Writing this blog is making me feel seriously old! Way back in 1994, I was on the Isle of Scilly for may then annual adventure when news came though of two mega rare American birds in my home region of the northwest. One was a Greater Yellowlegs (in Cumbria) and a ship-hopping Song Sparrow at Seafoth Docks in Liverpool. I'd seen a UK 'legs before (Minsmere '85), and had been heavily stung by dashing off Scilly before so I was reluctant to leave (Eye-browed Thrush, Black- throated Thrush and Two-barred Greenish Warbler taught me that). So back in '94 I opted to stay on the paradise islands and hope the spadger would stick, safe in the knowledge that Scilly would inevitably deliver something amazing and I was bound to have the last laugh. I was wrong, and so my Yankee sparrow list remained pitifully low, in fact it still does.
Early in the week, Shetland had one of those crazy purple patches that only Shetland can. Four mega alerts in a matter of minutes - Marmora's warbler and Black faced bunting Unst, Crag Martin and Song Sparrow on Fair Isle. The latter is probably the least exciting of them to see, but by far the rarest and the only one I haven't seen before. More importantly it was my first opportunity to right my Scilly mistake. Twitch most definitely on. That said I couldn't go on day one due to a hospital appointment, but I remained reasonably relaxed as Fair Isle had now recorded it's fourth song sparrow and the previous three were all long stayers. The odds were favourable, and the extra time allowed me to put some effort in to find an alternative travel option. So, several hours sending messages and making calls and it was sorted - new and fully legit pilots were secured. We had to give this a go, but I admit to being a little apprehensive about whether it would work.
On Thursday 16th May we arrived at the airstrip just as news of the bird's presence came through. After some faffing three of us boarded our shiny new (1966) plane option with our two new friend pilots and off we went. It was a glorious day, making both journeys simply stunning as we crossed England, passing over the Scottish Cairngorms and then up the coast and outwards. Flight time was just under 4 hours and we landed safely (unlike yesterday's plane), which is always a relief on Fair Isle!
 |
| Frodsham wind farm |
 |
| The Cairngorms looking stunning. |
 |
| A slightly nervous time coming in to Fair Isle |
Suzanna kindly picked us up and minutes later we were in the Obs watching the feeder. The bird had apparently often disappeared for long periods, but thankfully for us the SONG SPARROW appeared quickly and showed very well for about 5 minutes, then a little while later on put in a similar appearance. Views were excellent and close. Job done, 1994 mistake banished and a very functional tick. I'll admit it's no classic and it was never going to be a favourite, but they all count (537 now I think!). Other birds at the Obs included Twites, Mealy Redpolls, Chiffchaff, (Shetland) Starling and House Sparrows.
 |
| Song sparrow. Worthy of a scary landing on Fair Isle’s infamously short airstrip, or indisputable evidence of our OCD insanity? |
 |
| Job done. I'll be back in October, if not before! |
With victory secured we spent half an hour watching seabirds by the Obs - puffins, great skuas, razorbills, guillemot, fulmar and shag all noted, before walking back to the airstrip accompanied by smart local wheatears (a disgraceful year tick for me!).
 |
| Male wheatear |
 |
| Rubbish puffin photo |
 |
| Black guillemot |
The flight home was equally stunning as the morning's, but somewhat more relaxed. We stopped for a quick refuel on Orkney, and managed to day tick rhino and zebra whilst over Knowsley safari park as a bonus too. I was back home by 9.15. Ideal.
No comments:
Post a Comment