16 Barn Swallow! must be spring?

16 Swallows came in off the Sea... & a Sand Martin

 The Reed Bunting was still in the garden this morn as well as a Dunnock. Later to be joined by a Female Siskin. 7 Godwits (Bar-Tailed) made a brief appearance on Meoness as viewed from my window... As I went out to take a photo a noisy car drove by and flushed them and I saw them fly out to Sea. I hope they turn around and land else where as they are stunning birds. Plus a few warblers and plenty of sun with no wind! T-Shirt weather!




I count 15 Swallows in this photo, but one could be the Sand Martin?

Sitting on the wire was the best way to count what I still call Barn Swallows but there was a few still in flight when I took this photo. They came into the South Harbour and up the Wali Burn and circled back to rest and reunite along the road between Utra and Lower Leogh.

 

Not everyone was as thrilled as I was to see them...



in the garden



Warblers! Chiffchaff? Willow?
I think one of each?

in the South Harbour...

Turnstone

Fair Isle Wren

Purple Sandpiper



Purple Sandpiper foot prints





Reed Bunting

Reed Bunting in the garden today.

Atlantic Puffin - fratercula arctica - memories from July 2009

The Puffins are back and thought I would share some of my best Puffin photos and video from July 2009

Puffin with Sandeels

My favorite Puffin photo

HM Coastguard Helicopter - South Lighthouse - Fair Isle

HM Coastguard Helicopter & the South Lighthouse landing pad.



Female Siskin

 This Siskin was the only new thing in my garden today and I wasn't even going to post on the blog today because it was so grey and wet out... But it seems something interesting is always happening here on Fair Isle. Then again, I'm easily amused... like all it take is a little bird or a big whirly bird in this case.



A little helicopter landing on the wing of a plane?



I just happened to be at the airport to pick up a package from the plane when the HM Coastguard helicopter came in just behind it to drop of a staff member for a meeting with the Fair Isle Coast Guard cliff rescue team leader.

HM Coastguard landing at the South Lighthouse

 During the day the grey sky fell to a miserable wet low fog... visibility at the higher airport was very poor so  they used the lower landing pad at the South Lighthouse. By coincidence Henry & I happened to be in my Lighthouse art studio carving a cuttlefish bone into a Mermaid and heard the booming noise of the Helicopter long before it landed. This giving me time to put my coat on and grab my camera in time to take this photo as it was landing to pick up their Coast Guard member.

I could hear it for some time but it was quickly obscured by the fog... Good Bye!



Redpole and Garden Jedi Battle... plus the big one on the beach!



Redpole & Twite

Look what showed up today among the Twite today... It's like a rebellious Twite teen with punk hair.



The wind really blows my feeder around and it is amazing they can hang on. The wind turns the feeder into a seed shaker, sprinkling seeds on the ground where most of the birds feed. It took a few hours before the Redpole was up there with the best of them. My seed was almost gone and I wanted the Redpole to feed up before leaving so I cleaned and filled my other feeder.

The Young Jedi battle raged much of the day with occasional breaks to play Lego and watch Star Wars films. The birds waited near by waiting for a chance at the seed and feeder. Even with the distraction the birds had no apprehensions about the new feeder.

 Redpole & Twite



I got a better photo of the Colour Ringed Twite that was still here. Still don't know where it came from?



in the South Harbour?  

Eider Ducks

 The Big Bill on the Beach!

Oystercatchers... the one on the far right has a unusually large bill with a yellow tip?

I live in hope to find an American Oystercatcher. I don't think this was it.

is anyone missing a shoe?  I found it?

Happy Mother's Day & Colour Ringed Twite

We wish Ewe a Happy Mother's Day!

Fair Isle's first Mom of the year and her triplets at Stoney Breck.
The lambs were born early and with some difficulty... but all is well now.

Colour Ringed Twite below my niger seed feeder today.

Yellow over Green - Metal over Red

Where did you came from little bird? The last one was from Orkney?

 Also this afternoon saw a large fall of Thrushes mostly Fieldfare. I counted 40 to 50 out on Meoness and saw more around the Island as I drove around before sunset. Cheers to all the Mom's out there.

Large rock fall on cliffs near Easter Lother & Birds

photo by Pat Thomson

Fallen Rock  North Cliff Face

Rock fall near Easter Loder

 I had heard part of the north cliffs fell to the sea the other day... Kenny & Sue had been walking in the north when they saw a cloud of dust and the muddy sea below. The exposed red sandstone is striking in contrast to the grey grassy cliffs found elsewhere. You can see the pile of fresh stone has created a new beach for the seals. It is hard to get a good view from here of the fallen stones with out going over the cliffs yourself and I was on edge when it took these photos from near the North Lighthouse.



I think this photo gives a better sense of scale of the fall.
 We also saw our first Puffins of 2011 flying past the cliffs and out to sea in floating rafted groups.

Last year's fall of cliff face from the path out to the Fog Horn.
These idiots stood upon the unsupported concrete and tried to look to see where the rocks had fallen after reading the warning sign. If you must go out to the Fog Horn please, stay to the right side of the path.



Other Birds & Stuff Today..

Several Brambings & Chaffinch have been around the past few days and I saw that colour ringed Wheatear again today and quite a few Wagtails.

Preening Sanderling - 2nd Sanderling of 2011 - of course it puts it head down as I take the snapshot.

 My Bird of the Day & year tick, a Linnet! not very common here.

Tide-pool below the South Lighthouse.

Limpets

A beautiful sunny day on Fair Isle. My son Henry ran around in his T-shirt... I wouldn't call it t-shirt weather quite yet.



Wheatear with colour rings

My first Wheatear of the year

And it has colour rings! Wheatears with colour rings are very common on Fair Isle due to the Adam's ringing and study of the birds. I saw Yellow over Metal & two Orange on the other leg. I didn't get great views or photos so... After enlarging the photo it looks like it could be Red or Pink over Orange. I'll send Adam a link to this post and maybe he will give us some more info.

 Also today...

Collard Dove

Fieldfare & Redwings

female Chaffinch
The 2 brambling were still about this morning plus 2 Pied Wagtails.

early this morning

The New Fair Isle Sea Bird Center - Unveiled today

Architectural Rendering

 The much rumoured plans for the development of The New Fair Isle Sea Bird Center have been made public today. The structure to be built along the northwest cliffs will be able to accommodate over 500 guest and has apartments for 20 new resident families and staff of 85. The project boasts you will be living with the Puffins and have access to under water viewing rooms. Plus the added bonus of comfortably scouring the cliffs for rarities during migration. Please follow link below for more info...

Colonization of the Puffin Colonies?

I think the whole thing is a joke... the first gale the whole thing will be blown away!

I saw that drawing in a collection of visions of the future painted about 1950 and thought it looked like Fair Isle to my horror! I hope you have a sense a humour when it comes to birds... so I'll say it again...

Happy April Fools Day!

in other news, try this...
http://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/2011/04/01/revealed-ambitious-plan-for-six-line-isles-wide-underground-rail-network