Shetland Gt White Egret

At present there are two Gt White Egrets in Shetland, one at Voe and this one at Spiggie in the south mainland

According to the latest bird report (2018) these are rare vagrants from Southern Europe although they have bred in Hampshire and are starting to become regulars in England

The report indicates that there has only been 14 records  from Shetland , both have been present for over a week

I have seen the Spiggie Egret several times before but all have been distant views, including when i first saw the bird over at Hillwell

This time it was sitting close to the edge of the loch near the north end, normally seen at the south end

It allowed a reasonably close approach before taking off and heading back to the south end

At Quendale a good number of Redwing arrived as well as Swallow(2) Blackcap (3) Goldcrest(4) Robin(5) Chiffchaff(2) and two chaffinch

No Sign of the Yellowhammer (2) that had been reported from the dam a hour or so before. A large number of Greylag passed over and at least 50 Raven were seen.

We have had more migrants in the garden this year than the previous 6 years. It may be down to having a few bushes which are now getting established. Also neighbours have cut the grass as well so another habitat . This Autumn we have had - Chiffchaff, Willow warbler, Pied Flycatcher, Redstart, Goldcrest, Swallow, Song Thrush, Robin, Blackcap and this Redwing

Shetland Shorelark

This Shorelark has been present around Sumburgh Head carpark for the past five days and is showing well

You can understand why the Americans call it a Horned Lark, with the horns showing well in these photos

I located this bird just below the plastic Orca feeding on the side of the path, it called several times

A couple of other birders arrived and i directed them to the bird just as it flew off towards Compass Head

It started to feed on the hill with Wheatear, Meadow Pipit, Skylark and Starlings and was unconcerned when a flock of sheep approached

Its a smart bird tending to visit coastal areas during Autumn and winter but breeding up in the mountains

A scarce visitor to Shetland

Shetland Blyth Reed Warbler

There has been a big invasion of Blue Tits throughout Shetland with a few Gt Tit as well as common migrants still flood into the islands.

Still some interesting scarce migrants as well. We went down to Spiggie today parking up near the fishermen's hut and nearly straight away saw a Wryneck which flew up from the grass landed briefly on the sheep pens before flying up towards the dunes.

It was a good start as i made my way up to the Blyth Reed Warbler spot. Only one person watching when i arrived and said it had flown back into the nettles about 5 mins ago

The is a couple of things that Birders are noted for, patience and the ability to stare at a clump of nettles, rocks or bushes for a long time. I was expecting Bill Oddie to pop up but nothing did as we continued to get to grips with every leaf and every bit of movement.

Eventually the other birder said he would go across the burn and `move' the bird forward. It worked as the bird flew up and landed a bit closer.

A second flush moved it more into the open and it was happy to feed and looked settled. Also in the same area was a Reed Warbler, a couple of Goldcrest and Robin.

The Blyth Reed warbler then showed as it moved along a closer clump of nettles giving some good views.

This warbler is noted for having a pale stripe  running from the eye to the bill and just have a light blob just behind the eye.

Its overall colour is grey Olive- brown and has short wingtips and darkish legs, confirming this was a  Blyth Reed Warbler only the second one i have seen in Shetland

Blyth Reed Warbler are a scarce migrant to Shetland, coming from Eastern Europe or Asia

On the loch both Mute and Whooper swans lots of wigeon, Tufted and Mallard and one Slavonian Grebe with the Gt White Egret still down at the south end.