Scillies! (30th October - 1st November)

Only a very brief stay on the legendary Isles of Scilly sadly cut short due to boat cancellations on Saturday.  This meant I only had one full day on the island!  All the same, I managed to squeeze in a few good birds.

Birding started as soon as I opened my door to leave the house as a calling Tawny Owl kick started my early morning start.  The second bird of note was an interesting Herring Gull from the Scillonian which I attempted at photographing as we waited in the harbour.  Its interesting tail pattern seems to resemble a Scandi race but it could simply be a byproduct of dietary deficiency or simply aberrant plumage.  Opinions very welcome.

Herring Gull with unusual tail pattern

Lots of Kittiwakes and 1 Balearic Shearwater were noted on the crossing and despite the rough seas creating a moderate amount of swell, there was little else of note except a Razorbill, 3 auk sp., a Fulmar and 2 Harbour Porpoise passing the boat.

On arriving at St Mary's quay, I rushed up to my accommodation, dumped my bags and headed straight for Longstone for my first lifer.  On route I was stopped at Old Town Bay where a couple of concerned birders pointed me towards what they thought was an oiled diver.  I checked it out and sure enough there was an exhausted oiled bird sitting on the rocks.  Not a diver but a Guillemot.  A rather sad sight and one of the blokes tried to catch it.  His first attempts failed.  I bumped into him a day or two later and he broke the bad news that he said it was eventually caught but later died.

A happier turn out at the warbler site where, after an hours wait, I finally set eyes on a relatively showy SUBALPINE WARBLER!  It wasn't much compared to sum. plum. males but the subtle grey cap, mantle and pale rosy chest were a very welcome sight!  After obtaining decent views, I headed back towards Lower Moors were I hoped to see the long-staying Spotted Crake.  Only a handful of Water Rails to report, a very late juvenile Cuckoo and 3 Black Redstarts at Thomas' Porth along with 2 Wheatear.

Subalpine Warbler

a very late juv. Cuckoo

I started the second day with a walk through Lower Moors before reaching Holy Vale.  I managed to connect with 4 scarcities before breakfast.  First up, I relocated the YELLOW-BROWED WARBLER still lingering in Lower Moors where I obtained adequate views and heard it call regularly.  At Holy Vale, I heard the news of an Isabelline Shrike at the Dump Clump only 5 mins away.  However, I was more keen to stick around and try my luck with finding the RB Fly.  I played the call to myself as a reminder what to listen out for.  I was rather surprised to hear the same call respond and sure enough as I rounded the track I caught the back end of a LBJ dart into the wood.  I followed it in and sure enough there was the RED-BREASTED FLYCATCHER flitting about in the lower canopy before vanishing.  Pleased with the views, I headed on to the Dump Clump were I joined a disappointing crowd most of whom were already leaving the site exclaiming that it was "only a RB Shrike".  All the same, I still decided on checking it out and sure enough it was a slightly above average rufousy juvenile Red-backed Shrike.  There was also mention of a nearby Rosy Starling so I hung around for a little longer to finally connect with the juvenile Rose-coloured Straling by the incinerator before heading off to buy my ticket to Tresco.  Walking in to town I noticed two hirundines circling over the bank.  They were a Swallow and a House Martin.

On the way over, I bumped into a couple of Spurn and Cornish birders with whom I tagged along with to Borough Farm.  We spent some time wandering around the place trying to pin down the yank robin.  Instead, a middle aged couple with their child did the job for us and summoned us over where we had cracking views of the AMERICAN ROBIN!  An absolute stunner.

American Robin

I tried a long shot and headed on to Great Pool to try my luck at the recent long-staying Sora.  It was no surprise that it didn't show as the water level had significantly risen since its arrival and the reeds had been cut which must have contributed to its disturbance.  None the less, I still located a calling Yellow-browed Warbler in the wood running along the side of the pool and 3 Sandwich Terns in the bay at New Grimsby.  A nice male Merlin also pushed the day up a notch!

male Merlin

Back on St Mary's I went to have a second look at the Red-backed Shrike and continued birding until it was dark and I came walking back in the pouring rain from Porth Hellick with only a single Black Redstart for my efforts.

The third and final day only gave me time to check out Peninnis Head and do a short sea-watch.  A flypast Sooty Shearwater and a second probable individual flew west past the point followed by a dark phase Arctic Skua and 2 Bonxies.  I also saw an interestingly dark Bonxie-like skua with very minimal wing flashes.  A rather confusing bird!

It was time to head back but I was still looking forward to a sea-watch from the Scillonian, particularly as the weather was predicted to worsen.  The first hour went past rather slowly with only a single Bonxie but it did pick up as we approached West Penwith and the waves really rocked the boat.  Singles of Balearic Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater and Manx Shearwater were all noted along with a flypast Purple Sandpiper as we approached the harbour.  A pod of 4 dolphin sp. also made a brief appearance, following the boat and we were also followed by several Fulmar and Kittiwakes.  I also caught a brief view of a petrel sp. fluttering on the surface of the water but I soon lost it and watched a beautiful male Eider get a hard time from the gulls as it got chased around the bay.

