The Mega Mega - 16.10.16

Siberian Accentor!!

If you've just read through the older posts from Scilly you'll have read about the Siberian Accentor that had turned up in East Yorkshire. Everyday since there had been positive news and so despite getting back Saturday afternoon I was up at stupid o'clock and headed North. I pulled over just before the Humber Bridge and grabbed a bit of sleep. I was awoke
n just before 7.30am by a bleep from my pager with the news I'd been hoping for. It was still present! I was on site within the hour and joined a fairy big crowd but rather than favouring its favoured area by the now famous yellow skip it'd flown into the gas works with no access. After a nervous few minutes I finally clapped eyes on this mega mega SIBERIAN ACCENTOR!! For the next 30 minutes it showed well feeding along the fence line of the gas works before I had to leave for home. But what a 30 minutes! From there never being a record in the UK an amazing 13 turned up across the east coast.

Scilly - 15.10.16

The only notable bird of our last day was a Black Redstart at the airport outside the terminal building and as there wasn't anything worth going to see on the drive home we headed straight back after a fabulous week.

Scilly - 14.10.16

I headed back up to the Garrison in the hope of more views of the previous days Pallas's Warbler but before I reached there I scanned the sea from the Star Castle and quickly picked up a diver that looked good for Red-Throated. A few people gathered around and had a look and eventually It came a tad closer and could be positively ID'd as my first Scilly Red-Throated Diver. Happy with that good start I carried onto the football pitch but there was no sign of the Pallas's but my 20th YB Warbler of the week was a nice consolation.

As the others were on a pelagic I chose to do my usual walk around the North of St.Mary's starting off at Porth Thomas where I came across 3 Black Redstart flitting around the beach.

Porthloo beach saw my 3rd Curlew Sandpiper of the week with a dozen Dunlin and a Whimbrel.

A good count of 10 Stock Dove were in a stubble field at Carn Morval soon followed by another Whimbrel at Tolls Porth.

Up at Bar Point a good size thrush flock contained 2 male Ring Ouzel. The YB Warblers were still present at Watermill and Newford Duck Pond and the final bird of the day was the female Redstart on Porthcressa beach at the 4th attempt!

Scilly - 13.10.16

Another day of visiting various site with 12 visited today.

Porthcressa beach had a Greenshank on it.

The Dump Clump added a further 2 YB Warbler to the list.

I finally caught up with a Redstart with a female on Old Town beach with another Greenshank seen.

A Short-Toed Lark was on the airfield (my 3rd there).

Porth Hellick saw another YB Warbler penned into my note book as well as a Firecrest and Willow Warbler.

Carn Friars is one of my favourite areas on the island and today 3 Whinchat, Fieldfare and a leucistic Song Thrush were noted.

Eastern Yellow Wagtail

I had a Lapland Bunting fly over me at Porth Hellick Downs and soon after my radio died so I called Steve to ask if he heard anything over the radio could he call me. He agreed to do so but then asked if I'd heard about the wagtail at Lower Moors. I said no what is it to which he replied either Citrine or Eastern Yellow! As by now I'd walked over 40 miles this week I called a cab and got dropped off by Old Town café and wandered up to the Standing Stone field to find nobody there! I was soon joined by a couple of birders including Cliff Smith. I then had a call from Steve. They had re-found the bird from the hide on Lower Moors. The hide was full when I arrived so I viewed from the screen and was treated to great views of what had now been identified as a (probable) EASTERN YELLOW WAGTAIL. After a few minutes of watching this ghostly grey bird it took off uttering a raspy Yellow Wagtail type call. A small number of this species had been seen throughout the UK this Autumn so here's hoping for acceptance!

I joined Steve in a walk up to Carreg Dhu gardens and added a Firecrest to the list and as we were resting our feet news of a Barred Warbler broke from Pelistry in a hedgerow I'd been looking at an hour before! Dave Hall kindly led the way up there and within five minutes we had satisfactory views of the bird. Steve and I then said lets go get some strudel! Tucking into our strudel a case of Deja Vu occurred as the pager mega'd and again the bird in question was another Siberian Accentor but this time in E.Yorkshire! Would it stick for another 4 days? Only time would tell.

The final bird of the day was up on the Garrison. A stunning Pallas's Warbler was gracing the trees around the football pitch and campsite flashing its lemon rump to the crowds. A great end to the day.

Scilly - 12.10.13

The double log taking it's toll on poor Terry!

Today I headed over to St.Agnes. After getting off the boat I chose to take a path I'd never taken before around Cove Vean. A Raven and another YB Warbler were noteworthy but it was a tad too windy for much else. The famous Parsonage was my next stop where I had yet another YB Warbler showing well by the school and both Red-Breasted and Spotted Flycatchers in the Parsonage grounds. Up by the church 3 male Blackcap were foraging in brambles and 2 Water Rail were on the big pool. Porth Killier was my final stop hoping to see the previous days Caspian Gull that had been photographed which was a 1st for Scilly. Very few gulls were about so I scanned along the beach edge and saw Sanderling, Greenshank and a new Curlew Sandpiper while out at sea were a couple of Razorbill and a Manx Shearwater. My scan of the sea was interrupted by the shout of a Little Bunting! sure enough one had flown in front of us and perched briefly on a rock before flitting around the corner and disappearing.

