Before I go any further I should mention that I hired an RBA Pager for the two weeks. This was my first experience with a pager, and what a revelation it was. Mobile phone reception (particularly on my O2 iPhone) was patchy at best, and so I was unable to get any real use out of the 'Bird News Anywhere' service from birdguides. When I did check Bird News Anywhere it seemed that RBA broadcast all the news between ten minutes and half an hour earlier than birdguides. To be honest, I began to wonder if one simply copies from the other! Bird News Anywhere remains more economical than RBA for birding on the mainland, but for Scilly I cannot recommend the pagers enough... even if the beeping will drive you stir crazy!
From the perspective of someone only a couple of years into serious birding, I had a very successful time. I started the fortnight on 176 for the year, and finished it on 198.
The place was crawling with Gannets (year tick 177), the first of which was spotted from the plane on the way over. Within two minutes of stepping off the plane I had the Lesser Grey Shrike (lifer 200; year tick 178). It remained my favourite bird of the two weeks, as it stayed for four or five days providing glorious views on each visit to the airport:
I also took a short video of the bird from the road:
Immediately after the Shrike I shot across to Tresco (adding Shag (year tick 179) to the year list on the way over) to see the first winter Wilson's Phalarope (lifer 201; year tick 180) on the Great Pool. Glorious views through my telescope, but my photo of it was hilariously bad. Still, it was a lifer and so I must post the pic:
That evening I took to the airfield to get good views of three Buff-breasted Sandpipers (lifer 202; year tick 181), and view nine Golden Plovers. I took a photo of the Sandpipers, but due to the fading light and strong wind it's also pretty terrible:
The following morning I viewed a juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper (lifer 203; year tick 182) on Porth Hellick Pool, but took no photos as I had neither my camera or telescope with me. The bird relocated to Tresco's Great Pool and then Abbey Pool for the next week or so. From the hide I also spent a little time scannign for a reported Crake (sp.) and had a very nice extended view of a Water Rail.
A trip around the Eastern Isles on the 12th September produced my first Fulmar (year tick 183) of the holiday, and indeed of the year.
The 13th September provided my first opportunity to fulfil a long-held ambition... to take part in a Scilly Pelagic. Joe Pender took the MV Sapphire out five or six miles SW of St. Mary's. The chum and fish was prepared and we drifted for a few hours as a slick developed on the water.
The day gave me Razorbill (year tick 185) and Manx Shearwater (year tick 186) for the year, and lifers in the form of five or six Storm Petrels (lifer 204; year tick 184), two or three Great Skuas (lifer 205; year tick 187), one Balearic Shearwater (lifer 206; year tick 188) and 3 Grey Phalaropes (lifer 207; year tick 189). On the day, the only bird I managed to photograph even semi-satisfactorily was one of the three Grey Phalaropes:
Funny thing, a few weeks ago I had never seen a Phalarope. Today, I have Red-necked, Wilson's and Grey (in that order) on my list!
I have to say that the Great Skuas were the most thrilling birds to see. I've wanted to see on for as long as I've been birding, and they were as magnificent as I'd hoped.
The same evening I went to Peninnis Head to see the Lapland Buntings (year tick 190). Many Laplands were on the islands during the course of the two weeks, and although the following photo wasn't taken until a few days later, it was the best I managed:
The second week saw a juvenile Spotted Sandpiper (lifer 208; year tick 191) take up residence at Porth Hellick pool. A constant delight, I finally managed some photos on my last day, and also some of a Snipe that strutted about infront of the hide:
On the 17th September, the Boatmen put on the first trip to the Bishop since I'd arrived on the islands. Off I went - Sapphire the transport (my new favourite boat, incidentally). On the Western Rocks were my first ever Purple Sandpipers (lifer 209; year tick 192). Good views through binoculars, but photos from the boat were impossible with the Ixus I'd decided to bring. Still, I took one. It's a case of 'Spot the Sandpiper':
A 'Seabird Special' Trip with Will Wagstaff failed to produce any ticks, but we did see the resident Spoonbill on Green Island and get a nice view of one of the many Sandwich Terns on the rocks rather than in flight:
On the 20th September a second Pelagic was arranged. This was even better than the first - a much calmer sea, no need to chum (we chased Trawlers... going 20 miles out to sea!) and awesome birds.
A sole Puffin (year tick 194) was the only non-lifer, and a very welcome bonus:
Everything else had me on cloud nine... Sooty Shearwaters (lifer 210; year tick 193), two Arctic Terns (lifer 212; year tick 196), two SABINE'S GULLS (lifer 211; year tick 195) (one juvenile and one adult) and one juvenile Long-tailed Skua (lifer 213; year tick 197). I tried my best to photograph them, and think I did pretty well for someone using an SLR camera for the first time at sea! I feel I could get much better, of course.
I also got shots of a Storm Petrel and a Manx Shearwater:
A juvenile Kittiwake flew directly above the boat for a few minutes. A great subject:
And of course, a half-decent photo of a Great Skua - truly fantastic birds:
There were also two non-birding moments that deserve a mention. The first was an Ocean Sunfish just off St. Martin's which I took no pictures of. The second was a pod of Common Dolphins (much further out) that decided to swim infront of the boat. It was beautiful - one could stand on the bow of the boat and watch them swim infront of you. A fabulous experience:
Great stuff, and a great day. £20 for the trip is indeed a bargain.
The last few days offered little but frustration. An Ortolan Bunting proved elusive on the Garrison, reports of a Great Grey Shrike on Tresco proved to be nonsense and a potential Thrush Nightingale (also on the Garrison) disappeared as soon as it was first spotted with no conclusive identification possible.
Birds I hoped to see on the islands, but didn't, are Firecrest, Citrine Wagtail, Wryneck, a possible Greenish Warbler at Holy Vale and a Common Rosefinch (although I did see a Turtle Dove during the search!). All were reported. To be honest, I can't believe I didn't get Wryneck. I'll get one eventually, though! I also spent a little too much time hunting for an Icterine Warbler that had been reported a couple of times on St. Agnes (once near The Parsonage and once on the track down to Cove Vean).
Some other photographs of birds I think are 'okay' are Black-tailed Godwits showing their tails, a Greenshank on Porth Hellick beach, a Grey Wagtail in the gloom at Porth Hellick Pool and a couple of Wheatears up near Deep Point (caught a couple in the air, too!):
On the drive back from Land's End to Gloucester I tried for the juvenile Red-backed Shrike on Treeve Common and the Glossy Ibis at Avonmouth. The Shrike, alas, wasn't showing when I visited but the Glossy Ibis (lifer 214; year tick 198) obliged with a flyover after it's regular ditch turned out to be unoccupied.
People say that Scilly's on the wane as a birding locale, but for me it still offers great joy. There are still so many birds I haven't seen, that Scilly (a place I love even excluding the birdlife) will remain my first choice. The local birders were all very nice and helpful and VERY knowledgeable, and I look forward to my next trip enormously.
Finally a tip for birding on St. Mary's... hire a bike.
Finally finally, where can I go to see a bleedin' Guillemot?
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