In all, a relatively successful trip to Scillies with a couple lifers and new faces to remember.  It was rather upsetting that I didn't have the chance to hop over to St Agnes for the White's but that'll have to wait until next time...

Something for the Cornish Lads (29th October)

I was still sat in bed by mid-morning scrolling through facebook on my phone when I came across a mention of a Hermit Thrush.  There was no speak on which part of the UK it was in so I imagined some lucky buggers from some remote Scottish island were enjoying the beauty instead.  I decided to flick over to Bird Guides just out of interest as it was obviously stirring up more interest than I had anticipated.  I nearly fell out of my bed when I read the word "Porthgwarra"!!!

I frantically texted a couple local birders and soon got a reply from Greg who offered to drive as soon as his lecture was over.  Good ol' Mr Wills kindly drove there (skipping his next lecture) and we arrived on scene just after mid-day.  It was still relatively quiet as the majority of people assembled were local Cornish birders who were able to make it in time before darkness.

We first began watching from the car park side but I soon decided against this as the viewing area I was left with was not at all good so I opted for the higher ground and moved to the road on the other side.  This was a wise move as I was just walking up the road when I realised the people up ahead were gesticulating towards the leaf litter.  Unfortunately, I didn't get on the bird in time and I had to wait a further 5-10 unnerving minutes before someone picked it up.  A run of Chinese whispers and excited pointed went down the line before I set eyes on the HERMIT THRUSH sat rather startled in a tree.  It soon realised all the unwanted attention and dashed for cover only affording a three second view.  I was still keen for a better encounter and a long period of waiting ensued until finally someone noticed it sat calmly in a tree only a couple meters from the road!  I crawled down on the ground on all fours and spreading myself over the muddy ground and ivy covered leaf litter where I obtained some absolutely stunning views of the bird at eye level, brilliant!  I even had to contort myself upwards from a lying down position as it hopped up into a tree just above my head!  Awesome!!!

Hermit Thrush!

Pennance Point (28th October)

Another brief visit to Pennance Point to check out the still present Snow Bunting and do s short sea-watch since I didn't manage one the day before.  3 Balearic Shearwaters flying west were the highlights and a trickle of Kittiwakes added a bit of interest but other than that only 2 distant shearwater sp. were of interest.  These appeared very pale bellied and Manx seemed a likely possibility despite their relative scarcity on the south coast at this time of year.

A touch of Snow! (27th October)

Another day on patch starting at Swanpool where I was very surprised to come across 2 PINTAIL dabbling only feet from where I was was stood at the northern end of the lagoon!  This is a fairly scarce duck for the area and behaving so unusually really baffled me.  Thankfully a couple other local patchers managed to jam in on them shortly afterwards.

both of the female/immature Pintail

A Sandwich Tern was also flying over Swanpool car park and I later moved on to Pennance Point for a short sea-watch.  On arriving at my favourite sea-watching spot, I was rather disappointing to see it was already occupied by a couple of teenagers so I gave them some space and wondered down the side of the cliff to find another spot.  I'd just sat down when I noticed out of the corner of my eye a small bird flit out on top of a rock.  Raising my bins, I could hardly believe what I was looking at.  A stunning male SNOW BUNTING!  He was an absolute beauty and the thought of sea-watching was suddenly abandoned as I remained watching it for the rest of the day.  Three other lucky patchers managed to connect with it as the day progressed and it afforded reasonable views.  Easily one of the best patch birds to have turned up this year!

1st win. male Snow Bunting!

A couple other bits and bobs from the day included 3 Rock Pipits, 3 Turnstone and an adult Mediterranean Gull.

Recent stuff (15th-26th October)

Absolutely no twitching in the past couple weeks so no gripping stuff to report. Only patch birds and butterflies. The 15th was an AK wildlife cruise day and volunteering on board gave me the opportunity to explore the northern most parts of the Carrick Roads from the water.  Numerous Little Egrets, Mediterranean Gulls of note along with the odd waders including 3 Whimbrel and 1 Common Sandpiper. The warm weather also produced a group of 7+ Buzzards taking advantage of the thermals along with 2 Ravens and Red Admirals. A group of Fallow Deer were also viewable from the water and we even managed a short excursion out to sea adding Peregrine, Guillemots and a Grey Seal to the day list of species.

A late afternoon excursion on the 18th down to Pennance Point where I encountered a late Painted Lady still on the wing along with a single Speckled Wood. 5 Ringed Plover, 1 Turnstone and 1 auk sp. flying west were the most noteworthy species at Pennance along with 4 Mediterranean Gulls and 2 Red Admirals. I walked further west along the coastal footpath eventually reaching Maenporth were I found a pos. White Wagtail on the beach amongst the Pieds. Unfortunately, it didn't remain long enough for me to thoroughly scrutinise it.  A pair of Stonechat were also at High Cliff.

I squeezed in a brief trip around the local woodland and some farmland neighbouring the campuson the 23rd. Butterflies seemed more productive than birds as I saw 1 Painted Lady, several Red Admirals and Speckled Woods as well as a distant Clouded Yellow sp. (a very pale looking individual, although I expect this was most likely due to it being bleached and worn)! 2 Ravens also flew over.