Scilly - 11.10.16

Sora

Today we decided to head over to Tresco for the day to see what we could see. But before the boats sailed I popped into Lower Moors where I had a YB Warbler followed by another in Carreg Dhu garden but unfortunately no sign of the Vireo.

On Tresco the Great Pool had Shelduck and a female Pintail and at the start of the pool road we saw the 2 Cattle Egret again in with their namesakes. On the Abbey Pool 2 YB Warblers were in the poolside vegetation and a Curlew Sandpiper was on the mud. Walking along the pool road added another 3 YB Warbler and only my 2nd ever Scilly Hobby which flew overhead pursued by a Kestrel. A brief stop at the shops for some lunch saw the days 8th YB Warbler go onto the list! We then headed around to the far side of the Great Pool where 20-30 minutes of searching was rewarded by distant views of the juvenile Sora that had been present for a week or so. This was my 3rd UK Sora and my 2nd on the Great Pool!

Scilly - 10.10.16

Today myself and Steve decided to head over to Bryher hoping to connect with the juvenile Common Rosefinch. Before the boats set sail we had another look at the Subalpine Warbler and got much better views of it this time. 2 Skylark flew over while we were there.

We then ventured back up Peninnis Head where after a bit of a wait we saw 2 of the 3 Lapland Bunting feeding amongst the rocks. Here I picked up another Scilly tick when I found a Tree Pipit as it flew over head.

Red-Eyed Vireo (photo by Ian Williams)

9 Little Egret were in the Tresco channel and once on Bryher we headed for the area opposite the Fraggle Rock café but despite over an hour on site there was no sign. In fact there was no sign again! It was feeling like it was going to be a very quiet day and not even finding a male Ring Ouzel at the dump and seeing only my second Scilly Buzzard could lift the mood. We chose to get the early boat back as there was so little to see and that decision turned out be a very good one indeed! Half way back to St.Mary's the pager bleeped and upon checking it I was amazed to read that a Red-Eyed Vireo had been found in Carreg Dhu garden! I informed Steve that we may have to do a bit of power walking once we had docked! Once the boat had been tied up it was a mad scramble to get off and rush to the garden. It took us about 15 minutes to get there passing Tring birder Ian Williams on the way but we eventually arrived just before Ricky and Terry had arrived in a taxi. A nervous minute wait was had but I finally got onto the bird but I was only seeing the underside of it as it was high in the trees but it then moved and I got a side view of the head showing off the distinguishing features allowing me to tick my first ever RED-EYED VIREO in the UK. It also became my 450th species on my UK list. No sooner as we had good views it flitted off out the back of the garden and vanished just as Ian, Ricky and Terry arrived in position. Happy and exhausted Steve and I headed on a slow walk back to the house. But as it turned out the others did see the bird in fact having better views than we did as it appeared lower down for a few minutes soon after we had left.

Scilly - 9.10.16

I visited 20 different site on St.Mary's today!

3 Swallow over Porthcressa beach were the first of the week.

Lower Moors held 3 Jack Snipe, 23 Redwing, Reed Warbler and 2 more Yellow-Browed Warbler.

Old Town Bay had 5 Ringed Plover roosting.

Up at the windsock by the airport runway I added 2 Ruff to my Scilly list.

Porth Hellick had 5 Greenshank and another Jack Snipe from the hide.

In Higher Moors I had my first Fieldfare of the Autumn.

On entering Holy Vale I found a brief pale looking Chiffchaff and a Yellow-Browed Warbler.

At the riding stables there was no sign of the 2 Cattle Egret but there was a Whinchat.

Cattle Egret

At Four Lanes End I finally caught up with the 2 Cattle Egret. Scilly tick number 5 and met up with Steve.

4 Swallow were at Carreg Dhu garden.

Off of Porthloo beach was a female Common Scoter.

Town Beach had 5 Sandwich Tern.

Newford Duckpond was very productive with another YB Warbler, Firecrest and 3 species of flycatcher. Red-Breasted, Pied and Spotted. The strangest site though was of a 4x4 Capri!

At Watermill we had a brief Common Sandpiper and I found a YB Warbler.

Spot The Wryneck!

As we passed Borough Farm we had half decent views of the Wryneck. We then stopped off at the German eatery for Apple Strudel and that's when the mega alert went off telling us that it'd finally happened and that a Siberian Accentor had reached our shores albeit typically on Shetland! Our friends up there were in for a treat!

A quick pop in at Trewince had us pick up the Osprey again as it flew over the north of the island.

