Shetland return

It was great to be back in Shetland over the last couple of weeks. The weather couldn't  have been better for us and the birds and other wildlife we came across was superb as ever. I always keep an eye on the Shetland Nature website to see whats about and what might be lingering a few days. Spring birds don't normally hang around but just occasionally you are lucky.

It was good again to meet up with Jim Nicholson and to meet Gary Bell (local) and Martin Garner of Birding Frontiers. I always find that people are so friendly and want to share information of whats about and the finer details of identification. Up in Shetland you can have so many different races of warblers and Redpoll it makes it challenging to any birder, but with local knowledge and experince it can become a little easier. That only comes with spending lots of time in the area, hopefully I will be in a position to do that soon. Birds that are familiar around Sheffield take on a whole new meaning in Shetland.

Once you have got to grips with what is common and not, and having spent a fair few hours looking through many Shetland Bird reports, i can now say which is more likely to be seen in Shetland. A Little Ringed Plover, regular and fairly common around Sheffield turned up at the Lock of Hillwell  just as we visited. This has only been recorded 12 times so this was a very scarce bird in Shetland and it didn't stay around long.

The Short Toed Lark which stayed at Sumburgh for a good few days eluded us on several visits, while other seemed to see it on a first attempt. Responding quickly to current information is a bonus to those on the web, or with text contacts. A number of locals managed to see the Woodchat Shrike that had a brief stay at Baltasound on Unst, but as I only had access to the web on occasion I missed out.

 I have been told that you should have been here 1/2 hour ago or that the bird had just flown behind me -this did happen in the Cairngorms when a Capercallie flew passed- i did catch up with the Capercallie bird later. Its good to hear what is about but impossible to see everything on a short trip. Shetland reveals many secrets slowly and throughout the year, making birdwatching compelling at all times.

With very few birders about you might know that a bird has turned up, say at Grutness but with no one to guide you , you still have to re-find it. This has happened with several birds over the years, its hard to believe that no one else was watching the Icterine or Sub-alpine warbler, when back in England it would have drawn a crowd. This is what makes Shetland so special, it is just too remote for people to turn up in a few hours and with a tremendous cost involved. Some do make the trip to see one bird, but what a shame, Shetland has so much to offer.

Back in the 1970's when I had just started birdwatching, I knew a few twitchers who wouldn't look twice at a Starling or a Sparrow.  Look now, they are declining to such an extent that to see one locally in some parts of England is to see a rarity. Fortunately I love to see all birds and never get tried of seeing the same species, there is alot to find out about the more common species. In Shetland they still have a healthy population of Starlings and House Sparrows but very few people report or study them.

It was sad to read that the Puffin cam chick at Sumburgh head has failed to hatch. This is the third season that they have failed. The RSPB have also indicated that this is looking like another bad year for the seabirds.

                                                         Puffin no long on Puffincam

                                                         We need to see more of this !


Last week I saw only three Artic terns carrying very small Sandeels into the Grutness colony. Lots of Gulls stood around waiting to predate any young that might appear.

Dangerous Moorland

With the news this week of Ordnance being found on Langsett Moors, close to Sheffield it just shows that you have to take care when out watching nature. Your mind will be on other things not whether un-exploded shells are laying about. Just in one spot over 30 pieces of ordnance were found including an 18 lb shell. This was exploded by the army which caused a 2 metre hole. This area was used to prepare for the D-Day landings back in 1944.

Shetland was also heavily involved in WW2 and many remains can be found scattered around the islands, this includes this German Bomb which we found as an ornament in a garden at Sand Sound. Last time we went back it had been moved.

Now snakes are not a problem in Shetland, but around Sheffield we have a reasonable population . On the moors Adders can be found if you are quiet and move slowly. They can pick up vibrations as you move so often people don't even know they are about. Males come out of hibernation in February providing it is still and sunny and you can often find them in sheltered areas close to bracken and heather. The larger females tend to come out a month later.

Around 100 people a year are bitten by Adders but so far only 12 people have died from bites. Dog fatalities are commoner in early spring, possibly because their venom is more concentrated after overwintering.

Another danger, or experience worth encountering is that of a Gt Skua or Bonnxie. If you go to Hermaness its impossible to avoid them as you are going through territory after territory to get over to the cliffs. The most aggressive are the ones that have laid their eggs or have young ones and especially those who nest on higher ground. These birds may be the older mature birds and they certainly pack a punch. I have been hit on the head, not by its beak but by its feet. Normally the birds work as a pair, one coming at you at head height, then the other following up from the rear.

