Shetland, October 2011

I spent much of the day of Thurs 20th October ruminating on what to do: the lure of a male Siberian Rubythroat on Shetland was huge.  Should I go to Scilly instead; I might have a relaxing week, and there's a Scarlet Tanager on the way too!  But the journey to Shetland is just so far.  The risk of dipping is enormous, and how agonising would that be?  To arrive there only to miss the bird by a day perhaps?  It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve missed a good bird on the Northern Isles, so I’m understandably feeling apprehensive.

Anyway I packed my gear on stand-by and, then positive news came through on Friday 21^st, so I finally cracked and set off on the long journey northwards.  Feeling under a lot of pressure – it is a ten hour drive to make Aberdeen for the 19.00 hrs ferry... frustratingly I missed the boat by ten minutes.  I then drove to the airport: there is no airline check-in desk to buy tickets there with FlyBe or LoganAir: you can only buy tickets on-line.  I discovered there was one flight available at 09.45 the next morning, a single ticket for £190.  After various complications I decided to wait for positive news the next day (Saturday 22^nd) and catch the 17.00 ferry if the bird was still there.  Amazingly it was still there and I was on that ferry!  It was good to meet some other like-minded birders to share the journey with - Andrew James, Wayne and Dave Barnes.  Particularly after leaving Kirkwall, Orkney, it seemed to be one of the roughest crossings I have been on, there seemed to be an enormous swell and there was a loud bang every time the bows smashed into the waves.  The whole ship shuddered and flexed every time it hit the water.  Thoughts passed through my mind that the boat could break in two.  I asked one of the bar staff on the boat ‘is it always this rough?’.  So it was a relief to be told ‘this isn’t rough’!  The rest of the journey was awful, with many people being sick on-board, I felt a bit queasy.  I’d been in such a rush to travel north I’d forgotten to bring any sea-sickness tablets with me.  I took to lying down on a long couch in one of the bars after closing, and remaining stock-still, trying to sleep for the remainder of the journey.  I was fine. 

It was a relief to finally arrive in Lerwick at 07.00 on Sunday 23 October.  My friend Howard met me at the ferry terminal and we were soon at Gulberwick.  After a tense 40-minute wait, there it was, a stonking male Siberian Rubythroat!!!  The first views of it were in very poor light, at the top of the drive to the house.  At one point the Rubythroat was involved in a skirmish with a defensive Robin, and the Robin was seen standing on the Rubythroat!  The wind was gusting south-easterly force 6-7 so it was tricky to keep my scope steady at times.  Over the course of the day the bird performed many times, never especially close but quite adequate through the telescope.  The light also improved, and on one occasion it appeared underneath a trailer parked in the front garden at about ?50m range.  There were quite a few other birds in the vicinity too – Goldcrest, several small flocks of Redwing, 2 Blackcaps and I heard a Yellow-browed Warbler calling several times from the valley below.  In the afternoon two different Sparrowhawks were in the area, and a female even perched up in the trees bordering the bird’s favourite track.  Dave managed to get some great shots of the bird as you'll see from his website.  My sketches are ok, but I could have done better were conditions not so testing.  At least I have some good material to work up when I get home!

Monday 24^th October dawned dark and stormy with the wind at SE force 7. 

I went back to Gulberwick and was there until 13.30 hours before giving up.  By this time the wind had picked up to force 8, and it was getting too windy to even hold my binoculars steady.  Also the wind meant I was getting  chilled too, even though I was wearing seven layers of clothing!  Met three birders from Northamptonshire at Gulberwick this morning.  They left around midday, relieved to have seen the Rubythroat albeit in windy conditions.  They were day-tripping it: their return journey can’t have been much fun in such stormy weather: the ferry was unable to dock at Aberdeen due to conditions at the harbour mouth, so was diverted to Rosyth, Fife, the 12 hour journey taking 26 hours.  They then would have had to get from Rosyth back to Aberdeen to collect their car before enduring the mammoth journey back south.

