 Redwing & Tree Sparrow.

22nd March 2026 Unst SW8 Wintry showers

The two Tree Sparrows were still in our garden. Mike then messaged to say the Bonaparte's Gull was performing well along the foreshore at Uyeasound.

Norwick: Long-eared Owl, Goldcrest & 2 Tree Sparrows.

Uyeasound: Knot & Bonaparte's Gull.

Tree Sparrows at Norwick

Adult Bonaparte's Gull along the littoral at Uyeasound