Latest
Bird Sightings and Photos
Send in your news.
Full details of Fair Isle sightings are on the
FIBO website. Photographs are copyright of the named photographer
and may not be used for any other purpose without their permission.
For details on how to submit records by e-mail check the
Bird Club's Recording page.
Species in red are BBRC rarities.
Species in orange are local rarities.
NOTE that
ALL records go into the database used in the compilation
of the Shetland Bird Report EVEN IF they do not appear on this
page.
Shetland Bird Report
2005 The report is here, with a
full colour systematic list and literally dozens of colour photos. If you
saw any of these birds you need this report. E-mail
Martin Heubeck for report sales (the report costs £10 inc. p&p) or e-mail
Roger Riddington about becoming a member of the Shetland Bird Club for
just £10 (the same price as the report and you get a copy as part of
your membership). 'The best just got better' - Birding Scotland.
New Shetland Checklist.
Downloadable as a pdf here.
Vacancies at
Fair Isle Bird Observatory in 2007
see homepage.
Icelandic goose counts
Counts for any of the census dates of 14/15 October, 11/12 November and
16/17 December should be sent to
Paul Harvey at SBRC asap.
Low tide counts (NEWS)
We hope to get full coverage from Shetland sample sites. Counts can be
done on any dates in December and January but they must be done 3.5 hours either side of
low tide. Tide predictions can be found
here.
Thursday 28th December 2006
The Gyrfalcon is still at Funzie on
Fetlar.
Up to 15 Little Auks are in Bressay Sound, off
Lerwick.
Wednesday 27th December 2006
A Gyrfalcon has been reported again, this time at Funzie on
Fetlar.
There are 3 Iceland Gulls and a Glaucous Gull
at the Catch in Lerwick and male Goosanders at East Voe of
Scalloway and Loch of Tingwall.
Sunday 24th December 2006
The Pink-footed Goose is still at Spiggie, with a
Shoveler also there.
Thursday 21st December 2006
A ringtail Hen Harrier is at Uyeasound.
Monday 18th December 2006

Kumlien's type Iceland Gull and Glaucous Gull (with
Herring Gull in last photo) at Scalloway - Brydon Thomason
A probable Gyrfalcon flew north over Baltasound in the
morning. An adult Glaucous Gull is at Burrafirth along with a male
Merlin, a Great Northern Diver and 5 Purple Sandpipers.
The Smew and the first-winter Little Gull are
still at Loch of Hillwell.
The third-winter Kumlien's Iceland Gull is still at
Scalloway along with 3 first-winter Iceland Gulls and a Glaucous
Gull.
Sunday 17th December 2006

Whooper Swans at Uyeasound and Bufflehead at Loch of
Snarravoe (with Goldeneyes and Tufted Duck) -
Mike Pennington
The Bufflehead is back
on Loch of Snarravoe on Unst, although it has been absent on at least four
visits since Saturday 9th. A first-winter Glaucous Gull is at
Belmont. There were just 255 Greylag Geese counted on the island
over the weekend as well as 275 Curlews and 144 Golden Plovers in
three flocks.
The third-winter Kumlien's Iceland Gull is still at
Scalloway along with 6 first-winter Iceland Gulls and 3
first-winter Glaucous Gulls. There are 11 Grey Herons at
Dales Voe, Delting. A Coot and a Common Pochard are on Loch
of Tingwall.
A Black-throated Diver
is at Grutness and a redhead Smew and a first-winter Little Gull
are at Loch of of Hillwell. There are 620 Greylag Geese at six
sites in Dunrossness and a Pink-footed Goose still at Spiggie. Also
at Spiggie there are 88 Whooper Swans, 9 Moorhens, 3 Coots,
a Little Grebe, a Slavonian Grebe and 25
Fieldfares but there were no Pochards and no sign of the putative
Redhead - it has not been seen since 7th December. There
are 105 Dunlins and 4 Bar-tailed Godwits at Pool of Virkie.
Water Rails are at Scatness, Spiggie and Boddam. There are also 2
Gadwalls at Scatness, 3 Meadow Pipits at Fleck, a Carrion
Crow at Sandwick and a Stonechat at
Boddam.
Counts of Red-breasted Mergansers included 18 at
Bixter Voe, 15 at Weisdale Voe and 10 at West Burrafirth.
A Jack Snipe is at Burravoe, Yell.
Saturday 16th December 2006
A late Black-tailed Godwit and 5 Bar-tailed
Godwits are at Pool of Virkie. There are 2 first-winter Iceland Gulls and a
first-winter Glaucous Gull at Scalloway. A first-winter Iceland
Gull with characters of Kumlien's Gull is at the Shetland Catch in
Lerwick.
The Canada Goose is now at Northdale, Unst, there
are 22 Redwings at Haroldswick and a
Knot is at Baltasound along with 28 Red-breasted Mergansers.
Tuesday 12th December 2006

