Shetland Birding, Autumn 2023
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- Опубликовано: 26 окт 2023
- I travelled to Shetland with two friends to witness bird migration in this beautiful part of the British Isles. Join us and see what happened as we chased up and down the Shetland Islands in search of our feathered friends.
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Great watch, love that Snowy Owl!
Thanks for watching and commenting...👍🏻
Yeah, the Snowy Owl was our bird of the trip, even though some of the American vagrants were rarer. There was just something special about the way we found the bird, and the magnificence of it living up there alone in the wilderness.
Top notch. Loved it, great birds, views and commentary 'Superb'!
Thanks a lot Tony. I'm really pleased you enjoyed the video, I had a great time making it. Shetland is such a brilliant place to visit, I'll certainly be trying to go back there again. All the best...👍🏻
@@davidbenson735 I look forward to that, it not only looks amazing but produces so much!
Looks like you had a productive trip. Some goid photos there and the weather looked reasonable too. Thanks for posting
Thanks a lot Pete. Yeah, it was a great trip, loads of good birds and I wasn't expecting the weather to be so kind. I did miss getting out on the bike though, the roads looked great for cycling in Shetland, very quiet. All the best, Dave.
I am not a twitcher, but enjoyed that. Beautiful islands
Thanks very much for watching and commenting.
A stunning place is Shetland, but for rare birds this autumn it has been beaten by Pembrokeshire, mostly American warblers blown across the Atlantic with the storms. You never know what you might come across on your coastal walks. All the best.
@@davidbenson735 Ooh. Exciting. I stood and videoed a group of small birds swooping around on the cliff top for ages last week. No idea what they were
That was ace!
Thanks very much, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Cheers...👍🏻
I look forward to your next video 👌👍🍺👀
Thanks a lot for watching and commenting. Cheers...👍🏻
That was great. I enjoy seeing your part of the world.
Thanks!
Thanks a lot for watching and commenting. I'm glad you enjoyed seeing Shetland. It was my first visit there and I would love to go back again. It had the feel of how the rest of the UK used to be 50 years ago, a much slower pace of life. All the best.
@@davidbenson735 funny story. I saw a bird in my garden this morning I had never seen before. I thought of you. I’ll let you know if I ever figure out what it was.
@EriebyCycle Yes please do, then I'll look it up in my National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America...👍 Cheers
Hi Dave, the bird I saw in my garden I think was either an American Redstart, or some variant of an Eastern Towhee. I'm leaning towards the Redstart. First I've seen one in my yard.@@davidbenson735
Hi Josh, thanks for getting back to me on the bird. I've enjoyed doing a bit of research in my books and might be able to help with your identification process.
Both species would be present in your area during the summer months but would move south for the winter and could potentially turn up in autumn on passage.
The main difference in the 2 species is that the Redstart is a tree dwelling bird feeding mainly on insects, but the Towhee is more suited to feeding on seeds on the ground. So behaviour would be noticeably different.
Also, the Redstart is described as having very active darting movements. And often raises and spreads its tail and droops its wings.
The Towhee has become much less common in NE USA, declining by as much as 90%.
Both species are attractive looking birds, they have been seen in the UK, as vagrants, but very rarely.
Thanks again and all the best, Dave.
I wonder if the birds that get blown away from their natural environment ever get back home. Twitching looks like fun for the old blokes
Sadly a lot of the displaced birds never get back to where they should be.
This was my first "twitch" to Shetland and I'd love to go again, maybe in the summer to see the breeding seabirds in their natural environment.
All the best and thanks for watching.
It looks like you found the Snowy Owl on Paidland Vird of Ronas Hill. Two have been seen there in recent years but I believe a dead one was found last year.
You might be interested in some of our Shetland bird names.
Musabrödir is the Wren and means the mouse's brother.
Katty Ugle is Snowy Owl.
Maalie is Fulmar.
Teisti is Black Guillemot.
Solan is Gannet.
Snafugl is Snow Bunting.
Skarf is Shag.
That's really sad about the dead owl, I wonder if it was it's partner?
Thank you for sharing the Shetland bird names, I will use them when I next visit Shetland.
Thanks a lot for watching the video and commenting. Cheers.
@@davidbenson735 Hi, yes, they were thought to be a pair. I look forward to seeing your next visit/video :)