randombirder

A nice assortment of things today but it really feels like things are winding down now unless there is a final twist in what has been a great few weeks on the Isles. Heading through Lower Moors, the Spotted Crake continued to show ridiculously well, totally non-plussed by the movement of people barely a couple of metres from the track. I headed up the Sunnyside Trail where around four Chiffchaff were present in the elms.  A bit of an increase of this species today with a further five seen at the Newford Duckpond. The weather was glorious and with the air temperature a modest 14C, in the sun and light winds, it felt lovely. There were two Whinchat dashing around for insects at the bottom of the Holy Vale trail. At Porth Hellick, the Blue-winged Teal was still present, swimming up toward Stephen Sussex hide before scooting off again.  Just wish my camera hadn't had a hissy fit just at that moment.  A female  Mandarin  was new i...

A great day walking around St. Martin's where the day started with bright sunshine and light winds and ended up wet and windy.  We walked up from the Lower Town quay up to Daymark with great views out to sea. There were slim picking birdwise with only a single Whinchat , two Northern Wheatear , a male Blackcap and Raven seen during the walk. The Rose-breasted Grosbeak was seen briefly flying over the fire station toward the cricket pitch.

A lot of ground covered today with little reward but the day list still looks quite good. The weather was distinctly changeable throughout the day but at least we were able to enjoy a decent spell of sunshine. Heading up from Rocky Hill at the lower end of Holy Vale, a Pied Flycatcher was present in elms with a Chiffchaff . I made my way into Carreg Dhu Gardens and spent a while in there.  There was hardly anyone around but it was generally quiet with two Blackcap , at least four Siskin in pines, a Firecrest and this lovely Hummingbird Hawkmoth . We then headed round the island.  Again, it was quiet birdwise but three Bar-tailed Godwit , nine Whimbrel , a Sparrowhawk and a Small Copper butterfly were noteworthy.  The views are always magical around the coastline. I made a short diversion to see the continuing White-rumped Sandpiper that was still present at Toll's Porth. The heavens opened and the deluge halted proceedings for a while bef...

What a bonkers day.  Invariably when a rare bird gets sighted, I generally lounge around for a couple of days before deciding whether or not to go and see - that's if it's still around of course. On Scillies, you go. Having heard the news of the latest mega rare on the Isles, I legged it to the quay and boarded a totally rammed boat toward St. Martin's. A typically frantic chase ensued, the bird was inconsiderately mobile, disappearing for lengths of time before being refound and charged down by around 200 birders.  You wonder why sometimes. It wasn't until around 3pm that I clapped eyes on the Rose-breasted grosbeak  sheltering under a line of trees.  It then flew into the adjacent field and I flew off to the quay to get the early boat. The bird was then seen to fly in our direction by some standing on the slipway.  It finally settled in a nearby tree with all the boats occupants able to view it from their offshore positions.  It was all...

Well this was more like it.  A much better day with a bit more quality around mainly due to the improved weather conditions.  It remained a bit grey but after an early shower, but it dried up and was noticeably still making finding stuff a lot easier. It started well at the dump clump where I finally managed to catch up with the Turtle Dove albeit a poor bedraggled individual.  I hope it makes it out of here soon. Further along, the Red-breasted Flycatcher failed to appear again with two Spotted Flycatcher there. Heading away and into the Old Town cemetery, I noticed something flitting high up in the tree-line that turned out to be a Melodious Warbler .  Perhaps a different bird to the one seen around ten days ago.  Nearby, the Red-eyed Vireo was still present and much more active then the day it was first seen. There was plenty being reported around the island and it was difficult to know where to head next. After a brief respite at the apartm...

An abysmal day with the rain relentless from dusk to dawn.  Still managed to cover a lot of ground with scant reward apart from cake at Longstones Cafe. An hour vigil sheltering from the rain revealed two Firecrest and a Blackcap . A Spotted Flycatcher at Dump Clump and five Common Snipe over were the only other highlights of the day.

A quiet day but one that featured another new bird.  Planning to head to St. Martin's, an Arctic Warbler was found on St. Agnes so a quick change of plan and we were off.  A little idle wander first and back towards the lighthouse. Viewing past the house of the initial sighting, I scanned through a laurel bush after noticing a bit of movement.  The Warbler appeared, energetic and looking a little edgy.  All the diagostic features were visible during a brief spell of sunshine, longer bill, the prominent eye-stripe, and single wing bar, that all made this wonderful eastern vagrant joy to observe. Unfortunately it didn't hang around for long, disappearing into the thickets and was not seen again. An undoubted highlight of the trip will always be tea and biscuits with David Bradshaw - now a perennial Scilly tradition. Later at St. Mary's, a Great Northern Diver was seen distantly from Porthcressa Beach.