There are compensations as you tend to look at the flowers as you bend down to avoid the attacks

Shetland Sub-Alpine warbler

Its amazing how good some people's ID skills have developed. Only the other year while we were visiting Unst we went to Skaw to see a Sub-alpine warbler. With no one else about we watched the bird for about 1/2 hour where it collected nest material to build a nest in a spearmint patch next to the stream.

 On several occasions it sang. We had great views and it was only when we returned home we discovered that someone had recognise the call as that of an Italian Sub- alpine warbler, amazing!!. This then was a Moltoni's Sub-alpine warbler, the first to be recorded in Britain.

Often Shetland has a Mediterranean feel with birds you would expect to be sunning it further south. We have had good views of Golden Orioles at the woodlands of Kergord and Halligarth on a number of occasions. Bee-eaters up at Vidlin, which looked totally out of place with Shetland sheep walking past. Red backed Shrikes, which have bred in the southern mainland of Shetland, Marsh warblers on a number of occasions and Bluethroat , one of my favourite birds.

This all adds to the excitement with birds appearing from all points, within a few hours you could be watching birds from America, the Artic, eastern Europe or the Med

Singing

Its that time at last, after what seems to been a long winter, spring has finally arrived with migrant birds streaming back up north. Some may say its spring when they see the first Swallow or Bluebell, but for me its  the birds singing.

Some birds like the Robin have been in song since last October, and some sing for a long time, well March - November like the Chiff Chaff.  But for most its only a few months in song so they can attract a mate, which makes it difficult for anyone trying to learn bird song. Trying to remember a song from last year is difficult and trying to put the song to an actual bird species is also hard. It comes with experience and being out in the field as often as possible to make sure you absorb the songs as much as possible.

                                                                          Robin

Its great to be up early to catch the dawn chorus, the sound is amazing , but within a few hours of sunrise the song diminishes.

Tomorrow I am giving a talk to the Woodhouse Wildlife Group on bird song, after many requests, not just from members of this group but others as well. It would seem that people are interested in learning a few songs, a few at a time is best. Some you can describe, like the Yellowhammer - a little bit of bread and no cheese, or the Police car call of the Great Tit and some like the Wood pigeon- well what do you say. One calls down our chimney each morning much to the annoyance of our cat.

When we were in Shetland on our last visit we found a grasshopper warbler singing down at Virkie, this bird decided to stay a long time , calling throughout. This is an easy call - a reeling sound like that of a fly fisher mans sending out his line (or reeling), the other close one to this is the Savi's Warbler but this is higher pitched.

                                                          Grasshopper Warbler- Virkie

I also love the sound of Eider ducks and Puffins calling, I can listen all day. But the intention is to attract a mate, or to make a warning or perhaps a contact call if flying in a group. Like all things if you can see the bird and identify it when its singing it sticks better in the mind

Birds often use a high song post to spread their song over a wide area, or like the skylark sing from high up
as song posts are limited where they nest. Yet others like the Reed warbler singing from the depths of a reed bed or the booming of the Bittern is just as captivating.

                                                                             Bittern

All in all Spring is a great time for birds in breeding plumage's, for song and display when they might be more evident than the rest of the year. For some like migrant birds arriving from Africa or other areas we only see them for a few months before they fly south again.

                                                                         Skylark

Shetland Puffins

Large numbers of dead Puffins have recently been washed up on beaches between Aberdeen and Northumberland. during the last weeks of March 2013. Its hard to say whether breeding numbers in Shetland will be affected in years to come. Historically all seabirds have been having a bad time for more than 20 years and this wreck will have a further effect on numbers breeding throughout the North East.

                                          Puffins are known as Tammy Norie In Shetland

Very strong , prolonged easterly gales have made it hard for birds to find food and as a result many have starved. Puffins tend to winter far out to sea, unlike Guillemots and Razorbills which tend to be further towards the coast in winter. Therefore normally any dead Puffins would not be found as they are carried away by the sea, but the strong easterly winds will have blown dead birds onto the beaches and during the first week alone over 400 dead Puffins were found, along with a number of dead Guillemots and Razorbills.

Around half the dead Puffins were adults , mainly 1-3 years old. Although this will not affect breeding numbers this year it will have a long term affect on a species that is already in decline. Puffins normally mature around 4-5 years old and start to breed when they are 6-7 years old. The other 50% were immature birds and with many young birds leaving the nest under weight due to the lack of food they would find it more of a struggle to survive even a normal winter.

                                                          More like this please !!!!

This is the largest wreck since 1947 and it has happened at an unusual time of year with many birds already back at the base of the cliffs, ready to return to the nest sites. Even in the US unprecedented numbers of Puffin deaths have been reported, with a small number of Razorbills.

