In a moderate north-westerly the mornings rounds were fairly quiet but at lunchtime a few birds started to arrive. Remarkably there were now 2
Pectoral Sandpipers present together on Ancum Loch in the afternoon-the first multiple occurrence for the Island in the spring! With news of rarities all over Shetland, an evening scramble turned up a male
Bluethroat near Scotsha and another couple of
Red-backed Shrikes were found, with new birds at Antabreck (male) and at Holland House (female) while the lingering female was still at Ancum. Other notable passerines recorded were a
Sand Martin, 9
Sedge Warblers, 5
Garden Warblers, a
Spotted Flycatcher, the 7
Tree Sparrows, a
Common Redpoll and 14
Snow Buntings. A few Waders seemed to be on the move with 36
Bar-tailed Godwits the first for a while, and included 31 heading north, plus 9
Whimbrels and 16
Knot were seen.
After just a single Bluethroat in the last 2 springs, its been a decent year so far with 4 recorded. Many must undoubtedly go undetected here though, with the Islands vast Iris beds largely unchecked each spring due to the breeding birds. This male showed for just a few minutes on the walls near Scotsha before disappearing into the aforementioned Irises at Hooking.
Red-backed Shrike
Posted by Unknown, Published at 2:54 AM
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