Happy New Years Day Bird Listing by the Birdstalkers

First of the year birds... 

David - Henry - Tommy - Logan
Fair Isle's New Years Day Birdstalkers 

The boys said we are not birdwatchers... we are Birdstalkers. funny kids.

Goldeneye

South Harbour - Auld Haa House on the right.

2 Moorhen! together and out in the open?
 I couldn't help but notice how much they look like Puffin in flight

in the search of birds

January 1st, 2013 Bird List.

1. Starling
2. House Sparrow
3. Rock Dove
4. Fulmar
5. Shag
6. Hooded Crow
7. Great Black-backed Gull
8. Greylag Goose
9. Herring Gull
10. Mallard
11. Great Tit
12. Redshank
13. Turnstone
14. Eider Duck
15. Wigeon
16. Goldeneye
17. Long-tailed Duck
18. Purple Sandpiper
19. Goosander
20. Black Guillemot
21. Rock Pipit
22. Common Gull
23. Snipe
24. Guillemot
25. Gannet
26. Kittiwake
27. Blackbird
28. Curlew
29. Teal
30. Redwing
31. Fieldfare
32. Moorhen
33. Woodcock
34. Water Rail
35. Twite
36. Raven
37. Lapwing
38. Robin
39. Peregrine
40. Red-breasted Merganser
41. Fair Isle Wren
42. Song Thrush
43. Glaucous Gull
44. Merlin

Total 44 species!
6 more than last year. Surpassing our 2011 record by 1 bird!

The best bird for me was the Great Tit that I have been hoping for 2 months would stay around long enough to make it to the new list. A Goosander, Glaucous Gull & 2 Moorhen are also nice birds to find any day on Fair Isle.

What fun to have David & Logan join us.Between the rain showers we even had some Sun!
We definitely had a Happy New Years Day, Cheers.

East cliffs & Sheep Rock.

Possible, the best find of the day! a huge skate or shark's egg sack.
contact us if you have any info on this?

Glaucous Gull

Christmas Treats! in photos...

 Yummy! Christmas Cut-out Cookies - by Henry an I

Christmas Eve Party at the Haa ( most folks had left before I took any photos)   :(

OOOOOOOOOOOOH!

Tree at the Kirk Christmas Morning

Ho Ho Ho? more like Who Who Whooo!
Long-eared Owl in the Lower Stoneybreck garden.

Lego Santa Dance! (still from video)

                           

Watch Lego Santa Dance!

My Christmas cartoon for the Fair Isle Times newspaper.

Winter can be the best time to photograph the South Lighthouse with the sun low on the southern sky.

White Christmas? Storm in the South Harbour

            

Yesterday's gale, but it looked like this most of the weekend with no planes or boats since Wednesday.
This is the view from my bedroom window, those are the rocks know as the Keels, they are 60ft. high!
Suddenly it went calm late last night... allowing all folks, food & mail in for the holidays. cheers!

Children's Pantomine "The Grinch" and a Night of Christmas Music

AMAZING!

With only 6 children in the Fair Isle Primary School they can still put on quite a show as they did with last nights performance. (Dec 17th) Starting with Raven & Henry"s Fair Isle rewrite of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". Bravo Kids! but you need not take my word for it watch the video below.

Part 1



Part 2

Yes, it is easy to tell by the video footage which child is mine.
No apologises, that's what Henry's Grandmas & family in America want to see.
With 9 splendid musical performances last night I only have video of the 3 below.

The Beatles would be so proud. Love it I do.

Tea & coffee with mince pies after the show.

Ythan, Henry, Raven, Maria, Amber & Robin
give a big thanks to their awesome Head Teacher Nick and amazing Music Teacher Lise.
Plus special thanks to Tom & Neil for sitting in on "Love Me Do"

                  

Merry Christmas!

or

Henry Christmas!

Making Waves! Big Storm Fair Isle.

The waves through rocks over the road in the Havens.

I didn't even go outside until the afternoon but a gale blew all the night before... even so the rain and wind made it hard to take photos with out hiding behind something. I think the Isle got a bit smaller today because of all the erosion. The winds came from the east and the Havens were protected with Buness taking the brunt of the waves but still a lot of damage was done from the wash around. Most of the big storms here come from the west or Atlantic side of the Isle.

