Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

Last night, after a Winter lacking in the magic white stuff, 6 inches of snow fell on Suffolk! So of course the day involved ringing and photography. Phil spring trapped a Black-headed Gull and Common Gull on our shed roof and then we spent time out locally where I photographed Yellowhammers and a good thrush mix of Song Thrush, Redwing, Blackbird and Fieldfare. The sudden harsh weather conditions forced these birds onto garden berry bushes where they frantically removed hundreds of berries, totally unfazed by humans walking past along the pavements and thankfully - me with my lens! A great snow day!

A Perfect Storm . .
Birding has been quiet the last few days with daily reductions in common migrants & only a couple of elusive Arctic Redpolls giving a rarer flare to the mixed flocks of Common (Mealy) & Lesser Redpolls. Increasing northerly winds produced a scattering of northern Redwing & a few Waxwing but surely the highlight came on the 20th with the most incredible weather conditions I have ever experienced on Fair Isle! The day started very cold with purple-grey clouds building up out to sea, followed with a prolonged heavy burst of pea-sized hail & the odd bolt of lightning & thunder. In the afternoon, the Island still covered in hail stones, was shrowded in darkness as high winds & a full-on blizzard
arrived! Not very productive birding & photography weather! This extreme weather continued with a spectacular highlight in the form of 3-4 tornado style huge 'Water Spouts' seen out to sea from the South! These monster formations lasted for some minutes & you could see the water being whipped up & rotated a few hundred feet through binoculars. . . . .

Goodbye Autumn . . .

Today had a distinct northerly 'chill' in the air with a temperature 'feel' factor of -2 & more strong winds! It is official - winter is here! There were very few birds about but good numbers of Greylag Geese still  in the south & notable numbers of Thrushes. In the afternoon a walk to south light & back produced 8 Teal, 2 Grey Phalarope, 1 Knot, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Merlin, 1 Pied Wagtail, 25+ Lapwing, 5+ Golden Plover, plenty of Greylag Geese - 1 with orange neck ring  (BCS). In the Havens a Chaffinch remains along with 2 Long-tailed Duck &  a reduced flock of Snow Bunting. I photographed a Common Snipe in the New Plantation & several Redwing, still in abundance. A Glaucous Gull was seen eating kitchen scraps near the Obs first thing this morning. Monday nights dazzling session was not very productive with 3 Greylag Geese being caught from a flock of over 40 - and 2 of these 3 were already ringed! 

Redpolls & Redwings . . . 

Tuesday was a bit of a wash out day once again. Highlights were increasing numbers of Geese, Whooper Swans & Redwing. One Grey Phalarope was still present in South Haven. 3 more Snow Bunting were trapped & 1 Tufted Duck, Purple Sandpiper & Woodcock were also ringed. Wednesday saw better weather with force 6-7 westerlies, sunny spells & the odd hail-filled shower. Ventured south in the morning, photographing a smart NW (Iceland/Greenland) Redpoll at Barkland on the way down. This bird had been ringed the day before. There were a lot more Redwing about & at least 2 Merlin hunting the flocks. A few Redwing (Islandica) were very approachable for photography as was the Lesser Whitethroat which fed frantically on an apple (!) in the Obs heligoland trapping area. The evening saw another 'dazzling' session with 2 Juv Whooper Swans caught, 1 at Da Water & 1 at Field Pond as well as more Greylag Geese, taking the number caught to 22 in 3 days . . . . 

Monday Madness . . . 

The day was spent, rather like the Turnstone below -  bracing the elements once again -  I will have to get used to these endless gales & driving rain when I live on Shetland! Can't wait!  Photographed something a 'little different' this morning,  a smart adult female Tufted Duck which showed well in the Havens. It was later trapped & ringed. Also spent time sifting through gulls in the north for an elusive Glaucous Gull which had been seen earlier in the day. No sign of the Glauc but good numbers of gulls gathering near the airstrip & Golden Water throughout the day, so a gull dazzling session has been mentioned for later tonight. The plane was cancelled this afternoon & the boat is cancelled tomorrow, we just need the winds to come from somewhere a little further afield . . . . .

Saturday Struggle . . . 

The strong gales and heavy downpours continued today. I photographed the male Long-tailed Duck which was still present in North Haven during a brief sunny spell as well as a confiding Redwing. 2 female Long-tailed Duck & the 2 Grey Phalaropes were also still present. I headed north & birded the cliffs round to Easter & Wester Lother before lunch but it was a virtually birdless venture, my only bird of note being a Tree Pipit  - shown in the photographs below (a trip tick for me).  Other birds I noted today include 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Northern Wheatear, 1 Purple Sandpiper, 2 Kittiwake, 4 Common Gull. Phil had 3 Great Northern Diver & 1 Red-throated Diver during a South Light Seawatch.

'Bits & Pieces'

Light southerly winds today with sunny spells, making birding around the Island pleasant  - though again very quiet for birds. Highlights today included 1 Scaup in Furse along with 2 Tufted Duck. Also a very close Tystie in North Haven which showed well for photos. Other birds encountered included 1 Red-throated Diver, 1 Razorbill, 1 Merlin, 1 Yellowhammer, 1 Black-headed Gull,  1 Ringed Plover, 1 Golden Plover, 1 Fieldfare, 3 Long-tailed Duck, 1 Bluethroat, 1 Blackcap, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 North-western Redpoll, 1 Chaffinch, 4+ Brambling, 1 White Wagtail, 2 Blackbird & lots of Redwing & Snow Bunting (70+).