New Year Update

Well folks we are now well into the New Year as I write this on the 12th of January, the first few days birdwise were quite rocky with only 6 species seen on New Years Day and another in the following days, it wasn't a good start for trying to beat my 200 bird target for the year but no matter!

On the 4th had me doing Non-Estuarine Waterbird Surveys around Mid Yell and that got me up to 23 species of bird with one of the oddest being a Goldfinch, a very impressive bird for Yell/Shetland in winter! quite difficult to get sometimes as well, but House Sparrow eluded the list!
The 5th had me out at Vaster doing surveys as well and that got me onto some much needed seabirds and the list rocketed up to 37 with two raptors found in the shape of Peregrine and Merlin.

Peregrine being mobbed my Crows

It was quiet until the 9th with school taking up any more birding days until the weekend which brought some other good species, the Mourning Dove was still present at Murrayston, Lerwick on the south-west corner of my Clickimin patch, would be a shame not to get in on the list! and Sparrowhawk was mobbing crows over Helendale.
Sadly the Sea Kale at Seafield was covered by people cleaning up the car park at Fjara Cafe and now it has 2 foot of gravel and stones on top of it, maybe once again, leading to its extinction in Shetland before its had a chance to even colonise.

But as a write this I'm now on a total of 45 species and hope to be getting a few more this upcoming weekend, with Surf Scoter on Unst along with a few others goodies and Black-bellied Dipper, Rough-legged Buzzard, Green-winged Teal and Lesser Scaup all hanging on in the North Mainland it seems like its to be a good year!