Glaucous Gulls (with GBB and Herring Gulls) at
Burrafirth -
Micky Maher
A first-winter Iceland Gull
and 8 Glaucous Gulls (6 adults and 2 first-winters) are at Burrafirth
and an adult Iceland Gull is at Baltasound.
Monday 11th December 2006
A
first-winter Iceland Gull
and 3 Glaucous Gulls (2 adults and a first-winter) are at Burrafirth.
A Peregrine Falcon and 3 Carrions Crows
are at Twatt, Bixter.
Sunday 10th December 2006
An
adult Glaucous Gull is at Burrafirth and a first-winter Iceland Gull
is at Uyeasound, along with a Canada Goose, which has presumably come
from Kirk Loch, Yell.
Saturday 9th December 2006

putative American Herring Gull at Lerwick - Dougie
Preston
A putative first-winter American
Herring Gull is at Shetland Catch in Lerwick, along with an
Iceland Gull.
The adult
male Bufflehead is still on Loch of
Snarravoe at Uyeasound on Unst, and there are 15 Whooper Swans and the 2
Shovelers at Uyeasound.
Friday 8th December 2006

Long-eared Owl and Chiffchaff on Fetlar - Brydon
Thomason; Waxwing at Sandwick - Dave Hall; Iceland Gull at Scalloway -
Micky Maher
A Chiffchaff is on Fetlar along with 2 Long-eared
Owls, a Woodcock and a Peregrine Falcon.
A Waxwing is at Sandwick.
Thursday 7th December 2006
The adult
male Bufflehead is still on Loch of
Snarravoe at Uyeasound on Unst, and a Moorhen is at Burrafirth.
The putative female Redhead
is still on Loch of Spiggie.
The male
Ring-necked Duck is still on Loch of
Tingwall. There are up to 7 Iceland Gulls and a 3 Glaucous Gull
at Scalloway.
An Iceland Gull, a Little Auk, 2 Long-eared
Owls, 30 Fieldfares, a few Redwings and a Song Thrush
are on Fetlar.
Tuesday 5th December 2006

Little Auk at Belmont -
Micky Maher
The adult
male Bufflehead is still on Loch of
Snarravoe at Uyeasound on Unst, a Little Auk is at Belmont and an Iceland Gull
and a Glaucous Gull are at Haroldswick.
Monday 4th December 2006

Iceland Gulls at Scalloway - Dave Hall (3 photos); Russ
Haywood (2 photos)
There are about 7 Iceland Gulls in Scalloway,
including a third-winter and 2 first-winters believed to be showing characters of
Kumlien's Gull.
Sunday 3rd December 2006
The adult
male Bufflehead is still on Loch of
Snarravoe at Uyeasound on Unst.
The male
Ring-necked Duck is still on Loch of
Tingwall. There are up to 6 Iceland Gulls and 3 Glaucous Gulls
at Scalloway. Iceland Gulls were also seen at Loch of Clickimin and
the Shetland Catch in Lerwick.
Saturday 2nd December 2006

Iceland Gull (showing characters of Kumlien's Gull) at
Scalloway -
Hugh
Harrop
The putative female Redhead
is still on Loch of Spiggie.
There are at least 4 Iceland Gulls and one
Glaucous Gull at Scalloway, while a Glaucous Gull is at the
Shetland catch in Lerwick.
There are 3 Iceland Gulls and a Glaucous Gull
at Haroldswick. An exhausted first-winter female Peregrine Falcon
was picked up at Baltasound.
Thursday 30th November 2006

Glaucous Gull at Scalloway (with Iceland Gull
in last photo) - Brydon Thomason

First-winter Iceland Gull at Scalloway
(showing some characters of Kumlien's Gull) and third-winter Kumlien's Gull at
Scalloway (last Saturday, not seen since). - Brydon Thomason

Mealy Redpoll at Scalloway - Brydon Thomason
Up to 3 first-winter Iceland Gulls and a
Glaucous Gull have been at Scalloway all week.
A first-winter Iceland Gull is at
Haroldswick along with a Glaucous Gull.
A Mealy Redpoll was caught by a cat at Scalloway
(it is not as dark and buffy as it looks in the photos).
Wednesday 29th November 2006
The adult
male Bufflehead is still on Loch of
Snarravoe at Uyeasound on Unst.
The Dark-bellied Brent Goose is still at
Sandwick.
Tuesday 28th November 2006
The adult
male Bufflehead is still on Loch of
Snarravoe at Uyeasound on Unst and the putative female Redhead
is still on Loch of Spiggie.
Sunday 26th November 2006

