Shetland Skuas

 

Arctic Skua , one of my favourite birds

There is always a constant battle with the bigger Gt Skua, often patrolling the same area

A  ringed Arctic Skua

Arctic Skua out gunned by bigger Gt Skua

Fish dropped by Arctic Skua while Gt Skua moves in

Skuas friends at last

Back down to see the Long Tailed Skua at Dalsetter yesterday just before the weather changed.

 Arctic Skua (Light Phase)

I met Kev Bryant coming down the hill who said he had not seen it in his 1.5 hour visit and went off to Sumburgh.

 LT Skua

Ray Johnston and his wife stayed on and within 15 mins the LT Skua flew in from the west very low and sat on a rock just below the brow of the hill.

Several Gt Skua flew over without a response and three Arctic Skua sat near by.

On previous visits the LT Skua would come down the hill to mount and attack on the Arctic's but this time it flew in and sat with the Arctic's, not what I expected.

There was a bit of calling but no aggression as such. The LT Skua flew around a few times and came in the middle of the others.

It finally flew off east and flew over the cliffs when another pair of Arctic Skua started to chase it and it came back to the three again.

Meanwhile a young Arctic Skua seemed content to sit near a rock and only flew off when an adult called to it. A Pair of Red Throated Diver, Greylag,  Curlew, Dunlin, wheatear ,Rock Dove and a few Arctic tern with fish flew over.

With another 3 LT Skuas on Orkney it makes you wonder if they have had a poor breeding season and are heading south earlier than normal.

Its a class bird and made the trip from a visiting birder worth while.

Present again today, although did spend some time down at Boddam

Shetland Long Tailed Skua

While we have only had a few common migrants these last few weeks a couple of rare birds continue to put in appearances.

 Recently a Black Redstart and Red Backed Shrike stayed at Sumburgh quarry for over two weeks and Quail have been present for at least 5 weeks , possibly 4/5 birds in various locations with one today down at Bakkasetter

 The Lesser Grey Shrike again has been present for a few months, possibly the same bird in Unst at end of May, then at Vidlin on the 5  June then at Maywick from the 27 June to present. I saw it briefly down on the Bigton road today, sat on a fence post to the south of the normal area.

The other long stay rarity is the Long Tailed Skua which again may be the same bird seen in May at Dalsetter. It disappeared for two weeks but then seen briefly at Dalsetter again then Clumlie before becoming a regular at Dalsetter hill

 This bird was joined by a second Long tailed Skua for about 1/2 hour yesterday, the second bird didn't have a long tail.

 I first saw the bird fly low passed me heading to Boddam, it was certainly a fast bird. The day before it had been photographed around the Broch so I went to this spot to find no sign. Sitting on the highest part of the Broch I could see the striking bird high up on a nearby hill

 I made my way over to a ruined croft and waited for it to fly. It certainly didn't disappoint and was very territorial

 I gather it attacked a person in a Dalsetter garden striking him on the head and wasn't liking the Arctic Skua pair nearby, making constant dives at the skuas

 It then flew and landed close by, it is a very beautiful bird and reminded me of the other Long Tailed Skua that I saw on Burra about 8 years ago, although this was in better weather

Make sure you don't disturb the many nesting birds in the area and view from the fence or inside the old croft

 Long Tailed Skuas are normally seen passing the coast going to or from their breeding grounds in the arctic

With over 600 photos to process through I will be back with some others in the next blog