Barn Swallows & Bluethroats! Bird!

Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica

 I love the Barn Swallows! and this maybe my best photo this Spring, I look forward to the Swallows return every year and of all the birds I see here this species always reminds me of growing up in the USA. Yes, we had (Eurasian) House Sparrows there as well as Starlings. But It seems the Barn Swallows are truly a bird of the world and everyone must love to watch them fly but to see them sit still is amazing too.

Female - House Sparrow

Male - House Sparrow

Driving home after helping to unload the Good Shepherd Ferry  in the North Haven I see a little bird dart across the road in front of the car as i'm heading up the hill by the Bird Obs. A flash of red in the tail made me think Redstart for a instant but the tail had black tips! Bluethroat! Plus it helps to have already of known 2 Bluethroats have been seen on Isle an one had been delighting folks in the Obs garden for the past few days. But if it is going to make it's self known and sit out in the open... I'll stop to get a better view & a record shot...

What a stunner!

Male - Bluethroat - Luscinia svecica

Male - Common Redstart
Just one of the many birds around I can't get a decent record photo of....
Lapland, Reed & Snow Bunting have all alluded my camera... haven't even seen the Ortolan Bunting!

One of the many Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs on the South Harbour beach.

A tried Barn Swallow resting & warming it's self on the beach after a long flight.

Male - Brambling

Female - Brambling

Male - Pied Flycatcher

White Wagtail

Male - Goldeneye

I saw my first Goldeneye in the South Harbour after Stuart Wilson's funeral a little over a year ago... and since then they have been seemingly much more common here and it's a nice reminder. cheers!

Fair Isle made in Fair Isle - Crafts & Knitwear at the Hall for the first Cruise Ship

Mati & David King - Fair Isle Knitwear display.
http://www.fairisleknitwear.co.uk

 We had first cruise ship sale at the Fair Isle Hall, here are some photos... The ship had only 27 visitors & I'm pretty sure the isle had more than that scurrying around to accommodating their brief visit, but with so much great knitting an crafts on display the luck few cherry picked some of the best items made over the winter months. Well done everyone! We are hoping for 11 more cruise ships over the next few months if they all make it a shore in good weather with maximum capacity we might see about 1000 more folks.

Elena Mera-Long's Hats - hand spun Fair Isle wool & hand knit.

Some of my stuff... Postcards, Nice Hats, Painted Limpet Shells

Elizabeth Riddiford - Fair Isle Knitting
Exclusively Fair Isle
http://www.exclusivelyfairisle.co.uk/

 Fair Isle Bird Observatory gifts table

Fiona & the Stackhoull Store table
& Ruth at the Primary School table

        

Triona & Holly's Fair Isle Knitting

http://www.fairislemadeinfairisle.com

Mati had Great News Today!

 Fair Isle knitting honoured by the British Fashion with a flags on Oxford Street London.

Check it out! http://www.oxfordstreet.co.uk/fashion-flags/ or watch the video!

BBC Springwatch on Fair Isle & a New Lamb Skin Jacket

BBC Springwatch Crew with Roy Dennis

At cliffs edge the isle has a way of humbling everyone even the biggest of celebrities.
Fair Isle it's self will hopefully shine through as the awe inspiring star it is...
If you watch Springwatch they plan to share regular local wildlife stories.
 I can't wait to see what they come up with? Springwatch starts at the end of the month.

As you can see the Good Shepherd had a good day... with the sea so calm.
They even saw a Minky Whale off Sumburgh Head.

Spring Watch for most Fair Islanders is all about the lambs...

A Lamb Skin Jacket?

This Lamb is triplet... this always causes a problem because a mother has only 2 teats. The runt or caddy lamb is usually taken off the mother and some times killed or bottle fed. Cute as it my seem, bottle feeding a lamb is not profitable for a crofter and its a lot of work. Our crofters know a few tricks and this is one "The Lamb Skin Jacket" is one of the strangest to the casual on looker but is really quite efficient. In this case this mother ewe (our bottle fed caddy lamb Violet from 2007) had lost her muckle lamb for unforeseen reasons. The ewe still full of milk, this triplet is put on to it's new mother using the old skin from the dead lamb to help bond the new family unit. The result is amazing after a day or 2 the skin is removed and all is well with the world.

