Sumburgh Head birds- Shetland

There is always something to see at Sumburgh Head no matter the season

Most people go in the breeding season to see the Puffins, but there is much more along the cliffs

Not many Kittiwakes but they are still noisy

Bridled Guillemot

Common Guillemot from above

a lot less guillemots now than 5 years ago

 Shag passing the cliffs

Shetland Puffin fix

Must be trying to build a house now that he has been coming back a few years

 

Boddam - Shetland

Boddam is one of three places that Shelducks breed, but they usually end up with very few young due to predation

These common seals had a great time calling and splashing about

Its good to see the Common Seal population growing , all down to less visits by Orcas

Redshanks are very shy birds and normally take off when anything comes close to them

These were taken from the car and i was already in position photographing the seals when this Redshank flew in and started to hunt for food

 

Shetland Woodchat Shrike

A Woodchat Shrike was reported a couple of days ago, down at Bigton.

I had trouble finding the spot but eventually worked out where i needed to be. As soon as i pulled up i saw the bird high up on wires. 

This is Shetland and no one else was around

Heat haze was a problem today, with temperatures around 25 degrees, not normal

It flew down collecting insects and stayed hidden for some time before flying back up to the wires.

It was some distance from the road and unapproachable due to the terrain. 

It was certainly a fast bird and very difficult to lock onto. It seems to be very settled

 

Close by a Quail called and several Wheatears flitted about