Collared Flycatcher! Lifer & Fair Isle Tick!

Collared Flycatcher - Fair Isle - April 30th 2011 

It's a "Lifer" for me and a few other folk on Isle today.

 I was doing yard work when my wife came out and told me that she had just took a phone message and that there is a Coloured Flycatcher on the south end of Hoini? Did she mean Collared? I guess so... now hiking up Hoini is a chore for me but it's a nice day for a walk. But would it still be there?

                                                                 

Somewhere on the Cliffs of  Hoini?

The bird is in this photo... but this is totally unzoomed or magnified

I crawled to the edge and laid on my belly and waited with my binoculars and pocket camera.
Woe Vertigo!

Is that a black sheep? no... just me trying to see a bird.

There he is!
I waited for quite a while and was rewarded for my patience with great views and good record shots.

 Once you get over that huge white collar... which might never happen...

I notice was this bird has white on each side of it's tail?

My Collins Bird Guide notes tail is usually all black?

As it turns out Asst. Warden Jason & Girlfriend found the bird... Well done! and thanks for the Tick.

I heard it was the 30th British confirmed record and the last sighting was in 2006.

The 1st was on the island of Whalsay, Shetland in 1947 

It's quite a veiw up there, even when the bird flies out of view for a while...

Hoini Beach full of Sunning Seals

That's "Lifer" on Fair Isle!

  Added Bonus! added May 1st 2011

Male Subalpine Warbler - Eastern

Wow! what rubbish photos of another AWESOME bird.

I can see the glint of sun on the leg as it was caught and ringed last night.
It was weighed and measured and deemed of the eastern race.

Photographed from far away and tightly cropped with a old camera but it was out in the open!

not skulking in some bush as usual. It was nice to see a spring male for a change.

Cheers! wish you were here!

Trip around the isle with "The Swan" plus a Scoter

The Swan in the North Haven

The history of the swan

The swan under sail, c.1902

The Fifie swan lk243 was launched in May 1900 at Hay and Company’s yard in Lerwick. She was regarded as “one of the finest fishing boats afloat in the North of Scotland”. But by the Fifies’ days were numbered - steam drifters were already beginning to push sail boats out of business.

here is a link for more info...

http://www.swantrust.com/

Sheep Rock

Yours Truley

You can see through the caves from here!



Dave and his home... the South Lighthouse



South Harbour

South Lighthouse

Puffins of plenty

Gannet breeding colony - Kirk Stack

North Lighthouse and fog horn.

Henry Spotted this Common Scoter as we came back into the North Haven pier. Well Done!

Thank You Swan & Crew!

Black Headed Brambling - adult male in full breeding Summer plumage

Brambling

 This Summer Male Brambling showed up today in my Garden.

By noon all the seeds I put out were gone except in the window box... I had great views!

Brambling & the 2 colour ringed Twite.

Thee Dunnock is still hanging around...

So is this rusty Redpoll



I love these art shots and puns...
Come on "back" tomorrow!



Colour Ringed Pied Wagtail

This bird was seen from my garden today...

I hope these zoomed record photos can help someone somewhere? I don't know this ring system.

The bird was quite flighty and I have no scope.

Could be old faded/overexposed red & blue something?or pink & baby blue?

Good Luck! and please let me know what you find out? cheers! 

Heart Shapes in Nature!

 for info on the Twite's ring see previous post



Simply Stunning Bird! Spring Male REDPOLL!

Christmas came early today wearing a suit of red!

A flash of shocking red and white suddenly appeared outside my window this morning and it wasn't Santa! The four none birder day trippers I was serving tea all startled with amazement! I have been seeing Redpolls at my feeders and in my garden for years now and all others pale to this one... even the Arctics. It fed most of the day on the ground below the niger seed feeder just outside my window. So close to the house I had a hard time seeing it or taking photos through the glass at a angle. Like a sunset none of these photos do the bird justice.

on the ground below the window

 

I had to go outside to see it better and of course then it pops up in front of my window again... darn it! I did get this sort of cool shot. I love the Shadows in this photo, plus you can see the back of my computer where I work and watch birds at the same time.



A few Days ago I was thrilled by this!
but this new Redpoll is now raining on his parade, in the sunshine to boot!

It hung around all day ever when I cut the lawn

My book shows this Redpoll is a Spring male of the northern race Carduelis  flammea (N Fenno-Scandia)

It is mixed into a group of Twite with 2 other Redpolls a Siskin. They all feed fairly peacefully with occasional visit from Brambling, Chaffinch and House Sparrows.

Waiting for me to go back in side the house and stop doing yard work or playing football with Henry.

Fair Isle Wren - Fair Isle's only indigenous subspecies

 Wrens are almost impossible to photograph well, but I lucked out today as he was displaying for his mate and he didn't worry about me. That isn't saying that it held still for long...

I have been trying to get a good photo of this colour ringed Twite for weeks now...

I thought my luck had changed and this Twite was not as flighty as it has been, but then I noticed a second colour ringed Twite at the feeder at the same time with the same colour combo so it is probably the new bolder bird? The Twite is comically stretched out clearly showing the rings in this photo.



I can even see a few #'s  9 5 8 1 4  if that helps anyone?

 

The Redpoll in the warm evening light.


More photos added from the next day.
as it is still here and I can't help but take photos of it!

The Three Little Redpolls



This one is browner with a brick red head

This one is whiter with a dark red head

 and this one is cherry!