Shetland Red-necked Phalarope Breaks Longevity Record

The sight of a Red-necked Phalarope feeding along the shoreline of Loch of Funzie, Fetlar is one of the many highlights of our spring and summer tours, so we were delighted to hear of a record-breaking bird from the island! A phalarope bearing ring number NT14343 was ringed as a chick on the island in July 1996, and then photographed at Loch of Funzie in both June 2008 and June 2009. So, when last seen it was a month short of being 13 years old, which is a fantastic age for a long-distant migrant and a bird that spends a great deal of its winter out at sea. This is also a European longevity record, beating an Icelandic bird aged 9 years. Amazingly, the previous longevity record was held by NT14346 - a bird of the same brood of four as this one, which was last seen on Fetlar in 2003!

STOP PRESS - one single place for Focus on Shetland 12 - 19 June 2010

Due to a cancellation we have one space for a single traveller on our Focus on Shetland holiday running from 12 - 19 June 2010. Please e mail us for further information or refer to the 2010 trips for itinerary and prices.

Southern France in Winter 12 - 18 February 2010

Our annual winter visit to southern France proved to be another huge success with some outstanding birding, outstanding food and wine and some pretty good weather! The Camargue region, as always, certainly lived up to its reputation: stunning views of Penduline Tits plus Booted Eagles, lots of Hen and Marsh Harriers, Black-necked Grebes, a huge flock of 250 Red-crested Pochards, a gathering of over 100 Cranes, Night Herons, White Storks, plenty of Greater Flamingos, a flock of 96 Mediterranean Gulls plus lots of Avocets and Kentish Plovers. Nearby, the stony desert of La Crau produced Pin-tailed Sandgrouse plus a good number Little Bustards, at least 10 Richard's Pipits, several Woodlarks, Southern Grey Shrikes and an incredible assemblage of over 250 Calandra Larks at our usual site - a flock that probably represented the whole French population! The limestone massif of Les Alpilles yielded us with superb views of two Wallcreepers which sat out in full view for nearly an hour plus great looks at a pair of Eagle Owls - sat out in the open and flying around - at one of our sites. Nearby we also recorded at least 15 Alpine Accentors and Blue Rock Thrush. Our day trip to a very snowy Mount Ventoux yielded us with lots of showy Citril Finches, prolonged views of a male Black Woodpecker as it fed on the ground in front of us plus plenty of Crested Tits and Common Crossbills. In 2011 we will once again be running a winter holiday to the region and have set the dates for 11 - 17 February. More details are here.

Robert Kettel has kindly provided us with some of his images from the February 12 - 18 February 2010 departure:

STOP PRESS – BEARDED SEAL on Shetland

Shetland has been graced with the presence of a superb Bearded Seal. Hailing from the high Arctic, it is only the 12th record for the isles. Shetland Wildlife guide Jon Dunn describes his encounter with this stunning animal:

Saturday 20th February 2010 morning dawned bright and clear in Shetland – a fresh covering of snow lay on the ground, and looking across the water to Yell conditions looked ideal for wildlife watching and photography. I was heading to Yell to look for a flock of Bean Geese that had been seen there the day before, and would be making the most of the exceptional weather conditions to see what else I could find while out in the field.

A stop at one of "our" regular Otter sites on Mainland was immediately fruitful, with an adult female fishing just offshore. The water was so flat I could track her progress underwater by the trail of bubbles rising to the surface, and I stayed watching her from the shore for an hour. Sadly my camera was not ready for the moment she surfaced beneath a breeding-plumaged Black Guillemot – the bird realised she was coming at the last possible moment and flung itself into the air just before she breached. I couldn't tell whether she was really trying to take the guillemot or was just playing, but the bird was taking no chances. A great photo opportunity missed though!

By the time I arrived on Yell I had watched 3 different Otters, so the day was already a success. I could find no sign of the Bean Geese, so decided to head to Mid Yell for a speculative look for a Bearded Seal that had been seen for one day in early January, and again on one day just a week ago. The tide was high, and I hoped the seal, if still in the area, would be hauled out basking in the sunshine.

My luck was in – no sooner had I arrived at the head of the voe than I saw a large dark seal with luxuriant whiskers on the shore not far away. I took my time to work my way closer to it, and then spent two hours revelling in prolonged views of a new mammal species for me. The Bearded Seal spent this time dozing in the sun, periodically waking up to stretch, look around, and then fall back to sleep once more.

I left as quietly as I had come, delighted that once again Shetland had produced the goods in terms of a spectacular wildlife encounter!

Up Helly Aa 2010 - a huge success. We are now open for 2011 bookings!

Once again, our groups recorded a superb array of wildlife. The weather was reasonably kind to us and ornithological highlights for our groups included several Tundra Bean Geese, Merlin, lots of Great Northern and Red-throated Divers, Slavonian Grebes, a couple of Great Crested Grebes (rare here!), displaying Red Grouse, lots of Long-tailed Ducks and Purple Sandpipers. Mammal buffs were rewarded with awesome views of at least five Otters at our 'stake outs', including one that hauled itself out and ate its prey in full view! Also several brilliant-white Arctic Hares and lots of Grey and Common Seals. The Up Helly Aa festival itself was amazing. During the morning we witnessed the procession as 'Guizer Jarl' Rae Simpson - portraying Sigurd 'Snake-Eye- Ragnarsson - led his squad through Lerwick and exhibited the 2010 galley 'Avie-Jane' for the first time. In the evening we all had a grandstand view of the main event - the torchlit procession involving nearly a thousand 'guizers', culminating in the burning of the galley. Fantastic! In 2011, Up Helly Aa and Shetland's Winter Wildlife will run from Saturday 22nd - Wednesday 26th January. As this holiday is extremely popular - and we already have bookings from folk who could not join us for our sell-out 2010 departure - we advise advance reservations to be made as soon as possible. To guarantee your place call us on 01950 422483 or book here.

 

 

 

 

 

Focus on Shetland 2011

Our three scheduled 2010 Focus on Shetland departures sold like hot cakes but that's probably not what you wanted to read if you are hoping to book! BUT...the good news is we have now opened up our 2011 dates and they are available for booking. The dates are:

• Saturday 4th - Saturday 11th June 2011
• Saturday 11th - Saturday 18th June 2011
• Saturday 18th - Saturday 25th June 2011

Given the demand for 2010 trips, we would advise bookings to be made as soon as possible. If you still wish to travel to Shetland in 2010, remember that we also offer bespoke photographic solutions for the amateur and pro-photographer. Many photographers often have 'gaps' in their collection so why not take advantage of our expert local knowledge and let us assist you in getting the images YOU want! Some of the best photographic opportunities are right here on our own doorstep, in the south Mainland and we can also arrange packages to the north isles of Fetlar, Yell and Unst. So photograph the best birds with the best RESIDENT photographic guides - all organised for you by Shetland's number one wildlife holiday company. For more information on our bespoke photographic trips please click here.

Autumn 2010 holidays selling like hot cakes!

We are already very busy already for Autumn 2010 - our new-style Fair Isle holidays have all sold out and to meet demand we've created a second Autumn Gold trip to run from 25 September - 2 October; we currently have just a few vacancies on this trip and the 2 - 9 October departure so book early!

Visit Shetland 2009 Photo Competition

The winners of the Visit Shetland 2009 Photo Competition, sponsored by Shetland Wildlife are now online and can be viewed here. The winning prize is a 3-day trip with Shetland Wildlife worth £425.00! Congratulations to Davide D’acunto for his stunning portrait of a summer-plumage Golden Plover and well done to Alexandre Boudet and Andrew Thompson for their second and third placings. The 2010 competition will be announced soon!

Autumn 2009

We have had another superb autumn and once again our series of trips coincided with the best weather and the best birds! Although Fair Isle Bird Observatory was closed for re-building, we operated two trips to Fair Isle (staying in the fantastic guest houses at the Auld Haa and South Lighthouse) and also ran two weeks based here in Shetland. So four magical bird-filled weeks! Heading the cast was Britain's third-ever Taiga Flycatcher which turned up on Fetlar. Originally identified as a Red-breasted Flycatcher (no shame in that), the bird was fortunately re-identified and hung around long enough for both Autumn Gold groups to see this eastern gem. Hot on the flycatcher's heels for sheer rarity value was a stunning Veery that graced Whalsay . This diminutive North American thrush was a real skulker, but thanks to the friendliness of the local residents - and our guides getting the news first - we were rewarded with superb views. Like the flycatcher, it also hung around to allow both Autumn Gold groups to see this very special bird. Other great birds included Blackpoll Warbler, River Warbler, Blyth's Reed Warbler, Red-flanked Bluetail, Western Bonelli's Warbler, three Arctic Warblers, two Olive-backed Pipits, two Pechora Pipits, a couple of Short-toed Larks, a Siberian Stonechat, three Hornemann's Arctic Redpolls, Rustic Bunting, three Little Buntings, Spotted Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Surf Scoter, American Golden Plover and Ring-necked Duck! We hardly needed a supporting cast but other goodies included a couple of Richard's Pipits, Bluethroat , Barred, Yellow-browed and Marsh Warblers, Red-breasted Flycatcher, plenty of Snow and Lapland Buntings plus several Common Rosefinches. Shetland really is THE place to witness autumn migration and get to see some stunning birds - so join us in 2010. We have five trips on offer:

NEW STYLE Fair Isle Autumn Migration

• Saturday 18th September - Sat 25th September
• Saturday 2nd October - Saturday 9th October
• Saturday 9th October - Saturday 16th October

Autumn Gold

• Saturday 25th September - Saturday 2nd October
• Saturday 2nd October - Saturday 9th October

Most of our guests tend to come for two weeks (qualifying for a 5% discount off both trips) and thus the following combinations are possible:

• Fair Isle Saturday 18th September - Sat 25th September + Autumn Gold 25th September - Saturday 2nd October
• Autumn Gold Saturday 25th September - Saturday 2nd October + Fair Isle Saturday 2nd October - Saturday 9th October
• Autumn Gold Saturday 25th September - Saturday 2nd October + Autumn Gold Saturday 2nd October - Saturday 9th October
• Autumn Gold Saturday 2nd October - Saturday 9th October + Fair Isle Saturday 9th October - Saturday 16th October

In addition to the above holidays, should you wish to spend time birding or photographing with our expert guides at any time during the autumn or have a 'DIY' holiday, please e mail us with your requirements and dates. We can source accommodation for all budgets and as we are the only ATOL bonded wildlife holiday company in Shetland, we'll book your flights to and from Shetland (plus any internal flights to Fair Isle, Out Skerries or Foula) and we'll also pass on rarity news as it reaches us. So see the best birds with the best birders - all organised for you by Shetland's number one and ONLY full-time professional wildlife holiday company!

 

 

Fair Isle Autumn 2010

Our new-look trip to Fair Isle has proved so popular that we have added another autumn trip in 2010 to run from 2nd - 9th October. Click here for itinerary and prices. We currently have just a few places left on the 18th September - 25th September departure but the 9th - 16th October has now sold out. Our additional departure also means that you can combine our Autumn Gold holiday running from 25th September - 2nd October with the Fair Isle trip - and get a 5% discount off the total cost. Remember our trips to this magical island are now limited to just five travellers to ensure the ultimate Fair Isle experience! Incidentally, our 2010 Spring trip to Fair Isle has also sold out and we'd be happy to take provisional reservations for 2011.

STOP PRESS - Additional Winter Pho-tour to Finland & Arctic Norway 20 - 27 March 2010

It remains as popular as ever, so it was no surprise that our exclusive winter pho-tour to Finland and Arctic Norway with Hugh Harrop from 13 - 20 March sold out! We have therefore arranged an additional week to meet demand and we are now taking bookings for 20 - 27 March 2010. Read all about this awesome trip here. Please e mail us or call our office on 01950 422483 if you require any further information.

 

STOP PRESS - one single place for Fair Isle Autumn Migration 10 - 17 October 2009

Due to a cancellation we have one space for a single traveller on our Fair Isle Autumn Migration holiday running from10 - 17 October 2009. Please e mail us for further information or refer to the 2010 trip for itinerary and prices.

Sounds of Shetland

Hugh has been busy since April recording some of the sounds of Shetland birds for a new CD and multimedia guide. Click here and navigate down the page to listen to some truly beautiful sounds.

STOP PRESS - AMAZING ENCOUNTER WITH KILLER WHALES!

Our last 3-day Shetland Experience trip of the summer season started on an absolute high, with an awesome encounter with Killer Whales. Shetland Wildlife staff naturalist guide Jon Dunn takes up the story:

9.30am - we've arrived in Lerwick to get ready for our boat trip to Noss onboard Dunter III which begins at 10am. My mobile is in a temporary black-spot, so I am blissfully unaware that Hugh is frantically trying to call and text me to say there is a pod of Killers off Bressay! While my mobile may be incommunicado, others are not and Hugh reaches the crew of Dunter III. Within minutes the crew have found me, broken the exciting news, and we are all onboard and motoring out into Bressay Sound.

Almost immediately I pick up the unmistakeable profile of four Killer Whale fins working their way south along the Bressay shore. Dunter's skipper, Alan Longmuir, is an expert at watching cetaceans at sea unobtrusively, and we head down the Sound before cutting into the Bressay shore some way ahead of the Killer Whales, at a known Common Seal haul-out - now we can wait quietly for the whales to to come to us, with the chance of some high drama as they hunt.

We don't have to wait long. In no time, we pick them up coming towards us, just a few metres from where the waves lap the rocks of the shore. Three Common Seals watch nervously as the whales pass close by, but overcome their instinct to take to the water at the first sign of danger and remain safely out of reach. With the whales past us, we repeat our flanking manoeuvre and get ahead of them once more. Time and again we watch them pass us, cruising slowly south, and hunting seals in 'stealth mode'. They are close enough for us to hear the 'whoosh' as they exhale through their blowholes.

We watch them ambush a Grey Seal bobbing in the water oblivious to the danger coming around the corner behind it. A pair of Killer Whales surface alongside the seal, surge forwards at it… the seal dives, followed closely by them… long seconds pass… and they resurface some way away. A lucky escape for the seal.