Scotland holds around 45% of the European population of seabirds, but with the lack of sand eels in recent years, predation from Skuas and other large Gulls and with other birds drowning in fishing nets, seabirds are finding it difficult to raise any young.

For over 33 consecutive years the Shetland bird club has run the Beached Bird Survey in which they count dead birds along beaches. In 2011 just under 1000 dead seabirds were found, 23 of these oiled birds another  problem seabirds encounter.

Shetland has a dedicated band of  survey workers and it will be interesting whether they record a high number of Puffin deaths this year. The excellent Shetland bird report also indicates that colour ringed Puffins sighted year to year show adult Puffin  survival rates were relatively high between 1987- 1999 but from 2000 onward have tended to be lower, which coincides with the lack of food

Gannets

This is the largest seabird in the North Atlantic, with an increasing population in Shetland with colonies at Noss, Hermaness on Unst as well as on Fair Isle. Overall  the UK has around 250,000 gannets 58% of the world's population.

Shetland supports around 10% of the UK population. Normally birds winter of the coast of Africa returning to the cliffs around February with eggs laid in April. Breeding begins around the age of 5 or 6 years and then they stay together for years. When the arrive back on the steep cliffs pair bonding takes place and this involves shaking their heads from side to side, while sometimes leaning back , the head extended upwards and the bill  pointing downwards.

The nest is large and can be made of seaweed, feathers, vegetation and sometimes with fishing nets. Not all of this is collected outside the colony as there is continual stealing of material from nests nearby.

New EU polices at the beginning of March agreed to phase out the controversial practice of dumping unwanted fish back into the sea. Dr Votier of Plymouth University believes that the new ban on fish disgards is essential to cut waste and improve the fish stocks.

This could have an effect on Gannets as some individuals rely heavily on fish disgards others focus more on Mackerel and Herring. Birds have been tracked travelling to South West Norway for food as well as targeting fishing vessels for disgards.Cameras have been attached to gannets revealing 42% of birds regularly targeted fishing vessels as well as searching for natural prey. While 81% of these were male Gannets but only 30% were females.

Gannets are the only consistently successful breeding seabird in the North Atlantic so it will be interesting to see how they will adapt to these new policies. Its not only Gannets that are attracted to fish disgards, a study in the late 1980's early 1990's revealed that the number of seabirds potentially supported by fish waste was around 5.9 million. That's a vast number !!!

Shetland faces

Shetland appeals to a wide variety of people, but most are interested in wildlife and the environment. Over the years we have met some of  the  most famous people of Shetland.(or so we think !!)

Many years ago David Bellamy visited Shetland and we met him at the Aith Lifeboat gala, it was at the same time that the Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior was in Lerwick . David is well remembered for his enthusiastic TV programme's on his Botanical exploits, but perhaps more so when he claimed that man made Global warming doesn't exist.

                                                      David Bellamy(old Slide)

We have met Bill Oddie several time and he is very enthusiastic about Shetland. Having read all his books you can see why, he spent a lot of time on the Out Skerries, but  the first time we met him was at Geosetter. I was sat in the car with my wife Diane, when I could see this man walking towards us and I said that's 'Bill Oddie'. When he got closer we could see him clearly and he spent a good 1/2 hour talking about the birds and other wildlife in the area including a Corncrake in a near by village . I suppose that he could at least get away from people up here so some quite time. Later he was back up when the Braer sank in 1993 in force 11 gales, trying to encourage people to come to Shetland on holiday and he was down at the Sumburgh hotel a number of times when we went in for a meal.

                                       Bill Oddie and Bobby Tullock on Noss (old slide)

As for Bobby Tullock, he was Mr Shetland wildlife. Having been born on Yell he grew up with a great appreciation for the wildlife in his native islands. Working for the RSPB for a number of years then starting a tour company in which he introduced a large number of people to Shetland. He is also famous for discovering breeding Snowy Owls on Fetlar in 1967 and arranging their protection.

Mr Lifeboat man is generally only seen at the Lifeboat galas in Aith (West side) and Lerwick (East side), other times you may spot him in his lifeboat with other members of the team as they are very active throughout the year. Shetland could not do without them, keep up the good work !!!!!!!!!!

                                                                 Mr Lifeboat man

The photo below, taken many years ago in Yell may well be a Trowie. These are famous Shetland folklore small troll like fairy creatures who are very mischievous . Although generally seen at night, this one may just be coming home late from a party.

                                                            A possible Trowie !

In a thousand year from now, archaeologists may well be asking whether Darth Vader (Star Wars) actually visited Shetland. This realistic carving can be seen down near Sumburgh head.

                                                                   Darth Vader ?