Difficult to get Wood - Shetland Day 7

We thought we better make an effort for our last day on Shetland and got up (almost) early. Things looked good with a Wheatear from the house before we even left - must be new in - so headed out onto the patch with keen enthusiasm. Pete was nowhere to be seen .....

Si finally managed to flush a Jack Snipe from the fields and I took burn duty to kick around our new-to-science species 'Burn Pipit'. They are dark, barely fly and hard to flush from the bottom of the burn. Some people are claiming they are a sub-species of Meadow Pipit due to the exact same call and plumage details. Some even suggest that the dark plumage and poor flight is because they are wet but we are fairly confident that there is more to them than simply being a damp Mipit.

Steve and Si converge on another empty patch of undergrowth

After another leg burning tramp around the burn, surrounding undergrowth and check of the pink house garden only turning up the same 'easternish' Lesser Whitethroat from yesterday, we headed back for breakfast (the eggs were rubbish looking today as we reach the end of our supplies and thus no pictures were taken to spare Si's blushes!) and plan our attack for the rest of the day.

Steve fancied giving the Siberian Stonechat another look, so we headed back to Hoswick and quickly located the Stonechat showing very well around the crop field. Whilst watching this we heard the now familiar call of Greenland Redpoll and located 2 with Twite on the fence, a Reed Bunting made it onto the trip list as well, like most of the birds this week , it showed briefly , didn't call and then was lost to view, somewhere over Edinburgh.

After a while the Stonechat vanished (about the same time as I deployed the camera) and whilst standing around chatting alongside the burn, Steve noticed a stick and tub of mealworms...and the Stonechat lurking in the willows alongside. I quickly slid into the burn and enjoyed some exceptional views of the Stonechat in excellent light and even managed a few images!

Post, mealworms and Sibe Stonechat (its in the willows, honest!)

Deciding that we were on a roll, we headed back into Sandwick to try to relocate the Red-backed Shrike...and saw a Song Thrush. I have tried various ways to make this part of the day more exciting but it really wasn't. There were Starlings, House Sparrows, Skylark and a Song Thrush.

Si has decided to give up birding and thrown his bins in the sea

News of a Wood Warbler at the Orca Inn had us trundling back to Hoswick and after some comedy crap driving, navigating and parking we finally found the inn. And a Garden Warbler. A long while later the Wood Warbler showed, and it was a very nice, fresh plumaged bird. By this point I am starting to feel rough - aching back, arms and legs - so drive us back for lunch, a journey brightened by a Merlin flying alongside the road at 55 mph!

At this point I retire back to bed and will let Si or Steve pick up the afternoon story...

And here we are , fresh in from the Raba Curry night with 20 or so other Shetland wannabee heroes (Not bitter at all about losing my fiver for a really up close Reed Warbler ..... )

After Mark decided to wuss out , I mean , taken poorly , Steve and I finished off our respective left over mince related dinners for Lunch (I had the Spag Bol , Steve the Chilli !) and headed off out into the field, we figured that Wester Quarff hadn't been done, so headed over to the large garden, the lowlights from here was a recently deceased Hooded Crow, lying prone by the gate ...... no obvious features of foul play, probably died of boredom, possible RBF still, a Robin and 2 Brambling's, 35 minutes later and we could sympathise with him. We assume that a YBW will be claimed from here today, we successfully missed seeing YBW at most sites this trip!

Next stop was Channerwick, the first time that Steve and I had visited, what a great looking site, we inadvertently flushed the Barred Warbler and saw it disappear into a tree never to reappear..... 3 Goldcrest's and a Blackcap the only other things of note.

In a whirlwind tour of Toab, Hestingott, Virkie and Boddom, the only decent bird we saw was a Black Tailed Godwit at the latter which scraped onto the trip list.

Back to the digs and then out with the various crews for a Curry (I don't know what Mark ate, I am sure he will update tomorrow.)

Our plan is to go and see where our Fiver went tomorrow morning!

This is just a photo that I nicked off the web (http://www.istockphoto.com/) mine didn't look anything like that.