Glaucous Gull and Iceland Gull (2 photos ) at Scalloway
-
Hugh
Harrop; Iceland Gull at Westing
-
Mike Pennington
The adult
male Bufflehead is still on Loch of
Snarravoe at Uyeasound on Unst. There are Iceland Gulls at Westing,
Uyeasound and Haroldswick. There are still 2 Carrion Crows at Baltasound.
The putative female Redhead
is still on Loch of Spiggie, along with 4 Slavonian Grebes, a
first-winter Iceland Gull and 2 Scaups. Another 10 Scaups
and 2 Pintails are on Loch of Brow. A Pink-footed Goose is at
Hillwell and a Stonechat is at Virkie..
There are 3 Iceland Gulls at Scalloway, none of
showing characters of 'Kumlien's Gull' today, and a Glaucous Gull
there. A Sparrowhawk is at Kergord and about 600 Golden Plovers
are at Wethersta, near Brae.
Saturday 25th November 2006
There are 3 Iceland Gulls at Scalloway, one of which
shows characters of 'Kumlien's Gull' and at least one Glaucous Gull
around Scalloway and Trondra.
The Chaffinch flock at Twatt, Bixter, has now built
up to about 200.
Friday 24th November 2006
The adult
male Bufflehead is still on Loch of
Snarravoe at Uyeasound on Unst.
An Iceland Gull and a Glaucous Gull
are at Scalloway. A Waxwing is in St Olaf St, Lerwick.
Thursday 23rd November 2006
The adult
male Bufflehead is still on Loch of
Snarravoe at Uyeasound on Unst. There are 2 Waxwings at Baltasound.
Wednesday 22nd November 2006

Bufflehead on Unst -
Hugh
Harrop NB the last picture is a link to a Quicktime movie (2 Mb - broadband
users only)
A white morph Gyrfalcon
was seen coming in off the sea at Sothers on Hermaness. The adult
male Bufflehead is still on Loch of
Snarravoe at Uyeasound on Unst. There are 2 Slavonian Grebes at Uyeasound
and 20 Snow Buntings at Snarravoe. There were 6 Little Auks and a
Puffin in Bluemull Sound.
The putative female Redhead
is still on Loch of Spiggie.
Two male Pheasants at Mangaster would
suggest a fresh release.
Tuesday 21st November 2006
The adult
male Bufflehead is back on Loch of
Snarravoe at Uyeasound on Unst; despite having been looked for almost every day
since, it was last a week ago. The Red-necked Grebe is still at Uyeasound.
There are 70 Chaffinches at Bixter.
Monday 20th November 2006
There are 2 Glaucous Gulls at Burrafirth and another
Glaucous Gull and an Iceland Gull at Haroldswick.
Sunday 19th November 2006
The
Ring-necked Duck is still on Loch of
Tingwall and an Iceland Gull is still at Scalloway, along with 4
Waxwings.
A Blackcap and 14 Chaffinches
are at Baltasound.
The putative female Redhead
is still on Loch of Spiggie.
Saturday 18th November 2006

Red-necked Grebe at Uyeasound
-
Mike Pennington; Iceland Gull in Scalloway -
Micky Maher
A juvenile Red-necked Grebe is at Uyeasound, along with a
Slavonian Grebe, 4 Scaups and the Goosander, while the
Common Scoter is still on Loch of Snarravoe. At Burrafirth there are 3
Glaucous Gulls (2 adults and a first-winter) and a first-winter Iceland
Gull.
There are 2 Iceland Gulls at Scalloway.
Friday 17th November 2006

putative Redhead at Spiggie - Dave Hall (2 photos).
The female Redhead is still on Loch of
Spiggie. The white on the tips of the underside of the secondaries is possibly
diagnostic. More photos from Sunday just added. Comments welcome.
The
Ring-necked Duck is back on Loch of
Tingwall. The Iceland Gull is still at Scalloway and another is at
Gremista, Lerwick. A first-winter Glaucous Gull is at Benston. A
Common Scoter is at Lochend and a ringtail Hen Harrier is at North
Roe.
Thursday 16th November 2006
The female Redhead is still on Loch of
Spiggie.
Wednesday 15th November 2006


putative Redhead at Spiggie - Roger Riddington
(4 photos); Dave Hall (2 photos); Hugh Harrop (5 photos).
A putative female Redhead is on Loch of
Spiggie; if confirmed it will the another first for Shetland.
The Canada Goose is still at Kirk Loch,
Cullivoe, Yell.
A late Whinchat is at Dalsetter, near
Boddam.
Incidentally, the Bufflehead has not been seen
since Tuesday lunchtime.
Tuesday 14th November 2006
Ring-necked Duck at Clickimin -
Hugh
Harrop
The adult
male Bufflehead is still on Loch of
Snarravoe at Uyeasound on Unst. The Goosander is still at Uyeasound.
What is presumably the same
Ring-necked Duck is now on Loch of
Clickimin; there was no sign of a bird on Tingwall just afterwards.
Monday 13th November 2006

