I woke up this morning at 6.00am and the worst possible sight for a birder was a clear night.
THE VIEW FROM MY BEDROOM WINDOW
THE VIEW FROM Allen's HOUSE THIS MORNING
Thankfully, though, by 7.00am I got news that the Bunting was still present, so I said my goodbye's and started the journey south to get the ferry from Vidlin.
Allen's HOUSE AT HAROLDSWICK
Leaving Belmont on the ferry I arrived at Gutcher ferry terminal on Yell when I noticed an Otter eating a crab on the rocks. I drove off the ferry and parked up and got cracking views as it fed.
OTTER
I was made up with the views I got and how close the Otter fed; it just wasn't bothered that I was there. Moving onto Vidlin, I met up with other birders that were going over for the bird, and we got news again that the bird was still present.
The ferry journey was just over an hour and a half, and we saw a few birds on the journey: black guillemot, storm petrel, Fulmar, and Gannet. We soon arrived on the islands and were yomping towards where the bird had been seen thanks to a local birder who directed us. We didn't have to wait long before the yellow-breasted bunting appeared on a wall and showed really well before flying behind some houses.
WHAT A BIRD!YELLOW BREASTED BUNTING.
The bird showed well on occasions but did spend a lot of time feeding in nearby gardens out of view.This was a fantastic bird to see and one on my wish list after visiting Shetland in the autumn for so many years.
Other birds of note on the island were: Little Bunting, Lesser Whitethroat, Yellow-breasted Warbler, and a Redstart.
REDSTART
I left the island just after 4.00pm after brief views of the bird. Hopefully another one will turn up again on our shores, but as you can read below, the chance of seeing one again is very slim.
OUT SKERRIES
YELLOW BREASTED BUNTING STATUS:
Until 2004, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature considered the yellow-breasted bunting to be a species of least concern. In 2004, its status was changed to near threatened and four years later it was uplisted again to vulnerable after new research has shown it to be rarer than had been believed. It is subject to heavy hunting pressure in China, through which most specimens pass during migration.In 2013, its assessment changed to endangered and continues to decline.The decline of the yellow-breasted bunting is likely to be from repeatedly trapping at migration and most specifically winter sites. The bird's habitat is disturbed, then caught in mistnets. They are then cooked and sold as "sparrows" or "rice birds.". Even though the actions have been restricted to a small area in southern China, they have become more widespread and popular due to increasing wealth, and hunters now travel long distances to find sufficient birds. The irrigation of rice production shift has reduced the quality and quantity of wintering habitats, including the loss of water stubble, and the loss of reedbeds has reduced the available roost site numbers.