Tuesday 24^th October: trip around the Ness in force 7/8 gales.  Dry all day but very challenging birding conditions with many birds keeping low.  Tonight’s ferry sailing was cancelled.

Wednesday 25^th October: force 9 gale all day today, and continual light rain which became heavier as the day went on.  Got a bus from Lerwick down to Sumburgh Hotel and Jarlshof area.  I just took my bins with me – nice to be free of a scope which was useless in such windy conditions.  There had clearly been a large fall of birds with hundreds of thrushes - Blackbirds, Redwing, Fieldfares and Song Thrush in this order of abundance - present in every field.  Every scrap of cover whether a stone wall, cliff or garden alcove was harbouring sheltering birds.  I was careful to minimise disturbance to them.  I scoured the area of Grutness, Sumburgh Head Quarries, Sumburgh Farm, and finally Sumburgh Hotel Gardens and the Jarlshof, before giving up and catching the bus back to Lerwick at 13.15.  By then the rain and dampness was seeping in despite my waterproofs.  It was also getting frustrating having to continually wipe salt spray and rain from my glasses and binoculars.  Nevertheless it was a very exciting morning’s birding, and I didn’t see a single other observer in the whole time.  Other than thrushes, birds noted included Goldcrest, Blackcap, Reed Bunting, 30 Lapwing, and resident Twite, Rock Dove and Raven.  So I didn’t find a Dusky Thrush, but the potential was certainly there!

Thursday 26^th October:  Today dawned bright and clear, the wind having dropped to southerly force 5, it felt quite pleasant.  Howard had to do a seal pup count along cliffs at Dale of Walls, so I birded the Dale of Walls Burn which supports quite good patches of cover for migrants.  Again there were hundreds of Redwing, Fieldfare and Blackbirds.  Other birds noted were 3 Brambling, 2 Woodcock and 2 Chiffchaff.  Later, saw the 1^st winter Mediterranean Gull at Norby beach, and found a Black Redstart next to Sandness Church.  More stunning views of Raven – amazingly high densities of them on Shetland, more even than on Dartmoor. 

Early afternoon went back to Gulberwick and saw the Siberian Rubythroat again shortly after arrival at 13.30.  After this the bird went to ground and I did not see it again until 1.30, and then again briefly at 17.00 just as it was going dark.  Left Shteland on 19.00 hrs ferry.  Crossing quite rough initially but becoming calmer as the night went on.  Finally back to Norfolk late the following day.  Amazingly the Rubythroat is still there now, presumably waiting for calmer conditions and clear skies to depart.  However the conditions that are holding it there make it difficult for birders to get there, with autumnal storms making for rough crossings, and the risk of being stranded on Shetland.  I’d been thinking what if a Dark-sided Flycatcher or a Siberian Accentor gets found on Fair Isle?  Even if you could fly there by plane you’d be at risk of being stranded there, not to mention the risk of it crashing.  It sure felt risky leaving Shetland – I was wondering what might get found after I left; thankfully nothing too amazing, a Pallas’s Warbler was the highlight.

Fri 14 Oct: Gutted...