Our final moment with them is one to cherish - they finally seem to notice the boat, and swim directly at us, diving right in front of the port side. From up on top of the boat I can see them underwater, circling us slowly. Every now and again they roll on their sides, looking up at the boat above them. Curiosity seemingly satisfied, they finally breach on our starboard side, and continue their slow passage along the south shore of Bressay. Stunned silence for a moment onboard Dunter III, and broad smiles of disbelief - Killer Whale encounters come no better or more intimate than this.

A few pictures below, courtesy of trip participants Graham Mouat & Christophe Pasquier.

We have had many spectacular encounters with Killer Whales this summer thanks to our network of colleagues and friends. Although they are far from guaranteed, our series of three and seven-day trips offer the best opportunities by far to see these incredible animals.

 

 

Shetland Spring & Summer 2009 - the story thus far...

What a superb Spring and Summer thus far! All appears to be going extremely well for our internationally important populations of seabirds and we've had countless sunny days with flat-calm seas. Magic! May and June have proved to be outstanding for wildlife observations. We've had awesome encounters with several pods of Killer Whales and from photo identification work currently being undertaken, its nice to see that some of the animals are returning year-after-year to our shores. We've also seen several pods of White-sided Dolphins on our boat trips along with Harbour Porpoise, Risso's Dolphins a handful of Minke Whales. Otters are also putting on a fine show for us at our 'stake-outs' and are providing us with great views of these highly prized animals - we have maintained a 100% success rate for every group thus far in 2009! All of our breeding seabirds are here in magnificent numbers - Puffins, Black Guillemots, Bonxies, Arctic Skuas, Arctic and Common Terns, Shags and Gannets to name a few and the Mousa Broch Storm Petrels never cease to delight and inspire. We are also enjoying Red-throated Divers in their breeding dress and we've also found several summer-plumaged Great Northern Divers. Red-necked Phalaropes are proving a little trickier than usual on Fetlar but our patience has been rewarded with some fine shows. Other breeding waders such as Black-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Dunlin, Snipe, Redshanks and Curlew have been seen on all trips and the sound of a 'rasping' male Corncrake has kept us up late to hear him 'sing' - as has a 'whipping' male Spotted Crake. As always, we connected with all the major rarities and scarcities and our spring birding holidays here in Shetland and Fair Isle hauled a bag-load of great sightings. Black Ducks, Lesser Scaup, Franklin's Gull, Laughing Gull, White-tailed Eagle, several subalpine Warblers (one of which proved to be a Moltonis - the second-ever for Britain!) and a Red-throated Pipit were highlights. We've also seen lots of Bluethroats, Red-backed Shrikes, several Wrynecks, a couple of Golden Orioles, a Honey Buzzard, a Nightjar (rare here!), several Marsh and Icterine Warblers, a handsome male Common Rosefinch and a superb summer-plumaged Curlew Sandpiper. So once again, more species of birds, mammals and wild flowers than any other operator. And with 16 years of experience, it's little wonder that we remain the NUMBER ONE CHOICE!

 

 

 

 

Poland in Spring 9 - 16 May 2009

Another superb week with some superb birds! In Bialowieza Forest we once again recorded all nine species of woodpecker including White-backed, Three-toed, Middle-spotted, Black, Grey-headed, Lesser Spotted and Wryneck. We also saw lots of Icterine and Barred Warblers, Thrush Nightingales, Collared Flycatchers, Hawfinches, plenty of Lesser spotted Eagles, Hobbies, Honey Buzzards and Black Storks. Nearby at Siemianwka Lake we had superb views of a pair of Citrine Wagtails and also found a pale morph Arctic Skua! Great Snipes were seen at our usual lek site and what a superb show they put on for us at dusk. Once again we also managed to find a superb Roller, which is now a critically endangered breeding species in Poland. Biebrza marshes yielded us with great looks at Aquatic, River and Savi's Warblers, Greater spotted, Lesser spotted and White-tailed Eagles, Montagu's Harriers, singing Spotted Crakes and Corncrakes, masses of Ruff, Wood Sandpipers and Spotted Redshanks, Temminck's Stint, White-spotted Bluethroats, Ortolan Buntings and truly staggering numbers of White-winged Black, Black and Whiskered Terns. In 2010, we will run this holiday from 8 - 15 May and will also run an additional week from 15 - 22 May if demand warrants - which it almost certainly will! As always, we advise early reservations so please e mail us to provisionally book or ask for further details.

Hungary 2010

We have just secured two spring and two autumn weeks with our ground agents in Hungary. In both periods we will be offering a dedicated photo-week plus a follow on general birding / wildlife week. More details will follow soon.

Finland & Norway - March 2009 Winter Pho-tour

Our now legendary photography trip to Lapland and Arctic Norway proved to be another huge success. Our guest house feeding station in Lapland provided us with outstanding opportunities once again with the normally secretive Pine Grosbeak - at least a dozen birds were coming to the station along with Siberian Jays, Siberian Tits, Willow Tits, Common and Arctic Redpolls. Continuing into northern Norway and basing ourselves in the Varanger region we concentrated primarily on seabirds and sea duck, with an emphasis on capturing the two 'rarer' Eiders. In fact, we found something even rarer in the shape of an adult Kumlien's Gull - only the 16th-ever record for Norway! Excellent weather allowed us to take full advantage of the sea conditions and we managed no less than four boat trips to get in amongst the birds. Opportunities from land were also outstanding and the group pretty much all secured stunning shots of King, Steller's and Common Eiders, Long-tailed Ducks, Black, Common and Brunnich's Guillemots, Shags, Cormorant, Kittiwakes, Purple Sandpipers and both Iceland and Glaucous Gull. As in previous years, lady-luck was certainly on our side and during our quest to find a flock of several thousand King Eiders, we encountered a stunning pod of 6 - 8 Killer Whales! One of the animals was a calf estimated to be just a few feet in length and thus probably only around a month old! Four of the group took our extension to photograph Golden Eagles in Kuusamo region but despite two long days in the hides, the birds just didn't cooperate as well as we'd have wished. This was probably due to roaming birds being present in the territory of the 'usual' pair - that's wildlife photography for you! On the flip-side we had truly awesome opportunities to photograph a hunting Great Grey Owl near Tornio. To witness this giant owl of the North was a real treat and a memory that we will all savour for a very long time!

In 2010 we will run this holiday from 13 -20 March and we will also offer a 4 - 5 day post-tour trip to photograph Golden Eagles, Dippers and Black Grouse in Eastern Finland. This trip has sold out since its inception four years ago and we already have a couple of folk booked for 2010. As always, e mail us to provisionally book or ask for further details. A pho-tour wouldn't be complete without some photographs so a few of Hugh's are presented below and you can click here for an online slide show to show the work of all our photographers. Hugh also managed a nice selection of sound recordings and has produced a compilation mp3 that features (in play order) Golden Eagle, Pine Grosbeak, Dipper, Common Redpoll, Northern Bullfinch and Siberian Tit, Raven and Great Spotted Woodpecker. Click here to listen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Southern France in Winter 14 - 20 February 2009

Our annual winter visit to southern France provided another spectacular haul of birds, some superb sunny weather, a stiff 'mistral' and of course, outstanding food and wine! The Camargue region, as always, certainly lived up to its reputation: once again we saw France's second-ever Green Heron (the returning bird from 2006/2007), we had good looks at a singing Moustached Warbler, stunning views of Penduline Tits plus Booted Eagles, lots of Hen and Marsh Harriers, Night Herons, White Storks, Mediterranean Gull, Avocets and a couple of male White-spotted Bluethroats. Nearby, La Crau produced incredible views of Pin-tailed Sandgrouse plus Little Bustards, Southern Grey Shrike, Little Owls and Dartford Warbler. Perhaps the most noteworthy observation here was an incredible assemblage of over 150 Calandra Larks at our usual site. The limestone massif of Les Alpilles yielded us with superb views of a Wallcreeper which sat out in full view for over 30 minutes plus displaying Bonelli's Eagles, Alpine Accentors and Blue Rock Thrush. Our day trip to a very snowy Mount Ventoux yielded us with lots of showy Citril Finches, incredible views of a male Black Woodpecker, plenty of Crested Tits plus Marsh Tits, Common Crossbills and Bramblings. In 2010 we will once again be running a winter holiday to the region and have set the dates for 12 - 18 February. More details are here.

Fair Isle Spring & Autumn 2009

Well, OK, we said we wouldn't be going but try keeping us away! We are delighted to have secured a small amount of accommodation to run three trips to Fair Isle in Spring and Autumn 2009. All will be combined with a few days on Shetland Mainland. We have a Spring Migration trip operating from Saturday 16th May - Saturday 23rd May and two Autumn Migration trips running from Saturday 19th September - Saturday 26th September and from Saturday 10th October - Saturday 17th October. The Spring trip can be combined with Spring into Shetland the week before, or Ultimate Shetland the week after. To allow maximum flexibility during September and October, one can also join our legendary Autumn Gold holidays either side of our Fair Isle trips. Our Fair Isle holidays are limited to just 4 or 5 travellers so we would advise bookings to be made as soon as possible. Remember that by booking a combined holiday you automatically qualify for a 5% discount! So see the best birds with the best birders - all organised for you by Shetland's number one wildlife holiday company.

Up Helly Aa 2009 - a huge success. We are now open for 2010 bookings!

Once again, our groups recorded a superb array of wildlife. The weather was kind to us and highlights included an adult drake King Eider, a Tundra Bean Goose, 3 European White-fronted Geese, Hen Harrier, Merlin, lots of Great Northern and Red-throated Divers, Slavonian Grebes, displaying Red Grouse, good numbers of Iceland and Glaucous Gulls, lots of Long-tailed Ducks, and Purple Sandpipers. Mammal buffs were rewarded with awesome views of at least five Otters at our 'stake outs', including one that we watched for 30 minutes taking 11 fish! Also several brilliant-white Arctic Hares and lots of Grey and Common Seals. The weather was brilliant for the Up Helly Aa festival itself and we all had a grandstand view of the procession. In 2010, Up Helly Aa and Shetland's Winter Wildlife will run from Saturday 23rd - Wednesday 27th January. As this holiday is extremely popular - and we already have bookings from folk who could not join us for our sell-out 2009 departure - we advise advance reservations to be made as soon as possible. To guarantee your place call us on 01950 422483 or book here.

 

 

 

 

Winter Pho-tours in Shetland

New and exclusive to Shetland Wildlife! We are delighted to bring you the option of a tailor-made winter break to complement our successful and busy summer photographic holidays. Led by award-winning photographer and Shetland Wildlife boss Hugh Harrop (who is also the most widely published wildlife photographer in Shetland by a mile!), we use a unique combination of local knowledge and Hugh's camera skills to help you get the very best winter images from this northern land.

There is no set itinerary as such, and we'll create the trip around your specific requirements and chosen subjects. We would recommend a four or five day trip anytime from mid November - early April and over the course of these days we would expect to photograph a wide variety of subjects including:

• excellent opportunities for Otter (involves two nights stay on Fetlar)
• family parties of Whooper Swans
• flocks of Long-tailed Ducks and Common Eiders
• Great Northern Diver in winter plumage
• Black Guillemots in winter plumage
• Glaucous and Iceland Gulls
• Purple Sandpipers and Turnstones
• hauled out and swimming Grey & Common Seals
• Twite and Snow Buntings at our baited sites
• dramatic winter sunsets
• chance of the Aurora Borealis
• chance to photograph Up Helly Aa (in late January 2009)

Interested? Please provide us with an idea of what subjects you'd like to tackle and we'll provide a guideline itinerary and a price. You can e mail this to us or give Hugh a call direct on 01950 422483. So photograph the best wildlife with the best photographic guide - all organised for you by Shetland's number one wildlife photography company!

STOP PRESS - 2008 Shetland Autumn Migration trips produce a bagful of goodies!

Local knowledge is everything and we excelled in September 2008! In planning our series of autumn migration trips, we always try to choose what we regard as the best period - and we tend to get it right every year! Highlights of a truly incredible period at the end of September, with our three groups based on Fair Isle, Foula and Shetland Mainland produced a mouth-watering selection of birds that included:

• Britain's third-ever Brown Flycatcher
• Britain's eighth-ever Siberian Thrush
• Sykes's Warbler
• Eastern Olivaceous Warbler
• Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler
• Paddyfield Warbler
• Red-flanked Bluetail
• TWO Blyth's Reed Warblers
• TWO Lanceolated Warblers found by Shetland Wildlife guide Micky!
• Arctic Warbler
• Western Bonelli's Warbler
• TWO American Golden Plovers together found by Shetland Wildlife boss Hugh!
• 45 Yellow-browed Warblers in one day on Fair Isle!

Plus Thrush Nightingale, Red-throated Pipit. Wryneck, Little Bunting, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Honey Buzzard, Bluethroat, Rose-coloured Starling, Osprey, Common Rosefinch, Red-backed Shrike, Marsh Warbler, Buff-breasted and Pectoral Sandpipers, Siberian Stonechat and Lapland Bunting!

It is hardly surprising that we are already getting busy for Autumn 2009 and with Fair Isle Lodge & Bird Observatory closing for complete rebuild in 2009 (you can contribute by way of a donation here) we will be running two trips to Foula and also two Autumn Gold weeks. Our Foula holidays are limited to just 4 travellers so we would advise bookings to be made as soon as possible and remember that if you also book an Autumn Gold trip, you automatically qualify for a 5% discount off the total cost!

So see the best birds with the best birders - all organised for you by Shetland's number one wildlife holiday company.

 

 

 

Autumn 2008 Gets Off to a Great Start!

