Logan Johnson
@ljohnbirding1.bsky.social
Shetland born & bred, birder, naturalist, ZRSG Chair, C-Ringer, native tree and woodland enthusiast, moth-er, Northwoods Rewilding Network member
Well, it might no live up tae d recent images o N'thern Long-t Tit on Shetland, but I wis d only 'non-islander' tae catch d Whalsay bird (d crossin on d ferry wisna half something!), nearly flyin into us at times n the pissin rain, utter magic, I've had 1 in my freezer since 2016, not as lively!
October 23, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Well, it might no live up tae d recent images o N'thern Long-t Tit on Shetland, but I wis d only 'non-islander' tae catch d Whalsay bird (d crossin on d ferry wisna half something!), nearly flyin into us at times n the pissin rain, utter magic, I've had 1 in my freezer since 2016, not as lively!
A eventful non-bird 24hours in Shetland this week. Migration slow (understatement) but got a call and picked up a dead bat from Yell to be ID'd by our local expert, then Storm Petrel from a local fishing boat to be released. And the Blue Shark the day before on St Ninians after dipping Snow Goose
October 18, 2025 at 7:26 PM
A eventful non-bird 24hours in Shetland this week. Migration slow (understatement) but got a call and picked up a dead bat from Yell to be ID'd by our local expert, then Storm Petrel from a local fishing boat to be released. And the Blue Shark the day before on St Ninians after dipping Snow Goose
Plenty o wild Dog Rose berry still to be found, but non-native Wood Mice ir giving me some competition! 1 bush I found down a cliff had 100s o half eaten mounds, thankfully still some nice big berry to gather n grow on the next gen, but shows that natural spread will struggle here with INN-mammals
October 8, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Plenty o wild Dog Rose berry still to be found, but non-native Wood Mice ir giving me some competition! 1 bush I found down a cliff had 100s o half eaten mounds, thankfully still some nice big berry to gather n grow on the next gen, but shows that natural spread will struggle here with INN-mammals
So far a good looking season on Mousa fir Euro Storm Petrel, both on the long-term study plots in the dyke waas o the isle while in the other day, and elsewhar, good some seabirds are managing and to hear of the studies on Stormies bringing up good results
September 17, 2025 at 9:34 PM
So far a good looking season on Mousa fir Euro Storm Petrel, both on the long-term study plots in the dyke waas o the isle while in the other day, and elsewhar, good some seabirds are managing and to hear of the studies on Stormies bringing up good results
Some red gold found this week, a wild relic Shetland Honeysuckle with about 100 berries on it, rare I've ever seen more than a couple per plant, n given each berry rarely holds more than 1-2 seeds (up2 -6), each berry goes a long way to growing the next gen
September 17, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Some red gold found this week, a wild relic Shetland Honeysuckle with about 100 berries on it, rare I've ever seen more than a couple per plant, n given each berry rarely holds more than 1-2 seeds (up2 -6), each berry goes a long way to growing the next gen
Not often nowadays I find my own Shetland-tick, and glad I bothered to look at the 'odd seagull' going in circles as I was looking at wildflowers! A long-awaited Shetland bird, only been about 10 years since I got Black Kite up here
Managed to get onto this juvenile Red Kite at Graven north mainland as I was on the way home from a shopping tip! Info came out at just the right time despite directions being wrong! Originally found by Logan Johnson yesterday a few miles away. #birdingshetland
September 12, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Not often nowadays I find my own Shetland-tick, and glad I bothered to look at the 'odd seagull' going in circles as I was looking at wildflowers! A long-awaited Shetland bird, only been about 10 years since I got Black Kite up here
Enroute back from Mongolia and seemed wrong no to drop into Musselburgh fir the Marsh Sandpiper, certainly closer views than most o the birds when I wis farther east! A nice Scottish tick to start off the autumn
September 9, 2025 at 6:14 AM
Enroute back from Mongolia and seemed wrong no to drop into Musselburgh fir the Marsh Sandpiper, certainly closer views than most o the birds when I wis farther east! A nice Scottish tick to start off the autumn
2 new additions to the local Shetland tree fauna, possibly 2 new Salix aurita sites, near to areas believed extinct, one of these only 10s of metres from the main road and the other taking numerous attempts to find
June 11, 2025 at 11:05 PM
2 new additions to the local Shetland tree fauna, possibly 2 new Salix aurita sites, near to areas believed extinct, one of these only 10s of metres from the main road and the other taking numerous attempts to find
Shetland Kale, planted on the croft at the start of the month, finally starting to perk up, hopefully come autumn it'll be a good refugia for insects and ideally I'll pop my head over the dyke to a rare bird or 2! Otherwise it will be used as a seed stock for future crops and leftovers fir the kye
May 30, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Shetland Kale, planted on the croft at the start of the month, finally starting to perk up, hopefully come autumn it'll be a good refugia for insects and ideally I'll pop my head over the dyke to a rare bird or 2! Otherwise it will be used as a seed stock for future crops and leftovers fir the kye
Woodpigeon continuing to just be bonkers, shoved my walking stick in this hole to see how deep it was, WP flew out and found a C2! Practically underground, ground nesting probably common up here but not often found, Merlin pair around too!
May 28, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Woodpigeon continuing to just be bonkers, shoved my walking stick in this hole to see how deep it was, WP flew out and found a C2! Practically underground, ground nesting probably common up here but not often found, Merlin pair around too!
1/ Montbretia (Crocosmia sp/var) a pretty hellish but attractive invasive, regularly planted in Shetland gardens and now spreading onto the roadside (if not deliberately planted) along side plenty o other invasives, now the slow process of removal, it's doable but needing a few extra hands!