The weather yesterday was suddenly looking so good for the east coast of southern Britain.  Light easterly/ENE winds, completely overcast, and even some light rain.  Things were happening on the coast - about FIVE Red-flanked Bluetails turned up between Newcastle and Suffolk; there was a relatively big (for these days) arrival of birds it seemed, including, apparently 50 Short-eared Owls at Titchwell - could that be possible?!  I couldn't be on the coast yesterday, but in a brief trip out locally there were Redwings moving, and it just had that wonderful autumnal feel of falling leaves and grey skies.  I longed for the coast.  I thought about going to see the Minsmere bluetail, but the thought just felt dull; I remember all the stress of trying to see one there last year (or was it the year before?), a skulky bird and too many people not using much fieldcraft making it difficult.  I decided to head to Burnham Overy dunes instead and try and find something.  After the longish drive (1hr 20 mins) and a 40 min walk I finally got there at 08.50.  Shamefully long after first light.  During the walk it was evident there were lots of birds around.  I really took my time and checked all the cover I could.  Plenty of Meadow Pipits, large flocks of Starling on the move,  4 Redwing, a Crossbill going west and then a Lapland Bunting.  The morning had dawned bright and clear with only a little cloud.  The fields held fifty or so Skylark.  A group of ten Bearded Tit seemingly dropped into a narrow fringe of reeds following a dyke.  Amazingly I did not see a single other birder until 11am - I had the place to myself.  Other birds included Redpoll, Linnets, Golden Plover, two more Lap Bunts, 3 Wheatear.  Found an earthstar sp. that had gone over.  But I hadn't found a single really rare bird despite all the movement I was seeing and hearing. Are my expectations just too high?...  Should I be settling for less?

Time to start on the Holkham dunes.  Song Thrush, more Blackbirds, two more Crossbill.  I passed a small patch of bushes that three other birders walked past minutes earlier.  I waited a while and picked up a movement, bins up, yes, a Yellow-browed Warbler!  But completely silent.  Well only a Yellow-browed, not even a BB-rarity, but it made my day so far.  Nice to find my own rather than chasing other people's all the time.  Tiny and hard to keep track of, you just see why rare birds are just SO hard to find.  You have to look SO hard.  It would be so amazing to find a really huge rarity but these things don't come along very often.  One needs to spend time in the field, and be constantly 'in the zone' of razor-sharp alertness and focus, and have that other crucial ingredient, luck.

By 15.30 I'm starting to flag with all the walking, as I'm carrying too much stuff with watercolour painting kit, etc.  The best bird finders go out with a scope and bins or even just bins alone (and maybe the camera for recording crucial evidence of the bird that might get away).  Birds were also really thinning out, and I'm not picking up much more so I decided maybe it's time to head off?  The weather is bright and sunny, the wind is forecast to turn southerly and will go round to SW on Sunday, so not much more will turn up, well not in Norfolk anyway... the wind today has been south-easterly, hence more rarities hitting the Suffolk coast rather than the Norfolk coast.  An Isabelline Shrike is found in Suffolk this afternoon - more proof.  Then, whilst driving to Fakenham, text messages chime on my mobile, and someone tries to ring me.  When I got to Fakenham garage, I stopped, and checked my phone, Tony Disley (who's been at Spurn all day) has left me a message to tell me about a Rufous-tailed Robin... at Wells-next-the-Sea!!!   WHAT?!!!  Is that possible??!  I can scarcely take in the news and the words go round in my mind, I filter out thoughts of Rufous Bush Robin before it sinks in he means Rufous-tailed Robin Luscinia sibilans, only the fourth for the Western Palearctic!  This is an absolutely huge bird!  I remember the first turned up, only as recently as 2004 whilst I was on Scilly. 

My adrenalin was pumping, I just had to get there.  I set to immediately.  The time was 17.22, the news had broken at 17.14, there was plenty of daylight if I could get there quickly.  Luscinias can show well at dusk, so there was still hope.  Being in such a rush, I hadn't checked the other messages and assumed the bird must be in Wells Woods... big mistake.  I arrived at Wells coastguards car park to find no birders or other birders cars.  Checked the mobile messages - further texts said the bird was at EAST HILLS!  Well that's it then, no chance, as you can only walk out at low tide when it's safe, which I've done a few times before.  No bird is worth dying for.  Anyway as I drove on toward Warham Greens, a plan hatched in my mind: if the tides were right and I could get there this evening, today, which might well be possible, then I'd be in with a chance of seeing it!  I had a large plastic sheet for emergencies in the back of the car - that would be an ideal groundsheet, and I had a fleecy blanket too, and a couple of apples, if I could only get there today and see it then I'd definitely survive until the morning, and I'd have seen it by then! 