Autumn has once again kicked off with some superb wildlife. Heading the bill was a pod of 4 Killer Whales which the Shetland Wildlife team photographed as they cruised from Gulberwick to Mousa Sound. It was very much a case of déjà vu as this was a pod we photographed several times during the glorious summer of 2006 doing pretty much the same thing - hunting seals incredibly close to shore. They are also the same pod that are featured on our 2008 brochure! Late July to mid August saw a truly impressive arrival - at least 45 Two-barred Crossbills on Shetland and Fair Isle, with a 'flock' of 18 birds at Sumburgh head mid month! Hugh has written a paper on this notable event and will be published in 'Birding World' in mid September. A trickle of rarities from mid August to early September was headed by Paddyfield, Booted and Melodious Warblers, Citrine Wagtail, Ortolan Bunting. A nice 'fall' in early September brought lots of common migrants and quite a few Wrynecks and Barred Warblers. Good numbers of migrant waders were also at the usual hotspots and the moth traps yielded some nice surprises, including a stunning Convolvulus Hawkmoth.

 

Autumn Birding in Shetland 2008

Our Autumn Gold and Fair Isle Autumn Migration holidays are filling rapidly but if our dates don't fit in with your plans or if you prefer a more independent approach to your birding and rare bird photography prospects, we are also offering tailor-made packages for birders and photographers wishing to sample the delights of autumn birding here in Shetland. As an ATOL bonded business we can book your inter-island flights to Foula, Fair Isle and Out Skerries and also book your accommodation and hire car. Should you wish us to provide a guide - no problem! Whether it's for a few hours in between flights, for a day before you head off to or return from Fair Isle, or for a week, our crack team of expert staff birders will all be on hand in September and October to guide you to all the migrant hotspots and the latest rarities. So see the best birds with the best birders - all organised for you by Shetland's number one wildlife holiday company.

A new era for Fair Isle Bird Observatory

We were informed by Fair Isle Bird Observatory trustees on 11 July 2008 that the observatory would not be accepting bookings for 2009. It is extremely likely that work on the new observatory will commence next year and the decision has been a long-time coming for one reason or another. With a high degree of uncertainty still in the air above Fair Isle, Shetland Wildlife will now switch its Fair Isle-based birdwatching holidays to Foula.

Shetland Wildlife has run more holidays and taken more people to Fair Isle since 1996 than any other eco-business and our input currently equates to around 6.5% of annual observatory turnover. In 2008 our input will rise to nearly 9% of turnover based on figures published on the Shetland Islands Council web site. This also means that in 2008, Shetland Wildlife is estimated to account for nearly 5% of the total island input. If there was ever a case for how eco-tourism can impact a remote community, this is it!

For those of you with an interest in how the new build project will be administered, Shetland Islands Council have made a feasibility study and a funding proposal document available for public viewing.

Sounds from Extremadura

We were delighted to receive a fantastic CD of bird song that was recorded on our recent April trip to Extremadura by Shetland Wildlife regulars Fred and Win Bridges. We have uploaded a few of our favourites in MP3 format - we just love the dawn chorus recording - so click here to have a listen to each species individually. We have also stitched all the songs together so for five minutes of truly evocative listening click here. Remember we are running another trip to this beautiful region from April 18 - 25 2009 so if you enjoy these sounds, you'll certainly enjoy the sights! Thanks Fred and Win!

Shetland Spring & Summer 2008 - the story thus far...

What a superb Spring and Summer we are having. As we enter July, the months of May and June proved to be outstanding once again. Topping the bill were several awesome encounters with at least two pods of Killer Whales. From photo identification work undertaken by Shetland Wildlife, we have determined that one of the pods is the same as that recorded in August 2007 - which we watched chasing and eating Eider ducks! Other cetaceans have been thin on the ground, which is quite normal for May and June, but we've managed a few sightings of Minke Whale and continue to see Harbour Porpoise almost daily. No doubt July and August will prove fruitful for White-beaked, White-sided and Risso's Dolphins. Otters are putting on a fine show and our 'stake-outs' are providing us with great views of these highly prized animals - on two separate occasions we saw no less than seven Otters in a week and have maintained a 100% success rate for every group! All of our breeding seabirds are here - Puffins, Black Guillemots, Bonxies, Arctic Skuas, Arctic and Common Terns, Shags and Gannets to name a few and the Mousa Broch Storm Petrels continue to delight. We also enjoying Red-throated Divers in their breeding dress and we've also found several summer-plumaged Great Northern Divers. Red-necked Phalaropes are performing well on Fetlar along with other breeding waders such as Whimbrel, Dunlin, Snipe, Redshanks and Curlew. As a bonus, three Corncrakes were present in the south Mainland in the first half of June. As always, we connected with all the major rarities and scarcities and our birding groups here in Shetland and Fair Isle have had a bag-load of great sightings. Britain's first-ever Citril Finch graced Fair Isle in early June and other notable birds included King Eider, Surf Scoter, White-billed Diver, Common Crane, Temminck's Stint, Red-footed Falcon, Tawny Pipit, several Wrynecks and Bluethroats, a couple of Thrush Nightingales, both Marsh and Icterine Warblers, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Golden Orioles, lots of Red-backed Shrikes and both Rustic and Black-headed Bunting. Phew! So once again, more species of birds, mammals and wild flowers than any other operator. And with 15 years of experience, its little wonder that we remain the NUMBER ONE CHOICE!

 

 

Autumn Rare & Scarce Bird Photography: Fair Isle & Shetland

Ace, award-winning photographer and Shetland Wildlife boss Hugh Harrop is currently in the process of devising and operating dedicated rare and scarce bird photographic holidays in autumn. Although still at the planning stage, the trip would entail time spent on Fair Isle and Shetland (mainland and outlying islands). Many of you will be familiar with the plethora of stunning images Hugh creates every autumn for top journals like Birding World, British Birds, Dutch Birding and Bird Watching, so if you fancy a week or two learning the tricks of the trade and fancy bumping up your stock with a good selection of scarce migrants, please e mail us with your expression of interest and we'll send you details when they are finalised. As a taster, please refer to Hugh's 2007 rare and scarce gallery by clicking here.

UPDATED Shetland Bird Checklist as of 15 June 2008

The most up to date checklist of Shetland birds is available for download by clicking here. Lets hope we have another addition in the near future!

'British Birds' Bird Photograph of the Year 2008

We were delighted to learn that Shetland Wildlife field director Hugh Harrop and our guide for all trips to Finland and Norway, Harri Tavetti, have been awarded 9th, 7th and 2nd places respectively in the 'BB' Bird Photograph of the Year 2008 competition. Their entries of Little Stints, Arctic Seaduck and Red-necked Phalarope in flight obviously grabbed the judges' attention in this increasingly tough competition which, in 2008, attracted more entries than ever before. This is the fourth short-listed finish in four consecutive years for Hugh, who came fifth in 2007 and third in 2006. Well done Hugh and Harri and here's hoping for a win in 2009!

Finland & Arctic Norway: 24th May - 6th June 2008

Another completely full holiday for us and another bag load of goodies! The birding in May and June 2008 was truly awesome - and so was the weather! Highlights in the forests included some wonderful encounters with the 'big five' owls - we saw two Great Grey Owls at the nest and also found a superb male out in the open which posed for photographs just a few metres above our heads! We were fortunate enough to visit a recently found Hawk Owl nest site and were privileged to watch chicks being ringed as the adults perched above us. A midnight vigil provided stunning views of a Tengmalm's Owl as it brought a vole to the nest and a Pygmy Owl sat out in the open for nearly twenty minutes as it announced its territory. A delightful pair of Ural Owls also gave us great views as they tended to their chicks in the loft of a disused barn. Other deep forest and forest-fringe highlights included Hazel Hen, rogue male Capercaillie, Siberian Jay, Siberian Tit, Wryneck, Black Grouse, Ortolan, Little and Rustic Buntings, Honey Buzzard, Golden Eagle, Great Grey Shrike, Goshawk, Three-toed and Black Woodpeckers and Waxwings. Waders were plentiful and we found a super flock of 13 Broad-billed Sandpipers just outside our hotel in Oulu and we were also rewarded with amazing views of a very rare Finnish breeder displaying over our heads - Marsh Sandpiper. The myriad of lakes supported Smews, Velvet Scoters, Black-throated Divers, Taiga Bean Geese, breeding Cranes, Red-necked Grebes and Little Gulls seemed to be everywhere! As we headed north into Lapland the diversity of birds just got better and better - singing Jack Snipe, velvety Spotted Redshanks, a couple of Pine Grosbeaks giving views down to a few metres, Arctic Redpoll, dapper male Red-spotted Bluethroats and several Dotterels running around our feet. Up in the barren but beautiful tundra zones of Arctic Norway we watched a superb Gyrfalcon cruising along its cliff top domain as a male Ring Ouzel vied for attention. We watched Long-tailed Skuas displaying in the air at a million miles an hour, we compared Rock and Willow Ptarmigan, piebald Snow Buntings sang from the boulder screes, Temminck's Stints trilled all around us, Ruff lekked everywhere and we had Lapland Buntings, Red-necked Phalaropes, Red-throated Pipits and Shore Larks sometimes running around our feet. Offshore we located stunning drake Steller's Eiders and 'battleships' of birds in the form of many White-billed Divers. We marvelled at a passage of nearly 100 Pomarine Skuas heading east to Siberia, we enjoyed awesome views of waders such as Bar-tailed Godwit, Knot, Little Stint and Sanderling in their resplendent summer plumage and had great views of 'tundra' Bean Geese. White-tailed Eagles seemed to be everywhere along the coast and a visit to Hornoya provided us with thousands of seabirds including excellent views of another special arctic denizen - Brunnich's Guillemot. Mammals also featured and we enjoyed great views of Moose, Arctic Hare, Stoat, Harbour Porpoise and we got so close to a male Barded Seal, we could smell its breath! We will run this trip in 2009 from 23 May - 5 June 2009. As always we advise early reservations to be made so please e mail us for further information. Shetland Wildlife certainly offers the best itinerary in this region and we consistently see the best birds - and have done to the last five years - so book early and see the best birds, with the best guides, at the best price!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poland in Spring 3 - 10 May & 10 - 17 May 2008

Our annual visit to Poland in May sold out so quickly that we were delighted to offer an additional week - which also sold out! Birding in this country is always full of superlatives and highlights were many. In Bialowieza Forest we recorded nine species of woodpecker including White-backed, Three-toed, Middle-spotted, Black, Grey-headed, Lesser Spotted and Wryneck. We discovered no less than five nest sites for White-backed and had stunning views as they fed chicks! Pygmy Owls and Tengmalm's Owls also gave us superb views at our 'stake outs' and other forest gems included Hazel Grouse, Red-breasted Flycatchers, Golden Orioles, Icterine and Barred Warblers, Collared Flycatchers, Hawfinches, dapper male White-spotted Bluethroats, plenty of Lesser spotted Eagles, Hobbies, Honey Buzzards and Black Storks. Nearby at Siemianwka Lake we enjoyed a dazzling singing male Citrine Wagtail and crippling views of a dog Otter. Lekking Great Snipes were seen at our usual site and a handsome Red-necked Grebe entertained us at the Bialystok fish ponds. We were also fortunate to see a superb Roller on the second week which is now a critically endangered species in Poland. Biebrza marshes yielded us with great looks at Aquatic, River and Savi's Warblers, Corncrakes, Greater spotted and White-tailed Eagles, masses of Ruff, Wood Sandpipers and Spotted Redshanks, a single Marsh Sandpiper and truly staggering numbers of White-winged Black, Black and Whiskered Terns. For many the highlight here was a beautiful male Pallid Harrier - a vagrant to Poland and even though we found one in 2007, nothing could prepare us for this bird! Both groups had the pleasure to watch this superb singleton display to a female Montagu's Harrier. Words cannot describe the sky-dancing antics of this pint-sized harrier but if birds were Olympians, this bird would have scored 9.9 from everybody! Other critters also featured and we recorded Pine Marten, Otter, Polecat, Elk, Northern Birch Mouse and several species of amphibian. In 2009, we will run this holiday from 9 - 16 May and will also run an additional week from 2 - 9 May if demand warrants - which it almost certainly will! As always, we advise early reservations so please e mail us to provisionally book or ask for further details.

 

 

 

 

Extremadura 19 - 26 April 2008

Seven days in Extremadura rewarded us with a haul of great birds. The varied habitats of steppe, wetland and sub-alpine habitats hosted an array of species and we were treated to some great weather. On the raptor front we recorded a staggering 20 species with the highlights being Honey Buzzard, Black-shouldered Kite, Black Vulture, Short-toed Eagle, Montagu's Harriers, Spanish Imperial Eagle, Booted Eagle, Bonelli's Eagle and Lesser Kestrels. The steppes yielded displaying Great and Little Bustards, ultra-colourful Rollers and Bee-eaters, Black-bellied and Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, Short-toed, Calandra, Crested and Thekla Larks, Great Spotted Cuckoos, Spanish Sparrows and Black-eared Wheatear. Monfrague National Park and the surrounding environs offered us great views of an adult Eagle Owl with her chicks, breeding Black Storks, superb views of Black Wheatear, 'gangs' of Alpine Swifts and a large roost of Rock Sparrows. A dusk visit also provided us with good views of singing Red-necked Nightjars. The 'dehesa' and cistus heathland were where we connected with the huge Western Orphean Warbler and we also had great views of its smaller cousins - Subalpine, Dartford and Spectacled Warbler. In the wet spots we found lots of Collared Pratincoles, Purple Gallinules, Little Bitterns, Purple Herons, Gull-billed Terns, Little Ringed Plovers, Savi's and Great Reed Warblers, Common Waxbills and Red Avadavats. Other highlights included incredible views of singing Nightingales, Melodious Warblers, dapper male Golden Orioles, a pair of very cooperative Scop's Owls, a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in full view just a few metres away, Crested Tits, singing Ortolan Bunting, Blue Rock Thrushes, Rock Buntings, Woodchat and Southern Grey Shrikes and plenty of Crag Martins and Red-rumped Swallows. As is the case with all our trips, 2008 was a complete sell out. We already have a few folk booked for 2009 so, as always, e mail us to provisionally book or ask for further details.

