This section details some of my birding experiences over the years, providing a personal narrative of the events that have occurred on particular dates. Although the majority of birding trips are successful, when you are specifically pursuing one species, or indeed one individual, there is certainly a chance of failure. In the coming weeks, i will be adding many of my personal accounts of birding to this section so there may well be new material each time you check this section. A list of articles within this section is as follows: -
i.14th-16th May 1999
ii.12th-14th October 1999
iii.25th March 2002
iv.12th-13th October 1996
The 14th May 1999 dawned bright and sunny as I watched a pair of Roseate Terns at Inner Marsh Farm RSPB Reserve, Cheshire early in the morning. Although appearing relatively active and at times heading out onto the adjacent Burton Marsh, they were still present when I returned to the site in the afternoon after finishing school for the day. Whilst watching these birds, in addition to the long-staying drake American Wigeon, 1 Little Stint and a summer plumaged Grey Plover, news filtered through regarding a Snowy Owl on Benbecula, Outer Hebrides. Realizing that the bird was present in the same spot throughout the day, there was a likely chance that the bird may remain on the island for the next day or so. Fortunately, I was watching the Terns with Paul Hackett who hastily decided that it sounded like a good idea and within the next couple of hours Andy Clifton and Tom Westhead were gathered to make up the rest of the team.
Although there was the slight problem of my May Ball that evening, I managed to slip off early from this event without too much commotion and drove to Stockport to meet Paul and Andy. After picking Tom up on the M6 in Lancashire, the drive up through the Lakes, around Glasgow and up the A82 to Fort William was largely uneventful, although I always think that the west coast of Scotland is blessed by some of the most spectacular scenery within the British Isles. Being May, dawn dawned early being so far north and we were treated to excellent views of two pairs of Common Scoter on Loch Alsh (east of Kyle of Lochalsh) as well as several Hooded Crows, Common Sandpipers and a pair of Red-breasted Merganser.
After driving across the Isle of Skye we arrived at the ferry terminal at Uig with little time to spare although at least 5 Black Guillemots, 12 Razorbill and 30 Eider within the harbour reminded us that we were many miles from home. Although there was a brisk wind, the ferry from Uig to Lochmaddy, North Uist was far from rough and during the crossing I saw at least 7 Manx Shearwaters, 30 Kittiwake, three species of auk as well as a winter-plumaged Red-throated Diver and a summer-plumaged Great Northern Diver. The only other birder on the boat, Andy Hetherington from north-east England, told us that the Snowy Owl was still present and had been showing extremely well throughout the day. Naturally, therefore, we drove straight to the rocky field near the water treatment works about one mile south-east of Ballivanich, Benbecula where the bird had been and started to scan the rocky fields.
Almost instantly, in the blustery yet bright conditions, there it was – a superb male Snowy Owl. As it remained sat on a rock all of about 40 yards away from us, it was almost immaculately plumaged white save for light black/dark barring on its uppertail coverts and tertials indicating that it was an old male, probably in at least its fourth calendar year. As the evening wore on, the light became warmer and the bird more active although we still had not booked any accommodation for the night. Tom and myself were not too bothered if we did not have any accommodation at all, but Paul and Andy went off in search of some nearby. Within a couple of minutes of their departure, the Snowy Owl took flight and flew directly over our heads and commenced hunting the nearby machair. On the news that we were sorted in terms of accommodation, we watched the bird for a further half an hour or so and were further impressed as a male Hen Harrier swooped low over the road in the same area.
With other birds to see, we reluctantly departed the owl and commenced searching Loch Mor and Loch Aird for the Great White Egret. Unfortunately we were unable to locate this bird in the remaining hour or so of light, though the ‘crek-crek’ of a Corncrake, at least 15 Rock Doves, 4 Arctic Terns, 6 Wheatear, 2 Raven, 20 Hooded Crows and 4 Whimbrel kept us entertained. We celebrated that evening with a decent meal at the Black Isle Hotel, Benbecula along with a few pints before retiring to our B&B nearby. Whether it was the dawn chorus or Paul drying his hair with his hair dryer (how many birders do you know who pack a hair dryer on a birding trip?), we awoke early the next morning and started the day with a visit to the famous Balranald RSPB Reserve, North Uist.
