26th June 2022 Unst SE4 Overcast

It felt promising conditions this morning but a walk around Norwick only produced the lingering Redwing and Willow Warbler. Just after arriving home a Warbler flew across our garden and landed atop our rosa - a Marsh Warbler! Unfortunately by the time I grabbed the camera it had dropped into the cover of the rosa, and in the limited time before I left for work, it only afforded a couple more glimpses - it's my latest Spring arrival date by 3 days and the first that I've seen this year. Later I heard a Quail at Inner Skaw.

Male Red-backed Shrike at Valyie

With very little time to edit images or blog recently, here's an image of a well-suffused Red-backed Shrike found by Dante mid-June - the only one that I saw this Spring.

25th June 2022 Yell SSE4 Fog

Brydon found a male Moltoni's Warbler at Gutcher yesterday. I resisted leaving early from work on mainland and then paid the penalty of rain and fog rolling in by the time I was passing through Gutcher on my way home. I caught the earliest ferry from Unst and spent a while enjoying hearing it singing, calling and showing on and off. I was joined by Kevin Kelly before I left for the ferry to mainland but persistent thick fog meant an early return home! A walk around Norwick produced a Kestrel and a Swallow was feeding around our house late afternoon.

Male Moltoni's Warbler at Gutcher

Recordings of it calling and singing here, here & here

9th June 2022 Unst ESE3 Overcast

With a high pressure system sat west of Norway I thought the conditions looked promising enough to take the day off survey work. After a long walk around Skaw had failed to produce a migrant I was beginning to think that might be a mistake when a Red-breasted Flycatcher suddenly appeared in front of me whilst zooming around the fencelines. Brydon soon trumped me finding a singing Greenish Warbler in Halligarth. Valyie proved quiet with just a Chiffchaff and a Willow Warbler so I headed to Halligarth where I joined Brydon, Dante and Lauren enjoying watching the Greenish. I returned north seeing a Siskin at NorthDale from where the day rather fizzled out.

Red-breasted Flycatcher at Skaw

Greenish Warbler at Halligarth

7th June 2022 Unst NE4 partly overcast

I spent 3 hours guiding two Americans hoping to record as many moorland species as possible. Just as we were finishing our walk and approaching my car parked along Holsens road a female Black-headed Bunting flew past us and thankfully landed in some rank grass but out of sight. Creeping closer, it unfortunately flushed but landed close to the cliff edge where I obtained a few poor images as I was looking pretty much directly into the light. It again flew and disappeared down the cliffs. I rather hastily said my farewells to the Americans, put the news out and collected Dante from doing his rounds at Haroldswick and we returned to the scene. It took us half an hour or so before we again found it feeding along the clifftops when it was also nice for us to hear it call if only the once. Dante obtained some superb images that he's kindly allowed me to include below... In the increasingly windy conditions I later took a walk around Norwick that produced a singing Willow Warbler and a Spotted Flycatcher.

Female Black-headed Bunting along Holsen's road

(all images Dante Shepherd with more on Dante's blog here)

The fifth that I've been fortunate enough to find on Shetland (two in Spring and three in Autumn).

5th June 2022 Unst WNW2 Rain clearing

After spending four consecutive days working on mainland Shetland I thought it was nice to be staying more local today. Frustratingly the weather forecast hadn't made any mention of steady rain and poor visibility and after spending an hour at Skaw in the rain I'd failed to see a passerine migrant. I returned home and waited for the rain to clear whereupon a quick look around Norwick, in what felt promising conditions, produced just a single Chiffchaff. I then left for Uyeasound for my first boat-based seabird survey of the season. News of a Needletail being picked up on a boat in the North Sea had us searching the deck of ours(!) but without success. Seven hours and 8 Red-necked Phalaropes later - all feeding on the sea - we were c.30 minutes out of Uyeasound when Dante found a male Moltoni's Warbler at Valyie! Being a world tick no less, and something I've wanted to see for a very long time, I was soon there joining Dante and Lauren and being treated to some nice views and great to hear it calling loudly and occasionally singing too - brilliant and a well-deserved great find for Dante after all the effort he and Lauren have put in since arriving on Unst a week ago.

Bridled Guillemot

Razorbills

Black Guillemot

Puffins

Common Tern

Shag

Kittiwake on its nest

Pair of Red-necked Phalaropes

Male Moltoni's Warbler at Valyie

A sound-recording of a few calls here

Dante has uploaded his recordings of it singing here and calling here and there's a full account on his blog with some superior images showing its plumage hues nicely here

3rd June 2022 Toft NNE3 Overcast

Whilst working on mainland the cloud suddenly cleared early in the afternoon that clearly caused a few raptors to take to the skies as I saw a stratospheric Osprey circling until lost into a high cloud followed by a White-tailed Eagle circling moving slowly south.

Osprey over Toft

White-tailed Eagle over Toft

1st June 2022 Unst NW4 Clear

A look at Valyie this evening produced a Spotted Flycatcher and more views of the Rustic Bunting that was occasionally singing... until I pointed a microphone in its direction!

Rustic Bunting at Valyie
Only the second that I've heard singing in the UK but it's not uncommon to hear them singing on migration in Japan.