Today was more productive as strong gusts from the SW were beginning to built up in earnest.  A Peregrine over the house was the first bird of note for the day before I went down to Pennance Point for some sea-watching.  I took the route past Swanpool locating a skulking Water Rail on the west bank.

Sitting myself down in my favourite sea-watching spot (a mound of dirt) I began with a scan eastwards through the bay.  After some time, I picked up my first bird of note. It was a distant dark phase skua sp. most probably a Pomarine!  Its flight action was strong and steady with fast but not rapid wingbeats.  It traveled low over the water with no shearing or banking like in Arctic.  It did do a brief chase, harassing a small gull or tern and landed two or three times on the water as it went westwards through the bay.

2 Balearic Shearwaters also passed through the bay to the west (both rather late passage birds which make any sea-watch a joy) along with 2 Kittiwakes and 1 auk sp.   2 Peregrines also passed the point and 2 Mediterranean Gulls were lingering between Swanpool and Gylly.

An interesting gull sp. also went west. It was a classic Sabs/juv. Kittiwake confusion situation so I took note of as many features as possible including the colar, median and lesser coverts and overall jizz.  Size was difficult to interpret but appeared roughly Med Gull in size and black outer primaries, white secondaries and dark grey median and lesser covs made for some striking features.  I tried hard to determine whether the median covs appeared darker than the lesser covs but I could only determine a slight difference in contrast with the median covs only slightly darker (a feature I'd expect to see far more contrast in if it were a juv Kit). Despite trying my best to make out a dark colar and wedge to the tail neither were visible on the views that I obtained.  Hopefully a Sabine's will pass the point over the next couple days of strong south westerlies.  Whether I'm there and see it is another matter...

Day with Dan (13th October)

A near full days birding with Dan doing the WeBS count as well as some general/enjoyable birding.  Nothing spectacular of note but still a fun day.

Helston Boating Lake was our usual first stop where a good scan of the lake produced the numerous Mallard we had been expecting along with the long-staying Whooper Swan.  The sewage far held Goldcrest and Grey Wagtail as it still wasn't cold enough to draw in many other warblers.

Moving on to Loe Pool, we clocked up a min total of 16+ Snipe, 3 Dunlin, 1 Water Rail, 2 Grey Wagtails and the usual selection of other wildfowl.  We were making our way round toward Carminowe Creek, stopping regularly on the way, when I picked up on a high pitched "tseee" call.  Coming closer, the call became much more audible.  It was in fact a very clear grating "tsreee", that of a TREE PIPIT!  It was unmistakable but still a bizarre record as it seems rather late for this summer migrant still to be in the area.  It continued strongly westwards directly overhead calling a further 3-4 times before being lost out of earshot as it went over the back of Bar Walk Plantation.  We compared the call to both Olive-backed and Red-throated Pipit directly afterwards but it did not fit either as it was more of a monotonous and drawn-out scratchy/grating flight call.  From Loe Bar, I picked up on a lifer, a pod of c.10 COMMON DOLPHINS!  They came closer into the bay, occasionally clearing the water entirely before moving closer inshore and towards the bar affording adequate views.  We continued wandering back after getting our fair share of views adding Peregrine, 3 Wheatear and Stonechats to our day list before reaching the car park where we chanced upon a mixed group of White Wagtails and Pied Wagtails.

Next stop was Croft Pascoe and Hayle Kimbro where the combined total came to 2 Mallard, hardly the reward we were hoping for in our diversion down to the Lizard!

A brief check at Stithians on route back to Falmouth was a little more productive as we found 1 Ruff and a Dunlin on the muddy margins of the southern end of the reservoir.  A Ringed Plover also flew in and a Wheatear was also skirting the muddy banks.

Once back in Falmouth, we made a brief check of Gorrangorras, noting a single Whimbrel, 2 Greenshank, 3 Dunlin and 4 Bar-tailed Godwit.

Rather frustratingly, my camera did not store the photos I took of the dolphins despite taking about 20 odd pics!  It did decide to keep the photos I took of the Wheatear though, bizarre!  In fact my memory card even refuses to be forcefully pushed into my camera.  About time I smashed it against my desk like I did with my previous one...

Patching (12th October)

Another morning patch visit since it was the weekend.  I saw a total of 109 Redwing to start the day, my first of the autumn.  Also of note were 3 Ringed Plover and 1 Whimbrel.  I met up with Dan at the point and together headed down to check Gorrangorras briefly for the waders.  5 Greenshank, 1 Whimbrel, 8 Turnstone and a Snipe were the best we managed before I continued by myself to the cemetery.  Not much about but it was my first proper visit to the site and the lack of disturbance and scattered trees and shrubs do look promising for flocks of winter thrushes.  No doubt I will be back there soon.

With little else to do I went back to seawatchng, this time from Pennance Point.  I continued adding to the auk totals, finishing at 75 birds W and 1 E at around 15:45.  2 Common Scoter and 1 Mediterranean Gull also flew past and I encountered my first Swanvale Water Rail of the autumn.