randombirder

So it begins and a reasonable start checking out a local woodland on the outskirts of Lerwick showing some promise for the coming days.  The plan was to connect with some of the species that have been hanging around in the hope that something else might turn up en route.  The sun was shining and the winds were light suggesting that conditions were not conducive for a fall of migrants.   Wadbister - a lovely place looking over the Voe.  The king eider , a 2nd year, was eventually picked up distantly amongst a raft of around hundred common eider preening on a small platform.  There were three black guillemot there, a red-breasted merganser , and four wigeon . Aith - hoping for the rosy starling which drew a blank.  Three smart wheatear were present next to the bay and two chaffinch flew over.  Four arctic tern were feeding offshore. Quendale - an hour's drive south to this popular site. Two very brief views of red-breasted flycatcher in sycamor...

I never thought I'd see myself on one of these again.  My  last experience  of the legendary  Scilly Pelagics  was tortuous, the relentless lilting of the inky seas twisting my equilibrium into depositing the contents of my dignity into the deep blue depths of the south-western approaches. There was a nagging regret though of having missed out.  Firstly, on some of the finest target species these early autumn trips have to offer, and secondly, just the feeling of spending a few hours in one of the remotest locations in the UK. Dosed up on Sturgeron©, Seaband ginger capsules©, and my holistic pressure wristbands - I'd covered myself as much as I could in dignity protective remedies. It gets into your head - but the feelings of defeat can only be dispelled by the taste of victory. The Sapphire skippered by Joe Pender with the great Bob Flood trundles around 5 miles south west of the Isles of Scilly archipelago.  At this point, the engine is cut, and the ...