However, looking through the photos on the back of my camera confused me. In itself, this would have been a good record for Shetland, so I was quite excited. This all happened within about a minute or so, but based on the features I'd seen (mainly through my camera) and the way the bird was flying on 'V' wings, it appeared it was most likely a Common Buzzard. At this point, I switched to video as it headed over the Loch of Spiggie before disappearing out of sight. Thankfully, I managed to get some shots before it was driven further away by the Ravens. Tom photographed this perplexing-looking buzzard over Hillwell on 1 September 2019 (Tom Gale).ĭue to the light, I couldn't get much on it, so I went for my camera to record as much as possible. My gut reaction was that it was a buzzard species, but it was a very odd bird: it was strikingly pale and seemed to be in a heavy state of moult. I looked up and realised they were mobbing a raptor. After passing through Hillwell, I heard some Ravens making a commotion above my head. It was also nice to be able to visit a site that I'd seen so many times associated with mega-rare bird sightings.Īfter a few hours exploring, I headed back along the road towards Dunrossness. Within a few minutes, I'd seen my first Barred Warbler of the year, which was followed by a supporting cast of Wood Warbler, Whinchat and a few Willow Warblers. The week before had seen some good late August arrivals of migrants into Shetland, so I was excited to see what might be lurking around. On the following morning (1 September), I headed straight to Quendale (thanks to a generous lift from Jane Outram). Thankfully, Paul Harvey had very kindly agreed to let me stay at his house until I was able to travel and, of course, there are worse places to be stuck than Shetland! This meant that I could explore the area and visit some legendary birding sites in the meantime. However, while coming into Lerwick on the Northlink ferry, I received a message saying that, due to the weather, I would be unable to get onto Fair Isle for at least another day. During July, there had been a wonderful invasion of Two-barred Crossbills, among many other highlights, so I was absolutely buzzing to return. After spending the summer of 2019 volunteering at Fair Isle Bird Observatory, I was fortunate to be able to return for a few weeks in September before I had to go back to university.
0 kommentar(er)