As we drove slowly up the approach road to the reserve it was not long before the first ‘crek-crek’ could be heard from the iris bed on the left hand side of the road. Despite waiting for a short period we failed to visibly locate any birds and consequently drove up to the reserve centre. In need of the toilet, I went round the side of the building and instantly located a Corncrake all of about 15 yards away. Although calling somewhat erratically it showed impeccably for at least half an hour in a small field of crops immediately adjacent to the visitor centre. At least 4 Rock Doves were present at Balranald early morning but the pride of place went to the breeding waders on the reserve as they echoed out their often-bubbly snatches of song so typical of the more remote areas of the northern British Isles. Leaving North Uist, we drove back onto Benbecula and located the male Snowy Owl, roosting in exactly the same location as we had observed it the previous evening. Proving far more inactive than the previous day, we left it and once again searched the nearby lochs for the Great White Egret. As we drove along one of the lochs, a small bird was swimming on a small stretch of water adjacent to the road – it was an excellent male Red-necked Phalarope. Although it was lacking a mate, females of this species return to the breeding grounds after the males. Snipe appeared on many a roadside post; Common Sandpipers whirred around loch shores whilst Redshanks paraded around the machair on this stunningly beautiful island. In addition, although a common site in England as a feral breeder, several of the lochs held small numbers of genuinely wild Icelandic Greylags and their young.
Still searching for the Great White Egret, a ghostly white gull flew over the road in the direction of Loch Mor and all of our hearts’ skipped a beat on naked eye views, yet on closer inspection the bird appeared to be just an interesting white, leucistic Common Gull. On the same loch, a second-summer Iceland Gull roosted with other large gulls on the loch shore whilst 10 Twite and a couple of Cuckoos were also frequenting the Loch Mor area. As we neared the north-western end of the loch a final scan revealed that the Great White Egret had been present all along, skulking in a ditch and only visible from certain angles. As it fed actively, it appeared to be a classic European race (alba) bird showing an obviously yellow tibia and a black-tipped deep yellow/orange bill.
With still time to spare before our return ferry to the mainland, we drove over the south ford and onto South Uist. A search of the north-west end of the island at Ardivachar Point satisfied our curiosity of a site with an excellent wader track record (including the (unofficial) 3rd Long-toed Stint for the British Isles), with many species of bird prevalent in this area including 2 Little Terns, a female Goosander, 40 Eider, a summer plumaged Great Northern Diver, 20+ Arctic Tern, 80 Bar-tailed Godwit, singletons of Sanderling and Knot, a couple of hundred Dunlin and the odd Twite and White Wagtail on the adjacent crofts. With an imminent ferry departure we sauntered back over the south and north fords, crossing Benbecula in between, and arrived at Lochmaddy with ample time to spare before our sailing. As usual in this region, Black Guillemots and Eider inhabited the harbour whilst the journey back to the Isle of Skye was uneventful due to the fact that we were all in need of some well-deserved sleep.
Late evening on 11th October 1999 I was with my mates at the university bar, catching up with the goings on of the ‘normal world’ whilst I’d been gallivanting to and fro from Scilly in my quest to see Siberian Thrush and Short-toed Eagle (as well as Upland Sandpiper and White’s Thrush). My satisfied state of mind was broken abruptly by the dreaded noise of the pager going into ‘mega alert’ mode. Even worse… it was a Swainson’s Thrush and it was in south-western Ireland. Now normally I’d have leapt at the chance for such a bird but several of us had a policy that ‘we’d only go to Ireland for absolute megas’ and secondly, and probably most importantly, I was intoxicated by alcohol. These two factors combined, along with lengthy discussions with others, it was decided that we’d wait a day and see whether or not it would stick.
