Thursday afternoon and you will find me packing vegetables at Transition Turriefield ready to go to the shops.  It’s what I do.  Not a job – I volunteer.

Anyway, we were all weighing, packing and labelling away, chatting as we went when someone appeared with binoculars and a casually slung camera saying he had just seen (and it was a confirmed sighting) of an Eastern Crowned Warbler (Phylloscopus coronatus) at Turriefield.

Apparently this is a very rare bird who has absolutely no business being in Shetland being happier in Japan or Manchuria.   I had a look but regretfully saw nothing.  It’s green. The trees are green.  Nuff said.

However, I did then spot about 200 bird-watchers (you aren’t allowed to call them twitchers – they hate that) descend on the hill opposite, complete with “bins” and cameras, with longer lenses than mine.

   

Bored of not seeing this extremely rare bird who has obviously made a wrong turn somewhere, I took photos of the polytunnels in the low Autumn sunlight instead.

 

And then went back indoors to talk to Trotsky, the cat, and finish my vegetable packing.

One thing I will add is that these bird-watchers drive fast and don’t care about other road-users in their pursuit of a rare bird and nearly had me off the road on my way home.  Not great really.