Nice cold and calm day here on Yell. The sea had frozen and the tide gone out to leave some nice patterns. Bullfinch was new for the year along our road and with Ravens gathering nest material last week and Hoodies defending their empty nests, spring must be close, joke! 😂 #birdingshetland

Yesterday shopping run to Lerwick. Managed a 6 goose species day ( Taiga, Tundra Beans, Greylag, Whitefronts, Barnacle & Pinkfoot). Waxwing, 3 Greefinch and a superb Bittern reducing the Stickleback population at Spiggie. #birdingshetland

A very attentive mother with her cub in Mid Yell yesterday. The weather may have improved but the Yell Coot photos haven’t! #shetland

Weather back to normal today, although wind was calmer than the last 3 weeks! A 3rd w/4th cy Glaucous Gull and a flock of 9 wintering Jackdaws in Burravoe, Yell. Tried to get a photo of the Coot but it had done a bunk! 2 of the 34 TD’s showed some signs of Ring necked Duck. #birdingshetland

Beautiful day in Shetland yesterday. 6 Tundra Beans, same as Unst the other day, at Cullivoe. 2 Whitefronts at Sellafirth. But best of all was a Coot on Kirk Loch, no photo!, first on Yell since I’ve lived here. Always something to see when waiting for ferries as well! #birdingshetland

More pics of the Kumlien’s/Thayer’s gull on Unst yesterday. Hopefully get some better ones when the snow blizzard’s stop. #birdingshetland

A couple of posts on the Kumlien’s/Thayer’s gull currently on Unst. Here’s some photos of it from March 24 as a 1st w (2nd cy) March 25 as a 2nd w (3rd cy) and February 26 as a 3rd w (4th cy) #birdingshetland

Don’t think I’ve ever seen so much white in the wing of a Tundra Bean goose before. Very broad and seemingly unworn. #birdingshetland

come to the conclusion it is just not worth bothering; protected areas by the Humber, right managed by Lincs Trust; track to a sailing pit, apparently hedge prevents wind and stops sailing; also harbours insects that used to feed 1000 Swifts and hirundines in spring - disconnect with natural world

Also on Unst today at Uyeasound. The Kumlien’s/Thayer’s gull, 1st winter male Common Scoter and Woodcock along with c500 Long tailed Ducks, in the snow. The sound made the spectacle even better. #birdingshetland

Today on Unst managed 5 sp of geese, Tundra Bean, Whitefront, Pinkfoot, Barnacle and the ever present Greylag. To be continued.. #birdingshetland

Has anybody submitted anything!😂😂

These 2 Common Seals had the good idea to haul out today as 6 of the 27’s pod of Orcas were around! Great day for seeing them as well dead calm after 2 days of gales, not that you would have heard of that because it wasn’t in souther England! 😂 GWE mid winter in Shetland! #birdingshetland

Thick snow today, as in well over the top of my wellies! It does mean looking for Jack and Common Snipe easier. Over 120 Snipe in 1 flock was impressive. Whilst 8 Jacks with 4 Snipe in a roadside ditch was nice. 2 Jacks in the second photo. #shetlandbirding

408 miles from my house as the Azure Tit flies!

The scenery showed much better than the WBD’s! Out Skerries in the distance seen from Birrier, Yell. #shetlandbirding

Terrible video warning‼️ 2 Adult White Billed Divers in Colgrave Sound, Yell today. In one of the 2 regular wintering areas around Yell.

Peeling sprouts with my helper. I put 1 in he takes it out bites it and throws it away! 🦜 😂😂

A great present from Tracy, and so true! 😂😂😂

Lerwick yesterday was dull to say the least. Iceland Gull and 1 of at least 46 Purple Sands. The sky from the garden this evening was rather colourful! #shetlandbirding

Mainland Shetland today in mainly sunshine! King (Queen) Eider at Scalloway showed rather well, I had it all to myself, so had no crowd trouble! 😉 Sibe CC also in Scalloway. 4 Humpbacked Whales around Mousa. Red Necked & Little Grebe at Hillwell. Yank Wigeon at Spiggie. #shetlandbirding

Having not been seen since 18th Nov the Great White Egret was back in Mid Yell Voe this afternoon. After having gone back to Unst on at least one date. #shetlandbirding

It’s been an amazing year on Yell for Greenfinchs, considering they have not even been annual since I’ve lived here. Today I saw another 2, taking our total to 11 birds, with another seen by Dougie Preston that takes this years total to 12 birds! #shetlandbirding

Had to go over to Unst today to pick up my car that’s been there all autumn. Took the opportunity to go to look at 2 Long eared Owls, managed to find a third bird there as well! Best I could do in dull light, the other 2 were even more obscured.#Shetlandbirding

We have still got 3 Blue Tits knocking around Mid Yell. But even more of a surprise on freezing northerlies, hail and snow was a Great White Egret on Mid Yell voe. #shetlandbirding

Another shopping trip to Lerwick, Tesco was closed due to a power cut! Gave me a chance to look for the long staying Kingfisher. Which I saw briefly after a phone call to get directions for where its exact location might be. Also 3 Siberian CC, 2 Bullfinch, Chaffinch & Water Rail #shetlandbirding

The last couple of weeks has seen good numbers of Siberian CC with a few Common CC mixed in. This Sibe was photographed in Mid Yell yesterday. #shetlandbirding

Had a couple of hours birding late PM on Yell today. Managed 3 Blue Tits, 2 fem Northern Bullfinch, 5 Siberian & 1 CC, Redpoll, Sparrowhawk and a fem Common Scoter. Then at last knockings found a Pallas’s Warbler, strangely scarce on Shetland, whilst checking a flock of 50+ Twite #shetlandbirding

Exactly the kind of post that could make #BirdID a magnificent feed everyone could benefit from. Just need the birders to structure their posts like this if they can think that way.