Bufflehead on Unst -
Hugh
Harrop (one photo); Dave Hall (2 photos); Jim Nicolson
(one photo); Ring-necked
Duck at Tingwall (right, with Tufted Duck) -
Hugh
Harrop
The adult
male Bufflehead is still on Loch of Snarravoe at
Uyeasound on Unst and first-winter Iceland Gulls are at Uyeasound,
Belmont and Burrafirth. There are also 3 Glaucous Gulls (2 adults and a
first-winter) at Burrafirth. Another first-winter Iceland Gull is at
Ulsta on Yell.
The
Ring-necked Duck is still at Loch of
Tingwall. The Iceland Gull is still at Scalloway and 12 Jackdaws
are at Gott.
Sunday 12th November 2006

Iceland Gull at Scalloway - Tony Gerrard
A
male Bufflehead is on Loch of Snarravoe at
Uyeasound on Unst; it is the first record for Shetland. A Common Scoter
is also there and a Lapland Bunting and a first-winter Iceland Gull
are at Skaw, Unst.
The
Ring-necked Duck is still at Loch of
Tingwall along with a Slavonian Grebe and a Common Coot. A
first-winter Iceland Gull is at Scalloway. A Hen Harrier is at
Tresta, 3 Common Scoters are at Catfirth and 6 Purple Sandpipers
are at Melby. There are
82 Whooper Swans at Loch of Spiggie along with 48 Goldeneyes, a
Little Grebe, a Common Coot and 8 Moorhens. A Dark-bellied
Brent Goose is at Sandwick.
There were 732 Greylag Geese in
Dunrossness including 250 at Clumlie, 187 at Hillwell and 157 at Ringasta.
Saturday 11th November 2006
The
Ring-necked Duck is still at Loch of
Tingwall. A late Wheatear is at Laxo.
The Taiga Bean
Goose is still on Unst, although it is now at Uyeasound, while 426
Greylag Geese were counted on the island.
Thursday 9th November 2006
The
Ring-necked Duck is still at Loch of
Tingwall.
A flock of 45 Knots is at Loch of Clickimin in Lerwick.
Wednesday 8th November 2006

Ring Ouzel at Sandgarth - Tony & Beth Gerrard
The Little Egret was still on Mill
Loch, Foula, early morning but flew east and has not been seen since.
A very late Garden Warbler, the Ring Ouzel
and 2 Blackcaps are at Sandgarth, Voe. A late Northern Wheatear
is at Ness of Sound, Lerwick.
There are 100 Ringed Plover at Norby, a Blackcap
at Melby and a Gadwall on Stanevatstoe Loch.
A Snow Goose has been reported at Ronas Voe after having
been seen at North Roe on 5th and 6th.
Tuesday 7th November 2006
A Little Egret is on Foula; it may have been
at Cunningsburgh over the weekend as there were reports from there.
The
Ring-necked Duck is still at Loch of
Tingwall.
Monday 6th November 2006
The Siberian Stonechat
is still at Hamister, Whalsay, along a Carrion Crow and a
Goldcrest.
A Ring Ouzel and a Blackcap are at Sandgarth,
Voe, with a Little Auk also found dead there.
An adult Glaucous Gull is at Burrafirth.
Sunday 5th November 2006
A
Canada Goose and a Slavonian Grebe are at Kirk Loch, Cullivoe, Yell.
A first-winter Glaucous Gull is at
Westing, Unst.
Saturday 4th November 2006
The
Ring-necked Duck is still at Loch of
Tingwall along with a Little Grebe and 2 Pintails. There are 8
Jackdaws by the Califf junction. A late Wheatear is at Skelberry.
The Goosander and 2 Shovelers are
still at Uyeasound.
Friday 3rd November 2006
A
Little Auk is at Basta Voe. A first-winter Glaucous Gull and a
Song Thrush are at Burrafirth.
Thursday 2nd November 2006
A male Siberian Stonechat
is at Hamister, Whalsay.
A Wheatear is at Norwick.
There are 50 Chaffinches at Bixter.
Wednesday 1st November 2006
A
Waxwing is at Baltasound and a first-winter Glaucous Gull is at
Uyeasound.
A Kestrel is at Spiggie. A Peregrine
Falcon is at Bixter along with 430 Golden Plovers.