The following morning, the second busiest date for rarities in the birding calendar, news was relatively thin on the ground – the eagle had departed Scilly the previous day and the White’s Thrush was proving as elusive as ever – and there was no news on the Swainson’s Thrush at Garnish Point, County Cork. As the morning progressed, however, I learnt of the bird’s continued presence in one of the remotest corners of the British Isles and on this, a team was assembled to travel overnight across the Irish Sea. I was to drive to Julian Thomas’s house in Somerset where we would then pick up James McGill and subsequently meet Brett Richards before sailing from Pembroke to Rosslare, picking up Chris Batty (who was flying from Stansted) in Cork. Everything was going to plan, the bird was still showing well late afternoon at least and there had been relatively little of note elsewhere. However, all of a sudden and almost out of nowhere, ‘Yellow-billed Cuckoo Tresco’ echoed across the country and within minutes I was talking to chirpy birders on St.Mary’s, Isles of Scilly who were about to travel the short stretch of water over to Tresco in order to see the bird. The presence of this bird threw another letter into the equation and, with only three of our five strong team needing Yellow-billed Cuckoo as well as the more-than-likely scenario that the bird would be dead the following morning, we chose the Swainson’s Thrush and an Irish jaunt as the most profitable option.
Catching the 3a.m. ferry from Pembroke meant an arrival in County Wexford shortly after 7a.m., and with a drive of at least 5 hours to Garnish Point, south-west of Castletown Bearhaven, County Cork where the bird was present meant that it was to be a long day. Things went relatively smoothly as we drove west along the N25 towards Cork, although the weather appeared to be deteriorating by the minute. As we arrived in Cork, a huddled up figure on the roundabout near Cork Airport was our 5th team member and with still no news of the bird we kept on heading west. Through the beautiful West Cork countryside, the rain appeared to have eased slightly as we went through the town of Macroom. All of a sudden, James McGill received a call from Paul Chapman with the news that there was a Veery in west Cornwall – a bird that nobody in the car had seen in the British Isles, a bird that had we gone for the Yellow-billed Cuckoo we would probably seen as well and to make the situation worse, the Yellow-billed Cuckoo was unbelievably still there. Morale in the car reached an all time low and, even though we were in Ireland, we would all have expected some news to say that the Swainson’s Thrush was still there.
Still rushing through the country lanes in order to gain maximum time on site, our team was finally provided with the news that we all already knew inside (but still dreaded nonetheless) – there was no sign of the Swainson’s Thrush! Despite the negative news, we kept on driving past Glengariff and along the Dursey Peninsular and on to the site. Although picturesque, the habitat was merely uncultivated fields and dry stone walls bordering a small, rocky bay and within minutes, after speaking to Aidan Kelly et al, it was established that no way on earth was the Swainson’s Thrush where it was the previous day. A search of the area provided little of note except for a couple of Chough, many Hooded Crows and a few Robins and Dunnocks. It was decided that we would leave the site sooner rather than later in order to get the late evening sailing from Rosslare, County Wexford back across to south-west Wales, therefore enabling us to be in west Cornwall by first light the next morning.
The long drive back to Rosslare was indeed a laborious one, particularly as our arrival in Cork coincided with its rush hour. However, far worse than this was that news had broken of another bird that I (and Chris) had not seen in the British Isles – a Bobolink on Skokholm Island, Pembrokeshire. The sailing back to Pembroke passed us all by as we slept throughout the journey, aware that tomorrow was a new day and that we would all need the energy for a potentially grueling schedule. Most annoying of all, just as we woke up, the ferry sailed past Skokholm (and the Bobolink) as it neared the port of Pembroke. Julian drove his car back to Somerset and after some team shuffling we took two cars down to west Cornwall.
Early morning of 14th October dawned relatively pleasantly over the valley bottom at St.Levan, Cornwall although a brisk southerly airflow was noticeable. The previous day, the Veery had been showing exceptionally well in the garden near the stream just inland of the National Trust car park and we were all relatively positive that it would still be around. Within the first hour or so of daylight, it dawned on us that a bird that was showing so exceptionally well the previous day surely cannot turn overnight into some elusive bugger, so on this note we were mightily aware of another dip on the horizon. As it turned out the bird failed to show at all but by mid morning, we had a completely different agenda… a male Blue Rock Thrush on the Isles of Scilly…
Postscript: All five of us have subsequently seen both Veery and Swainson’s Thrush within the British Isles – the Swainson’s Thrush being the individual on St.Mary’s, Isles of Scilly in October 2000 and the Veery being that on North Ronaldsay, Orkney in October 2002. In addition, events took a turn for the better with the Blue Rock Thrush being seen later on 14th October and, remarkably, the Yellow-billed Cuckoo reappearing on Tresco, Isles of Scilly on 15th October. And, to cap it all off, I was back in lectures in Southampton on the morning of the 16th October.
