Thrush Nightingale and other Recent Fair Isle Sightings

Thrush Nightingale Luscinia luscinia

Fibo's Will Miles found the Thush Nightingale at Pund.

Pund Cottage - the haunt of the Thrush Nightingale for the past 2 days.
It's a fixer uper! call the NTS today and you too could start finding rare birds in the garden.

One last look at this Thush Nightingale... last year the Isle saw 3 different birds.

This Pied Flycatcher was in my Garden this morning... as well as 3 Chaffinch, a Brambling, a Redstart, a Willow Warbler, 2 Collard Doves, a Goldfinch & 2 Sedge Warblers
 Over head flew a swarm of 15 Barn Swallows, a House Martin and a Sand Martin

Yellow Wagtail - Blue Headed? sort of dark too?
So lets make Elena & Raluca happy and call it (dombrowskii or in other words "Romania")
Warning! I'm no expert at the variables of Wagtail head markings. 

Yellow Wagtail in flight

Goldfinch on my feeder.

Stone Chat - Rubbish photo but it was the first one I had seen in 2 years.

Brambling in the fog.

National Trust For Scotland's Patrons Club visiting Fair Isle.

Thank you for your Donations to the Fair Isle Lighthouse Society
and Fair Isle's George Waterson Museum and Collection.

Ian's Caddy Lambs

Family Portrait

Baa! Baaa! Lambs are cuter than Baa-irds!

Fossil Hunting on Buness, Fair Isle

This used to be the nicest beach on Fair Isle... millions of years ago.
Henry wanted to look for fossils...
Fair Isle is not a fossil rich environment , but we have been told there are some plant fossils on Buness.
We went looking, I don't think we found any, though the Geology and rocks are very interesting.
It was a great day to be outside and exploring our world.

You can see the beach ripples in the sedimentary rock face. 

not sure about these round bubbly formations?

other interesting rock?

If you have any geology knowledge about these rock formations? please let us know.

most of the rocks are covered with lichen.

Sheep on Buness with Sheep Rock in the background.

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major

Henry found this Great Spotted Woodpecker this morning while getting ready for school.
A rare bird for Fair Isle, a island with almost no trees.
I have found and seen only one other here on Fair Isle, this bird is both a garden & tree tick for me. 

Great Spotted Woodpecker on the Twitching Tree.

Other Birds About....

Waxwing! checking out my red beads.
Fruit is now out to entice the bird to stay while it feeds up.

Fat Waxwing
reminds me of the artist Fernando Botero

Great Tit - No ring, new bird from the one seen all Winter.

Henry also spotted and identified this Black Redstart.

Siskins are still here.

First of the Year Birds! Lapland Bunting, Willow Warbler & Goldfinch

European Goldfinch - Chloris chloris
 if you tell an American like me that this bird is a Goldfinch, one might be tempted to say...
"What did it do? F#@k a woodpecker?"

The European Goldfinch is a infrequent bird in Fair Isle & Shetland. Always a pleasure to see, only a few Fair Isle records every year. We think 3 Goldfinches are on Isle at the moment. I have heard some people call the a nucence, and the only bird they get on their feeders some place in England. Well if you have to have only one bird... this one has the markings of two or three.

Lapland Bunting Calcarius lapponicus - Summer Male 

Just over my garden wall in my neighbour's freshly planted potatoe rigs this stunning breeding male plumage Lapland Bunting has been hanging round for the past few days... A frist of the year, I finally got a record shot this morning. On Fair Isle, Lapland Buntings are more common in the Autumn and it is great to see a spring bird in Summer plumage.

Willow Warbler - first for the year!

When I awoke this morn and looked out my bedroom window, I was treated with 2 small birds, (Warblers?) in the budding Rosa Bagosa. I grabbed broken pair of binoculars one was a Goldcrest the other I was sure a Chiffchaff... because of the time of the year. Wrong! Later I was filling my bird feeders and got a closer look... I think it's a Willow Warbler? soon there after I had it confirmed by the passing Warden David Parnaby. Thanks David, it's nice to have some pros around for the tricky IDs.

While writing this, the Siskins and Goldfinch have been on my feeder just outside my window only about 1 meter away. Chaffinch, Dunnock & a Robin are all about the garden. even had a surprise visit from a Linnet!

Colourful Migrant Birds! & Odd Egg?

Siskin - male

Chaffinch - Brambling

Brambling - Male
It's nice to have some colour in the garden.

Siskin - Greenfinch - Brambling

(European) Goldfinch

Dunnock -
 New to my Twitching Trees - Bird on a Stick Project.

Twite - with Fair Isle ID colour rings

Songthrush

Chaffinch - Brambling - Greenfinch - Siskin - feeding together under my feeder.

Dunnock

Triplets! Lambs are popping out all over the Isle.

(European) Robin

What type of egg is this?
I found this small egg on the edge of my pond?
small, 1 inch wide and completely round? Shell was pliable but brittle.
Very strange? any ideas? no turtles, snakes or reptiles live here?

My best guess is a reject chicken egg laid in the pond edge?
the yoke looks weird?
 I have seen small eggs, when a young chicken starts laying but not round and this small.
Could it be another bird? Duck? Coot? Snipe? Waterail? I really don't know?
What do you think?