Thrush Nightingale & Shore Lark

Thrush Nightingale Luscinia luscinia
Fair Isle - May 20th 2012

The Thrush Nightingale was caught & ringed by Fair Isle Bird Observatory Warden David Parnaby on Morning trap rounds. This is the first one I have seen in the hand... though I have seen one almost every year and 3 times in my own garden, it was great to see this bird close up, not flicking around and diving into cover. Plenty of other new birds in today, like in my garden 16 Siskin, a Goldfinch & 2 Tree Sparrows! Elsewhere on isle 2 Bluethroats, the first Icterine Warbler of the year & another Hoopoe all have been reported today... I've got to get back out there! what's next?

(Common) Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos

Fair Isle - May 21st 2012

Wow I can't beleave it! One of each. The "Common" Nightingale is more common in most of Britain but actually rarer on Fair Isle than Thrush Nightingale. Both birds a day apart must mean something? I don't know what that is, but it's great for comparison! The Common Nightingale has a buff or plain chest and a over all rusty red colour. While the Thrush Nightingale has a mottled chest and a duller grey brown body & wings. To confirm one species from the other it usually best to measure & examine the wing feathers as the wardens have done with these 2 birds.

Thrush Nightingale & away it went happily with some new jewellery.

This Shore Lark turned a few heads as well!

Horned Lark aka Shore Lark  Eremophila alpestris

This was a lifer for Henry & me! My bogey bird has finally showed it's self. I had dipped Shore Lark 3 times on Fair Isle. I must say I'm glad to see one in Summer plumage and in a convenient location in the nearby freshly tilde Kennaby crop. Thanks to Dr.Will Miles for a great tick and my Bird of the Week!

Goldfinches & Tree Sparrows are not common on Fair Isle.
always a pleasure to see for me.

Common Rosefinch (v*) The female is a good bird but it's the red adult male you want to see!
May 21st 2012

Oystercatcher egg & nest sight

Shetland Wildlife Group - Fair Isle May 2012

More good eggs! Things started out well as they saw a Wryneck in my garden just minutes after arriving. In retrospect I bet they now wish they had stayed the weekend. Still they saw some good birds The seabirds alone are stunning! But Fair Isle rare bird waited until the weekend and the winds to change to the east.

Reed Bunting on the Auld Haa padio.

Grey or Blue Headed? - Yellow Wagtail was one of the highlights

Whitethroat on the South Harbour beach.

They had no complains about the food and seemed to enjoy their adventure to Fair Isle and stay at the Auld Haa Guesthouse.

Coastguard practice mission

Montagu's Sea-snail Liparis montagui


The rarest sighting on Fair Isle is this badly named fish? The Montagu's Sea-snail caught by my son Henry looks more like a tadpole than a snail? Nick Riddiford says it's a first record for Fair Isle. We have it in our saltwater fish tank where I noticed a big life threatening parasite. I gave it minor surgery to remove the worm. I've seen these worms in the bellies of large fish like Cod & Pollack but never in such a small fish. It's been 2 days and it seems fine?  but we are watching it closely. 

The Norwegian Girls Gone Wild in Shetland... & Fair Isle. Watch the video!

The Norwegian Girls at the South Lighthouse, Fair Isle.

Three teenage media students come to Shetland. Legend! 

Watch their video it says it all...

Well done! I had seen a longer version as well and I liked that too.

South Lighthouse - Fair Isle, Shetland.

North Lighthouse & the Norwegian Starlets! 

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.