Photo bombed
The weather was miserable with light to heavy rain all the time so not good light for photography.
Rose Coloured Starlings come from central Europe and are rare visitors to the UK. This is the 3rd RCS I have seen in Shetland but the first adult and the first in Summer.
Most birds turn up May - November. Another or the same bird was seen down at Compass Head the day before this one turned up.
What impressed me was its head, the pink beak looked short, which stood out with its black head. It could easily be seen in flight from a distance and was happy to spend a lot of time with other Starlings.
The house owner restocked the bird feeders with fat balls each day and that seemed the big attraction.
Its normally seen between 8-12.00 noon and then intermittently in the afternoon when it seems to spend more time near the large metal shed above the moorland
I caught up with the Starling again on Sunday with better views. When I arrived it was feeding on the fat balls but flew off very quickly. After it disappeared for 45 mins and the rain started again, this time briefly
It seems to like flying onto next doors roof for a look round before flying down to the fat balls. It takes control straight away and is aggressive towards other Shetland Starlings, Sparrows and Doves.
After spending a few mins on the fat balls it flew up onto the wire fence and then onto the roof before flying off again
Just after it appeared a large party of 16 Welsh birders turned up and were delighted that I could point it out. Many said it was the highlight of their holiday so far.
It has now been present since Tuesday 2 July.
#Shetland, #Rose Coloured Starling, #Lerwick, #Central Europe
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