I love the return of birds to our reserves here in Shetland.  Seeing the first Shalder back on Sumburgh Head reserve last Tuesday (21st Feb) added light to what has been a long dark wet winter. 

Shalder is the Shetland name for oystercatcher which is an anagram of "cheesytractor".  I think Shal means black and white (like shelduck), and the name is similar in Faeroe and Iceland (Tjaldur).   Flocks have been arriving…

Have you got any top quality images of seabirds? Or even zooplankton and killer whales?  Well, our friend Matt Arnold at Shetland Amenity Trust (who are the lead partners in the Sumburgh Head redevelopments) might like to hear from you.  

Here's what Matt said...

"Sumburgh Head is set to be redeveloped in a £5.4million project which will see the area transformed into a world class visitor attraction. The Sumburgh Head…

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…

They're back!

Today is the first day of 2012  that I have seen guillemots at Sumburgh Head.  What a joy to see them, but also to hear their "ha hah haaaring" rising upwards.

Believe it or not, this photograph contains hundreds of guillemots covering the stack and the cliffs (dotted here and there are fulmars).  From the Seabird 2000 counts, it is estimated that Shetland has around 16.5% of the British breeding…

Yesterday morning, I was having a long lie trying to recover from a rotten cold.  My plans of wallowing under a blanket of self-pity were interupted by a call from my big brother, John.  "Killer whales at West Voe!!"  He quickly described what had happened (including a dog walker who'd been concerned the whales would get stranded, such was their behaviour in the shallows at West Voe) and that they were moving n…

Hello.

I hope you had a good Christmas and New Year.  It's been a rather wild festive break here in the south end of Shetland, with many strong winds to battle against and an awful lot of rain.  Have you made any resolutions?  Apart from the usual "eat less, excercise more" kind of thing, one of my resolutions is to keep a year list.  The list begins with birds spotted during the first sunrise of 2012 whilst walking…

Hello from a cold 60N.

Following the drama of last weeks humpback whale, I wasn't quite sure what to write in a blog entry this week.   I decided I would write about the first bird I saw today which made me smile.  So it happened to be  that it was a flock of a dozen Linties, as they are called in Shetland.

Whenever we come up to the Sumburgh Head Lighthouse, where the main RSPB Shetland Office is based (the other is in…

Hi

Yesterday, Martin came into the office and said "There's a big whale in the West Voe.  Looks like a humpback."  "Is it beaching?" I asked, immediately concerned about what scenario may be about to unfold, and Martin didn't think so but wanted to get a better look at it. He'd spotted it's blow, which is absolutely amazing considering the sea condition.  So I didn't grab my hat, gloves…

I've literally just come in the door having been standing twenty metres from a humpback whale!!  My fingers are warming up from the bitter cold, so I can hardly type.  If you are in Shetland, head to Sumburgh Head now (Monday lunch time) to look for it. 

The MASSIVE whale can be viewed from the road.  Please park carefully and considerately.

Wow wow wow - so exciting!

Hello

I've just returned to Shetland following a holiday in England.  I managed to visit to a couple of RSPB reserves (Ham Wall and Arne), so it was great to see what RSPB gets up to doon sooth.  It's good to go away and be reminded of all the things we don't get in Shetland (foxes, nuthatches, ancient trees, ant hills, moles, voles and really good pubs!), but the pull of the Auld Rock is strong and I was glad…

Shetland Amenity Trust (SAT) presented the Shetland Environmental Awards 2011 at a ceremony in the Shetland Museum and Archives yesterday.  The awards acknowledge environmental projects demonstrating sustainability, innovation and best practice, and is judged by the Shetland Environment Group (on which RSPB sits).  This years winners were DITT Construction Ltd, Dunrossness Primary School, Shetland Field Studies Group, Foula Communicty…

Jenny and I took a half hour walk around the reserve at lunch time.  A couple of nice surprises was a party of three snow buntings, thirty off fieldfares and a peregrine.  What stood out for me though, was the smell of fulmar petrels, or maalies as we call them. 

Maalies have been absent from our cliffs for a few weeks, but have returned to their breeding sites in small numbers in the last couple of days.  Some can be seen…

Loch of Spiggie is a beautiful place to visit at any time of year.  However, at this time of year it is worth going just to listen to the birds of the loch. 