2/2 After seeing the geese a quick trip down to Sandwick to see a Dusky Warbler, worked out well. #shetlandbirding

Another trip to Lerwick for supplies and at last managed to get some photos of the Taiga Bean goose on a sports field! with a Pinkfoot. 1/2 #shetlandbirding

Good day around central Yell yesterday. Best was Yells 2nd Firecrest in Mid Yell,2 Northern Bullfinch, 2 Blue Tit, 2 Jackdaw, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, 4 Siberian CC, 1 CC and 2 Water Rails. #shetlandbirding

To say the weather has been a bit challenging today is rather an understatement! But the 3 Northern LTT still on Yell. Will they stay until we get a day with some daylight? Love the yellow eyeshadow! #shetlandbirding

Managed slightly better photos of the 3 Northern Long tailed Tits at Sound Yell today. Also saw another bird, without a tail, found by Dougie Preston at Camb. #shetlandbirding

Other birds on Yell today included a surprise Great White Egret an expected Jack Snipe and a very pale Redpoll, doesn’t look like an Arctic to me. Another Moorhen today along with large numbers of thrushes kept the interest up. #shetlandbirding

Right, before you judge my photos, it was a last ditch attempt in near dark! Taken at 16000 iso, to be fair they are better than I was expecting! Found by a local resident outside his house on the road verge! Northern Long tailed Tits are still a rare bird in UK. #shetlandbirding

Yesterday there was an arrival of birds on Yell. Jackdaws, Moorhen (only 2nd I’ve seen on here) Bramblings, Blackcaps and Redwings were the main arrivals. But 2 Greenfinch (rare on here) YBW & juv Peregrine. Then a quick trip to Brig o Fitch Black faced Bunting! #shetlandbirding

Today started with 5 NW Redpolls at Windhouse and ended with a Rosefinch (found by Tracy) in our garden. With basically nothing in between despite trying, honest! #shetlandbirding

100’s of these By the wind Sailors on West Sandwick beach Yell today. #shetlandbirding

Of course there was also the Siberian Thrush that has taken up residence at Asta on mainland Shetland. #shetlandbirding

Back on Unst Blackpoll Warbler and Glossy Ibis. A very vocal Red breasted Fly on Yell and a distant Western Sub-alpine Warbler on mainland Shetland. Just a few of many highlights so far this autumn.

A couple of posts of birds photographed on Shetland this October so far. 7 Glossy Ibis , Hornemann’s Redpoll, Bluethroat and a roadside bunting that really should have been something rarer! All on Unst. #shetlandbirding

Day on Unst yesterday. Citrine Wagtail, 2 Rosefinch with Brambling & Chaffinch arriving. Also a ridiculously elusive Radde’s Warbler. Mealy & Hornemann’s Redpoll. Then the Glossy ibis, 1 flew from Haroldswick beach whilst relocating it another 6 flew in to make a flock of 7! #shetlandbirding

The Short toed Lark at Otterswick, Yell showed better today in the sun as well! #birdingshetland

Back on Unst today this time for an Eastern Bonelli’s Warbler at Houlland. It showed very well but I unfortunately didn’t hear it call. Back on Yell a Short toed Lark, found by @rogerriddington.bsky.social was very flighty at Otterswick. #birdingshetland

Bit of a strange day, started with a Ring necked Duck at Tingwall then a Med Gull at Gremista. Just heading home across Yell when a message of a PG Tips on Unst came through, would be rude not to! A skulking bird as per type but showed ok with patience. High iso shots. #birdingshetland

A few migrants arrived overnight with Lesser Whitethroat, Reed Warbler (only the 2nd I’ve seen on Yell) and Pintail were year ticks. Other arrivals were 3 flighty White Wagtails and 17 Whoopers. #birdingshetland

For the second time in 24hours I’ve had to evacuate the car rapidly with camera settings all wrong to grab some shots of a bird of prey. This juvenile Honey Buzzard at Windhouse, Yell this morning. Last seen mobbed by a Merlin! #birdingshetland

Managed to get onto this juvenile Red Kite at Graven north mainland as I was on the way home from a shopping tip! Info came out at just the right time despite directions being wrong! Originally found by Logan Johnson yesterday a few miles away. #birdingshetland

A couple of random things from Yell. A sheep x gazelle hybrid! A four butterfly day, with Red Admiral, Large White, Painted Lady and a Shetland tick for me a Peacock! #birdingshetland