We completed the SOTEAG beached bird surveys but otherwise it proved quiet for passerine migrants.
Skaw: Bar-tailed Godwit, 19 Knot, 13 Sanderling, 2 Snipe, 2 Wheatear, Whinchat & Garden Warbler.
Haroldswick: Swallow, 3 Wheatear
Burrafirth: Moorhen, 4 Wheatear, 2 Willow Warbler
Norwick: Merlin, 8 Sanderling, 2 Swallow, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, 2 Willow Warbler, Red-backed Shrike & 3 Common Crossbill.
Bar-tailed Godwit at Skaw
Common Crossbills at Norwick
Lesser Whitethroat at Norwick
The subspecific identity of autumn Lesser Whitethroats on the Northern Isles always proves an interesting talking point. In addition to DNA-proven curruca there have been plenty of DNA-proven blythi and a few halimodendri. Today's individual appeared quite interesting in showing ear-coverts rather uniform in appearance to its forecrown (as viewed side-on), a sandy-coloured nape and hindcrown blending in to a greyer forecrown and what appeared a complete white outer web to t6. However, there is the difficulty of properly assessing the subtle colour tones both in the field and from images (not helped in viewing/photographing a 'pale' bird against the 'dark' background) and there is variation across the large range of curruca, with some DNA-proven curruca showing all of the above features. This individual today was heard repeatedly calling a typical-sounding 'teck'. However, yesterday, when sharing the tiny plantation of pines with a Red-backed Shrike, whilst it was continually 'teck'ing away it was also regularly giving wren-like alarm calls that sounded not too dissimilar to the oft-quoted Tit-like calls of halimodendri although there was a slight variation in the gaps between each note and in each note sounding less 'slurred'. The Wren-like alarm calls sounded near identical to those recorded by Craig Robson in Norfolk in June 2020 here.
