Pre- Christmas

After nearly a week of gales, rain and cloud last weekend was dry, sunny with the wind picking up late Sunday. I was busy all day on Saturday but on Sunday managed to get out around Sandwick for a few hours.

Down at Sandsayre a small party of 8 Long Tailed Duck kept flying one side to the other. Most of the rocks by this time was covered by high tide but this concentrated the waders. Numbers seemed lower than usual with Oystercatcher (8) Turnstone(14) Purple Sandpiper (4) Ringed Plover (1) stood together most sleeping.

Down at the Wart, lots more waders feeding on the grassland- Curlew (177) Golden Plover (122) Turnstone (22) Lapwing (46) Redshank (4) several Hoddie Crow, Greylag (66) while a passing Merlin put everything up . Several small flocks (around 50 in each) of starling fed close together and several Blackbird and Fieldfare could be seen scattered among the sheep.

On the way back home a migrant Kestrel flew up from beside the road.

On the rarer front, the Rough Legged Buzzard has been seen occasionally around the village of Sullom. The Lesser Scaup is at Loch of Benston and the Oriental Turtle dove is still in Scalloway.

With the weather being so changeable I don't think I will for the next few days so all the best Christmas