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Shetland's Wildlife

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Shetland's Wildlife Shetland's Wildlife Naturetrek Tour Report 20 - 27 June 2016 Muckle Flugga Arctic Tern Female Red-necked Phalarope Hermaness Gannets Report compiled by Jonathan Willet Images courtesy of Alison Faigniez and Martin Hancock Naturetrek Mingledown Barn Wolf's Lane Chawton Alton Hampshire GU34 3HJ UK T: +44 (0)1962 733051 E: [email protected] W: www.naturetrek.co.uk Tour Report Shetland's Wildlife Tour participants: Jonathan Willet (Leader) with eight Naturetrek clients Day 1 Monday 20th June The Ferry from Aberdeen The weather today was 16°C; sunny with some cloud. The ferry trip began with everyone meeting up at the ferry terminal and collecting their tickets from me. We were all on board nice and early and had time to get settled into our cabins onboard the boat. We met up on the top deck as the ferry was leaving the impressively busy harbour. There were plenty birds about with Kittiwakes and Eider Duck in plenty. We saw all the breeding gull species in the harbour, and out at sea we spied some Gannets, Razorbills and Guillemots zooming past. Of course, there were also Fulmars cruising close to the ship. There were a few Bonxies (Great Skua) about, harassing the Common Terns we saw. The views back to the mainland were amazing and there was a superb sunset. As we left the north eastern corner of Aberdeenshire behind, we caught sight of some oilrigs off to the east, on the horizon. Day 2 Tuesday 21st June South Mainland: Today’s weather was 15°C with bright sunny spells, but cloud early and late in the day. Before breakfast, those of us that were up got great views of Sumburgh Head and the Isle of Mousa, two of our key destinations this trip. We arrived at Lerwick via the Sooth Mooth (the South Mouth of the Sound of Bressay). All non-Shetlanders were called sooth moothers, due to the traditional arrival by boat on this route. Suitably fed, we left the ferry, picked up our vehicle and set off to our hotel in Scalloway, to drop our bags off and pick up Pam and Gwyneth. After we introduced ourselves, it was time to head south. We headed directly to Sumburgh Head as, of course, we wanted to see some Puffins.... and we did! We got some cracking views from a few different viewpoints and plenty pictures were taken. The sound and smell of all the Guillemots and Razorbills was quite something. Below us we saw Gannets passing round the headland and some Arctic Skuas zooming after terns. We saw both pale and dark morphs. We could see for miles and the water was an azure blue, though pretty cold, I would have to say. No cetaceans were spotted, though we did look hard. Close to the car park we did see some Wheatears and, of course, the ubiquitous Meadow Pipit. Soon it was time for lunch, and we had it at the Sumburgh Hotel. We visited Jarlshof, an amazing site with over 3000 years of continuous habitation. Not only that, but it had an amazing family of Shetland Wrens that were being fed by one of their parents. We watched them for nearly half an hour; we had fantastic views and the five chicks were very comical. There was also a juvenile Wheatear, plus its father, flitting about. After Sumburgh, we checked out some of the smaller lochs; there were plenty of ducks on the water, and Curlew and Oystercatchers aplenty. At Hillwell Loch there were thirty Ravens perched on a farm shed, it was like seeing a flock of Rooks, only the birds were much bigger. At Loch Spiggie we saw over fifty Bonxies having a wash in the fresh water. This behaviour shows that they are not a true seabird as they have to wash the salt out of their feathers. The Whooper Swans and their cygnets were © Naturetrek October 16 1 Shetland's Wildlife Tour Report showing, around 10 pairs breed annually in Shetland. Up the hill and along the coast took us towards St Ninian's Isle. In a small bay on the way there we saw lots of Harbour Seals with pups, hauled out on the beach below the road. At the amazing tombolo of St Ninain's some of the group went for a walk and the rest did some birding. We spotted Red-throated Diver, Turnstone and Ringed Plover. It was time to depart and, with the cloud building, we headed back to our hotel and some fantastic food. Day 3 Wednesday 22nd June Noss & Isle of Mousa. We woke to light rain in the morning, brightening