Shetland 2021: Day 7

 14/10/2021 Wet'n'wild

Buoyed by our success and holding out some hope for more Orca action, we made the call to again head north to Unst. Perhaps we should have stayed on there? There was still those redpolls that Jono was keen to see too.

On the way we drove along South Nesting Bay on Mainland. A distant Otter, a few Great Northern Divers and Harbour Porpoises were initially all that was of note, and scanning on the roaring wind was tough. But shortly after arriving at the northern-end (Kirkabister) we picked-up a moulting adult White-billed Diver nicely close inshore. There have been two birds here recently and it is a regular spot almost year round. After multiple failed attempts in June and one earlier this week it was pleasing to connect with this bird. It's not the rarity it was once thought to be, but regardless they're wonderful birds.  

Banana-bill. the views were better than the photo!

We headed north again, catching the two ferries again and on to Unst in wet and windy conditions. 

Birding was definitely on the slow side. We looked for the redpolls in several favoured locations, but any self-respecting passerine would be hunkered low in the freezing gale. Around 15 Brambling and a lone Chiffchaff were at Valyee (the first of the trip, which says a lot), although I enjoyed the close small flock of Long-tailed ducks in Nor Wick bay, where bumped in to Mark and Linda Sutton (thanks for the tea!).

Simply because Jono or I had never been there, as the day closed out we drove up to Skaw, the most northerly occupied residence in the UK. I'm pretty certain I couldn't take this level of isolation, but then you have a private beach and no doubt some great birds would appear in the garden. 

'Skaa' is the most northerly home in the British Isles. Who lives in a house like this?

Wick of Skaw bay

Just down from Skaw is the flat headland of Lamba Ness. It's known to birders as a great place for buntings and larks, but will soon look very different. The Shetland Space Station received planning permission recently, now known as SaxaVord Spaceport, and will no doubt be transformative for the island and it's economy. I have mixed feelings about it - I can see the economic argument, but there will be a loss of wildness and possible impacts on wildlife. It's impossible to ignore that these islands lack jobs and opportunities, so it's likely to have been well received locally. 

Suspect noone will be birding on that headland anytime soon!

We headed back to Lerwick without the redpolls and, on reflection, the journey north hadn't been worth it this time. It felt a long and tiring journey back and I was keen not to return to Unst too soon.