This Lambs mother had an infected teat and could no longer feed both it's lambs. While this mother had lost her lamb for no apparent reason. So the two have been match together with the skin & scent of the dead lamb to help connect the bond between the two.

The lamb follows the ewe around looking for acceptance.

It works, not to say they are always happy about at first.

Northern Pintail - Self found Island tick & Lifer! (record shot)

Back to the birds! Today I found 2 Northern Pintails in the South Harbour coming back from the shop about 1pm. Drive by birding photographed from the drivers seat. I didn't know what they were at first? I did know I had never seen them before so i made a few notes and drove home to look in my Collins Bird Guide. Pintail! I go back to the harbour on foot and they are gone? :(

as far as I know so far I'm the only person to see them so I share this rubbish record shot so someone will believe me... you know who you are. Birders, we all need a bit of proof!

The day started out with a  phone call alerting me of a Bluethroat seen at the parks by the old mill... Believe it or not a Pintail is a much rarer bird on Fair Isle. The day ended with a Green Sandpiper on the Scrape.

Puffin Photos by Henry Tonight

Hawfinch gone nuts!

Hawfinch on the Peanut Feeder Today.
3rd bird of the year in my garden.

Brambling

Dunnock

Female Hawfinch today

Hawfinch 2 days ago
sorry about this photo but it was very grey out and I had already got better photos of the first one.

Hawfinch - April 15th 

Suzie Q

in the studio

Good Night Moon...

Birds, Art & Cute Lambs - random photos of Fair Isle

The Bluethroat

This is a painting make over... you could say I started it in 2007 and finished it the other day. It sat on my walls for years and I was never that happy with it. Sick of looking at it, I took it down to the studio a month ago. Then a few days ago I smashed it with colour and pattern! I love it now!

This Painting commemorates the first Bluethroat I ever saw... Spring 2007 in the Ferny Cup, Fair Isle. After hearing that a Bluethroat was seen Henry & I went looking for it... such a small bird in a big open area for two new birdwatchers. I was looking at a pipit when Henry said there it is! He was right of course. Now the painting has the excitement and the unbelievable flash of colour I felt when the little bird turned it's chest into the light and indeed it was a Bluethroat. I can't wait to see one again this year!

Kestrel on the garden wall.

Jimmy's Big Lambs

Love the Beard! - Bearded Bunting? or Whiskered Sparrow?

"Shearwater" Malcom Green & Tim Dallins
Thanks guys! You really know how to put on a show!

Common Crane not so common here on Fair Isle.
Please forgive this record shot from a half a mile away... it's badly taken in light rain with a fully zoomed pocket camera in a friends scope.

Black-Eyed Suzanne our caddy lamb from 2007 had triplets!
Now we are getting a caddy from our caddy! How cool is that! Her name will be Suzie Q

Henry & Suzie Q only 4 hours old.

1st Barn Swallows of the year



Large Butterfish



The rare Cowrie Shells of Fair Isle... We bet you can't find one!

We saved this Blackbird from inside a Lobster trap.

We saved this Fulmar trapped in a plantie crub by the Kirk and then let it go in the South Harbour.

Last we saw of it it was in the water cleaning it self.

Henry spotted this Wryneck in the garden.

but we didn't see the Hoopoe....
A Hoopoe was seen by Stuart at Quoy and then by the 2 Shearwater guys late Saturday night... already bummed out by FC Barcelona's lost to Real Madrid, I went to look for the bird and the car wouldn't start... it was getting to dark, but I did go looking for it anyways. The next day Sue of Brecks said she saw a striking thrush size bird with a crest on it's head like one of those cycling time trial helmets? We set out again. Myself, Henry & the whole FIBO staff dipped it? even though we tried...

Drawing by Henry made a few years ago when we saw our first and only Hoopoe.