Siberian Rubythroat

Siberian Rubythroat Luscinia calliope

 If you want to see a picture of a Siberian Rubythroat I suggest you look in a book...

The one on Fair Isle is nothing but a blurr in consent motion. My rubbish photo below...

Siberian Rubythroat twitch at Schoolton.

Late in the afternoon on Oct. 23, 2012 I got a call from Nick and Elizabeth at Schoolton as they were having great views of a female Siberian Rubythroat from their kitchen windows! I'm the first to get there with my son Henry... it's gone? 2 van loads of Bird Obs folk soon follow. Deep in the bush we see movement, a bit of obscured tail and wing totally backlite and untickable. We wait till dark... nothing. The next morning at sunrise 7:15am I'm the first back about a minute before I here the Obs vans pull in. We see nothing. The weather is rainy crap, Sheep Hill is cancelled and I walk home dejected about 10 am. As I get to my house  I see a bird flick out of the driveway in to the shrubs? Was that it? possibly it...  I check the garden, 2 Waxwings, a Dunnock, Goldfinch and a Great Tit. Nice but none the bird was looking for. As I sit down to eat a bowl of cereal The phone rings Blue Tit at Schoolton! A Blue Tit has not been seen on Fair Isle since 1989! 3 Sibe Ruby have been found here since then. I was just there a half an hour ago. I run back up there. gone! I wait or wander around dipping the next 2 days. The worst 2 days birding of my life! Blue Tit should be easy? As it turns out Sibe Ruby is in my garden that night and I still miss it. The next day my garden is checked by all sorts but I refind the Sibe Ruby along the road by the South Harbour. Brief flight views and a hop in the grass I see the superscilium besides that the bird totally plain and I get nothing on it but shape & movement... That's it, I'm total underwhelmed... Later Susanna refinds the bird in my garden and I get even better view of this Skulky girl. I start to feel better about my sightings. 2 days later I get a record shot from the garden as the bird is searched for by others in the Wali Burn. But still no Blue Tit but one of the Great Tit has learned to use my bird feeders.

Today a record shot! Female Siberian Rubythroat
Photo Oct. 28 from my the Auld Haa Garden on the wall of the stone cru by the Wali Burn.

Siberian Rubythroat - New photo added Oct. 29 2012

 photo taken Oct.30, 2012

Siberian Rubythroat - Female - photo taken Auld Haa - Oct 30, 2012

The last I saw of the Siberian Rubyhroat was on the morning of Nov. 3rd. The mix of good weather, the neighbour's cats & a  chorus of  12 to 50 Waxwings in  the area  may have been incentive to relocate? but to where? Just as I had hopes it would over winter...

Great Tit on a stick in my window.

Woodlark - That's a self found tick!

Snow Bunting

What's this swimming with the eider ducks in the South Harbour?

Female Goosander - a new Fair Isle tick for me!

2 Waxwings briefly in my garden! 
nothing like the invasion 2 years ago at this time.
see photos: http://fair-isle.blogspot.co.uk/2010/11/waxwings-oct-25th-2010-day-well-always.html

Jackdaw influx of over 40 birds.

The garden at Shriva still looks lovely even in late October.

Olive Backed Pipit

Trash... I thought this might be from the recent helicopter crash?