Saturday 26 October 2019

Scilly + The SW - 5-14.10.18

To try and save time on catching up on this blog I'll just give a quick run down on my sightings from my annual trip to Scilly. This year I went with Ricky Flesher, Terry Smith and Brendon Fagan.

5th Oct - We started our trip as usual with a day in the SW of the UK. First stop was Labrador Bay where we again caught up with Cirl Buntings for the year list. Just a pair seen today along with a fly over Siskin.

Lesser Yellowlegs

Next stop was Devoran Quay where after waiting for a couple of hours for the tide to come in we all got brief views of the juvenile Lesser Yellowlegs. Other highlights were Spotted Redshank, Greenshank and 5 Sandwich Tern.

Pectoral Sandpiper

We then headed to Drift Reservoir where we connected with juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper from the hide and the last stop was the Hayle Estuary where I noted a whopping 71 Mediterranean Gulls! I did miss the Wryneck that the others saw around the car park while counting the gulls!

Bar-tailed Godwit

6th Oct - Our first day on Scilly was a quiet one with rain making birding a bit miserable. At Porthcressa I did manage my first Scilly tick of the week with a showy Bar-tailed Godwit on the beach. On the rocks were Kittiwake, 3 Med Gull and a Greenshank was feeding in amongst the rocks.

Tawny Pipit

7th Oct - We were joined today by Steve Blake and the day started off at Lower Moors where 3 Whinchat got onto the year list. We then headed over to Bryher where at Popplestone Bay we eventually saw the Tawny Pipit which was a Scilly tick for myself and only my second ever. At the dump a Spotted Flycatcher showed on occasion along with a Willow Warbler and another Whinchat was at the tennis courts.

Merlin

8th Oct - The long staying female Merlin finally gave us a glimpse of her first thing and just as we were walking past Porthmellon I noted 5 birders staring into the bracken by the path so went to enquire what they were watching. One of them replied Aquatic Warbler! I put the news out on the radio and soon we had been joined by most of the birders on St.Mary's! Over the next hour or so we had brief glimpses and it crept through the bracken and when it flew across the track. At one point I and a few around me had good views and were all happy it was indeed a juvenile Aquatic Warber with its central crown stripe, bold braces on the mantle and sandy yellow colouring and with that we left happy.

At the dump clump my first Yellow-browed Warbler of the year was seen but then news broke of two good birds on St.Agnes so we got the boat over. First stop was Porth Coose/Periglis Beach where unfortunately we'd just missed the Red-throated Pipit by 10-15 minutes but we had better luck at Porth Killier where we had decent views of my first Scilly Greenish Warbler and I found a very brief Firecrest too. Then news broke that the earlier Aquatic Warbler that hadn't shown well all day had suddenly decided to sit up in a bush and get ID'd as a Sedge Warbler! Two bird theory for me and the others who'd had good views first thing. It's down as Aquatic for me :)

Red-backed Shrike

9th Oct - It was back to St.Agnes today and again we saw the Greenish Warbler and nearby a Redstart and Lesser Whitethroat. At Castella Down the juvenile Red-backed Shrike showed well before a Yellow-browed Warbler in the Parsonage became my 100th in the UK! A Willow Warbler was in the Fruitcages and a nice Wryneck showing opposite Grinlington Farm. Back on St.Mary's a Black Redstart was on the beach at Porthmellon along with one of its commoner cousins.

Whooper Swan

Cattle Egret

Wood Sandpiper


Migratory Locust!


10th Oct - Our island of choice today was Tresco to try and bump the trip list up. An adult Whooper Swan was a nice start on Abbey Pool as well as a female Pintail. At Pentle Bay just 4 Sanderling were noted along with 3 Med Gulls. At Middle Down 5 Cattle Egret were in a field with their namesakes and on the Great Pool the Wood Sandpiper was still present from the hide.

Back on Mary's I went and twitched a Migratory Locust on the Garrison campsite and afterwards I saw 3 Manx Shearwater from Morning Point.

11th Oct - A quiet start produced a few usuals but was brightened by the first Redwing of the autumn. At the Standing Stones field a Reed Bunting was a decent record along with a showy Yellow-browed Warbler and 3 Whinchat. Up on Peninnis a brief Richard's Pipit was a welcome year tick followed by a Yellow Wagtail at Porthloo, 2 more Yellow-browed Warblers (Old Town + Holy Vale) and a Barred Warbler at Porth Hellick. My first Hummingbird Hawkmoth in ages was seen whilst enjoying a cuppa at Longstones Café.


12th Oct - Storm Callum was in full effect and had forced Steve, Ricky and Terry to make an enforced early stop to their holiday but myself and Brendon had decided to make the most of our holiday and stick it out! I left Brendon to his breakfast and headed up to Peninnis to do some seawtaching and amazingly I wasn't alone as one other birder had had the same idea! Loads of Gannets and a single Great Northern Diver was all I had for my efforts so I headed back to the flat to dry out. A bit later a few more things were being seen as others had decided to take a chance up there so we both joined them. You could taste the sea water spray 1/2 mile inland and as we got past the last trees the wind was so strong it stopped us in our tracks  a couple of times! A Leach's Petrel halfway between us and St.Agnes was all I managed to note down.

14th Oct - Saturday the 13th was spent in the airport hoping to get a flight off but all bar one arriving helicopter the flights were cancelled due to the wind. Thank god for Netflix for helping me through 9 hours!! As we were stuck there we had to stay at Longstones for the next two nights until we could get off on Monday.

Red-backed Shrike

Our bonus day produced a few decent things most notably a year tick Turtle Dove that I found in a small field near Porthmellon, Yellow Wagtail at Rosehill, 3 Reed Buntings at Standing Stones, Yellow-browed Warbler at Newford Duckpond and then in the Pelistry/Riding Stables area I had Wryneck, 2 Black Redstart, Redstart, Yellow Wagtail, juvenile Red-backed Shrike, male Ring Ouzel and best of the bunch an Eastern Yellow Wagtail which frustratingly I heard only but others did get good views of it.


Silver-striped Hawkmoth

 The non birdy highlight was this 1st for Scilly Silver-striped Hawkmoth that I went to have a look at over at Watermill.


 15th Oct - We managed to get off the islands today and just before landing at St.Just airport we flew over Treeve Common (remember the name!). A Spoonbill was on Hayle Estuary on the way home. Not exactly a classic year but some great birds nonetheless. Roll on next year!


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