I would like to share the sounds with you here, but can't quite do that.  When I was a bairn, Scratch & Sniff stickers had just been invented (do they still exist?).  I wonder if in these hi-tech days, someone will invent Scratch & Listen photos.  For now though…

HI

Sorry if this blog comes up funny on your screen.  I put up a new post, but it doesn't seem to have any content. I think the Halloween trows have managed to get inside my computer...  Here goes again :)

This weekend, we had a Feed The Birds Day stand at the Planticrub Garden Shop in Lerwick. 

Thanks to everyone at the Planticrub and to everyone who came along to learn more about feeding birds and share their stories…

Sumburgh Head is well worth a visit on a stormy day.  There's few birds to be seen at the moment, but you'll usually see twite on the reserve (we feed them every day), and cast your eye seaward for eiders, gannets, shags and gulls.  Visits to RSPB reserves aren't just about birds of course, it's the whole experience.

Martin popped his head in the door,  saying it was worth taking a look at the sea as the effects…

I wouldn't class myself "birder" nor even a "birdwatcher." I'd say I was more a general nature lover.  However, this glorious sunny Thursday, I became a lunch break "twitcher."  A male Siberian rubythroat was the bird I wished to see.  Any bird with Siberia in the name has a whisper of mythology about it.

After attending to business in town, I drove into Gulberwick to where the bird was found…

I frequently walk one of the beautiful beaches near Sumburgh Head RSPB Reserve before or after work.  Most days, I see otter prints.  Whilst I love seeing them, I am quite content just to know that they are around.  A couple of days ago, I thought to take some photos on my phone of paw prints.  Please excuse the quality - I am no photographer!

This is an otter...

This is a greyhound (Apollo)...

Of course with dog prints…

Like many places, Shetland has it's own names for various birds.  I think the most well known are "Bonxie" and "Tystie" (great skua and black guillemot).   Last night, whilst driving away from Sumburgh Head RSPB reserve, my attention was grabbed by a small bird with which showed white on its wings as it flew - a Snaa Ful!   It was my first snow bunting of the season. 

Snaa Fool (sometimes Snow Fool) simply…

I have been on leave for a few days so this blog has little to do with RSPB work.   I thought I ought to give you a quick update on what's been going on in the south end of Shetland.

A couple of weeks back, we had our local WEX club monthly meeting.  With fellow volunteers and a dozen willing Wildlife Explorers, we went birdwatching around Sumburgh.  At Sumburgh Hotel, we immediately saw a blackcap.  A flighty wee fellow…

Since before it became a reserve, the Shetland Ringing Group have checked a study plot on Mousa to monitor storm petrel breeding success.  The plot was established by Dr Mark Bolton back in the early 90s. (coincidentally, Mark is now the RSPB Seabird Ecologist).

This week, we made it to Mousa to check the storm petrels.  It is the one day of the year I always look forwards to.  As well as the satisfaction of being involved in some…

The road up to Sumburgh Head passes by a couple of old quarries.  The quarries are well known to birdwatchers who wish to find migrant birds.  I like them because they are full of fulmars, and I used to visit them when when on holiday at Aunty Christines (a massive three miles from where I was brought up).  Maybe some of the birds nesting there are the same individuals I saw as an eight year old.  

The young fulmars, or maalies…

Following force 7 gales, some horizontal rain and thick fog on Saturday, Sunday and today have seen clear skies and a strange yellow orb glowing brightly high above, what could this be?!?

On Friday two hundred puffins and one razorbill were on the sea below Sumburgh Head, by Sunday there was only one puffin on the sea, and having seen none on land all day, one made a brief appearance on the cliffs in the evening. Befor…

Sumburgh Head sounds and smells quite different since the guillemots, razorbills and kittiwakes have all gone. The incredible energy and spectacle of the breeding colony in full swing has mellowed. I miss the strangled gargling calls of the guillemots.. Shags are still present with juveniles, Fulmar chicks are dotted around the slopes like big bundles of grey fluff and parents return to feed regularly. Puffins have been abundant…

The Shetland Nature Festival started with a bang, with the appearance of a pod of killer whales at Sumburgh Head. From 9am, they'd been spotted by many folk on the eastern side of the Shetland south mainland, reaching Sumburgh around lunch time.  Dozens of folk were treated to marvellous views.  Unfortunately, Andy Foote and Simon King were stuck in the Garrison Theatre giving their talk about killer whales and other…

Tickets are now on sale for the Shetland Nature Festival. 

Some events are ticketed or require booking, others you can just drop by on the day.  Check out the website to see the programme and find out how to book your place. 

It seems a long time ago since we started the Nature Festival.  We even won a Shetland Environment Award in recognition of the successful first year back in 2008 and get a mention in Simon King's book…