Wave over the brakewall - North Haven

You can see the water pouring off the pier as it was just under water.
the skips have been pushed/floated down the pier.

You can see the northern end of Buness and the North Haven brakewall are under water.

This fishing boat was riding out the storm on the sheltered west side of the Isle.

I found this Gurnard among the seaweed at Kirki Geo. 

Goosander! uncommon on Fair Isle.
This is only my second sighting of this species since moving to Fair Isle six years ago.
 Sheltering in the North Haven this Goosander was riding out the storm with the Eiders, Shags & a Scoter.
A Dunlin & some Purple Sandpipers have joined the flock of Turnstones on the Haven beach.

Wind blown and in need of a clean up and a few repairs... all are well on Fair Isle.

Sunny Day - Fair Isle Landscape

SouthHarbour - low tide

South Harbour - panorama 

Raevas - Hjunkni Geo - Hoini - panorama 

Hjunkni Geo  and the cliffs of Hoini

My honey on Hoini

If you can see that speck with her camera up top?
 That might give you some sense of scale.

Liz Musser taking advantage of a sunny day, gathering landscape video for her new project.
Now Liz looks like a giant at the cliffs edge,
 believe me the awe of Fair Isle's landscape makes one feel humble, quite mortal but alive.

No wonder our son Henry's drawing won a place in the NHS Shetland - 2013 Heath & Safety Calender.

"Birds fly People don't!"

The Raevas

The rock formation Long Kole, also know as "da Queen"
Said to look like Queen Victoria's profile when viewed through the Reavas from Shirva.
as in this photo...

Snow Buntings

I had a peak count of 57 Curlew the other day.

Yeah! The Christmas Trees came in last night on our Good Shepherd ferry.
Which had not sailed for 2 weeks due to bad weather and high seas.

More Great Tit Humour.

  The Great Tit has been here long enough that we have started seeing things. 

My son Henry say this Sheep's Ass looks like a Tit?

         

         Henry and I get a good laugh from this too...

Financial Times Interview with Liz Musser - Fair Isle

Liz Musser & Henry South Harbour, Fair Isle.

A few months ago Liz gave a phone interview to Nick Foster for the Financial Times (newspaper). They asked me to take some photos of Liz, some I have posted below. Here is a link to the article:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/04768b5e-3492-11e2-8986-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2DkUktWR2

Liz & the Auld Haa Guesthouse

Henry, Tommy & Liz

Read more on my move in Liz's words:

                            

Fair Isle Adventure Video by Liz Musser

Everyone loves Liz!

 but believe me she would rather be behind a camera instead of in front of it...

Moorhen! Garden Tick! and other Birds about.

Moorhen Gallinula chloropus

 Moorhen sightings are sort of rare on Fair Isle maybe one or two a year.What a surprise today to see  this one hanging out in my garden and pond. This Brambling was  a surprise this morning as well.

 I wired up a old freezer basket to make a feeding cage for small birds.I made it for the Great Tit that was being bullied by the Starlings and Rock Doves. Also the House Sparrows and this Brambling seem to like it just fine, while the Starling hate it.

Bohemian Waxwing

My Resent Birds of note:

Nov. 23 - Hen Harrier, Great Tit, Waxwing, 20 Snow Buntings

Nov. 24 - 2 Waxwings, Skylark, Water Rail, 12 Snow Buntings, Great Tit, 5 Snipe, 3 Blackbirds.

Nov. 25 - 14 Waxwings, 3 Robins, Great Tit, 20 Snow Buntings, 140 Fieldfare, 20 Blackbirds, 12 Redwing, 3 Woodcock, 3 Snipe, Long Eared Owl, Chiffchaff, Blue Fulmar
(took a Sunday drive which added to my totals)

Nov 26 - 3 Waxwings, Brambling, Moorhen., Robin, 3 Redwing, 12 Fieldfare, 6 Snow Buntings Woodcock. 5 Blackbirds

A Chiffchaff is a strange sight this time of year.

The rare Great Tit is still hanging about the south of the Isle.
http://twitchingtrees.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/great-tit-ontwitching-trees-stick.html

Blue Fulmar still here too.