TENGMALM'S OWL, SHETLAND!!!
19th February started out as a fairly routine day. It was a Tuesday so I was working away when I received a what's app message from Ashley Howe, it read "Ah fuck". This only meant one thing a good bird had been found. Initially I thought perhaps on a county level so I replied what? His reply was "Tengmalm's Owl" it was then my turn "fuck where?". Ash said "shetland!!" Oh ffs of all the places it had to be there. On my break I rang the other half asap and explained what had happened and to my dismay she replied "well you can't go this weekend as it's my week to work and you have Ellie." Joys of family life but I thought to myself ohwell you can't get them all and it may go anyway. Wednesday morning I was back at work and the message came through no sign. This eased my mind until Thursday morning when I received a text from Ian Wells it's back! Not an ideal scenario trying to program, set and operate machinery to a tight tolerance when all you can think about is a bird. By the end of the day I had come up with a quick rough plan and had already booked off Thursday and Friday albeit for the following week. Ian and my dad were keen and then Josh Jones messaged showing his interest. All we needed now was the Owl to stay put which it did until Saturday evening before a Sunday no show and early Monday also wasn't looking good until it was miraculously re found some 2-3kms away in Lea Gardens, Tresta. It was a tense week at work with all of us no doubt like me eyes glued to social media every morning for updates. Incredibly it stopped doing the 2 roost theory and stayed within the well vegetated garden at Tresta. Finally Friday had come and we set off from Southampton at 5am picking up Josh on route by the A34/M40 interchange. The journey up was very straight forward and we were in Aberdeen well before the scheduled ferry which therefore allowed us time to check the river for gulls although in hindsight we probably wish we hadn't bothered. We parked up the car in a nearby street which was free but also a one way system which I didn't realise so it was no surprise a Lorry was going nuts on his horn.
Initial views of the Tengmalm's Owl. We stayed with the bird for another hour or so before we headed down south to the Loch of Spiggie for the returning adult Pied Billed Grebe stopping off briefly for the Common Rosefinch which we dipped. I had seen the grebe recently back in October however now it looked a lot smarter in it's summer attire. Typically as it was in October very distant and was keeping a Little Grebe company. Adult Pied Billed Grebe, Loch of Spiggie Quickly moving on we headed north briefly stopping for the 2 Tundra Bean Geese in a flock of Greylag's and 1 pink foot at Leebitten, before going back into Lerwick stopping at Tesco's so Josh could stock up on some loaves. He bought 6 and we headed straight to the Shetland catch to try and lure in some 'white winter's. Immediately Josh picked up a 1w Iceland Gull sat on the water. You could tell Josh had done this stuff before perfectly slinging out a slice of hovis straight into the gulls which led to the Iceland promptly fucking off. Not what we had in mind. He continued but nothing was taking the bait other than the local Herrings which looked so much different to down here so presumably straight out of Iceland. 2 Tundra Bean in flight. Tundra bean geese Pink footed Goose right and wild Greylag left. Iceland Gull ploughing off! We then decided to check a bit further round and get to a more prominent vantage point before using the rest of the loaves. Again it was fairly disappointing as no 'white wingers' came in however in the calm waters amongst the moored boats we had superb views of 3 Black Guillemots (tysties as they are also known up here). 1 still in winter plumage. Sum plum Black Guillemots. As you can see I went abit mad photographing these beauties but they are stunning and my 1st time taking photo's of them in this plumage. We were now down to the last loaf so decided to pop back round to Shetland catch. Josh showing off his bread throwing skills again and eventually the Iceland did come back in, 2 in fact and both 1w birds. Unfortunately it was the last slice so we then chucked in whatever we had which ended up being some ring doughnuts. Incredibly a Fulmar came gliding in and took the doughnut and scranned it down. Not the typical food source you would associate with a tube nose but I'm sure he got some extra energy out of it. Some smart Kittiwakes were now showing well too. Always been partial to a Kittiwake. Iceland Gull Fulmar buzzing around after the ring doughnuts. 