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The northerly breeze is picking up and dropping the temperature, but the sugar has attracted 7 Angle Shades, 3 Dark Sword-grass and my first Setaceous Hebrew Character of the year (a species unknown in the spring in Fair Isle until 2024). #TeamMoth

submitted 14 days ago • 0 comments

A few nice birds in recent days. Buzzard (photo from Tarryfield where it was heading north, but a call to Susannah got it on the croft list) and Bee-eater (a Fair Isle tick for me and, in the last image, also an addition to the croft list, which now stands at 210). My #PWC2025 list is now 116.

submitted 15 days ago • 0 comments

Some decent mothing weather in Fair Isle has seen a few good records, including a lot of earliest ever dates. A mild, calm and foggy night on Monday was perfect and highlights were Shetland's first Black- fronted Straw and a Fair Isle record count of 32 Marbled Coronets (IDs in Alt text). #teammoth

submitted 15 days ago • 0 comments

Mothing in Fair Isle is very slow in the spring. Apart from a couple of White-shouldered House Moths, the only thing in the trap this morning was this rather lovely Brindled Ochre. #TeamMoth

submitted 31 days ago • 0 comments

Pretty much any moth in the spring is noteworthy in Fair Isle, but it's too good a night not to try the trap for the first time this year. A Dark Sword-grass on the sugar already is a good start! #TeamMoth

submitted 37 days ago • 1 comment

This Dark Sword-grass was a bonus of the midnight lamb check. Seems like it's the earliest Fair Isle record by about two months. #teammoth

submitted 48 days ago • 0 comments

Absolutely delighted that my first Green Sandpiper of the year was in our small garden pond. Also a breeding-plumage Great Northern Diver from the lounge window. #BirdingScotland #PWC2025 #FairIsle

submitted 55 days ago • 1 comment

With only five previous Fair Isle records (just one of which was in spring), I wasn't expecting this Sword-grass on the sugar tonight. A bonus of overnight lambing checks! #Teammoth

submitted 57 days ago • 0 comments

Blue sky, sunshine, our first lambs of the year on Sunday and a Swallow has just gone through the garden - I think just a day later than the earliest Fair Isle record. #BirdingScotland

submitted 59 days ago • 0 comments

Not many birds make me gasp out loud, but it turns out my first Wheatear of the year did! A female in Gilsetter, Fair Isle. #BirdingScotland

submitted 67 days ago • 0 comments

Yay, I get a mention in the PWC roundup (admittedly, for having one of the slowest starts to the year in the country). I'm looking forward to adding a few species, but proper spring migration is still a loooong way off for Fair Isle.

submitted 112 days ago • 0 comments

A beautiful, calm day in Fair Isle, ending with a fabulous sunset, nacreous clouds then a massive meteor/fireball!

submitted 118 days ago • 0 comments

A quick tot-up of the year list so far shows I'm on 53 species; a slow start. Three White-fronted Geese arrived on Sunday, one of the few signs of movement so far this year, with Goldeneye, Red-throated Diver and a dead Little Auk amongst the the other less-expected species. #patchworkchallenge

submitted 120 days ago • 0 comments

Don't think these photos will help much, but anyone got a suggestion for this long-dead stowaway moth found in a pepper we were having for dinner? #TeamMoth

submitted 130 days ago • 3 comments

A fabulous ru n of sunsets in Fair Isle in recent days. This is the current view from our croft.

submitted 134 days ago • 0 comments

Hill Dyke, Fair Isle, Shetland. 0835hrs 04.01.2025.

submitted 146 days ago • 0 comments

A brief glimpse of the sun today, just before it set. Merry Christmas from Fair Isle to you all, I look forward to catching up with many of you next year, hopefully over a good bird in the Shirva garden!

submitted 157 days ago • 1 comment

Don't think I'll be getting a 'shortest day sunset' photo at five past three today. I'm pretty sure this weather will bring no birds, but the winds are straight from Greenland, so I can dream of a Gyr!

submitted 160 days ago • 0 comments

🚨JOB OPENING🚨 We are looking to employ a housekeeper for the 2025 season! Accommodation at the observatory included. For more information and to apply please contact [email protected] Please share!

submitted 172 days ago • 1 comment

There's never a day when the view from my doorstep doesn't make me smile (or at least, should make me smile, so I'll try to remember that!).

submitted 173 days ago • 1 comment

A strong northerly brought a small 'wreck' of sea creatures to Fair Isle's North Haven, including three Squid (Loligo vulgaris). #beachcombing

submitted 173 days ago • 1 comment

I wondered whether an apparent increase in thrushes could have been psychological, given the SE wind that developed during the day, but the first Woodcock on the croft for a while and 3 Song Thrush (including the first recent record in the garden) suggests a genuine arrival. #BirdingScotland

submitted 178 days ago • 1 comment

A Velvet Scoter in Furse takes my Fair Isle year list to 174, with 159 self-found (I think). Still a chance of a few more, but the days (and daylight!) are running out... #BirdingScotland

submitted 178 days ago • 1 comment

#birdingNE My Mam tells me there's currently a Mandarin in Barnes Park, Sunderland. Many years ago I saw a male Wood Duck there (so long ago, it was called a Carolina), but I suspect this has better credentials (and I still need it for my Barnes Park list!).

submitted 182 days ago • 1 comment

This 'blue' Fulmar was swirling amongst its regular relatives in Linni Geo before giving me a close fly past. A beautiful day today in Fair Isle. #BirdingScotland

submitted 184 days ago • 0 comments

Looks like anything leaving Norway on Saturday night is heading to Fair Isle. How excited should I be?! #BirdingScotland

submitted 188 days ago • 2 comments