 

 

 

 

Shetland Life launches photography competition

Shetland Life magazine has launched its first Shetland Wildlife Photography Competition, and is inviting entries from photographers of all ages. The competition is open to pictures depicting any aspect of Shetland wildlife - birds, animals, plants or wild landscapes - and will be judged by Hugh Harrop, Shetland's most widely-published wildlife photographer. Many of his pictures can be viewed online at www.hughharrop.com, and a gallery of his photographs from the Arctic are featured in the latest edition of the magazine..There will be three prizewinners and five runners-up in the competition, and all eight winning photographs will be published in the June edition of Shetland Life. The first prize is a £60 voucher from The Camera Shop, Lerwick, and the winner will also receive a framed copy of their photograph. Entries for the competition should be posted as prints or on CD to: Shetland Life Photography Competition, The Shetland Times Ltd, Gremista, Lerwick. They can also be sent by email to the magazine's editor Malachy Tallack at m.tallack@shetland-times.co.uk (please do not send very large files by email). Digital pictures must be at least 300dpi, and major digital alterations and enhancements should be avoided. Photographers can enter up to four photographs each. The closing date for entries is 10th May. More information on the competition and prizes can be found in the most recent edition of Shetland Life.

Finland & Norway - March 2008 Winter Photo Holiday

Our annual week-long photography trip guided by Hugh Harrop and Harri Taavetti to Lapland and Arctic Norway was another huge success. Our feeding station in Lapland provided us with outstanding opportunities with the normally secretive Pine Grosbeak - at least fifteen birds were coming to the station along with Siberian Jays, Siberian Tits, Willow Tits, Mealy and Arctic Redpolls plus Red Squirrels. Continuing into northern Norway and basing ourselves in the Varanger region we concentrated primarily on seabirds and sea duck, with an emphasis on capturing the 'rarer' Eiders. Gloriously calm and sunny days allowed us to take full advantage of the weather and we managed no less than three boat trips to get in amongst the birds. Opportunities from land were also outstanding and the group pretty much all secured stunning shots of King, Steller's and Common Eiders, Long-tailed Ducks, Black, Common and Brunnich's Guillemots, Shags, Cormorant, Kittiwakes, Purple Sandpipers and both Iceland and Glaucous Gull. Lady luck was certainly on our side as we also found two Hawk Owls in the Varanger region and on our last evening, we were treated to a great display of the Aurora Borealis in Lapland. What an experience! In 2009 we will run this holiday from 14 -21 March and we are also looking at offering a pre or post tour trip to photograph Golden Eagles in Eastern Finland. As is the case with all our trips, 2008 was a complete sell out. We already have a couple of folk booked for 2009 so, as always, e mail us to provisionally book or ask for further details. A photo-holiday wouldn't be complete without some photographs so a few of Hugh's are presented below and you can also view an online slide show of our highlights by clicking here.

 

 

 

 

Southern France in Winter - yet another great trip!

Our now legendary annual winter visit to southern France provided a spectacular haul of birds, some superb sunny weather and of course, outstanding food and wine! The Camargue region, as always, certainly lived up to its reputation - we recorded France's second-ever Green Heron (the returning bird from last year), lots of Penduline and Bearded Tits, an adult Spotted Eagle, an immature Bonelli's Eagle, Booted Eagle, Purple Gallinule, White Stork, Mediterranean Gulls, Spoonbills, Avocets, a couple of Bluethroats, and a magnificent gathering of over 100 Cranes. As always there were a few surprises - a flock of 10 Glossy Ibis and 4 Bewick's Swans were certainly of note and we also discovered a new roosting site for the very localised Night Heron. Nearby the stony desert of La Crau produced a flock of Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, Little Bustards, Southern Grey Shrike and a solitary Richard's Pipit. However, for most, the highlight here with the assemblage of 20 Calandra Larks which were singing and establishing territories at exactly the same site we saw them last year! Calandra Larks are incredibly localised in France so we'll certainly be keeping this location quiet! The limestone massif of Les Alpilles yielded us with superb views of Wallcreepers, hunting Bonelli's Eagles, Alpine Accentors, Blue Rock Thrush, Rock Bunting, Cirl Bunting, Crag Martins, Firecrest and a large flock of Woodlarks. We were also treated to great views of a very vocal male Eagle Owl at one of our stake outs. Our day trip to the towering Mount Ventoux (on Rob's birthday!) was, like the Calandra Larks - a déjà vu - we had superb views of a male Black Woodpecker at virtually the same place as in 2007 as it drummed to announce its territory and gave everybody a spectacular fly by. Citril Finches were thinner on the ground than usual but a small party of six birds made their way in to the log. Crested Tits were recorded in good numbers along with Marsh Tit, Common Crossbill, Short-toed Treecreeper and Firecrest. In 2009 we will once again be running a winter holiday to the region and have set the dates for 14 - 20 February. As always, we advise early reservations so please email us to book or for further details. We are also in the process of creating a stunning itinerary for a spring visit in May 2009 - details to be announced soon. As always, we managed to take a few nice memoirs of the trip, so click here for an online slide show of our highlights.

ONE VACANCY on Finland & Arctic Norway: 24 May - 6 June 2008

Due to a cancellation on our Finland & Arctic Norway: 24 May - 6 June 2008, one space has recently become available. You can read full details here. Please contact our office on 01950 422483 if you would like to book, or book online by clicking here. As a taster, here's a summary from our 2007 trip...

"Our first week saw us seeking out the 'big five' owls and we were treated to superb views of Great Grey, Ural, Hawk, Pygmy and Tengmalm's Owls. We were fortunate to find a male Great Grey away from the nest as well as watching two different families of Hawk Owls with young! Other highlights included stunning views of an adult male Red-flanked Bluetail, equally stunning views of Broad-billed Sandpiper, awesome encounters with Hazel Hens, a rogue male Capercaillie, displaying Terek and Marsh (exceptionally rare) Sandpipers, a summer plumaged Grey Phalarope, Three-toed and Black Woodpeckers, Siberian Jay, Siberian Tit, an out of range singing River Warbler, plus Rustic, Little and Ortolan Buntings. Our second week saw us birding the fringes of the boreal forests to the edge of the tundra and the Barents Sea. Highlights were plentiful - Dotterels, Pine Grosbeaks, four Gyrfalcons including a pair with 3 chicks at the nest, Bluethroats, several White-billed Divers, a vagrant Pectoral Sandpiper, awesome encounters with Long-tailed Skuas, Rough-legged Buzzards, lekking Ruffs and Temminck's Stints everywhere, Brunnich's Guillemots, stunning male King Eider, White-tailed Eagles, Red-throated Pipits, Lapland and Snow Buntings, Shore Larks, Arctic Redpolls and masses of summer plumaged waders. The list is endless! We also accrued a great mammal list with highlights including a very tame and friendly Norwegian Lemming, Elk, Stoat and Arctic Hare. As always, we managed to take a few nice memoirs of the trip, so click here for an online slide show of our highlights."

Shetland Wildlife & birdguide.pl join forces to help Tengmalm's Owls!

Shetland Wildlife Field Director and birdguide.pl owner Waldemar Krasowski are delighted to announce that they have co-sponsored the building of ten nest boxes to attract breeding Tengmalm's Owls in Bialowieza Forest, Poland. The nest boxes were erected in mid February by Waldy in regions where the species has been heard calling in the last few years. Hopefully we'll be able to meet the new occupants during our two trips to the region in May 2008!

Poland 2008 - only TWO spaces left on ADDITIONAL 3 - 10 MAY 2008 departure!

Our 10 - 17 May 2008 Poland In Spring holiday sold out in just two days after release so we have added an additional departure to run from 3 - 10 May 2008. We currently have just TWO spaces left as of 27 February 2008. So if you a fancy a superb week with Hugh Harrop and Waldemar Krasowski, exploring some of Europe's premier habitats with Great Snipes at the lek, rare Aquatic Warblers, Spotted and Lesser Spotted Eagles, 10 species of Woodpecker, Pygmy and Tengmalm's Owls, masses of migrant waders and marsh terns, rasping Corncrakes and a chance to see the endangered and elusive European Bison, then Poland is for you. To book your place click here.

NEW FOR 2008: Foula Autumn Migration 20 - 27 September 2008

We are delighted to announce this new, exclusive and truly pioneering holiday for keen birders! Limited to just four lucky travellers this trip offers you the enviable chance to enjoy some of the best birding in the country - and if any location in Britain could be said to epitomise the occurrence of rare birds during autumn migration, - it would almost certainly have to be Foula. For many years now, the island has continually hosted some of the most sought after birds like Pechora Pipit and Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler, along with an impressive cast of other vagrants from east and west: Siberian Thrush, Siberian Rubythroat, Greater Yellowlegs, Grey-cheeked Thrush, Bobolink and Common Yellowthroat to name a few. Click Here for more details.

Hugh Harrop ensures Olive-tree Warbler is added to the British List!

It's every birdwatchers dream to find a new bird for Britain! The British list is now one bigger thanks to Hugh Harrop's photos of a hippolais warbler at Boddam, Shetland in August 2006. The bird was originally thought by to be an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler (which is itself a gross rarity), but Hugh's follow up work on the sighting cast nagging doubts in his mind and with the help of colleagues here in Shetland, Israel, Ireland and Sweden, the bird was re-identified as Britain's first-ever Olive-tree Warbler. For this, Hugh has been be announced as the winner of the 2007 Carl Zeiss Award and received a brand new spanking pair of the superb 7 x 42 'Victory' series binoculars - not that he needs another pair!! Read the official press release in British Birds here and read the full account of the observation as published in the February 2008 edition of British Birds here.

Up Helly Aa 2008 - a huge success. We are now open for 2009 bookings!

Once again, our groups recorded a superb array of wildlife. Ornithological highlights included an adult drake King Eider, our semi-resident White-billed Diver with stacks of Great Northern and Red-throated Divers, a drake American Wigeon, Little Auk, Slavonian Grebes, Smew, Velvet &Common Scoters, pale-bellied Brent Goose, Red Grouse, good numbers of Iceland and Glaucous Gulls, lots of Long-tailed Ducks, Purple Sandpipers and Shetland's largest ever flock of Jackdaws! Mammal buffs were rewarded with awesome views of an Otter as it fished for nearly an hour at one of our stake-outs. Also lots of brilliant-white Arctic Hares, a couple of pods of Harbour Porpoise and lots of Grey and Common Seals. The weather was brilliant for the Up Helly Aa festival itself and we all had a grandstand view of the procession. In 2009, Up Helly Aa and Shetland's Winter Wildlife will run from Saturday 24th - Wednesday 28th January. As this holiday is extremely popular - and we already have bookings from folk who could not join us for our sell-out 2008 departure - we advise advance reservations to be made as soon as possible. To guarantee your place book here.

 

 

 

Focus on Shetland - both trips sold out 10 months ahead of departure. Now booking for 2009!

Well that's probably not what you wanted to read if you are hoping to book! To meet demand, we have now finalised 2009 dates and will once again run two departures: 6 - 13 June &13 - 20 June 2009. We would therefore advise reservations to be made as soon as possible. If you cannot make these dates or still wish to travel to Shetland in 2008, remember that we also offer bespoke photographic solutions for the amateur and pro-photographer. Many photographers often have 'gaps' in their collection so why not take advantage of our expert local knowledge and let us assist you in getting the images YOU want! Some of the best photographic opportunities are right here on our own doorstep, in the south Mainland and we can also arrange packages to the north isles of Fetlar, Yell and Unst. So photograph the best birds with the best photographic guides - all organised for you by Shetland's number one wildlife holiday company. For more information on our bespoke photographic trips please click here.

Finland &Norway Winter Photo Holiday 2009

A similar story to our Shetland photo holidays - it sold out months before departure! We are just putting the finishing touches to our 2009 departure and will have dates finalised in late March 2008 though they are likely to be mid / late March once again. We have three folks already provisionally booked and as this trip is limited to just six, early reservations are once again recommended. You can express your interest and request notification of finalised dates by e mailing us.

Autumn Gold 29 September - 6 October 2007

Like our previous week on Fair Isle, we probably also had the best period of the autumn here in Shetland. How do we do it?! Highlights from a haul of first-class rarities included Killdeer, two Spotted Sandpiper, Sardinian Warbler, Citrine Wagtail, Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll, Swainson's Thrush, Blyth's Reed Warbler, King Eider, Grey Phalarope, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Melodious Warbler and a Ring-necked Duck! A supporting cast of scarcities included lots of Yellow-browed Warblers, Barred Warblers, Common Rosefinches, Lapland and Snow Buntings and plenty of common migrants. Several of the group extended their stay with us beyond the 6th and we were also delighted to guide a group from the Scottish Ornithologists Club. Needless to say, we hauled-in another bag full of incredible birds. Topping the bill were White's Thrush, Pechora Pipit, Red-flanked Bluetail, Paddyfield Warbler, Dusky Warbler, Rustic Bunting, Pallas's Warbler, another Melodious Warbler, Olive-backed Pipit, Short-toed Lark and White-rumped Sandpiper. Phew! Shetland really is THE place to witness autumn migration - so join us in 2008. Autumn Gold will run from 27th September to 4th October but why not enjoy a week on Fair Isle before this trip from 20th - 27th September and take advantage of a combined 5% discount off both trips! Click here for further information. Having so many first-class birders and rarity finders working for us means that we are also able to offer a suite of exclusive tailor made packages for independent birders or groups. So see the best birds with the best birders - all organised for you by Shetland's number one wildlife holiday company.

 

 

 

Fair Isle Autumn Migration 22 - 29 September 2007

To say that we picked the best week of the autumn would be understatement of the year! A cool north westerly airflow at the start of our trip produced Shetland's second-ever Buff-bellied Pipit and a nice smattering of scarce migrants such as Barred Warblers, Common Rosefinches, and Lapland Buntings. The wind then drifted in from the east mid week and produced spectacular results! Two Lanceolated Warblers (one of which vied for attention with a passing pod of 5 Killer Whales!) and two Citrine Wagtails were discovered within hours of each other and a nice supporting cast of Yellow-browed Warblers, no less than 5 Barred Warblers and Bluethroat set the scene. The saying 'save the best until last' could not have been more appropriate - our last full day on the island produced and Icterine Warbler on the morning trap-round and a showy Thrush Nightingale was found in the south, just next to a Lanceolated Warbler! In true Fair Isle fashion, a stunning Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler was found late in the afternoon - which, for most, was bird of the trip! Shetland really is THE place to witness autumn migration - so join us in 2008. Fair Isle Autumn Migration will run from 20th - 27th September and our follow-on Autumn Gold week will run from 27th September to 4th October - click here for further information.