Late March is not looked upon as one of the most dynamic times in the birding season so with this point in view, it was decided that we would travel up to Scotland to see the regular specialities as well as the long-staying Snowy Egret. Whilst watching the regular Black Scoter off the North Wales coast on 24th March, it felt rather balmy – a strong sun and although windy, a southerly flow made it feel far from unpleasant. It was with only slight surprise, therefore, that firstly a Woodchat Shrike had been located in west Cornwall and secondly, and most importantly, a Black-eared Wheatear had also been found in the same area. With these birds in mind and the potential of other southern overshoots, it meant that the timing of our Scottish trip needed to be readdressed. So instead of heading north Andrew Holden and Vicky Turner arrived at my house, picking up Andrew Symes at nearby Chester train station, and I drove south to west Cornwall.
With high pressure dominating, the clear moonlit night had us slightly concerned that many of the birds may move on, with especially the wheatear in mind. The drive down was relatively uneventful with the usual couple of stops to pick up fuel and stretch legs. Arriving at Nanquidno in the early hours of the morning seemed the sensible option, enabling us all to get a little bit of sleep as it was planned to drive straight up to Scotland once we had finished in Cornwall. Hence, I pulled up in one of the few lay-bys on the very narrow lane leading from St.Just towards the valley bottom. After about 5 minutes of rest, another car came hurtling down the lane and we just assumed it was some more birders arriving early for the wheatear. However, on seeing us, they frantically wound down their window and and exclaimed ‘…we’ve been moth trapping at Porthgwarra and there’s a Scops Owl sitting in the bottom car park’. Somewhat dumbstruck, I think my reaction was somewhat subdued, being along the lines of ‘yeah, really, nice one’ but with one of my passengers predictably uttering the expected expletives. Even though my initial actions were subdued, the drive across the Land’s End Peninsular in the dead of night proved that I was genuinely excited by the prospect of seeing a Scops Owl again.
On arrival at Porthgwarra, Richard Fuller and his mate showed us exactly where the bird had been and we commenced a search of the area including the almost impenetrable vegetation leading from the toilet block up towards the 60-foot cover. Unfortunately, there was no further sign of the bird and after a couple of hours searching we were all thoroughly shattered and wondering how we would get through the day, let alone the drive to Scotland! As it started to become light, I lethargically drove back to Nanquidno and parked in the layby opposite the track to Gurland Farm. Walking slightly uphill across a field or so, the stunning male Western Black-eared Wheatear was still present, loosely associating with a male Northern Wheatear as it frequented the stonewalls and gorse in the corner of the field. It was not long before the strength of the sun could be felt, warming the air and evaporating the slight dew present on the ground. As we walked back to the car a group of 3 Sand Martins flew north, presumably arriving in Britain not too long before we had seen them.
A short drive to the south of Nanquidno, and past Porthgwarra, revealed that the smart 2nd-summer male Woodchat Shrike was still present in fields c.400 yards west of the church at St.Levan, sallying to and fro and showing very well as it feasted on green caterpillars. As we walked back to the car park, the sun was rapidly warming up the day, and as a consequence a Firecrest was making the most of the warmth as it showed very well in sallows in the garden directly opposite the car park. This Cornish valley, in my opinion, is the most picturesque along with nearby Porthcurno and the difference in colour and texture of the landscape in spring deeply contrasts with the mist and battered vegetation and fallow fields that one is so familiar with in the autumn. At least 3 Buzzards were also present in the area, including a very pale individual, as well as a Sparrowhawk. A quick drive up the road to Porthgwarra revealed a nice Hoopoe, a typical early spring overshoot. Although mobile between the road down to the car park and the other side of the valley in the doctor’s garden, it showed well spreading its crest when alert. Also present in the valley were at least 3 Chiffchaffs, 2 Raven and 1 Swallow flew over the top of the valley in amongst a group of 10 or so Sand Martins.
