Grutness

Down at Grutness the other day and although it was overcast and cold there was quiet a lot of birds around

On the beach Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Turnstone, Sanderling, Redshank Purple Sandpiper and Oystercatcher, with a large flock of mostly Dunlin with a few Ringed Plover coming onto the beach from the east.

Its always nice to see Long Tailed Duck and on this occasion the males displayed, calling and throwing their heads back with females close by.

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White Winged Gulls

White winged Gulls certainly arrived in good numbers last Monday with Glaucous Gull (42) & Iceland gull (3) . January and February are always the best months to see these gulls in Shetland, most of Monday's Gull occurred on Unst but the North end of Lerwick is also a good place.

                                                                                          Glaucous Gulls in Scalloway

With northerly winds and snow on Thursday and Friday the white winged gulls moved to the South mainland and Glaucous (4) and Iceland (2) gulls appeared at Sandwick, with others at Grutness, Boddam, Scatness and  Quendale.

                                                                                               Iceland gull Sandwick

With ice all over the place on Saturday we stayed local and decided on a walk down to Leebotton. While only one Glaucous was present a flock of Redwing (30) was new in and feeding along the coastal path and in the grounds of Sandlodge.

On the jetty Ringed Plover (36) Turnstone (28) Purple Sandpiper (6) Redshank (6) dodged the waves. Waders in Sandlodge grounds included a further Turnstone (18) Redshank (10) Starling (50) Blackbird (16) Rock Pipit (8) and a couple of wren.

A few Eider, Mallard and Shag could be seen further out in the bay and the odd Gannet and Kittiwake GT BB, Herring and Common Gull passed by.

Elsewhere, the Killdeer is still down in Sandwick, while a flock of 6 Bean geese turned up near Quendale and a pair of Scaup at Scatness

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Ringed Neck Goose anyone !

After Storm Barbara and Conor (gust at 105 mph at Scatness) it was good to finally get out even though it was dull. At this time of year there is very little light for photography in Shetland, perhaps just a couple of hours when its dull

First was a visit to West Voe of Sumburgh where i was expecting a lot of seaweed and debris on the beach but very little could be found. Out in the bay Shag (118) Long Tailed Duck (8) Goldeneye (4) Red Breasted Merganser (4) and a lone Redshank on the beach.

At Grutnesss the pool was at a high level which attracted Mallard (6) Teal (2) Redshank (8) Turnstone (6) and out in the bay Shag (38) Long Tailed Duck (8) Gt Northern Diver, GT BB(2) Herring Gull (12) Fulmar (6) and Sanderling (1) and Turnstone (8) on the beach

Heading down to Spiggie around 250 Greylag fed in rough water filled grassland and one with a orange collar and ring (see photo)

Apparently this was ringed in Shetland and is a 4 year old bird that has been seen around the Spiggie area before

Further north Whooper Swan (4) Wigeon (250) Teal (15) Goldeneye (12) Tufted (22) Moorhen (12) and a large Peregrine falcon made several dives at the duck without success and moved north. Also Lapwing (48) Curlew (46) Turnstone (12) all took flight when the Falcon flew over.

Around 20 Common Gull, 10 Herring and a couple of GBB gulls kept coming and going

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Mammals & more

Otters are a firm favourite of mine and we are very fortunate in Shetland to have the largest population in Europe

Shetlanders are just as keen to see otters as visitors and to help protect them from mad motorist they have put up signs in key places where otters may be run down.

The highest density of otters can be found in the North and west mainland and on the islands, however with a bit of patience you can also see them in the south mainland. 

 These otter prints were photographed down at St Ninian's isle but could well have been taken on a number of beaches. There are more dogs it seems on the beaches in the south and Otters and Dogs don't mix so they are a bit more wary

There seem to be a good number of Mountain Hares about, these can be seen anywhere in the North & West mainland down to Sandwick area. 

Moorland is the preferred habitat and in sunny weather they can easily be seen in winter sitting out taking in the rays. It helps that they have a white coat during winter so they normally stand out again the dark heath clad hills

Seems strange seeing a hedgehog at this time of year but we met one the other night crossing the road at Tingwall, no doubt encouraged out with this very unseasonable warm weather, it was 11 degrees that night.

We never got to see them but it was good to hear that possibly 4/6 Humpback Whales had spent around 3 weeks off the coast of Yell. I met Hugh Harrop who said it was a good 3 mile walk out over boggy ground and thick heather to get to the point to get close enough for photos.

We would have gone up last weekend but it was wet and wind, a shame but we hope they may come back next year.

As for the birds, last Thursday i saw three Guillemot in Scalloway harbour which i thought was early and Helen Moncrief (RSPB) noted on Monday a number had also come back to the cliffs, the earliest date yet.

On Monday a quick tour of Sandwick revealed that the Killdeer was in the usual field and never moved for 45 mins. 

Also:

Lapwing (38) Turnstone (88) Redshank (46) Snipe (4) Ringed Plover (16) Golden Plover (78) Curlew (8) Purple sandpiper (6) Barnacle Goose, Greylag (136) Redwing (6) Twite (12) Starling (50+) Sparrow (50+) Blackbird (8) Red Throated Diver (3 Sanick) Fulmar, GtBB, Herring Gull, Rock Dove (32), Merlin, Raven (6) Hoddie (8) Shag (8) LT Duck (2) Mallard (8) Teal (4) Common Gull (5)

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