Isles of Scilly - Day 3 - St Agnes delights

Wryneck

Wryneck

Short-toed Lark

Clouded Yellow

Short-toed Lark

Short-toed Lark

Snow Bunting

Crew in action

Peregrine collection

Only place to finish a day of birding on St Agnes

Going to St Agnes, the most western island is always a special day. We have a painting of Bee-eaters flying around the lighthouse in our home kitchen so it's always great to do some birding there. Surprisingly, the island would be the choice of all of us for the day which was good.

A slow wander to Coastguards was the perfect start, stopping to enjoy the Chiffchaffs feeding in the sun by the Post Office. A couple of local birders stopped us at Coastguards and presented us with a boxed Peregrine Falcon which was under the weather and asked if we could take it back to the Wildlife Trust on St Marys later in the day.

Our first rarity of the day was a Short-toed Lark which we picked up in flight before seeing it land in a stubble field by the cafe. After some patience, the bird showed well for us as it fed on insects between the stubble. It was most definitely the best view I've ever had of the species.

Adam & Tim headed towards the downs whilst myself, Paul and Brad headed towards the Great Pool (only Great Black-backs) before edging slowly around the bay. The first sighting was a Clouded Yellow that I spotted and took a very quick photo before it took flight. This was quickly followed by a Wryneck that very much had it's own agenda and flew further around the bay. 

We were in a lovely spot so we dropped anchor to enjoy our sandwiches as if by magic the Snow Bunting, plainly marked flew on the rocks in front of us. 

There really wasn't a lot more to see despite our best efforts so we retreated to the Turks Head for a couple of pints and collect the Peregrine. The Peregrine however had got out of the box and needed some tender handling to get him back in safely.  The Peregrine was duly delivered. Fingers crossed he makes a full recovery.

Isles of Scilly - Day 2 - Great birding around St Marys

Richard's Pipit

Wilson's Snipe (left)

Stunning views around the island

Stonechat

Fieldfare arrive had started

Wilson's Snipe

Turnstones

Fieldfare

Views from the east of the island

A full day on St Mary's was the plan. My plan was to head to Giants Castle for some sea watching before continuing north and undertaking a large circuit. I'd just got myself comfortable at Giants Castle when a Richard's Pipit was found at the airport. Being a Sunday, we were allowed to walk on the airfield, allowing some stunning views. A Lapland Bunting also flew over whilst watching the pipit. Also present were two Golden Plovers.

Seawatching resulted in a couple of Great Shearwater, 1 Great Skua and a steady flow of Gannets all heading west.

Porthhellick Bay was pretty quiet except a couple of Oystercatcher & Greenshank. An hour at Higher Moors enabled me to see Wilson's Snipe, 7 Common Snipe & 6 Gadwall. There were normal numbers of Stonechat & Turnstone around the island.

I then made the mistake of thinking the rain was further away but it caught up with me bigstyle, resulting in me having to walk home soaked to skin from Telegraph. I don't think I raised my binoculars once in three miles.

Paul had booked us in for a roast dinner out, which was just the job after a real drenching. Batteries recharged and I was looking forward to St Agnes the following morning. 

Isles of Scilly - Day 1 - Blackburnian Warbler & Pallid Swift

 Blackburnian Warbler

I really like this photograph

You Tube Video

Crowd getting bigger with Scillonian trippers

Captain Freestone on patrol

Ring Ouzel

Ring Ouzel

Pallid Swift showing well

Two rainbows over the Blackburnian Warbler

My week on the Isles of Scilly is always a break I look forward to. The main stays of Lower Stand crew were all back. Paul F, Adam H, Brad & myself were joined by Tim from Spurn. Sadly, our final member, Heather, couldn't make it due to an emergency. We all met up at Lands End Airport ready for the first flight out and we were all thankful you that the flying conditions looked good.

There was an extra edge to the morning as a Blackburnian Warbler had been discovered on Bryher on Thursday 13th October and somehow this rare American Wood Warbler was still present the day before we left. Would it stick for just one more day? With no birders staying on the island, it was going to be a case of travelling over in hope and trying to relocate this beauty.