Throughout the morning, we had been receiving telephone calls regarding a group of Cattle Egrets somewhere in Cornwall, and after a short while the vague location of these birds was divulged to us. With this information we headed towards the top of The Lizard and located 3 Cattle Egrets feeding in a damp cow-filled meadow near the village of Gweek. Fairly non-descript, apart from one individual starting to show signs of summer plumage, they all appeared to be in winter plumage. We drove to Marazion Marsh to see what was on the scrape immediately inland of the main road – there was little of note except for an adult Little Egret feeding in the shallow marsh. After such an eventful day, a couple of hours sleep was needed to rejuvenate ourselves before the short drive to Porthgwarra for another bash at seeing the Scops Owl.
As the sun began to set, a small crowd gathered in the bottom car park at Porthgwarra due to the Scops Owl sighting the night before. A thorough search, aided by torches and mag lights, revealed nothing and, with a long drive to Scotland ahead of us, we decided to depart after an hour or so. Driving up the A30, with hunger setting in, we stopped off at the McDonalds near Indian Queens to feed up before the nine or so hour drive to Ardrossan (where the boat to the Isle of Arran (for the Snowy Egret) departs from). Just as we were finishing the meal, the pager went off stating that the Scops Owl was once again in the car park at Porthgwarra! On this news we hastily took the remaining food into the car, turned back towards Penzance and made a dash towards Porthgwarra. On arrival at Porthgwarra, sensibly people were being instructed to park sensibly near the entrance of the car park in order not to disturb the bird. Almost immediately, there it was – a superb Scops Owl actively feeding out in the open, with excellent scope views obtained by artificial lighting! Excelling my expectations, I watched this individual for half an hour or so as it devoured earthworms with its feet, raising its feet to its bill to feed. After being so impressed by this bird, I felt that I was still fit enough to drive overnight to Scotland and on this note, we were on our way…
After seeing a Western Bonelli’s Warbler at Landguard, Suffolk and an Isabelline Wheatear at Church Hougham, Kent the previous weekend I finished a typically menial day at school on the Friday looking forward to a highly productive trip down to the south-west. It was again my mother’s turn to drive me (I think by this stage of the year my father’s patience was understandably wearing slightly thin) – as she had done the previous weekend – and we headed down on a rainy Friday evening to stay in Penzance overnight. By dawn the following morning, the weather had not changed and, if anything, I noticed that the wind had become stronger overnight as she dropped me off at the heliport in Penzance so that I could catch the first helicopter of the day onto St.Mary’s, Isles of Scilly.
It’s now all a bit of a blur, but on arrival I got the bus down into Hugh Town, paid my appropriate fee, and started walking up towards The Garrison as fine rain and mist covered me and my optics. As I went up through Sally Port and along the footpath towards the Lower Broome Platform I gained a sense of anticipation and excitement as I neared the crowd. One of my friends at the time, Kieran Foster, immediately asked me to look into his scope and, all of a sudden, there it was – a stunning first-winter male Black-and-white Warbler. In typical fashion, it actively fed in the pines predominantly hugging the main trunk as it did so. After constant views for several minutes the bird flew back a couple of trees and became slightly more obscured, and on that note I walked with Kieran down to Lower Moors to search for a Red-eyed Vireo. With limited time before I needed to catch the 10:15am boat to Tresco, the vireo was proving very elusive and apart from a frustratingly brief sighting of what may have been the bird, I could not locate it. After locating 1 Jack Snipe in amongst the many Common Snipe from the hide at Lower Moors, I joined the many birders already present on the quayside and boarded one of the inter-island ferries to Tresco.
Typically, we landed at Carn Near and the hasty walk towards the Borough Farm area commenced. Within minutes of arrival, the American Buff-bellied Pipit was found feeding in amongst Meadow Pipits in a recently ploughed field, often showing to within 20 feet. After watching this bird for a prolonged period, attention was diverted to a first-winter Common Rosefinch that was showing well with c.20 Goldfinches in the small hedge in the field adjacent to the pipit. Many birds were seen as I wandered from this area towards the Great Pool, including a couple of Blackcaps as well as a hybrid Carrion/Hooded Crow. On arrival at the north-west end of the pool, the juvenile/1st-winter Semipalmated Sandpiper could be seen feeding on the muddy margins of the pool alongside a Wood Sandpiper and several Greenshank. With very little time to spare before catching the return sailing back to St.Mary’s, I scanned the Great Pool once more, having a final look at the Sandpiper, whilst failing to see the long-staying Black Duck in amongst the local Mallards, Gadwall, Coot and Tufted Ducks.
