Tuesday 12 November 2013

A Touch of Thrush . . . .

Pretty delighted on Saturday to find a Black-throated Thrush near Gulberwick, whilst out counting Greylag Geese! I was in my car, parked with the window down looking over a small marsh when I heard Redwing 'seep' & several drop in along a fence line some distance away. Unbelievable really to have casually raised my bins to scan the Redwing only to spot this beauty amongst them! My own MEGA just literally dropped in! 

A great November bird!  

Sunday 3 November 2013

NEW Home - NEW British Tick - NEW British Mammal

Cape May Warbler - Unst - October/November 2013
1st for Shetland, 2nd for Britain & the Western Palearctic! What a bird to welcome me to Shetland - my new home! ;) A great find by Mike Pennington & enjoyed by several hundred birders & many friends who have managed to get up here to see it since the 23rd October. 

Cape May Warbler in flight showing the superb tail, a feature often difficult to see in the field.  

Cape May Warbler - a fabulously calm, bright day yesterday saw me return to Unst to see the Warbler for a third time with Phil. 

I really enjoyed watching the Cape May Warbler activity feeding & moving from Sycamores to Fuschia's & more open grassland areas catching a number of large flies in the Autumn sunshine.

We went to Unst via Mid-Yell & found the Bearded Seal on a jetty, which was a UK mammal tick & much wanted after dipping this Arctic beast on 3 other occasions! What an amazing animal to see so close! This handsome whiskered beast has been frequenting several sites in Yell since last Summer but can disappear for days at a time.