Eventually I arrived at the concrete pad along the track around 17.45, to discover that the bird was NOT at East Hills but on the mainland, along the track down to Warham Greens! Why could the directions not have been clearer?  ...but at least still enough light, and time to get to the point in the track to where the bird had last been seen.  It was clear that a lot of people had not seen the bird.  I reckon there must have been maybe 60-80 birders there by that stage, and given that the news had broken so recently I don't suppose many but the lucky few had connected with it.  The bird was apparently in the canopy, yes IN THE CANOPY and flitting between oak trees.  I don't remember them doing this in Laos, where I only saw 2-3 birds in several months.  It would sit motionless for long periods so it was impossible to detect unless it was seen to move.  Unfortunately no-one knew precisely where it was perched.  A good 20 minutes must have passed before it did eventually move, before settling, again unseen in the canopy.  There was then another long gap where it just vanished amid the ivy and branches and leaves.  Then suddenly it became very active and flitted several times.  I managed to keep track of it for a brief while, but it never perched long enough to get my bins onto it.  Unfortunately too, that there was quite a bit of noise (breaking dead branches) whilst people tried to move quickly to where the bird was, although to be fair the bird was too quick.  However had circumstances been different, it is possible that everyone may have seen it.  In flight it had an elegant shape that was somehow very different to European Robin, and it certainly seemed to have a shorter tail too.  But unquestionably absolutely untickable views - naked eye flight views only and not counatble in my book - just utterly galling.  I have seen this restless behaviour in migrants at dusk before - often this sudden restless activity is a sign that they're getting ready to move off as night falls.  It is still clear skies, and a full moon rises over the North Sea.  With the stars obvious, birds will easily be able to navigate, so there's no way that this bird will be here in the morning.  I decide that getting here for first light will be utterly pointless, so I will wait for positive news.  Indeed as I write, there's been no further sightings of this bird, it's gone.

I noticed a scope and tripod had been left behind at dusk after most people had left.  Someone asked if it was mine; I replied no, and they said they'd put a message out on the pager network so that the owner could claim.  Actually I think they got the wrong end of the stick - the owner had clearly abandoned the scope having decided to give up birding after missing such a huge rarity ;-)

You can read the finder's account at Punkbirder.  Total credit to him for nailing such an amazing bird!  What an absolute mega - far more stunning looking than the Fair Isle individual I'd say.  For me it has become the new Holy Grail  rarity that I somehow need to see one day!  It would have been just so amazing to have seen it.  It is just a pity that events could not have unfolded slightly differently and a few more of us could have seen it. 
But that's birding, you can't see everything, there will always be ones that got away.  Also, I should not complain, I have had a superb run of fortune this year, and I was spared an ill-equipped night under the stars on East Hills as I was expecting! 

Oct 4: Sandhill Crane second helpings!

Well it'll probably be the rarest bird I see this autumn, and given the astonishing fact that it's still there, and not migrated, I decided to go back to Boyton Marshes for a second look!  Cranes are always superb and few birds match their grace and elegance.  Their calls are superb too - often you hear them long before you see them.
So today I was up at 05.00, went back, studied and watched the crane from my arrival at 07.50 until it finally flew off to roost on Orfordness, a shadowy shape in the half-light at 18.45.  On Sunday I was feeling that I hadn't really got to grips with the bird, so it was really satisfying to have the chance to come back and spend all day in the field just grilling it.  Although it was always wary, and never particularly close, views were generally quite adequate with my telescope (Kowa, 30x wide angle).

Why, you might ask, bother posting pictures of apparent scribble as in the first two images, above?  Well, I believe that these 'scribbles' are an essential part of the learning process in getting to grips with the shape, and that it's not possible to produce pictures of greater depth without this preliminary work.  The first two spreads were done within an hour of seeing the bird, and then the first one below shortly after.

I think I finally got the head pattern in the last painting.

Sunday 2nd October 2011: Sandhill Crane!!!

