Hard work in westerlies

A couple of days plugging away in brisk westerlies has resulted in Guernsey Dave pull out a tail-less Arctic Warbler at Cott, on the west side of Weisdale Voe, and today I inadvertently disturbed a juvenile Common Rosefinch from a patch of nettles by the road at Easter Skeld.

This has been interspersed with tens of Yellow-browed Warblers. Today we've seen a minimum of 46 and yesterday around 40 - they're in most gardens you check, sometimes in amazing numbers. Easter Skeld, a small village in West Mainland, had 16 this morning!

Other than that, it's pretty quiet. New birds keep getting found but they're evidently not new in and we won't be graced by fresh arrivals from the east before we leave on Sunday. Yank or bust!

Arctic Warbler, Cott

Grotpic

Russia trip report, June 2014

It's taken a while, but this leviathan of a document can now be read below. If you would like a copy, please email me. Here's hoping it comes in useful for anyone thinking of making the trip out to Russia - we had a brilliant two weeks out there, and the birding is absolutely superb.