Turtle Dove

In Hugh Town we finally connected with the Turtle Dove in the salubrious surroundings of the alleyway behind the museum! My first in the UK for 3 years.

Just as I'd sat down with a cuppa back at the digs news crackled over the radio of a Redstart on Porthcressa Beach. As it was a minute walk away I went to look for it but still managed to dip it! But as I was chatting to the Rugby lads a Wryneck was found by the quarry at the end of the beach. After looking at that I was just about to turn for home when the radio burst into life again with news of a Subalpine Warbler just round the corner! We legged it there only to have just missed it but after a 20 minute wait we had good views by the old school. This was my 3rd attempt at a Subalp on Scilly. A great day and about 10 miles walked!

Cornwall + Scilly - 8.10.16

With a couple of hours to spare before our flight we headed to Pendeen for a seawatch in the hope of a Balearic Shearwater for Terry. Alas that proved fruitless but we did have 20+ Manx Shearwater, 2 dark morph Arctic Skua and a Puffin. While on the land a Ring Ouzel was the highlight.

Red-Backed Shrike

Our trip back in 2014 was a very very quiet one on Scilly with Whooper Swan being my only Scilly tick. That poor showing is why we headed to Shetland last year but we managed to pick the worst year for rares up there in 10 years! So it was back to Scilly this year and our first stop was Porthcressa beach where just offshore was our first Scilly tick of the week with a Black-Necked Grebe. A Sandwich Tern was on one of the rocky lumps too. From here we walked up Peninnis Head. Nothing of note on the east side but walking down the west side I picked up my first two Whinchat of the year closely followed by 2 Wryneck! Not a bad start. The Garrison was our next port of call and here Myself and Steve had a juvenile Red-Backed Shrike and Spotted Flycatcher in the dead pines area and looking out towards the off islands we had 2 Pale-Bellied Brent Geese and an Osprey both of which were Scilly ticks! 3 times as many Scilly ticks in a few hours than an entire week already! We ended our day down on the Lower Broome platform where we got our first Yellow-Browed Warbler of the year.

Devon + Cornwall - 7.10.16

My Caspain Tern (not my photo)

Dalmatian Pelican

Its that time of year again where it was time to head SW. I joined Steve Blake in his car and headed for our first stop of the day to Fremington Quay in Devon. Here we met up with the other car load of Ricky Flesher, Brendon Fagan and Terry Smith. When we arrived it was still dark but as soon as we were able to see we started scanning over the water hoping to see our intended target. After an hour or so there was still no sign but we had seen 18 Little Egret, Greenshank, Barwit and a couple of Common Tern. It was just before we were about to descend of the café to warm up that I picked up a bird as it hit the water. It was a tern but the speed at which it hit the water made me say to the others I've got a Caspian Tern! I got the others on it and watched it as it hit the water a few more times but it was unfortunately heading away from us and after a few minutes it vanished into the River Caen. This bird was most likely the bird that had been on Scilly a day or two previously?  I phoned the news out and we went for breakfast. I finished eating first so I left them to eat up and went outside. There was no sign of the tern but there was sign of our first and the UK's first ever DALMATIAN PELICAN! I called them to get outside and they soon joined me watching this huge bird start preening. The views weren't exactly great due to distance and murk but worth the effort. This bird had been found in Cornwall c.150 days earlier in the year and had flown around the county visiting various sites before heading into Devon. It had been seen in Poland and France before it reached our shores and so its now a waiting game to see if its accepted as a wild bird or not. I then found an adult Mediterranean Gull which was embarrassingly my first of the year and my 200th species for 2016! Happy with our lot we climbed back in the cars and headed into Cornwall.

Baird's Sandpiper

Our next stop was Davidstow airfield where after getting slightly lost we found ourselves looking over the small pool at 3 Dunlin, Ruff and only my second ever Baird's Sandpiper. It gave great views before flying out of view. By now news had reached us that the Caspian Tern had been re-found on the River Caen and stopped any lingering doubts about whether I'd made a cock up of the ID! Turns out it was only the 4th for Devon!

Hudsonian Whimbrel

We then headed for the village of Perranuthnoe just East of Penzance where after getting slightly lost again we walked along the coast path noting Peregrine, Stonechat and a Common Sandpiper before I finally re-found the long staying Hudsonian Whimbrel. This bird had originally been found on Scilly in October 2015 before moving and has now spent over a year on site. It was also a lifer for Brendon and a second for everyone else after the Pagham bird.

Little Stint

From here we decided to pop into Marazion. Here I walked down to the beach in the hunt for a Little Stint but saw no sign of it. This was until I re-joined the others who had stayed near the car park and picked up the stint just below them! They hadn't mentioned it because they thought it was a Sanderling 😉!!

Spoonbill (left)

Our final stop of the day was a quick look over the Hayle Estuary. Here we added Spoonbill to the trip list. Time for dinner and bed.