Monday 5 July 2010

Summering LONG-TAILED SKUA on Shetland













This adult summer LONG-TAILED SKUA, fabulously photographed by Dougie Preston, frequented an Arctic Skua colony at East Hogaland Burra on Shetland for a second summer running and was first seen in mid May. The bird was quite aggressive and chasing away all other skuas in the area, apart from one dark morph Arctic Skua that it didn't seem to mind being close to. The bird fed on the short grass of the moorland, and was seen eating small mammalian items on the ground frequently.