Scilly - 6.10.13

 

 

 

 

2 pics of the Purple Heron, Convulvulous + Death's Head Hawkmoths + Short-Toed Lark

 

After a lovely Full English I headed off out towards The Garrison for a Lapland Bunting that was on the football pitch but just after I had walked past the school news that the Purple Heron was showing well in a field viewed from the school. I quickly re traced my steps and within a couple of minutes I was watching the bird stood still in a grassy field. I rattled off a few photos and even managed a bit of video. It showed for a few minutes and then walked out of view. I'd then almost reached the footy pitch when I bumped into the Tyttenhanger lads. They were off to St.Agnes which was what I had planned. I decided to leave the bunting and joined the lads on the boat. On the crossing a Kittiwake was on a buoy with Sandwich Terns. It turned out to be a good choice as within minutes we reached the fruitcage area and within seconds we had connected with a Red-Breasted Flycatcher. The area was basking in sunshine which in turn meant there were insects everywhere that as well as the RB Fly, 6+ Chiffchaff, 2 Reed Warbler and a Willow Warbler were busy feeding on. We then headed off towards the church but before we reached there a Peregrine was seen perched distantly on rocks. Suddenly myself and Ricky had lost the other two and as we passed a field 3 birders pointed us to a juvenile Rose-Coloured Starling that perched up in the top of a tree for us before flying off. We eventually found the others in the field that had held a Subalpine Warbler for a few days but today it only held a Whitethroat. We carried on our walk and soon had a few Clouded Yellow butterflies flitting about. Our next stop was the famous Parsonage. We spent over half an hour here and saw both Pied and Spotted Flycatcher and the second Yellow-Browed Warbler of the week. After a quick lunch break at the coastguards café we learnt of a Convulvulous Hawkmoth on the wall of the school so we headed back and there was the stunning moth all 2 inches long of it. Someone said there was a Hummingbird Hawkmoth on a nearby house and sure enough there was but then a man said he had caught a moth that I had wanted to see for a long time and that it was on the wall of the school. There in front of me was a massive Death's Head Hawkmoth! After our fill of moths we heard over the radio of a Short-Toed Lark near Troy Town. As Steve needed this as a lifer we went straight there. Luckily the bird was still feeding in a newly sown field and Steve got his lifer. In the bracken on the other side of the field was a Whinchat which was a year tick for me. Back on St.Mary's I popped into Old Town church where a Lesser Whitethroat and another Pied Flycatcher were seen.