Much more to write on this, but incredibly I saw the Sandhill Crane in Suffolk today, along with 100-150? other people I guess.  I wouldn't have seen it if friend and colleague Neil Calbrade hadn't called me.  I just dropped everything, we went and picked up Dave Leech, then went for the bird.  By some miracle, and despite it having landed in three different Suffolk locations today, we actually managed to connect with this magnificent bird, which is also a mega-rarity!  I really didn't expect to see it, and assumed that it would have flown off long before, or moments before we arrived, to continue its journey into France or Spain.   We are very lucky. Below are the sketches from the time spent.  Somehow although I've caught the colours in the paint sketch, I felt the head shape just wasn't quite right.

St Marys, Mon. 26 Sept 2011.

The morning was spent studying the Lesser Yellowlegs and the Solitary Sandpiper again at Higgo's Pool.  No sign of the waterthrush today though - the first day in six consecutive days that I've not seen the waterthrush!  But at the time of writing (2nd October), it is still present. 

I spent much of the rest of the morning looking for a Red-eyed Vireo in the dump clump, and also a Wryneck in Old Town cemetery - no sign of either, a bit disappointing.
The return crossing on the Scillonian was one of the best - very calm, so I wasn't feeling seasick, and there was plenty to look at: at least 3 Storm Petrel, 2+ Balearic, 1 Sooty Shearwater, 3 Great Skua, 2 Arctic Skua, nice views of 3+ Common Dolphin in the Scillonian's wake.  Best of all just off the Cornish coast, 3 Harbour Porpoises, and also a Minke Whale between us and the coastline with the Minack Theatre!  The whale surfaced three times, and wasn't in view for long, but was still an impressive sight; it's been a few years since I last saw one.

St Marys, Sun. 25 Sept 2011.

A really exhausting day today, spent traipsing around St Marys, trying to catch up with the Bee-eater again, but failing.  Later, news came through of the discovery of a Lesser Yellowlegs on Porthloo duck pond.  As it turns out, this bird was found by Robin and Ken - they had gone there on the strength of a reported Solitary Sandpiper, but when they arrived the bird they saw was a Lesser Yellowlegs!  It had clearly just arrived, and was obviously completely exhausted. 

Later it flew onto a nearby beach, and then to Porthmellon Beach.  Just before dusk I went to Higgo's Pool again to check on the waterthrush, and sure enough that was there along with the Lesser Yellowlegs and the Solitary Sandpiper too - a hat-trick of American birds in the same binocular view - unbelievable!  The Yellowlegs was looking far more contented now at having found much more pleasant habitat, cleaner water, more food, no disturbance and shelter to roost.  Quite a relief as it was looking at death's door earlier.

Incidentally, I heard that someone pishing in the dump clump earlier this evening attracted the Northern Waterthrush, and then pished again to lure in a Red-eyed Vireo!  Not bad!!

St Marys, Sat. 24 Sept 2011.

Today might be my last day on Scilly so I made a special effort to be up well before dawn and get down to Higgo's Pool before first light.  This I did, and was again rewarded with more fine views of the Northern Waterthrush.  I find I'm still capturing new angles and gaining new insights into the nuances of this bird.  Note the rain drops appearing in the paintwork on the right hand page below. 

Soon the heavy rain was setting in for the morning, so I retreated to the shelter of the ISBG hide at Lower Moors to sit out the deluge and try to add some more paint to the drawings.  Amazingly around 10pm, while I was busy painting, I suddenly heard the waterthrush call - I looked up and sure enough there it was just 15 ft away from the hide!!!  There were only two other people, Ken Croft and Robin Sandham in the hide at this point, and I whispered to them that the bird had just flown in and they were quickly onto it.  They managed to get some good photos of it while it was really close.  Robin also texted out the news of the bird, but it had already flicked over a bank of reeds by the time other birders arrived some 10-15 minutes later.

I spent the afternoon at Porth Hellick studying one of two Pectoral Sandpipers from a hide there.