Focus on Shetland - trips almost sold out 10 months ahead of departure!

We are now completely full on our Focus on Shetland photography holiday from 7 - 14 June 2008 and have JUST ONE space left for the 14 - 21 June 2008 departure. We would therefore advise reservations to be made as soon as possible! If you cannot make these dates, remember that we also offer bespoke photographic solutions for the amateur and pro-photographer. Many photographers often have 'gaps' in their collection so why not take advantage of our expert local knowledge and let us assist you in getting the images YOU want! Some of the best photographic opportunities are right here on our own doorstep, in the south Mainland and we can also arrange packages to the north isles of Fetlar, Yell and Unst. For more information on our photographic departures please click here

Carbon Offsetting

The Shetland Wildlife team have been looking into various 'carbon offsetting' schemes with a view to recommending one or more to our travellers. In view of the increasing negative publicity that many of these schemes are receiving, we are wondering if there are any schemes out there which are really TRULY effective - in a recent national newspaper article, carbon offsetting was described as the modern equivalent of "purveying 'Snake Oil' to gullible customers". So if there are any schemes that our travellers truly belive are worthy of contribution, we'd be delighted to hear about them.

Autumn Gets Off to a Great Start!

Autumn has kicked off with some superb wildlife - heading the bill was a pod of 5 Killer Whales which the Shetland Wildlife team photographed just south of Lerwick. This is a 'new' pod to Shetland waters and we have already 'matched' the pod from photographs taken of the bull of Orkney in July. They gave us superb views as they hunted just a few metres from the shoreline and at one stage, three of the pod started attacking a flock of moulting Common Eiders - we estimated that nearly 30 birds were taken. This is only the second time this feeding behaviour has been witnessed in Shetland. A trickle of rarities in the latter part of August was headed by a stunning juvenile Pallid Harrier and we also recorded Greenish Warbler, Ortolan Bunting, Rose-coloured Starling, Pectoral Sandpiper and White-rumped Sandpiper. Fair Isle has also yielded a few goodies including Citrine Wagtail and both Greenish and Icterine Warblers. September yielded a haul of American waders and by the middle of the month 2 Baird's Sandpipers, 6 Buff-breasted Sandpipers and at least 3 more Pectoral Sandpipers were found! The juvenile Pallid Harrier put in a couple of appearances in the Spiggie area, an adult Rose-coloured Starling was on Unst along with a Melodious Warbler and a Citrine Wagtail was discovered on Foula. Strong winds meant good seawatching conditions but we daren't mention the 5 Great Shearwaters off Unst to Hugh as he still needs it for his massive 358 Shetland list! The few calm nights have yielded some nice moths in the traps highlights have included Shetland's second-ever The Snout, third-ever Straw Dot plus a Bedstraw Hawk Moth in the garden!

 

 

 

 

Autumn Birding in Shetland 2007

Our Autumn Gold and Fair Isle Autumn Migration holidays are now fully booked, so to cope with such high demand, we are now able to offer a suite of exclusive tailor made packages for independent birders wishing to sample the delights of autumn birding here in Shetland. As an ATOL bonded business we can book your inter-island flights to Foula, Fair Isle and Out Skerries and also book your accommodations and hire car. We are also investigating establishing an SMS service to keep visiting birders up to date with all the latest sightings as they happen. Should you wish us to provide a guide - no problem! Whether its for a few hours in between flights, for a day before you head off to or return from Fair Isle, or for a week, our crack team of expert staff birders will all be on hand in September and October to guide you to all the migrant hotspots and the latest rarities. So see the best birds with the best birders - all organised for you by Shetland's number one wildlife holiday company.

Shetland Wildlife featured in September 07 BBC Wildlife

Shetland Wildlife takes lead presence in a superb feature on the islands in the September 2007 edition of BBC Wildlife. The article is accompanied by some truly stunning photographs of Killer Whales, taken by our very own Hugh Harrop, which were commissioned by the magazine especially for this feature - and taken whilst Hugh was working for a BBC film crew for the new Alan Titchmarsh 'Nature of Britain' series to be screened in Autumn 2007! Pick up a copy of this must-read edition at your newsagents or subscribe online at www.bbcwildlifemagazine.com

'British Birds' Bird Photographer of the Year 2007

We were delighted to learn that Shetland Wildlife field director Hugh Harrop has been awarded 5th place in the 'BB' Bird Photographer of the Year 2007 competition. His entry of a Siberian Jay in flight obviously grabbed the judges' attention in this increasingly tough competition! This is the third short-listed finish in consecutive years for Hugh, who came third in the 2006 competition with his incredible photograph of a Firecrest singing. In 2005 his shot of a Pygmy Owl with a vole also made the final listings. Well done Hugh!

Killer Whale Photo ID Project

We've seen more Killer Whales in Shetland waters than any other operator - FACT! So it's little surprise that we have been requested to assist in a photo identification project to analyse movement and residency patterns of individual Killer Whales in the north east Atlantic region. In 2006 and 2007 alone we have managed to capture nearly six hundred high quality images of Killer Whales around the Shetland coastline!

Last Few Spaces on Our Biscay Pelagics

Our sister business, The Company of Whales has had another record year with over 700 travellers booked on our series of 25 whale, dolphin and birdwatching holidays across the Bay of Biscay. We have just a few remaining spaces on our Wednesday 15th August - Saturday 18th August, Sunday 2nd September - Wednesday 5th September and Wednesday 5th September - Saturday 8th September departures. For further information click here and to catch up with our latest sightings click here.

Shetland Spring & Summer 2007 - the story thus far...

What a superb Spring and Summer we are having. As we enter the August, the months of May, June and July proved to be outstanding once again. Topping the bill were three awesome encounters with Killer Whales off Fair Isle and off the north and south Mainland coasts. One pod is almost certainly 'new' and previously unrecorded in our waters. We've also managed regular sightings of Minke Whales, Risso's Dolphins, White-beaked Dolphins, White-sided Dolphins (including a huge pod of 100 animals) and Harbour Porpoise. Our Otter stake-outs are providing us with great views of these highly prized animals - one two separate occasions we saw no less than nine Otters in a week and maintained a 100% success rate for every group! All of our breeding seabirds are putting on a fine show - Puffins, Black Guillemots, Bonxies, Arctic Skuas, Arctic and Common Terns, Shags and Gannets to name a few and the Mousa Broch Storm Petrels continue to delight. We also enjoying Red-throated Divers in their breeding dress and we've also found several summer-plumaged Great Northern Divers. Red-necked Phalaropes are performing well on Fetlar along with other breeding waders such as Whimbrel, Dunlin, Snipe, Redshanks and Curlew. We also discovered a new Merlin breeding site on our Walk Shetland holiday and had fantastic views of four recently fledged chicks taking to the air. As always, we connected with all the major rarities and scarcities. A North American Killdeer and a superb male Little Crake take the honours for the rarest birds and our groups have also seen Pectoral Sandpiper, Surf Scoter (a first for Fair Isle), a couple of White-billed Divers, Lesser Grey Shrike, Common Cranes, Bluethroat, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Blyth's Reed Warbler, Subalpine Warbler, Great Reed Warbler, Marsh Warblers, Icterine Warblers, Red-backed Shrikes, Ortolan Bunting and Common Rosefinches. Phew! So more species of birds, mammals and wild flowers than any other operator. And with 14 years of experience, its little wonder that we remain the NUMBER ONE CHOICE!

 

 

 

Finland & Arctic Norway: 26th May - 8th June 2007

A truly fantastic two weeks with some outstanding birding! Our first week saw us seeking out the 'big five' owls and we were treated to superb views of Great Grey, Ural, Hawk, Pygmy and Tengmalm's Owls. We were fortunate to find a male Great Grey away from the nest as well as watching two different families of Hawk Owls with young! Other highlights included stunning views of an adult male Red-flanked Bluetail, equally stunning views of Broad-billed Sandpiper, awesome encounters with Hazel Hens, a rogue male Capercaillie, displaying Terek and Marsh (exceptionally rare) Sandpipers, a summer plumaged Grey Phalarope, Three-toed and Black Woodpeckers, Siberian Jay, Siberian Tit, an out of range singing River Warbler, plus Rustic, Little and Ortolan Buntings. Our second week saw us birding the fringes of the boreal forests to the edge of the tundra and the Barents Sea. Highlights were plentiful - Dotterels, Pine Grosbeaks, four Gyrfalcons including a pair with 3 chicks at the nest, Bluethroats, several White-billed Divers, a vagrant Pectoral Sandpiper, awesome encounters with Long-tailed Skuas, Rough-legged Buzzards, lekking Ruffs and Temminck's Stints everywhere, Brunnich's Guillemots, stunning male King Eider, White-tailed Eagles, Red-throated Pipits, Lapland and Snow Buntings, Shore Larks, Arctic Redpolls and masses of summer plumaged waders. The list is endless! We also accrued a great mammal list with highlights including a very tame and friendly Norwegian Lemming, Elk, Stoat and Arctic Hare. We will run this trip in 2008 from 24 May - 6 June 2008. As always we advise early reservations to be made so please e mail us for further information. As always, we managed to take a few nice memoirs of the trip, so click here for an online slide show of our highlights.

Poland in Spring

Two groups and two individual weeks of superb birding in eastern Poland. Highlights were plentiful - Great Snipes at the lek, incredible views of Aquatic Warblers, a male Pallid Harrier, scores of Corncrakes, eight species of woodpecker, hundreds - if not thousands - of White-winged Black Terns, handsome Citrine Wagtails, Black Storks, Lesser Spotted and Greater Spotted Eagles, Honey Buzzards, impressive numbers of Cranes, Collared Flycatchers, Icterine, Great Reed and Barred Warblers, Hawfinches, Bluethroats, Pygmy and Tengmalm's Owl plus Little and Spotted Crakes. Thousands of migrant waders were on the move and on one day alone we recorded over 2000 Ruff and 300 Wood Sandpipers! Also Pine Marten, European Beaver, Bison, Elk and several species of amphibian. In 2008, we will be running this holiday from 10 - 17 May. As always, we advise early reservations so please e mail us to provisionally book or ask for further details. We are also planning a long 'woodpecker-weekend' to Bialowieza in late March 2008 - e mail us for further information. As always, we managed to take a few nice memoirs of the trip, so click here for an online slide show of our highlights.

Finland & Norway - Winter Photo Holiday

Our 8-day photography trip to central Finland, Lapland and Arctic Norway was another huge success. Led by Hugh Harrop and David Tipling, our prize during the early stages of the trip was a very photogenic Hawk Owl that had taken up residence at Vaala since mid January. Here we were able to gain some truly stunning images of this beautiful bird, which for many, was THE highlight of the trip. Our feeding station in Lapland provided us with outstanding opportunities for that secretive forest denizen, Pine Grosbeak. At least 20 birds were coming to the feeding station along with Siberian Jay, Siberian Tit, Arctic Redpoll, Great spotted Woodpecker and Red Squirrels. Continuing in to northern Norway and basing ourselves in the Varangar region we concentrated primarily on seabirds and seaduck. A boat trip to Hornoya provided us with great pictures of in-flight Puffins, Guillemots, Razorbills, Brunnich's Guillemots and Shags. But the main quarries here were handsome Long-tailed Ducks and the 'rare' eiders. On a beautiful cloudless days with calm seas we edged our boat amongst an enormous flock of 1500 King Eiders and many hundreds of Steller's Eiders. What an experience! In 2008, we will run this holiday from 15 - 22 March. As always, we advise early reservations so please e mail us to provisionally book or ask for further details. A photo-holiday wouldn't be complete without some photographs so click here for an online slide show of our highlights. Remember YOU could be taking images like this with us in 2008! NOTE that you will need Java installed on your computer to view these images.

Southern France in Winter

Our two trips to the beautiful region of Provence in southern France in February were hugely successful. Highlights in the Camargue marshes and wetlands included impressive numbers of herons, egrets, waterfowl and the obligatory Greater Flamingos. The vast expanse of reedbeds yielded Penduline and Bearded Tits, white-spotted Bluethroat, Moustached and Cetti's Warblers and Purple Gallinule and their fringes attracted Black and White Storks, a huge flock of Common Cranes, lots of Water Pipits, a superb mixed flock of 1000 Black-tailed Godwits and Ruff, a few hundred Avocets, a vagrant Lesser Flamingo plus a stunning vagrant Long-legged Buzzard and the second-ever Green heron for France! The brackish 'Etangs' hosted scores of Black-necked Grebes and a solitary Red-necked Grebe and gulls included an impressive flock of 125 'Meds'. The huge ancient river delta that is La Crau was brimming with birds - excellent encounters with Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, Little Bustards, wintering Richard's Pipits, Booted Eagles, Red Kites, Southern Grey Shrikes and perhaps best of all, a local density of around 20 singing Calandra Larks. The limestone massif of Les Alpilles provided us with incredible views of at least 3 wintering Wallcreepers, plus Alpine Accentors sharing our lunch, Crag Martins, Blue Rock Thrush, Firecrest, Cirl Bunting, Dartford Warblers, Woodlarks and at least three pairs of mighty Eagle Owls. A day trip to the 5000 ft high Mount Ventoux brought us incredible views of a male Black Woodpecker, Citril Finches nest-building, Crossbills cone-crunching, Short-toed Treecreepers in song and lots of Crested Tits. And lets certainly not forget incredible local cuisine, fine local wines and our truly beautiful hotel situated in the heart of the region! In 2008 we will once again be running two holidays to the region: 16 - 22 February and 22 - 28 February. As always, we advise early reservations so please e mail us to book or for further details. As always, we managed to take a few nice memoirs of the trip, so click here for an online slide show of our highlights.