Similar to on the way out, boat conditions were rather choppy as we rode the seas between Tresco and St.Mary’s with 5 Little Egrets roosting in Tresco Channel briefly providing a pleasant diversion. Back on dry land I walked up to the north end of the island, briefly stopping at Cavorna to purchase some food, and although the weather was dull as a slight mist hung over the islands, the place appeared full of birds. As soon as I arrived at Kittydown the Short-toed Lark showed immaculately with Meadow Pipits as the wind battered it and its observers. Ambling down to Porthellick, several Chiffchaffs were sheltering in the sallows although I could not locate the Yellow-browed Warbler that had been present near the pumping station at Higher Moors earlier in the day. On entering the Sussex Hide that overlooks Porthellick Pool the juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper was showing exceptionally well to within a few feet as it picked its way through the vegetated shore of the pool immediately in front of the hide. As I slowly walked back to the airport, light was fading rapidly and a female-type Black Redstart in the field immediately below the terminal building was pretty much the last bird of the day. After doing all the necessary procedures, I boarded my flight back to Penzance feeling fairly content with the day’s proceedings and reflecting on what I may see the next day.
Overlooking Penzance harbour whilst eating a meal with my mother that evening, the sea state could be seen to be rapidly deteriorating and the rain becoming more persistent so it was with little surprise that I awoke the next morning to atrocious weather conditions. After half an hour or so of searching, the 1st-winter Rose-coloured Starling was located on buildings adjacent to the playing field at St. Just Primary School, Cornwall as it sheltered from the inclement conditions with the local Starling population. I really enjoy this age of this species, every one appearing different in some respect and to me being far more interesting to look at than adults. A short drive helped me dry off, although the subsequent long-wait in order to see the Red-eyed Vireo merely rendered this exercise pointless as the rain continued to fall heavily. Although not showing continuously the vireo could be seen occasionally as it skulked in the bushes near the toilet block at Porthgwarra, Cornwall. With school the next day and a long journey home, my mother was insistent that we departed. However a first-winter drake American Wigeon present with 12 Eurasian Wigeon on Long Rock Pool, Marazion, Cornwall provided a pleasant diversion as did 5 Snow Buntings and a female-type Black Redstart that were present near the fort on the western side of St. Ives Island, Cornwall.
The following morning news filtered through that the bird was still present and showing well in the isolated garden of Asta House on the north side of Asta Loch near Scalloway, Shetland. As the day progressed the bird continued to show (despite the predicted mid morning bunk) and appeared settled. This was my call to start thinking about forfeiting my post GCSE ‘careers week’ and exploring avenues to travel up to Shetland. I hastily went through all my contacts, trying to find somebody who needed the bird and was prepared to drive up north. Eventually I teamed up with John Gregory who was kindly prepared to drive 7 or so hours up from Cheshire to Inverness on the condition that I sorted out our charter arrangements. After a few phone calls and an anxious wait, Jim Lawrence called me back with the message that everything was set for the off in the morning. And, so it was, we drove overnight to Inverness.
As we helped push the plane out of the hangar at the airport, the blustery conditions could be felt but the chilly weather was soon forgotten when we received news of the birds continued presence. Arriving at Sumburgh shortly after 9.30am I was greeted by the constant screeching of Arctic Terns, this noise intensifying when marauding Arctic Skuas and Bonxies penetrated the tern colony. After picking up our transport, we hastily navigated the way up north, past Lerwick, to Asta Loch. Filled with anticipation we came to a hault outside the garden, perched on a hillock, overlooking the picturesque loch. So shocked by the efficiency of the trip so far, I asked birders on site the whereabouts of the target bird. Suddenly, on registering their negative response that the bird had flown off high south just before our arrival, my upbeat, somewhat naïve attitude dramatically changed. This was without doubt a nightmare scenario.