2cy Kittiwakes Ad Kittiwake Now for the main event which was to head back to Tresta for the evening show. Just as we were getting back to the car I spotted some Long-tailed Ducks coming in fairly close to the pier so I left the other guys and made a dash to the end hiding behind a container until they dived which then enabled me to get to the edge. They were down for a while but eventually popped up within range however I was frustrated as the pair I saw submerge ended up half the distance of the pics I managed but they all flew back off to mid channel. Long-tailed Ducks. Back to Tresta and there was already an assembled crowd in situ waiting for the Owl to show. Eventually at 17:50 it jumped out onto a bare branch allowing some great views however my camera was just not up to the task at this time and my efforts were in vein. Everyone was cheerful and happy with what they had just seen, me included so I was totally oblivious heading back to the car and missed it sat right next to the path. We then headed to our digs for the night which we were all impressed with and met up with Graham Jepson and Dave Aitken for a curry and reflect on what had been a top day. Early morning we awoke and headed straight back to Lea Gardens to try and re find the Owl again. There was a larger number than the day before and again it was no sign however whilst checking the top of the gardens Blackbirds started alarming again. I was pretty quick off the mark and was 1st there grilling the bush however nothing obvious was seen. I headed down the path looking as I went by and managed to pick it up very obscured in the top of another evergreen bush. In no time at all the word went out and a bit of a scrum was had but a lot of the people had arrived early this morning so all needed it. We then took advantage of the mass frog orgy. Literally they were everywhere and constantly having a good old time. After snapping a few we decided the views of the Owl wasn't going to get much better so we headed off up to kirkbister to try our luck with the White Billed Diver. Frogs just loving life although not all of them as we believe the owners 2 dogs had a munch on a few. On arrival at Kirkbister a Red Throated Diver and good numbers of Great Northern Divers were easily picked up along with some Guillemots and Black Guillemots. A little later Josh picked up a diver which seemed to be the White Billed but it was Incredibly distant and other than shape and jizz not a lot else could be seen. Most notable seemed to be the way it held it's head but at that distance we just couldn't be sure. So we drove round to get another vantage point and again Josh picked up the bird, this time a lot closer and after 15 mins it turned out to be the White Billed Diver. Every now and then against the darker water you could see the pale Ivory bill. A very very good spot and call on Host's behalf. Leaving there we decided to once again check out Lerwick and try again for the Common Rosefinch. We dipped again but saw a lot of House sparrows and Starlings. Back at Lerwick we saw much of the same but Josh picked up another Iceland Gull this time a 2nd or 3rd winter bird. (I'm not to good at ageing gulls :p) 2w/3w Iceland Gull. 3rd different individual. At this point we had seen multiple Twitter posts which seemed to show the Tengmalm's showing a lot better so with no 2nd thoughts we headed straight there. On arrival Josh had to sort out some goings on which involved a minority trampling the flower beds but personally I believe this was un intentional and only due to being excited about clapping eyes on a Tengmalm's. Going back to the spot that I found it in early that morning I couldn't quite believe my eyes! It was right out in the open albeit for a few twigs in front, however it was incredible views down to a few metres and when their dogs came over it put on a real show. It was totally oblivious to us birders but when the dog's came over it was alert and awake and this gave us the opportunity to pap it in all it's glory. It's eyes were incredible and it was everything and more than what we had dreamed of seeing. What with Tengmalm's Owls tainted history and the notorious 1983 Spurn bird being suppressed and no other twitchable birds EVER we were astonished at what we had seen. A truly MEGA bird and one that will never be forgotten. It's only early in 2019 but I have a feeling it's already bird of the year and it's certainly right up there in my favourite birds/twitches. Cost of the trip was pretty cheap considering the distance, boat over and back, fuel, digs and a cabin come to around £150!! It's certainly opened my eyes to twitching Shetland and no doubt I will again. Many thanks to the house owners for allowing access and to the finders and re finders of such as brilliant bird. Thanks also goes to Josh, my dad and Ian for sorting everything out. A top twitch in great company. Now some pics of the main bird. |
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