Scillies land-birding

Hello

Most of our effort this past week has been spent on St Mary's and with an excursion on to the lovely island of Bryher yesterday. Passerine 'summer' migrants are still in reasonable numbers with plenty of Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and Swallows around with 'winter' migrants slowly gathering pace as flocks of Meadow Pipits swirl around the fields and there are waders on most of the beaches. Most days we have found small numbers of Spotted Flycatchers, Grey Wagtails, Whinchats, Stonechats, Wheatears and with an occasional Pied Flycatcher, Tree Pipit, a single Lapland Bunting and so far just one Yellow-browed Warbler.

Raptors on the island include a female Merlin that has urbanised itself and sits on chimney pots in Hugh Town picking off House Sparrows; also there are several Kestrels on the islands and a couple of Sparrowhawks and any number of Peregrines.

The bays and buoys are home to Sandwich Terns and Mediterranean Gulls and of course birds such as Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Song Thrush, Blackbird and Starling are common and often seemingly everywhere!

Back in the county and Eric enjoyed his birding at Thrapston Pits on Wednesday where he estimated two hundred Cormorants were looking for fish and logged four Little Egrets, a pair of Egyptian Geese, up to twenty Chiffchaffs, four Cetti's Warblers and plenty of insects in the warm conditions which included Small Copper butterflies. Jacob was at Pitsford Reservoir also on Wednesday and saw a Rock Pipit, and a Mandarin Duck.

Finally congratulations to Dave Jackson who won Birdguides photo of the week with a cracking photo of a fishing Black Tern at Pitsford Reservoir. Well done Dave!

Regards

Neil M

Clodhopper Water Rail !

Kestrel.

Bar-tailed Godwit.

Lapland Bunting.

Song Thrush.

Tawny Pipit.

Stonechat.

Collared Dove.

Merlin.

Scillies Pelagic

Hello

On Monday I was fortunate to join a pelagic boat trip off the Isles of Scilly. The Scilly pelagic trips during the late summer and early autumn were particularly good this year and I was hopeful that maybe some of Great Shearwaters might be lingering in the deep water off the Scillies.

For the first ninety minutes or so we didn't see very much at all but we didn't need to worry as the skipper Joe Pender expertly guided us towards a feeding frenzy of sea-birds and Common Dolphins.
We stayed with them for a couple of hours, rafts of shearwaters including maybe a hundred Greats and smaller numbers of Sooty, Balearic and Manx being the main centre of attention.

Gannets were diving all around us, the water burst and spluttered as pods of dolphins fed frantically around us and a few each of Great Skua and Kittiwake joined the throng. A Minke Whale surfaced twice near to the boat, confirming that most of the activity was going on unseen below the waves. The supporting cast included a few each of Guillemot, Razorbill, Puffin and Grey Phalarope...

Regards

Neil M

Great Shearwaters.

Balearic Shearwater.

Sooty Shearwater.

Great Shearwaters.

Common Dolphins.

The Scillies

Hello

Yesterday (Saturday) saw us take the Scillonian III ferry to the Isles of Scilly, something of a logistical nightmare with two dogs, bird ringing equipment, ourselves and all our luggage for three weeks!

The weather was kind to us with sunshine and mild-mannered seas and even some birds in the shape of Arctic Skuas, a Great Skua, Mediterranean Gulls and Kittiwakes, several Manx Shearwaters and a couple of Balearics too. Gannets were in good numbers, we disturbed a feeding Grey Phalarope and we encountered several pods of Common Dolphins which mostly kept their distance. A Pomarine Skua and two Great Shearwaters were reported by others on board. A tired Chiffchaff landed on the ferry for a short time - I hope he/she made it!

On making landfall on St Marys we staggered to our chalet accommodation, completed some grocery shopping and of course fitted in some mist net erecting and land birding too! The weather was sunny and the conditions mild and it was great to be back!

Undoubtedly the best bird was a stunning juvenile Ortolan Bunting which fed confidingly on the coastal path not far from Hugh Town. The subtle colours and beautiful feather margins and it's relative tame nature made for a fabulous forty minutes. Other birds were standard fare and included Stonechat, Wheatear, Blackcap, Siskin and Rock Pipit.

Today (Sunday) and things were generally quiet on St Marys and we enjoyed relatively common birds such as Spotted Flycatcher, Grey Wagtail, Peregrine, Sparrowhawk, a variety of waders, a tamish Water Rail, Siskin etc.

Ringers operating in Northants during the week-end were busy, Kenny and Sarah were managing the Linford Lakes site on both days and caught well over a hundred birds including over thirty Blackcaps, fifteen Chiffchaffs, a late Reed Warbler and several Cetti's Warblers including a bird originally caught somewhere else in the UK. Other birds featuring included a couple each of  Meadow Pipit and Reed Bunting.

