Hello
When a reserve has conservation designations,such as SSSIs, certain aspects of management require government consent. I was discussing the management of Loch of Spiggie RSPB reserve over the phone with ourl local Scottish Natural Heritage Area Officer, when he announced that little auks were passing his window! The SNH office has views across Lerwick Harbour over to the island of Bressay, and they've seen a few unusual birds (and whales) over the last few years, as well as the more common Shetland residents.
I stopped off to look at West Voe whilst returning to the office this afternoon and bumped into one of our volunteers, Gary. To my surprise, he pointed out a couple of little auks feeding close to the shore. Little auks are colonial birds, breeding in high Arctic regions and I haven't seen them on many occassions. Most of the population breed in Greenland and Svalbard and disperse in the winter. Their Shetland name is Rotchie, which I think comes from Norse meaning "sea rat," which isn't entirely a great association is it? They only surfaced for seconds at a time, so I had to be quick with the binnoculars. If you happen to be at Sumburgh Head, or indeed any coastal area in Shetland, it may be worth looking out for little auks (that said, there are the occasional odd records of them turning up inland or on lochs).
No matter where you are in the UK, you can take part in this weekends national event - the Big Garden Birdwatch. Last year, more than 300 people took part in Shetland, which is superb! If you are participating, can you take extra time to decide whether you are looking at a rock dove or feral pigeon? Feral pigeon is listed in the top five most common birds in Shetland's gardens, but I imagine that most are rock doves. Look for the white rump and complete wingbars and enter records on-line or by post. Why not encourage your neighbours to have a go too? All the records help us understand what is going on with our garden birds, and influences conservation efforts.
Have a good weekend - oooh, and go online to watch the Lerwick Up Helly Aa on Tuesday. Our friends at Promote Shetland will be streaming the whole fire festival at www.shetland.org - it's pretty ambitious but I bet it wil be amazing!