With bags dropped off at the house, we made the short walk to the quay to get the 10.15am boat, which was a mix of birders and holiday makers. Local birder Higgo led the way across the island, through the campsite and down to Popplestone fields.

The search was on.................knowing it wouldn't be easy. Most birders did their bit, but a few always just stood and watched. As time ticked on, there was grimmace on everyones face. That was until there was a shout after seventy-five minutes....I broke into a rapid sprint back to where we started our search and there was this stunning bird feeding in the elms. Quite slowly to start with, but as the sun came out and the temperature rose, the bird fed and performed very actively all around us, giving us some amazing news. The group of thirty birders expanded by the hour as positive news emerged.

The Blackburnian Warbler was named after Anna Blackburne, who was a naturalist from Lancashire, and was just the third British record, with the two previous records being on Fair Isle & Skomer. The bird had been a huge attraction for birders, had huge numbers twitching for a single day. I'd really be interested to know how people have actually seen the bird since it was found (350 were reported by the boatmen on day 1). The species breeds in eastern North America & Canada, it must have been caught in the westerly winds as it started its migration south.

The stunning bird was hard to leave but myself and Paul were also keen to do some birding around the island. Bryher always looks good but under blue skies and sunshine it takes some beating. Our sightings around the included 50 Curlew, Black-tailed Godwit, Peregrine, Kestrel, Ring Ouzel, Kittiwake, 35 Fieldfare, 4 Swallow and a Little Egret.

As we circled Bryher, the radios were reporting a Swift species over the Garrison on St Marys. As the afternoon developed, the Swift species was clearly identified as a Pallid Swift which was another species I'd not seen before. After a failed attempt to get pint at Fraggle Rock we had to wait for the final boat back to St Marys.

As the boat chugged over the roads (water between islands) I could see a crowd outside the Star Castle Hotel on the Garrison clearly watching the birds. Needless to say, I was off the boat first and up the Garrison hill where I finally saw my first Pallid Swift feeding. This was one of number of Pallid Swifts reported in Britain in the recent days. The birds flight was definitely different to a Common Swift, it seemed to pause when hunting.

Considering I'd only seen five lifers in the previous nine months, it was fantastic to see two on the same day. With us having no time for any shopping, we ate out together and sunk a few pints at the Scillonian to celebrate a very memorable day.

Salford Priors GP - October

Cattle Egret

Cattle Egret

Merlin

Pintail

Wigeon

Merlin

Kingfisher

Stonechat

Stonechat

Ruff on left side of island

October Sightings

2nd Cattle Egret, Ruff, 3 Stonechat, Kingfisher, Snipe, Pochard

4th Whooper Swan, Ruff, 2 Cattle Egret over, Snipe, 23 Whooper, Common Sandpiper

11th  Female Merlin, 2 Whinchat, 1 Clouded Yellow

14th - Whooper Swan found dead

16th 200 Meadow Pipit, Pochard, 4 Shoveler, 20 Wigeon, 5 Teal

18th Little Egret, Pintail, Merlin

19th 36 Fieldfare, 1 Redwing

20th Merlin, 12 Fieldfare

22nd Merlin, Pintail - now 6 dead Swans

Lesser Yellowlegs on route to Isles of Scilly

The end of October always sees me heading out to the Isles of Scilly for the traditional "Teachers' Week". I've seen some nice birds on the Friday before I fly over the years and this year proved to be no exception as I undertook birding around the Hayle Estuary before staying overnight.

My target bird was a Lesser Yellowlegs which showed fantastically in Copperhouse Creek. I then meandered around the estuary, which has a lovely selection of birds which included Greenshank, Ringed Plover, Wigeon, Teal, Dunlin, Little Egret and a Little Stint. The Little Stint appeared to show some webbing, causing a crazy five minutes, but it must have been the angle of the sun.

An excellent start to my week off work.