up to be lovely and sunny in the afternoon, and a temperature of 16°C. Today was one of island hopping: two ferries, one vehicle the other passenger, only to take us to Noss. We crossed Lerwick Sound and spied some Tysties (Black Guillemots). We made our way directly to our next ferry, but we were distracted by two beautiful Red-throated Divers very close to the road. Bonxies were flying about but kept their distance from us. We loaded into the Zodiac six at a time and took the short crossing over to Noss. During the time of the Vikings we could have walked over, as a sandy tombolo connected Bressay and Noss. A great storm washed it away hundreds of years ago. Craig, one of the wardens, gave us an introduction to the island and told us the best spots to visit. Gwyneth decided to stay round the visitor centre and the rest of us headed towards the cliffs of the Noup. Noss was famous for breeding lots of Shetland Ponies for the mines of the north-east of England in the 1800s, and we passed one of the enclosures or “punds” that contained the ponies as we left the visitor centre. We kept to the coastal path and then struck up hill, and kept climbing until we got to Cradle Holm where we had lunch. We got great views of Puffins and all the other seabirds that were nesting on that stack. A bit further on, we stopped at Rumblewick where we found a great spot to look down on to the 11,000 plus pairs of Gannets that nest on the cliffs of the Noup of Noss. Just an amazing sight and sound. We also saw some Puffin photographers, and had to resist the temptation to say, “It's behind you!”, when a few appeared at the feet of the prone photographer! Soon it was time to make our way back; we saw some Twite on the way and got some great views of dark-morph Arctic Skua. A Grey Seal kept pace with us for a wee while, then grew bored and swan off. We retraced our steps and, whilst waiting for the final ferry, we got some great views of an Arctic Tern. It was our late night as we were off to Mousa! We caught the boat at 11pm from Sandwick harbour, incidentally, close to an old copper mine. It was still light and we could see the sun setting over Lerwick. We landed and headed off to the broch. It is an amazing structure and some of us went inside and up to the top, where we got to see Storm Petrels flying around. Down at ground level there were hundreds of birds flying round the broch like bats. The croaking from the sitting birds was indeed a strange noise, quite an unforgettable part of the trip. As we got the boat back to Sandwick, just after 1am, it was already starting to get light! 2 © Naturetrek October 16 Shetland's Wildlife Tour Report Day 4 Thursday 23rd June South Mainland. Weather: 18 °C; gloriously sunny, but with a haar (fret or sea mist) rolling in at 5pm. We had a later breakfast today, as we had been up very late last night. Suitably fuelled up, we headed north on the short drive to Loch Tingwall. We saw Red-breasted Mergansers, Tufted Duck, Whooper Swans and Mute Swans and their cygnets. Some just-fledged Black-headed Gulls were visible too. The loch-side plants were coming into flower and there were some beautiful Northern Marsh Orchids there. As we headed on, we enjoyed a brief stop to look at the Law Holm, the Thing-vollr itself, where laws were made in Viking times. Coming into Veensgarth we spotted some Shetland Geese; these look like Greylags but with large white blotches on them. A little further on, just by the airport, a wading bird was seen in a field. We found a place to park and got the scope on it. It turned out to be a Black-tailed Godwit in full breeding plumage; its russet plumage looked stunning. These birds breed here in small numbers, as well as passing through on their way further north. A Pied Wagtail also made a brief appearance. It was on into the uplands after this, and we headed along the valley of Stromfirth. There was an interesting wagtail seen and, on closer inspection, it turned out to be a White Wagtail, one of the continental race of our Pied Wagtail; in fact, the White Wagtails are more common on Shetland than the Pied. From Stromfirth we headed south to the islands of Trondra and Burra. On the way we passed the knitted fence of Hamnavoe and the shell house there. As it was time for lunch and gloriously sunny, we decided to go to the beach and have it there.
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