Natural Selection

Booted Warbler by Roger Riddington

2022 – Update

In last year’s article I said I would update for any late December records, which seemed unlikely. As it turned out there was something else to mention – a flock of Bean Geese found by Kia James alongside the burn in December was the fifth record.

Whilst covering 2022 records the Subalpine Warbler seen by Mike and Kathy Young-Powell was accepted as Subalpine Warbler species not Eastern Subalpine Warbler as submitted.

The 2023 highlights

Note that these records are subject to acceptance. In most cases photographs exist and acceptance of the record is likely.

There were no firsts for Skerries during the year. The second records were both of species that would be expected to have occurred more regularly – Common Nightingale because of the lack of cover on the islands making them theoretically easier to detect than on other islands in the vicinity and White-billed Diver because they are becoming much more frequent on Shetland.

Common Nightingale – second record*

White-billed Diver – second record

Nightjar – third record

Booted Warbler – seventh record

Blyth’s Reed Warbler – seventh record

Greenish Warbler – twelfth record

Subalpine Warbler – thirteenth and fourteenth records**

* there are also two or three records of Nightingale sp.

** one Western, three Eastern, ten unassigned

Greenish Warbler by Stephen Dunstan

Coverage

Spring

Spring coverage was good by recent standards. There were birders staying on the isles from mid May to mid June. Shetland birders visited on some Fridays and Phi Harris brought his boat in on 18 June to bring the season to a very decent close when both Nightingale and Subalpine Warbler were seen.

There were some lean spells in the spring and other than the highlights above nationally scarce migrants were apparently limited to Grey-headed Wagtail and Bluethroat.

Autumn

Shetland birders day tripping in August had successes with the Booted Warbler but also Red-backed Shrike, Icterine Warbler, Barred Warbler, Wryneck and Common Rosefinch.

Visiting birders ensured there was very good coverage during September. Unfortunately in an autumn dominated by birds from the west, even on Shetland with two Yellow Warblers and a Blackburnian Warbler, it was always going to be relatively hard going on the easterly facing Skerries. 

There were up to four Little Buntings and 3 Barred Warblers which wat the best of it in terms of scarce migrant counts. Among relatively slim pickings other than the Blyth’s Reed Warbler the range of species in August were augmented by Yellow-browed Warblers and Hawfinches. There was a Corncrake on 29 September.

Little Bunting by Dave Bywater

No visiting birders were on the isles in October. The highlights from Shetland birders day tripping were a Richard’s Pipit on the 8th and a Siberian Lesser Whitethroat on the 9th.