Autumn 2006

We have had another superb autumn! Our Fair Isle Autumn Migration holiday from 9 - 16 September proved to be the best week of the whole period and we actually found the best birds! A superb Lanceolated Warbler was one of two discovered on our last full day and a few hours later we discovered a Yellow-breasted Bunting! Other great birds during the week included a superb Pechora Pipit, Woodchat and Red-backed Shrikes, Citrine Wagtail, Wryneck, Icterine, Barred, Yellow-browed and & Marsh Warblers, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Ortolan Bunting and Common Rosefinch. Our follow-on Autumn Gold trip saw us birding the length and breadth of Shetland in glorious weather bagging goodies like Arctic Warbler, Black-headed Bunting, Siberian Stonechat, Red-rumped Swallow, Red-breasted Flycatcher, lots of Barred and Yellow-browed Warblers and lots of common migrants. Many of our guests decided to extend their stay further and we welcomed several independent birders who took advantage of our local knowledge and expertise - paramount when birding in Shetland! Again we covered the length and breadth of Shetland clocking up a stunning array of rarities: Blyth's Pipit, Upland Sandpiper, American Golden Plover, Rustic, Little and Ortolan Buntings, two Red-flanked Bluetails, Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler, Arctic, Radde's and Pallas's Warblers, another Pechora Pipit, Arctic Redpoll and a couple of Short-toed Larks. Click here for some mouthwatering images taken by the boss!

Shetland really is THE place to witness autumn migration - so join us in 2007. Fair Isle Autumn Migration will run from 22nd - 29th September and our follow-on Autumn Gold week will run from 29th September to 6th October - click here for further information. Should you wish to spend time birding with our expert guides at any time during the autumn or have a 'DIY' holiday, please e mail us with your requirements and dates. Remember we can source accommodation for all budgets, book your flights to and from Shetland and we'll also pass on rarity news as it reaches us - long before any birdline or pager!

Spring & Summer 2006

What a superb Spring and Summer we've had! As July comes to an end and we enter our famous autumn migration period we think THE highlights thus far have to be the awesome encounters we had with Killer Whales. One lucky group managed no less than three encounters on one of our Ultimate Shetland holidays! And the encounters have been truly amazing - several pods watched from land as close as a couple of metres as they hunted for seals and views from our boat down to a few inches as a pod of six animals swam underneath us! Awesome! We've also managed regular sightings of Minke Whales, White-beaked Dolphins, White-sided Dolphins and we had a superb afternoon with a pod of Risso's Dolphins. To add to the marine highlights, one of our guides found a superb Basking Shark which is still a rare visitor to these parts. All of our seabirds put on a fine show - Puffins, Black Guillemots, Bonxies, Arctic Skuas, Arctic and Common Terns, Shags and Gannets to name a few and we had some great displays of Storm Petrels on our famous night-trips to Mousa Broch. We also enjoyed cracking views of a family of Merlins, beautiful Red-throated Divers and one or two summer-plumaged Great Northern Divers. Red-necked Phalaropes, as ever, gave us incredible views at one of their feeding sites and handsome brick-red Black-tailed Godwits also grabbed our attention. As always, we connected with all the rarities and scarcities. We'll blow our own trumpet a bit here as our guides found a North American White-throated Sparrow, two White-rumped Sandpipers, Red-footed Falcon, two Bee-eaters and a Laughing Gull! We also had our groups watching other goodies such as Scop's Owl, Ortolan Bunting, Bluethroats, Red-backed Shrikes and Wrynecks.

 

 

 

Finland May 2006

Migrating seaduck and raptors, a host of displaying waders, some superb woodland species, or the 'big five' owls - it is difficult to choose a highlight from our recent tour to Finland. Little wonder then that the group comprised some 'old hands' returning for their second or even third visit as well as a few newcomers to Finland. The feast of owls commenced with superb views of a male Great Grey Owl bringing food to its incubating female and it was not long before Tengmalm's, Hawk, Pygmy and Ural were also keeping the photographers happy. Both Black and Three-toed Woodpeckers performed at length while Siberian Tits and Siberian Jays seemed almost as interested in us as we were in them. Each of our coastal stops produced hoards of migrating wildfowl with 1,600 scoter flying north in one half-hour period! A flock of 220 Cranes, 13 species of raptor, Red and Black-throated Divers and a superb Long-tailed Skua were also on the move. Waders featured prominently with Terek and Broad-billed Sandpipers causing the biggest stir. And gamebirds too provided some awesome spectacles - babbling Black Grouse at their lek, feather by feather detail of several Hazelhens frozen within feet of the vehicle, Capercaillie blundering through the forest and the stunning snow white and brown Willow Grouse. The action continued to the last with an Eagle Owl hunting - a perfect end to a simply stunning trip. We are running an awesome 14-day trip to Finland and Arctic Norway from 26 May - 8 June 2007. For those who cannot make the whole trip we're offering a flexible option by splitting it in to two parts: Oulu and Kuusamo from 26 May - 1 June and northern Finland Arctic Norway (inc. Varanger) from 1 June - 8 June 2007. Please e mail us for a holiday dossier and prices - but don't delay - we're likely to sell out very quickly once again!

Up Helly Aa 2006

We recorded a superb array of birds and highlights included an adult White-billed Diver with stacks of Great Northern Divers, a dapper drake Green-winged Teal, Smew and Glaucous Gull,. Mammal buffs were rewarded with superb views of an Otter as it fed in the bay at one of our stake-outs. Also glorious white Arctic Hares, Harbour Porpoise and lots of Grey and Common Seals. The weather was superb for Up Helly Aa itself and we had a grandstand view of the procession. Up Helly Aa participant Valerie writes "this is just to thank you for such a super trip & wonderful Up Helly Aa experience - Pauline & I enjoyed ourselves immensely, it just all went too quickly!". Fellow traveller Sarah writes "Just thought we'd drop you a quick note to say a big, big thank you! for looking after us so well while we were up in Shetland. We both had a great time and I think mum's already been flicking through the brochure to see what other trips you do, so maybe see you again soon".

In 2007, Up Helly Aa and Shetland's Winter Wildlife will run from 27th - 31st January. As this holiday is extremely popular, we advise advance reservations to be made as soon as possible.

 

Autumn 2005

What an autumn is turning out to be! Once again, we proved that THE place to be in September is Shetland. Our Fair Isle Autumn Migration group had the best week of the autumn thus far because we like to think we know what will turn up - and when! Highlights included Western Bonelli's Warbler, American Golden Plover, Dotterel, Barred Warblers, Common Rosefinches, Red-breasted Flycatcher and a trio of Ortolan, Lapland and Snow Buntings! Our follow on Autumn Gold week saw us scouring the length and breadth of Shetland for migrants. Although strong westerlies prevailed for the week we were determined to find some quality birds and we managed two drake King Eiders, Bee-eater, Barred and Marsh Warbler and Lapland Buntings. Those who extended their stay with us for a few days were delighted with the arrival of American Coot, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Pechora Pipit, Greenish Warbler, Little Bunting, lots of Yellow-browed Warblers, Red-breasted Flycatchers and Common Rosefinches. October is also proving to be a superb month thus far with the best bird found by the boss - a superb female Black-throated Thrush just down the road from the office! Tempted for 2006? Book soon as spaces are filling quickly!

Summer 2005

We're proud to report another fantastic summer season. All of our seabirds put on a fine show - Puffins, Black Guillemots, Bonxies, Arctic Skuas, Arctic and Common Terns, Shags and Gannets to name a few and we had some brilliant displays of Storm Petrels on our famous night-trips to Mousa Broch. We also enjoyed views of beautiful Red-throated Divers, the odd summer-plumaged Great Northern Diver and Britain's only Whooper Swans with their cygnets. Breeding waders are a feature of our summers - Red-necked Phalaropes gave us incredible views down to just a few feet, Black-tailed Godwits looked as good as ever and we had plenty of sites for all out other breeding waders. As always, we managed to see a few rarities and scarcities. The highlight had to be the Paddyfield Warbler grovelling around the spearmint at Skaw, Unst. We've also saw a superb drake King Eider, a summering Common Crane and a one-day Great White Egret. Other scarce migrants that we had great looks at include several Red-backed Shrikes, a couple of Golden Orioles, summering Iceland and Glaucous Gull, Quail, Bluethroats and Marsh Warblers. On the mammal front, we have been treated to some awesome views of Otters at our well-researched sites. Killer Whales put on amazing shows for several of our groups. We've also recorded small groups of White-sided and White-beaked Dolphins, several Minke Whales and every Ultimate Shetland group caught up with the diminutive Harbour Porpoise as well as both Harbour and Grey Seals and Arctic Hare.

Extremadura & Sierra de Gredos 2 - 9 April 2005

Seven great days in Extremadura and the Sierra de Gredos rewarded us with a haul of great birds. The varied habitats of steppe, wetland and sub-alpine habitats rewarded us with nearly 150 species including Spanish Imperial Eagles, Black-shouldered Kites, Montagu's Harriers, Black Vultures, Eagle Owls, Black Storks, displaying Great & Little Bustards, Bonelli's Eagles, Rock Thrush, Black Wheatear, Hawfinches, Black-bellied and Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, Bee-eaters, Roller, Calandra Larks, Spanish Sparrows. We also managed to connect with Spain's third-ever Bald Ibis at Trujillo! We plan to repeat the trip once again in April 2006 so e-mail us for further information. For a trip report from one of guests click here and a trip checklist, click here.

 

 

Where to Watch Birds in Shetland

The fully revised second edition of Where to Watch Birds in Shetland details over 70 birding locations, covering the famous and not-so-famous migrant and rarity sites, the best seabird colonies, the best haunts for breeding waders and the best sites for watching Otters, cetaceans and wild flowers. The book also includes a checklist of the birds of Shetland along with advice on travel, accommodation and transportation. Quite simply, the essential guide to birdwatching in Shetland. And who better to write Where to Watch Birds in Shetland than Hugh Harrop? An avid birder for 28 years and a professional naturalist guide, Hugh probably spends more time in the field than anyone else we know. He is also one of the dedicated few that have managed to see over 340 species in Shetland!

Copies cost £7 inc. postage and packing (£8 for overseas). Order direct from shop@shetlandwildlife.co.uk We accept Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Delta and Switch cards and you can also pay by personal cheque drawn from a UK bank account.

 

The Whales & Dolphins of the Bay of Biscay with The Company of Whales

With over 200 crossings of the Bay of Biscay undertaken since 1996, our sister-company knows the Bay better than any other operator. Every August and September, we can encounter huge numbers of seabirds including Great, Cory's and Sooty Shearwaters, Sabine's Gulls, Storm and Leach's Petrels, Grey Phalaropes and four species of skua. We see Little Shearwater on most departures and it was our company who discovered Europe's third-ever Masked Booby. As well as seabirds, our route is superb for whales and dolphins. In fact, we average around 500 animals of seven different species on every trip. Highlights have included Orcas, Blue, Fin, Minke & Sperm Whale, the elusive Cuvier's beaked Whale and four species of dolphin. In 2001 and 2003 we recorded True's-beaked Whales - only the first and second-ever confirmed sightings in the World! Travelling onboard the Pride of Bilbao, our company has privileged and exclusive access to the 'monkey island' platform, that gives us superb panoramic view of the ocean - and bow-riding dolphins! We also hold exclusive onboard lectures on seabirds and marine mammals and we're proud to offer the widest choice of departure dates - we don't go out there just three or four times a year! So if you're tired of watching distant 'dots' from windswept headlands and want to experience a pelagic trip in comfort and with the very best naturalist guides, look no further than The Company of Whales. Click here to visit their website.

Up Helly Aa 2005

As in previous years, we were once again blessed with some good weather for our annual Up Helly Aa and Shetland Winter wildlife trip. Our groups were rewarded with some truly stunning views of our wildlife. We recorded 78 species of birds and highlights included a superb adult Ross's Gull, an American Coot (the fifth for Britain), a Kumlien's Gull, no less than 30 Iceland Gulls, several Glaucous Gulls, Snow Buntings, Hen Harriers, Merlins and Peregrines. Mammal buffs were rewarded with no less than seven Otters, Arctic Hares and lots of Grey and Common Seals. The weather was superb for Up Helly Aa itself and we had a grandstand view of the procession. In 2006 Up Helly Aa and Shetland's Winter Wildlife will run from 28th January - 1st February 2006. As this holiday is extremely popular, we advise advance reservations to be made as soon as possible.

 

Autumn 2004

Phew, what an autumn! Once again, we proved that THE place to be in September and October is Shetland. This autumn our guides were blessed with an incredible diversity of rare and scarce birds and we witnessed some truly magical 'falls' of commoner migrants. Cream of the crop rarities included two firsts for Britain - Rufous-tailed Robin and Chestnut-eared Bunting on Fair Isle. Two Common Yellowthroats, two Pied Wheatears, an Isabelline Wheatear, Brown Shrike, Isabelline Shrike, Pallid Harrier, Citrine Wagtails, Pallas's Grasshopper Warblers, Lanceolated Warblers, Blyth's Reed Warblers, Booted Warbler, Pallas's Warblers and no less than four White's Thrushes were just some of the other highlights. And lets not forget wonderful 'back-up birds' like Bluethroats, Wrynecks, Yellow-browed Warblers, Common Rosefinches, Richard's Pipits and Red-breasted Flycatchers plus an 'invasion' of Waxwings and Northern Bullfinches. Wow! With Shetland in autumn now on every birdwatcher's agenda, our series of birding holidays includes the choice of spending a week with us based on the Shetland mainland and the island of Unst or you can join our long-running annual autumnal trip to Fair Isle. Or do both - and receive a 5% discount!

 

The Spring and Summer so far...