John Woollett and team worked the nets at Stortons Pits today, catching forty-one birds which included nine Blackcaps, five Chiffchaffs, four Cetti's Warblers and a cracking Green Woodpecker!

Regards

Neil M

Turnstone.

Gannet.

Balearic Shearwater.

Chiffchaff hitching a ride!

The Ortolan Bunting.

Song Thrush. In some respects
the iconic bird of the Scillies.

Bird Club Meeting 3rd Oct

Hello

This coming Wednesday (3rd October) is the next indoor meeting of the Northants Bird Club at the usual venue of the Fishing Lodge at Pitsford Reservoir.

The speaker on this occasion is Brian Eversham, a brilliant naturalist and conservationist who also happens to be the Chief Executive of the Wildlife Trust for Beds, Cambs and Northants. Brian will be reflecting on the past in relation to nature conservation and also providing his personal outlook on what the future will hold for our birds, insects and many others. 

The meeting begins promptly at 7.30pm and hot drinks and biscuits will be available during the evening and everyone is welcome. Come along and listen to a talented orator and be inspired!

Regards

Neil M

Long-tailed Tits.
Courtesy of Robin Gossage.

Barn Owl.
Courtesy of Dave Jackson.

Cornish birding

Hello

Walking around the outskirts of Penzance just after dawn didn't produce any birds out of the ordinary but a couple of Grey Wagtails were nice.

A visit to the RSPB reserve at Marazion after breakfast provided records of Tree and Rock Pipits, Siskins, Cetti's Warblers, a calling Water Rail and Stonechat and Wheatear.

A little later we took a run out to the beautiful cove of Porthgwarra and spent three hours or so exploring the area and completing a little sea-watching. Gannets and Razorbills were plentiful and passing in good numbers but other sea-birds included three Balearic Shearwaters, six Manx Shearwaters, Kittiwakes and three Arctic Skuas. A few pods of Harbour Porpoise showed themselves occasionally.

Birds along the cliff included Raven and six Chough and other land-birds amounted to Wheatear, Stonechat, a Red Kite (not common here), Grey Wagtail and Siskin.

As we left Porthgwarra we noticed a flock of Starlings perched on some wires and there among them was a juvenile Rose-coloured Starling! I managed a couple of tardy images before the whole flock took off and promptly disappeared. Apparently this bird had been reported earlier.

Our last venue was the lovely Kenidjack Valley near St Just, a gentle walk takes you down to the sea past the remnants of Cornish mines and it is possible to see the peninsular of Cape Cornwall nearby.

'Summer' migrants seem to be in short supply but we managed Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Spotted Flycatcher and other avian highlights were Grey Wagtail, Rock Pipit, Wheatear and Stonechat and we heard another Chough.

Back in Northants, Eric's foray today to Thrapston Pits provided views of plenty of wildfowl, plus two Yellow-legged Gulls, a Common Sandpiper and Chiffchaffs and Cetti's Warblers.

Regards

Neil M

The Jackdaw in general
appears to be doing rather
well at the moment and my
impression is that they are gradually
increasing. There have always been
good numbers of them in the west
of the UK and in the west of Cornwall
they take advantage of various redundant
human-made structures (such as the old
mining chimneys and buildings) to nest as
 well as natural sites...

Rose-coloured Starling with
Starlings.

Images from Kenidjack
Valley this evening...

Birding South West

Hello

Today we took a journey down to the south west of the country, stopping briefly in Gloucestershire and Devon before arriving in Penzance, Cornwall. A beautiful, sunny day with high temperatures in the afternoon, the mildness overnight and lack of a breeze also causing some lingering morning fog and mist.

The excellent Gloucester Services on the M5 just south of Gloucester do a mean breakfast and also provided avian entertainment in the form of a Grey Wagtail and tame Moorhens on the pool there.

Our next stop was Great Haldon Forest near Exeter where we were greeted by a party of Common Crossbills in the visitor car park. Other finches included plenty of Siskins and a few Redpoll and Nuthatches were vocal as we trekked the Raptor Trail. The only raptor we did see there were Common Buzzards! Feeders by the cafe attract Nuthatch, Jay, Great Spotted Woodpecker etc.

Travelling deep in to Cornwall along the A30, we stopped at the Hayle Estuary, a favoured venue of ours since the eighties. Up to ten Mediterranean Gulls were easy to see among their more common cousins, the best of the waders were Whimbrel and Spotted Redshank and several Blackcaps flitted in the brambles. The beach at Long Rock near Penzance was busy with people and dogs but birds on show included Gannet, Sandwich Tern, Mediterranean Gull, Grey Wagtail and Wheatears.

And so our autumn holiday has begun...

Regards

Neil M

Three Mediterranean Gulls
with a Black-headed Gull in
the foreground.

Adult Mediterranean Gull.

Juvenile Common Crossbill.

Grey Wagtail.