Easter Arrival

Night Heron - Spiggie Loch - Mainland Shetland.
After seeing the Reawick Night Heron a few days before,  I headed to Spiggie Loch, one of my favourite Shetland sites to see the second Night Heron after Easter. This stunning bird looked incredible in the late afternoon light as it fished around the shore edges and enabled full-frame shots with just my 300mm lens . . .superb ;)

Here he was swallowing a tiny fish . . 

My favourite shot - almost mediterranean late afternoon warm light showing that superb red eye off nicely.

King for a Day!

Hi Everyone. Today started disappointingly foggy with drizzle and light winds. Phil & I went to Unst for the day & whilst there the conditions brightened considerably and birding produced a few fresh Spring migrants and a couple of dog Otters. We saw the distant spec of a smart male King Eider (has been present for much of the Winter) amongst a flock of maybe 200 Common Eider at Uyea Sound. As we watched the flock started moving at some rate towards us so we stayed put and watched as part of the flock broke up and kept bee-lining towards us - with the King Eider in tow! After maybe 10 minutes the flock reached the shore and unbelievably started to get out onto the beach in front of us! What a dream to see this King Eider so close . . .a fantastic experience. After only a few minutes the Eiders took to the water again and briskly made their way back out into the Sound.