May 28, 2025 at 9:01 AM
1/ Montbretia (Crocosmia sp/var) a pretty hellish but attractive invasive, regularly planted in Shetland gardens and now spreading onto the roadside (if not deliberately planted) along side plenty o other invasives, now the slow process of removal, it's doable but needing a few extra hands!
Reposted by Logan Johnson
Amazing discovery today out surveying #Merlin for #Shetland Raptor Study Group - this magnificent 2 day old Short-eared Owlets! Only 5th confirmed record. Bizarrely, with somewhat flukey owl finding fortune, these are the 4th I’ve found. #fieldwork @btoscotland.bsky.social
@rspbscotland.bsky.social
@rspbscotland.bsky.social
May 20, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Amazing discovery today out surveying #Merlin for #Shetland Raptor Study Group - this magnificent 2 day old Short-eared Owlets! Only 5th confirmed record. Bizarrely, with somewhat flukey owl finding fortune, these are the 4th I’ve found. #fieldwork @btoscotland.bsky.social
@rspbscotland.bsky.social
@rspbscotland.bsky.social
Certainly one of the more odd colour morphs I've seen in birds (car brakes wir slammed!), a 'dark'/melanistic Greylag Goose (unless there's another name fir this colour variation) around Scatsta Airport, polar opposite from the Ross' Goose a few months back!
May 17, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Certainly one of the more odd colour morphs I've seen in birds (car brakes wir slammed!), a 'dark'/melanistic Greylag Goose (unless there's another name fir this colour variation) around Scatsta Airport, polar opposite from the Ross' Goose a few months back!
Early morning ferry over to Unst for Dave Cooper's Serin was a welcome splash o colour, thankfully gave me the excuse to revisit a possible new Willow site I found the other week, a first look at a undocumented+healthy supply of what I'll probably call S. aurita, amazed its no been picked up afore!
April 25, 2025 at 11:16 AM
Early morning ferry over to Unst for Dave Cooper's Serin was a welcome splash o colour, thankfully gave me the excuse to revisit a possible new Willow site I found the other week, a first look at a undocumented+healthy supply of what I'll probably call S. aurita, amazed its no been picked up afore!
Reposted by Logan Johnson
Among the 10% most read papers in Nordic Journal of Botany in 2023! 🌍🧪🪻
nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Supplement to Faroe Islands botanical list with 64 species or subspecies including rare, new and potentially invasive species with comments
The supplementary botanical list features 64 species of vascular plants which are new, rare or forgotten records from the Faroe Islands. They are the cumulative notes produced from numerous excursion...
nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
April 23, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Among the 10% most read papers in Nordic Journal of Botany in 2023! 🌍🧪🪻
nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
There's always someone watching... Greylag on eggs on a crag, my first oot of heather, certainly a good view point, found whilst trying to locate some relic trees on nearby crags
April 19, 2025 at 8:37 PM
There's always someone watching... Greylag on eggs on a crag, my first oot of heather, certainly a good view point, found whilst trying to locate some relic trees on nearby crags
A bit o recent dabbling into local plant conservation showing success, seeds collected off Shetland's only Sea Kale (Crambe maritima) finally coming to after years of failing to propagate, handy to visit as just next to the local Tesco!
April 18, 2025 at 9:25 PM
A bit o recent dabbling into local plant conservation showing success, seeds collected off Shetland's only Sea Kale (Crambe maritima) finally coming to after years of failing to propagate, handy to visit as just next to the local Tesco!
It really does amaze me the persistence o our relic trees. A Salix aurita x repens hybrid, one of 6 surviving on this burn on mainland Shetland, growing over 2m in length over stone, an unfortunate common state o our local trees, at least theirs still a chance to propagate even these ones!
February 7, 2025 at 11:28 PM
It really does amaze me the persistence o our relic trees. A Salix aurita x repens hybrid, one of 6 surviving on this burn on mainland Shetland, growing over 2m in length over stone, an unfortunate common state o our local trees, at least theirs still a chance to propagate even these ones!
Took advantage o y'days calm day, n kayaked oot to Vementry isle to see rare local Willows, sheep grazing elsewhere on the isle, but no evidence on the holms with Willows, which ir doing well, plenty o Salix aurita & cinerea, makes a change, now need to make it again for the coastal Junipers
February 1, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Took advantage o y'days calm day, n kayaked oot to Vementry isle to see rare local Willows, sheep grazing elsewhere on the isle, but no evidence on the holms with Willows, which ir doing well, plenty o Salix aurita & cinerea, makes a change, now need to make it again for the coastal Junipers
Given its moved to mainland, I might as well put my piece up from my Bufflehead trip to Foula last week, my final Shetland outer island ticked aff and what a place! bird was flightly so gave plenty of opportunity to explore, even got to 1 of the peaks, but looking forward to a proper summer visit!
January 31, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Given its moved to mainland, I might as well put my piece up from my Bufflehead trip to Foula last week, my final Shetland outer island ticked aff and what a place! bird was flightly so gave plenty of opportunity to explore, even got to 1 of the peaks, but looking forward to a proper summer visit!
I've finally joined d exodus 2 BlueSky, to sum up my move, I'm a keen grower of native tree species n rare crops n ensuring local genetics, birder and keen twitcher (and I'm sure you'll see a post if I manage Foula on Friday), otherwise ZRSG chair, photo by Alex Penn o wir local CR Sparrowhawks
December 5, 2024 at 12:55 AM
I've finally joined d exodus 2 BlueSky, to sum up my move, I'm a keen grower of native tree species n rare crops n ensuring local genetics, birder and keen twitcher (and I'm sure you'll see a post if I manage Foula on Friday), otherwise ZRSG chair, photo by Alex Penn o wir local CR Sparrowhawks