Gathering oneself I tried to regain solace by suggesting that for those who needed Black Kite, a trip to the ferry terminal at Toft would gain us a couple of hours on Yell in order to locate the long-staying individual. The 20 or so Black Guillemots and a couple of Puffins were no real compensation for this, the second dip of the day. In fact, scanning the moorland near Setter Farm was almost soul destroying as we continued to fail to locate the kite whilst simultaneously receiving negative feedback on the bee-eater. And so it was – after a second visit to Asta, with the forlorn desperation that the bird may return, we boarded our plane back at Sumburgh and departed homeward bound. To put the final nail in the coffin, whilst traveling south along the A9 near Aviemore, the pager relayed an unforgettable message stating ‘Shetland BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATER relocated this evening at the Strand Plantation’…
I was back in school the next day quite rightly feeling gutted, as the bird was once again present, locating itself back to Asta House by late morning. The next 48 hours were a nightmare due to the realization that I had gone up to Shetland on the only day that it went missing for the day. Speaking to John Gregory again, it was decided that we would return to Shetland for the weekend making use of the cheaper airfares when one stays over a Saturday night. As on the previous Tuesday, it was again to be an interesting trip…
Stu Brown and Jonathon Williams joined John and me for this second trip and the news was good as we headed over the Scottish border mid morning - the Blue-cheeked Bee-eater was still showing well at Asta House. However, the unthinkable happened when we were nearing Glasgow – it once again flew off high south late morning! We had little option but to keep on going – the tickets were booked and we were destined for Shetland.
Cutting our losses on arrival mid afternoon, we headed straight up from Sumburgh towards the ferry terminal at Toft in order to have a second attempt at the Black Kite on Yell. As we wanted to get back to Asta for mid evening, a couple of hours searching the hillside by Setter Farm were as unfruitful as the previous Tuesday. 3 Whimbrel and a male Merlin were unfortunately little compensation.
Driving back south down mainland Shetland there was still no news on the return of the Blue-cheeked Bee-eater and things were looking exasperatingly desperate. At this point I may need to point out that John Gregory had actively encouraged us to keep a trip list (read on). As we veered onto the minor road leading along the north side of Asta loch, the house was viewable distantly with a small group of birders apparent. Checking the pager, I received a slightly abrupted message stating ‘Shetland BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATER has just returned to Asta House and showing very well’. Relaying this message was met by expletives from Stu and Jonno whilst in typically cool fashion John stopped the car and stated that there was a Common Sandpiper by the roadside – a valuable trip tick no less. Having obviously calculated the reaction of this statement before delivering it, and with the Bee-eater less than half a mile away, John’s quality find was met with the response ‘f**k the Common Sandpiper’ by myself and others.
The rest, as they say, is history – in glorious warm late evening sunlight the Blue-cheeked Bee-eater performed remarkably as it sallied from the wire fence bordering the loch opposite Asta House. The bird was unmistakable with its dark green plumage, turquoise cheeks and yellow throat but to me the ‘piece de resistance’ was the bright orange-red axillaries and under-wing. We watched the bird until 9.45pm when it appeared to go to roost in the garden of Asta House, and as it went to roost we went to Lerwick to get some deserved refreshments and rest.
In the cool, damp air the next morning, the Blue-cheeked Bee-eater was seen to catch and devour a huge bee before becoming more and more inactive as a weak front pushed through the area. After a couple of hours of viewing, we reluctantly left the site in order to try our luck for the third time on the Black Kite. There appeared to be a sense of deja-vu once we arrived on Yell – a bleak moorside with nothing to show but a few scattered sheep. We split up in the hope that one of us would locate the bird. As it was, after about an hour or so of searching, Jonno could be seen waving in the distance – this was obviously the signal that he had located the bird. Scampering over the boggy mire, the Black Kite was sitting on the ground trying to evade the mobbing by a couple of Oystercatchers. After a short while the kite took off and flew to the line of fence posts running down from Setter Farm. Not quite as impressive as the bee-eater, the kite was a quality bird nonetheless and after watching the bird for a while we returned to mainland Shetland elated with proceedings.
General birding for the remainder of the day produced an excellent flock of at least 15 Crossbills at Kergord with 3 Siskins also being present there. On arrival at Helendale, Lerwick the almost electric notes with intermittent mimicry revealed the presence of the Icterine Warbler. Due to the fact that its favoured haunt was a well-vegetated private garden, views that we obtained were brief and unsatisfactory. As we made our way back south towards the airport at Sumburgh a flock of 9 summering Whooper Swans at the Loch of Spiggie were a nice bonus, as were several Red-throated Divers that frequented the lochs throughout the island. To summarize events succinctly – all is well that ends well!
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