Saturday 15 October 2011

Shetland Day 8

Typically, the day we left Unst it was relatively calm. The wind even went easterly for most of the day, although it wasn't really coming from anywhere, and most of the remaining migrants seem to have taken the opportunity to leave.

Stopped off at a few places on the way south, the most productive of which was the excellent garden and plantation at Sandgarth, where we found a Lesser Redpoll (the rarest of the redpolls in Shetland!), 4 or 5 apparent Mealy Redpolls, a Greenfinch (also scarce here), a Lesser Whitethroat and a few Blackcaps. Kergord was absolutely dead as usual.

Sandgarth plantation

Arriving in the birder-infested south, we quickly cleaned up on all the rarities in the area: juv Citrine Wagtail and American Golden Plover at Fleck, and the Isabelline Shrike at Brake, but decided to give the Buff-bellied Pipit at Quendale a miss until the crowds had died down.

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