Friday 27 January 2017

Gullistan

There has been a few thousand Gulls around Scatness over the last few days, on the 25th I picked out a 2w Kumlien's and an adult Iceland in front of the house. And with Tesco selling their near date bread off last night at 20p a loaf, today was going to be spent gulling. Most of the Gulls were on the leeward side of Lady's Holm, so I dumped 10 loaves of bread into the sea at Moast Beach, and it didn't take too long for about a thousand of them to come in feeding. Amongst them a 1w Glaucous and 2 Iceland Gulls (1w and 2w) and a rather pale 1w Herring Gull.
A bit of a surprise was a Goldfinch briefly in the garden, presumably one of the birds from last autumn still hanging about.
Glaucous Gull
Iceland Gull
Pale Herring Gull

Saturday 14 January 2017

White-fronts

2 White-fronted Geese among the 80+ Greylags in front of the house today, I didn't see White-front on the patch at all last year so it's good to get them UTB so early.
Top photo - not snowing, bottom 2 - snowing!

Friday 13 January 2017

Moast Beach

Another winter storm hits Shetland, a northerly this time and it doesn't have a name (the met office don't seem to bother naming them if they don't affect London in any way). I managed to get as far as Moast Beach on the patch before the snow showers started, not a great deal on Moast but the Gannets and Kittiwakes were coming in pretty close.
Gannets
Kittiwakes

Saturday 7 January 2017

Scaup

2 Scaup in amongst the Tufties on the patch this morning, plus 40+ Great Northern, 1 Black-throated and 3 Red-throated Divers in Quendale Bay.
Scaup

Sunday 1 January 2017

Here we go again

The 2017 Patchwork Challenge begins, a few bits and bobs around the patch - 1w Glauc and ad Iceland Gull on the Loch, 1 Skylark, 5 Meadow Pipits and 3 Redwings in the Neep field, Gannets and Kittiwakes in Quendale Bay, 2 'fly-through' Whooper Swans and 2 Sanderling, 30 Ringed Plover and 4 Red-breasted Mergansers in West Voe. 3 hours birding and 41 species.
Gannet
Glaucous Gull
Great Northern Divers
Iceland Gull
Kittiwake
Long-tailed Duck
Whooper Swans