Sorry, nada.
Should work now
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Yep !
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Absolutely buzzing! It took us 3 hrs to find the Merlin nest in the heather and it was bloody hard work but the reward at the end made it all worthwhile.
Four chicks - 2 male/2 female based on size and weight - estimated at 2 1/2 weeks old. Nearby we found the remains of a Meadow Pipit on what was clearly a regular spot for them to prepare their prey before feeding the chicks.
I was even allowed to ring one of the chicks, a real privilege.
To give you an idea of how difficult it is to find their nests, it is in this photograph and there’s miles of this stuff to search through
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I can’t explain how special it all was, to me.
I knew for certain that there was a pair breeding there but finding their nest was always going to be the hard part. Not only did we find it, I learned a hell of a lot from my friend who came to help (and ring them, of course) His knowledge of the species and their behaviour may well be unmatched, I’m merely a novice, in comparison.
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It must have been a special moment indeed - and your face shows it!
Hope all 4 get to adulthood. I guess there must be a decent food supply nearby, and hopefully few predators (any bonxies near?)
What tactic do the parents use when you get near the nest? Distract or attack?
Their diet is largely small passerines taken on the wing (a high % of that will be Meadow Pipits) and there are more than enough of them to keep the family well fed.
They’re nesting amongst the largest Bonxie population on the island. Even a bird that big wouldn’t risk serious injury attempting to take the chicks. There’s a high likelihood they will all fledge.
The parents fly around you but not really close, alarm calling constantly until you retreat to what they think is a safe distance and then they will just perch and watch you until you’re far away from the nest site. Only then will they return to the chicks.
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Probably a silly question, but how do you search for the nest without treading on it? Are you just using hands and eyes and ears or do you have any electronic or physical equipment to assist?
Very, very, very carefully. No fancy equipment, just slow, painstaking searching.
The word nest is doing some heavy lifting too, it’s just a bit of bare ground beneath the heather.
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Was the Merlin app useful? coz it’s sounds Taylor made?
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While something of a statement-of-the-obvious, 'tis unquestionably good news -
…it’s almost more surprising that there’s implicitly enough fish available to the birds to fuel this recovery.
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Going there for the day tomorrow, ought to be interesting.
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A female Ruddy Shelduck found by a visiting birder today took three hours for me to relocate but as it is only the second record for Shetland, it was time well spent.
Foolishly it decided to land on a small lochan with breeding Red-throated Divers
They weren’t impressed!
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Hoping for one of your photoblogs 
Handsome thing!
Juvenile female.
Always doubts about the provenance of these things but the credentials of this bird are about as good as you could get. All one can do is to record them and the rest is up to the authorities to determine if it gets accepted. 
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Very pleasant day, both weather wise and also the variety of birds to be found.
Two singing Quails were no surprise, I’ve heard at least 10 this Spring and we also have a breeding pair present. A Water Rail was my first since the Winter.
I helped out with a Phalarope survey at a fantastic site (3 males & 2 females)
All of our Red-throated Divers now have chicks on the water
Newly fledged Wheatears are popping up everywhere
The Ruddy Shelduck appeared again after going AWOL for the last couple of days
and I found a Snipe’s nest
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