As we head into July we've had a fantastic season thus far. All of our seabirds are on show - Puffins, Black Guillemots, Bonxies, Arctic Skuas, Arctic and Common Terns, Shags and Gannets to name a few and we've had some brilliant displays of Storm Petrels on our famous night-trips to Mousa Broch. We're also enjoying views of beautiful Red-throated Divers, Britain's only Whooper Swans with their cygnets and we've even watched Spotted Crakes singing! Breeding waders are also a feature of our summers - Red-necked Phalaropes are giving us incredible views down to just a few feet, Black-tailed Godwits look as resplendent as ever and we've got plenty of sites for Whimbrel, Dunlin, Redshank, Snipe and Common Sandpipers. As ever, we've managed to bag a few rarities and scarcities. The highlight has to be the absolutely gorgeous adult male Collared Flycatcher, which we saw at Muness, Unst. A close contender would be the striking White-winged Black Tern in the south Mainland. Other scarce migrants that we've had great looks at include several Red-backed Shrikes, a couple of Golden Orioles, Rose-coloured Starling, Temminck's Stint, Iceland Gull, Quail, Bluethroat, Wryneck, Icterine Warbler, Marsh Warblers and Subalpine Warbler.

On the mammal front, we have been treated to some wonderful views of Otters. Unlike the companies that visit Shetland for just one-week-a year, our guides put in an awful lot of research and legwork, every spring, to find sites occupied by mothers and cubs - we currently have two sites that are giving us wonderful encounters with these very special critters. Killer Whales have been relatively thin on the ground this year but seven sightings were made in May and June of at least three individual pods. We have also clocked up small groups of White-sided and White-beaked Dolphins and every Ultimate Shetland group has caught up with the diminutive Harbour Porpoise. Both Harbour and Grey Seals are as ubiquitous as ever and on the hills we're seeing small numbers of Arctic Hares.

Wild flowers are out in profusion. Our endemic Mouse-ear Chickweed is easy to find on the Keen of Hamar along with the two other specialities - Northern Rock Cress and Arctic Sandwort. We're also clocking up interesting species like Frog and Northern Marsh Orchid, Moonwort, Mountain Everlasting, Marsh Cinquefoil, Common and Marsh Lousewort, Butterwort, Eyebright and the now very rare - in Shetland terms - Oysterplant.

Ultimate Orkney May 2004

We like to think we know Orkney as well as we know Shetland, so when we were asked by so many travellers to create a holiday akin to our 'Ultimate Shetland' holiday, we jumped at the chance! Based at the wonderful lodges in Finstown (with the most AMAZING sea views in Orkney!) Hugh Harrop and ten of our regulars spent a week exploring the very best wildlife and archaeological sites in Orkney. The moorland provided us with excellent views of Merlin, Hen Harrier, Short-eared Owl, Peregrine, Red-throated Divers, Great and Arctic Skuas whilst the coast provided us with an array of seabirds and waders - including Black Guillemots, Puffins, summer plumaged Purple Sandpipers, Knot and Dunlin. An array of ducks on freshwater lakes included Pintail, Gadwall and Wigeon and Scaup whilst sheltered bays rewarded us with Velvet Scoter, Common Scoter, Long-tailed Ducks and scores of handsome summer-plumaged Great Northern Divers. Brick-red islandica race Black-tailed Godwits were recorded displaying at one of known sites along with lots of other 'fresh' waders like Redshank, Common Sandpiper and Snipe. Most unexpected were three star birds that we found ourselves - a Common Crane that drifted north over us at Cottascarth, a first-summer Ring-billed Gull among Common Gulls on Shapinsay and a vagrant Long-tailed Tit in the woods at Balfour Castle! Wild flowers were in full bloom and we had little difficulty finding an absolutely superb display of Scottish Primrose - Primula scotica - found here, in Caithness and in Sutherland - but nowhere else in the World! Mammal buffs were entertained by lots of Common and Grey Seals, Arctic Hare, Brown Hares, Harbour Porpoise, a solitary Otter and Orkney Voles. We will run Ultimate Orkney from the 7th - 14th May 2005 and would advise early reservations to be made. It is, after all, the best itinerary on offer and likely to fill very quickly! Click here for further information.

Up Helly Aa & Shetland's Winter Wildlife January 2004

With a polar low not too far away from us it was fingers crossed that the snow didn't hamper the highlight of our winter. And we are pleased to say it didn't! A wonderful three days with beautiful - but bitterly cold - weather had us out exploring our favourite winter sites. Superb views of several Otters - including a mother and two cubs - plus Arctic Hares, Grey and Common Seals and small numbers of Harbour Porpoises were the mammal highlights. Ornithological highlights included a long-staying American Coot, American Wigeon, Little Egret (in the snow!), Little Auk, Iceland Gull and lots of Snow Buntings. In 2005 we will be running the trip from Saturday 22nd - Wednesday 26th January. As the trip is always extremely popular, we advise early reservations to be made. Click here for our 2005 itinerary.

The run up to Up Helly Aa...

It seems as though autumn is never going to end! We've recorded some excellent birds since our Fair Isle trips including a Hume's Warbler (second for Shetland), a party of 19 Bewick's Swans (first record since 1997), scores of truly handsome Waxwings, a couple of Firecrests (very rare in these parts) and a super juvenile Spoonbill. Otters are frequenting our favourite sites and small numbers of Harbour Porpoise are appearing at traditional sites close inshore. Plenty of Great Northern Divers and Long-tailed Ducks are in sheltered voes and we have an abundance of freshwater waterfowl. Even more exciting is the amount of auroral activity we are witnessing over Shetland at present - we're keeping our fingers crossed for all our travellers joining us for Up Helly Aa 2004! You can see more pictures of the aurora and the birds mentioned above by visiting Hugh Harrop's photographic web site.

 

Autumn 2003

Our trip to Fair Isle in September and October to witness autumn bird migration was simply superb. We were blessed with some classic drift migration weather early on and it produced an array of star birds including Lanceolated Warblers, Blyth's Reed Warbler, Citrine Wagtail, Pechora Pipit, Arctic Redpoll, Little Bunting and Savi's Warbler - only the 9th Scottish record. We also recorded many Yellow-browed Warblers, at least three Barred Warblers, a couple of Common Rosefinches, Wryneck, Bean Goose, lots of Jack Snipe, Iceland Gull, Slavonian Grebe and good numbers of both Lapland and Snow Buntings. With stronger winds from the north we spent time seawatching and were rewarded with an early Little Auk. On the cetacean front we spent a couple of hours watching at least 8 Risso's Dolphins feeding with an acrobatic pod of 15 White-beaked Dolphins. A fantastic sight! Once again we'd all like to say "thanks" to Deryk, Hollie and all the 'obs' staff for making our stay so enjoyable!

Summer 2003

Our Ultimate Shetland trips throughout June and July continued to produce all of our resident breeding bird species. Phalaropes entertained all and Storm Petrels put on tremendous shows at Mousa Broch. Mammal buffs were entertained with good sightings of Otters, Minke Whales and Harbour Porpoise and one lucky group encountered a magnificent pod of Killer Whales. Wild flowers were in full bloom and we encountered all the local specialities. Highlight for some - including our guides - was a superb Hummingbird Hawk Moth which came aboard Dunter III as we sailed around the Noss seabird colonies at the latter end of June. Both of our Focus on Shetland weeks with David Tipling proved a huge success, with our photographers capturing a wide variety of 'classic' Shetland subjects on film. David and Betty Donald set the scene: "We would both like to thank you and your team for a fantastic week of bird photography, never did we expect to see, far less photograph, Red Necked Phalarope and so near. The organisation was superb and David Tipling is a treasure, so helpful and yet so gentle and laid back and so generous".

Apart from one day we were blessed with some pretty glorious weather for our second Ultimate Shetland trip! All of the breeding specialities were seen and trip highlights included no less than 10 Arctic Hares in the South Mainland, 5 Otters around the north isles, excellent views of Harbour Porpoise, a Common Crane, summer-plumaged Black-tailed Godwits, Whooper Swans with cygnets and a migrant Hobby - a rare passage migrant for us here in the north. The day around Muckle Flugga and Hermaness was hailed as one of the best ever and the Fetlar Red-necked Phalaropes once again performed exceptionally well!

 

Our first Ultimate Shetland trip of the year will be a hard act to follow - bird wise at least! All of the regular breeding species were encountered and highlights in the south Mainland included scores of Storm Petrels on Mousa, a summer plumaged Great Northern Diver, a Wood Sandpiper and a male Ortolan. Fetlar provided us with absolutely amazing views of Red-necked Phalarope, a migrant Nightjar (only the 21st record since 1970), a handsome male Bluethroat in song and a female Red-backed Shrike. We found a handsome sub adult male Marsh Harrier on Unst and for the botanists, the Keen of Hamar of Hamar was 'alive'! We recorded all the Shetland specialities plus Arctic Bearberry, Moonwort and Mountain Everlasting. Add Otters, incredible encounters with Seals and some typical Shetland summer weather - a week to remember!

Our Fair Isle Spring Migration holiday once again coincided with a spell of the fabled south-east wind. The previous day, Hugh had flown in for Shetland's fourth and Europe's fifth-ever Thick-billed Warbler which stayed for two days. Our group enjoyed superb views of a male Rustic Bunting, a female Subalpine Warbler, a Common Rosefinch, a Quail, a couple of Bluethroats, several Red-backed Shrikes, a Wryneck and lots of common migrants including Lesser and Common Whitethroats, Sedge Warbler, Grasshopper Warbler, Redstarts and Pied Flycatchers. Seabirds were also a big part of our week and we enjoyed close views of all resident species. Thanks to Deryk, Hollie, Alan, Becca, Torcuil and the rest of the "obs" staff for making our stay - as always - so enjoyable!

Our follow-on Shetland Experience holiday was just as memorable! We were rewarded with Shetland's tenth-ever Scops Owl on Unst, Red-necked Phalaropes swimming around our feet on Fetlar, stunning views of Otters near Noss, Arctic Hares on Dalsetter, a female Bluethroat at Sumburgh Head, summer plumaged Red-throated AND Great Northern Divers.Wow! Also lots of wildflowers in bloom and superb weather!

Up Helly Aa 2003

As in 2001 and 2002 we were once again blessed with some relatively good weather for our now annual Up Helly Aa and Shetland Winter wildlife trip. Our two groups of 7 travellers, who made the journey north were rewarded with great views of Otter, Arctic Hare and both Common and Grey Seals. A mass of ornithological highlights included three drake American Wigeons, Little Auks, Long-eared Owls, Eurasian White-fronted Goose, Merlins, Goosanders, Long-tailed Ducks, Slavonian Grebe, Whooper Swans, Purple Sandpipers, Great Northern and Red-throated Divers, Mealy Redpolls and Snow Buntings. It goes without saying that we witnessed a truly stunning Up Helly Aa festival!

The Winter So Far...

We've managed to escape the office over the weekends and recce our favourite spots for the forthcoming Up Helly Aa and Winter Wildlife trip in late January 2003. Five handsome Long-eared Owls have taken up residence at a small plantation in the central mainland and 2 Short-eared Owls appear to be wintering in Brow Marsh. Nearby, two drake American Wigeons, a drake Green-winged Teal and 6 Tundra Bean Geese are at Lochs of Hillwell and Spiggie along with an excellent assortment of other wildfowl. Seawatching off Sumburgh Head has produced huge numbers of Little Auks with Hugh and Paul recording 63 on 25 December and a record total of 732 birds heading south on 26 December. Sheltered voes are holding excellent numbers of Slavonian Grebes and Long-tailed Ducks, Otters are frequenting our favourite sites and small numbers of Harbour Porpoise are appearing at traditional sites close inshore.

 

Fair Isle Autumn Migration

Our week on Fair Isle coincided with a spell of fine weather and those fabled south easterly winds - ensuring there were always plenty of birds to see! Highlights included a superb White's Thrush, a stunning Alpine Swift, two Pechora Pipits (one of which we found!), a Rose-coloured Starling and a very confiding Lanceolated Warbler. Hundreds of migrants filtered through the isle and among them we recorded Taiga Bean Goose, large flocks of Pink-footed Geese, Barnacle Geese, good numbers of Jack Snipe, Corncrake, Short-eared Owl, Red-backed Shrike, Yellow-browed Warbler, several Barred Warblers, Lapland Buntings and a Hawfinch. Once again we'd all like to say "thanks" to Deryk, Hollie and all the 'obs' staff for making our stay so enjoyable! Our 2003 trip will run from 27th September - 4th October.

 

Summer 2002

Our Fair Isle Spring Migration holiday coincided with a spell of the fabled south-east wind. Heading the cast was the third-ever Montagu's Harrier for Shetland, a Spotted Crake, a singing male Corncrake, several stunning male Bluethroats, Red-backed Shrikes, Grey-headed Wagtails, a superb selection of commoner passage migrants and 250,000 seabirds (well nearly!). On return from Fair Isle, we successfully "twitched" a handsome Ross's Gull and a drake Black Duck. Thanks to Deryk, Hollie and all the "obs" staff for making our stay so enjoyable!

Our follow-on Shetland Experience holiday was just as memorable! A superb adult Great White Egret, a singing Icterine Warbler and super looks at Arctic Skuas and Whimbrels made an enjoyable day in the south Mainland. On Sunday we headed north to Yell where two Otters and a summer plumaged Great Northern Diver preceded two handsome Red-necked Phalaropes on Fetlar. The latter island also offered stunning views of two Black-tailed Godwits, an assortment of breeding waders and two more summer plumaged Great Northern Divers! Our full day on Unst on Monday saw us on Hermaness where Puffins posed for ultra-close photographs, Dunlins ran at out feet and the Gannetry amazed all! The afternoon visit to Keen of Hamar was "alive" with flowers in bloom - our endemic Mouse-ear Chickweed was abundant and we also logged Arctic Sandwort, Moss Campion, Northern Rock Cress and Early Purple Orchid.

Our first Shetland Experience trip of June got the month off to a wonderful start. Strong easterly winds didn't stop us heading to the Noss seabird colonies and we were rewarded with stunning close up views of all our seabirds. Grey and Common Seals swam around the boat and we also glimpsed a Harbour Porpoise. At Sumburgh Head we enjoyed close views of a male Subalpine Warbler (Hugh went and found another a few days later!) and on Fetlar we once again enjoyed incredible views of Red-necked Phalaropes and found a small flock of Common Scoter. The Unst weather was kind and we had arms-length views of Puffins at Hermaness, a Marsh Warbler at Haroldswick and an array of wild flowers once again on Keen of Hamar before celebrating Jubilee Monday with Earl Grey tea and cucumber sandwiches at the Unst Bus Shelter!

