Dip & Tick on Shetland

Black Guillemot.

News broke last Sunday the 9th October of a Siberian Accentor on mainland Shetland which was the first record ever of this species in the Uk , i was very tempted by this as the first photos of this bird were very gripping to say the least , then news soon followed that there was also a Black Faced Bunting  at Gunnister on Bressay which would also be a new species for me and that made up my mind to go.

Black Guillemot.

I put plans into place to get there asap but the earliest time i could be on Shetland was not til Tuesday morning the 11th October , which i thought was really pushing my luck that either of the birds would still be present.

I picked up the hire car from Sumborough airport and made my way to the quarries where the Siberian Accentor had been delighting the crowds the two previous days and my worst fears were realized as the bird had done an over night bunk !!!!

Thats the life of a twitcher sadly , you win some and you lose some but all was not lost as positive news come from Bressay , the Black Faced Bunting was still present but elusive , so after waiting around in the slim hope that the Accentor might reappear  i decided to try my luck and hopefully at least get 1 new species from this trip.

Twite.

I joined the queue for the car ferry and was soon on Bressay and heading to Gunnister , i joined the assembled birders and it then became a waiting game , i eventually saw the Black Faced Bunting in flight on 3 occasions with one good view plus a brief view as it perched on a fence , sadly i never managed a photo but at least my long journey was rewarded with a new species.

Common Redstart.

A very long tiresome journey spread over 3 days but although i was disappointed not to see the Siberian Accentor i still enjoyed the trip and little did i know what would be in store by the end of the week !!!!