Iceland Gull at Sandwick, Shetland

 February is always a good month to see Iceland and Glaucous gulls in Shetland. More Iceland than Glaucous at the moment

One has been seen for several days in Lerwick but this one turned up at Sandsayre in Sandwick and at this time has been present for 4 days, one day joined by another

Usually the outlet pipe draws at least 20-30 gulls but on this day only the Iceland was present, joined briefly by a few others 

The weather was good for a change and the best sunlight coincided with high tide, the best time to see the gull flock

Like most birds this Iceland Gull had a regular pattern for feeding and came close to the beach numerous times.

This bird may have never seen any humans before arriving in Sandwick and was very confiding

It was good to see it feeding on very small insects sitting on the surface of the sea

Under attack

Redshank

 

Redshank are teh first bird to start alarming and scaring all the birds away 

They are  wary and difficult to get close tpo, especially in winter

Shetland Common birds doing well

 It always good to see some common birds in good number and both Shetland Starling and House Sparrows are present in good numbers unlike the rest of the UK

Beautiful colours on our Starlings

In the sun the colours of the Starlings really show off well and these were taken down at Leebitton

Down at Leebitton i recon that there must be about 100 Starlings and close by at Sandlodge another 100

On rough grassland close by another 200-300. At home we have a couple of hundreds of birds flying over as its going dark going to roost

House Sparrows are very underrated and again we have them in good numbers. Flocks of around 100 in both places, either feeding in gardens or in a small area of mixed woodland beside Sandlodge

Sparrows don't roam far and their seems to be plenty of food locally

Great Northern Diver- Shetland

Gt Northern Divers have always been a favourite and we have 30+ birds in winter, spread out around Shetland

On an incoming tide some birds come in close into shore and its easier to get a photo as they dive for food