The first Ultimate Shetland trip of the year could well be hard to beat! Ornithological highlights included a stunning summer plumaged White-billed Diver, two singing male Spotted Crakes, a couple of migrant Crossbills, a summering Glaucous Gull and superb looks at both Storm Petrels and Red-necked Phalaropes. Mammal highlights included no less than six Otters on our Top of Britain cruise and a couple of confiding Arctic Hares on Dalsetter. One thing that doesn't happen very often is to see our guides being whisked away in a helicopter! In this instance, the coast guard performed an at-sea winching exercise off Bressay, with Hugh as the guinea pig - he dangled proudly from a huge Sikorsky over the North Sea for five minutes before we agreed to have him back on board our boat!

We couldn't have asked for better weather on our Focus on Shetland holiday. We were blessed with sunny skies - and ultimately awesome sunsets - for most of the week! Our mustard-keen group were treated with photographic opportunities of Storm Petrels, displaying Black Guillemots, Red-necked Phalaropes, foraging Bonxies and both Common and Arctic Terns. Wild flowers also featured on the agenda as did Grey Seals, Common Seals, Hedgehog and Shetland Ponies! We also found a couple of Killer Whales off Sumburgh Head and had good sightings of both White-sided and White-beaked Dolphins! Quite a week!

Our second Ultimate Shetland week was timed to enjoy some of the best seabird colonies in Europe! With tens of thousands of Guillemots, Razorbills, Kittiwakes, Gannets and Puffins crammed into the immense seabird cities of Noss, Hermaness and Sumburgh, we were able to view them at all altitudes - from the sea to the clifftops. Add to this some spectacular views of the aerial predators attempting to grab a free meal from the law-abiding birds and we were in for some fascinating showdowns! Great Skuas dragged Gannets by the wing until they released their catch and Arctic Skuas engaged in dog-fights with Arctic Terns for a sandeel supper. June is also a fabulous month to enjoy Shetland - a blaze of colour with meadows strewn with the yellows, purples of Ragged Robin, Meadow Buttercup and five species of orchid!

The last Shetland Experience holiday of June came up trumps with excellent mammal sightings - Otter, White-beaked Dolphin, Harbour Porpoise and both Grey and Common Seals were all seen well. Along with all the regular breeding species, a female Red-backed Shrike on Unst was a surprise although a few commoner migrants such as Blackcap and Whitethroat were also seen.

Both our Fair Isle Island Insights holidays were described as truly magical by our travellers! At the end of our first trip we were rewarded with superb views of a pod of Killer Whales which Hugh and Dylan had found off Sumburgh Head earlier in the morning. A quick phone call to the coastguard ensured the message was relayed directly to The Good Shepherd in order for all to enjoy! Traveller Richard Mayall writes "It was one of the best holidays we have ever had. The week on Fair Isle was an enormous success - Hollie is a real gem - she made us so welcome and despite all her other duties nothing was ever too much trouble. Alan was a very caring leader, made certain that everyone had seen everything and that we were happy and enlightened. He made a massive contribution to the enjoyment of our holiday. The food, as you predicted, was excellent and the most memorable aspect was the reception we got from the islanders - everyone was so friendly and welcoming and allowed us to be part of the scene". Richard also describes our Ultimate Shetland 6 - 13 July trip. He writes "during our second week on Shetland we were blessed with an outstanding guide in Laughton. His knowledge of every subject is prodigious - he helped us to understand about every aspect of every venue. Coupled with his pleasant personality the week could not help but be a success".

It's hard to believe that we witnessed the first signs of autumn during Ultimate Shetland 13 - 20 July. Migrant shorebirds were in evidence at Pool of Virkie with summer plumaged Knot, Bar-tailed Godwit and Sanderling on view. We found a superb adult Crane at Burrafirth whilst watching Arctic Hare and incredibly we saw another Crane on Fetlar whilst watching Red-necked Phalaropes! Storm Petrels put on an awesome show at Mousa Broch, Harbour Porpoise swam a few feet from our boat at Noss and our day at Hermaness and Muckle Flugga aboard Dunter II was described by Jonathan as probably the best ever!

Our last Shetland Experience holiday of the year was a highly enjoyable way to finish off our summer wildlife season! We were treated to excellent views of a feeding Otter on Yell, a plethora of migrant waders at Baltasound and a glorious morning at Hermaness. We also had awesome views of Puffin chicks at Sumburgh, close up Storm Petrels at Mousa Broch and simply outstanding views of Grey Seals off Bressay!

Extremadura & Coto Doñana April 30 - May 11 2002

Five glorious days in Extremadura had us studying an array of species including Great & Little Bustards, Spanish Imperial & Bonelli's Eagles, Black-bellied Sandgrouse, Black-shouldered Kite, Roller, Calandra Larks, Spanish Sparrows. In the Coto Doñana we enjoyed Red-necked Nightjars, Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, Little Bitterns, 2 superb Black-shouldered Kites, thousands of north-bound waders (including flocks of Curlew Sandpipers and Spotted Redshanks), Ferruginous Ducks and a family party of Crested Coots (at one of Hugh's stake-outs!). We plan to repeat the trip once again in April / May 2003 so e-mail us for further information.

 

Up Helly Aa 2002

As in 2001 we were once again blessed with good weather for our annual Up Helly Aa and Shetland Winter wildlife trip - though with wind chill equivalent temperatures down to as low minus 10, it did feel a bit on the cool side! Our two groups of 8 travellers, who made the journey north were rewarded with stunning views of a mother Otter with two cubs, three handsome Arctic Hares and masses of Atlantic Grey and Common Seals. Ornithological highlights included a fine drake American Wigeon, Glaucous and Iceland Gulls, Slavonian Grebes, Long-tailed Ducks, Whooper Swans, Purple Sandpipers, Great Northern and Red-throated Divers, Snow Buntings and Merlin. Needless to say, we witnessed a truly stunning Up Helly Aa festival, headed by Guizer Jarl Bruce Leask.

Our 2003 holiday will operate from 25 - 29 January and we would strongly advise advance reservations to be made to us at reservations@shetlandwildlife.co.uk. The price will remain unchanged at £395 per person with a single supplement of £40.00.

 

Whales & Dolphins of the European Atlantic - the Bay of Biscay & the English Channel by Dylan Walker & Graeme Creswell

This is the first comprehensive guide to the identification of whales, dolphins and porpoises (collectively known as cetaceans) in the European Atlantic. Until very recently, most researchers and whale-watchers were unaware of the great variety of cetaceans that can be seen so close to the shores of western Europe. Indeed, it is only during the last decade, when detailed cetacean surveys have been carried out in earnest, that we have discovered how important this area is for cetacean biodiversity. This field guide describes all of the 27 species of whale, dolphin and porpoise that have occurred in the European Atlantic. Knowledge of the identification of cetaceans at sea is developing rapidly and this book aims to provide an easy-to-use, detailed guide for both the ocean-going and land-based whale-watcher. For every species there is a description of the key identification features, notes on how to separate it from similar species, a brief natural history, and a map showing its known distribution and likelihood of occurrence. Facing each species account is a colour plate which has been created, using the latest digital image technology, from up to four separate surface photographs. These photographs have been carefully selected to illustrate the key identification features. Whilst photographs of cetaceans at sea usually only reveal a part of the animal, be it the back, the dorsal fin, a raised tail or merely a blow, such images are considered to be the most informative way of aiding identification, since they show the animal from the whale-watcher's perspective. Because whales and dolphins often only show a small proportion of their bodies at the surface, and may only be seen briefly, observers have in the past often considered definite identification to be too difficult. Although some species are rarely seen at sea, either because they avoid boats, live far from shore or remain submerged for long periods of time, and their identification is still poorly known, in most cases identifying cetaceans at sea is not always as difficult as it may first appear. There are many features to look for and, with experience, it is often easy to identify a whale or dolphin at a considerable distance. Whilst little is known of the biology and identification of some species within the European Atlantic, our understanding of these mysterious animals is increasing all the time. For example, this is the first publication ever to show photographs taken at sea of the four species of Mesoplodon beaked whale currently known to occur in the North Atlantic. These photographs have provided some new pointers to the identification of this particularly difficult group.

"This is an excellent practical, pocket-sized photographic guide to the 27 species of cetaceans that are known to have occurred in European waters (excluding the far north). Based on experiences gained by regularly travelling the ferry runs across the channel and Biscay, the authors have produced a very useful review of the field id of cetaceans at sea, backed up by a comprehensive set of colour photographs and line drawings (the latter by Phil Coles). At times several photos have been merged to make field comparison between species clearer, and where photographs are unavailable (i.e. Pygmy Sperm Whale and True's Beaked Whale) these have been tastefully computer-generated by Rob Still - it is amazing what can be achieved these days! An encounter with a cetacean or two livens up the dullest sea watch, but can be frustrating if you are not prepared for the features to watch out for. Although precise identifications are not always possible, now, with this excellent guide there need be few excuses - any birder worth their salt should get a copy, digest its contents, and be ready for that big event". Steve Madge.

To order your copy call us on 01950 422483, fax us on 01950 422430 or e mail our shop. Copies cost £9.00 inc p&p within the UK, £10.00 for Europe / Rest of World. We accept Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Delta and Switch cards and you can also pay by personal cheque drawn from a UK bank account.

Are Shetland Swallows on the increase?

Many folk look forward to seeing their first Swallow of the year, although the old addage that "one Swallow doesn't make a summer" is certainly true in Shetland! Despite its familiarity there is still much that goes unrecorded about Swallows in Shetland. Most visiting the islands are of Scandinavian origin, migrating to, and from, their wintering grounds in southern Africa. They occur between April and October, sometimes in huge numbers - 350 were seen on Fair Isle on 15^th May 1997! Very few remain to breed although there is evidence to suggest that the breeding population has increased in recent years. Henry Saxby first confirmed breeding in Shetland in 1867, when a pair laid eggs at Petester on Unst. The Venables', who recorded much about the natural history of these islands, knew of only 16 nests in the first half of the twentieth century with records from Unst, Yell, Fetlar, Mainland, Whalsay, Out Skerries, Foula and Vementry. Sporadic breeding continued around the islands through the 1960s and Swallows bred on Fair Isle for the first time in 1962.Since 1970 breeding has been reported annually with a maximum of nine pairs in 1978, 1993, 1998 and 2000. Unfortunately, not all nesting attempts have been reported in recent years and it is likely that the breeding population is now well into double figures. Almost a third of the reports have been in Dunrossness, especially in the Sumburgh, Quendale and Hillwell area, although breeding has been reported from all parishes and all the islands, except Bressay and Papa Stour. It is also unclear how often, if at all, a pair of Swallows raises two broods of chicks in a season in Shetland. This is commonplace further south where longer summers and better weather mean that conditions for breeding and feeding young remain favourable for several months. There have certainly been cases where it appears that two broods have successfully been raised in Shetland, although these may refer to cases where the first breeding attempt failed, or a clutch of eggs was laid very late in the season. Swallows have been observed feeding chicks on Unst as late as October! Shetland Biological Records Centre (SBRC) would be delighted to hear from anyone who can provide information about breeding Swallows in the islands this year. As well as helping us establish an accurate estimate of the breeding population we may be able to confirm that Shetland's Swallows can raise two broods of chicks in a year. With increasing evidence of Global warming it will be interesting to see whether the population of Swallows in the islands continues to increase. An accurate assessment of the population in 2001 will help us determine this. SBRC would also be delighted to hear of any breeding pairs of House Martins. This close cousin of the Swallow is a rare breeder in Shetland, with just one or two pairs having bred in ten years since 1970. Again there is a question mark over whether two broods can ever be raised in a season. A pair on Foula in 1994 nested in a small cavity in a cliff face - presumably such breeding sites would have been commonplace before the advent of modern houses and their associated eaves. Shetland Biological Records Centre can be contacted by telephone on 01595 694688 or by e-mail, sbrc@zetnet.co.uk. Otherwise, call by the office at 22-24 North Road, Lerwick.

Shetland Frog Watch

This important survey, launched in 1999 by Shetland Biological Records Centre is designed to find out more about the distribution and spread of Shetland's amphibians. There are no naturally-occurring amphibians in Shetland. The Common Frog and the Common Toad are the only species to have been recorded, and both have been brought here by man, primarily in the past 100 years. Toads have been introduced in small numbers a few times, but have never managed to gain a proper foothold in Shetland. Indeed, there have been only five sightings of Toads in the past 50 years, and no confirmed records of breeding. The first record of a Common Frog in Shetland was at Brough Lodge in Fetlar, in 1895. This probably arrived in Shetland safe in a bundle of hay, from mainland Scotland. Since then there have been further introductions, and these have led to a widespread distribution of Frogs on many islands. For example, it is thought that most Frogs on the Mainland originate largely from two introductions, at Berry in Scalloway, in 1922, and at Seafield in Lerwick, in the late 1920s. We know that Frogs were introduced to Unst in 1931 and at Walls in the 1930s. Frogs have been at the Bridge of Walls and North Roe since the 1940s and at West Burrafirth since the 1950s, and they were also recorded in Foula in the 1950s. As well as Mainland, Frogs were known from Unst, Yell, Fetlar, Foula and Burra in 1982, when the last survey of Frogs in Shetland was carried out, and possibly from Whalsay and the Scalloway Islands too. We believe there may have been significant changes in distribution since then. For a free pack (together with survey forms), e mail SBRC

Free Cetacean Identification Charts

As part of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society's Sail to Save project, a laminated field guide has been produced to help you identify any whales or dolphins that you might see around the UK coast. To order your free copy (UK residents only), please send an A4 SAE to: Sightings, WDCS, Alexander House, James St. West, Bath BA1 2BT. Tel. 01225 334511 or email: sightings@wdcs.org