Big Scilly Adventure Part 1

Much has been written about the demise of Scilly as a British birding destination in recent years, however, it’s a place steeped in birding history and one I’d always had in mind to visit.

I recently decided this would be the October for my Scilly inauguration and put the necessary arrangements in place; train from Brum to Penzance plus stopover, ferry crossing and B&B accommodation for 9 nights on St Marys.

I arrived in Penzance on 9th October and had a stroll around the harbour, it was around 4:30pm so I was limited really. 2 Sandwich Tern, Shag, Curlew, Turnstone and Oystercatcher were all noted. About 30 Pied Wagtails were on the lido. I was losing the light, so I treated myself to a nice meal at Alverne, before retiring for an early night ahead of the crossing. 

Wednesday 10th October 

It was foggy as Scillonian III chugged out of Penzance, however once this cleared a Sooty Shearwater, Harbour Porpoise and a pod of 20 Common Dolphins were noted. I also saw a cetacean of some sort make a big splash. On discussion with others it seems may have been a Minke Whale or Rizzo's Dolphin.

On approach to St Marys, I turned on the radio kindly loaned to me by Martyn; this is a novel system used by birders to share news of bird sightings on the archipelago (that word already) and I really wouldn't have been without this. With two potential ticks on St Marys (American Golden Plover and Richard's Pipit) I was hoping to connect with at least one of these this afternoon.

Land ahoy!

There was a familiar face from Staffs waiting at the quay; Richard, who had already been on the island a few days and visiting for his third year.

We headed to the airfield (where the American Golden Plover was seen earlier). Checked both the Turning Circle and Windsock, alas the AGP was clearly not around. Walking round to Porth Hellick we jammed in on a group of birders looking at a juvenile Rose-coloured Starling in the bracken.

Other notable birds from this part of the day included a Sanderling in Old Town Bay, a Whimbrel and 22 Ringed Plover at Porth Hellick, Sparrowhawk and 2 Stonechat. Common migrants were evident with the odd Swallow and around 20 Wheatear around the Giant's Castle area. The latter included an odd looking Wheatear that looked as if it had been involved in argument with a Sprawk and a muddy puddle. The words on the radio 'interesting looking Wheatear' drew quite a crowd.

Then a mini-crises as I noticed my notebook was missing. Before the search was underway, to my relief I received a voicemail from another birder who had found it at Port Minck and would return it to me at this evening's log.

The final birding move of the day was a walk out to Penninis Head and this was impeccable timing as the Richard's Pipit had just been refound on a field just off the Penninis Farm Trail. I was soon to realise that success on Scilly was largely due to being in the right time at the right place. Some more familiar Staffs faces were here and were on the bird. It was difficult viewing though as the bird was in long grass, I did get good scope views of 'head & shoulders' although that wasn't really enough for me as it was a lifer. A tick nonetheless and a good result for the first day.

The juvenile Dotterel was also on Penninis Head and showing well.

Dotterel

All that remained was to check in the B&B and before experiencing another Scilly first; the Log Call.

Thursday 11th October

My first full day on St Marys, I set out on my own to do some exploring.

During the morning, I followed the Penninis Farm Trail down to the churchyard and Old Town Bay, up Old Town Lane, Carnfriars Lane and through the Sunnyside Farm Trail. Birds noted included 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 4 White Wagtails, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Peregrine and in the bay a single Ringed Plover and Dunlin. No news of anything I needed, so I was quite happy pottering around and discovering.

Eventually I came to rest at Strudle House and well, it had to be done didn't it? No sooner had I been furnished with this pastry-based fruity treat, the radio crackled with news of the American Golden Plover back on the airfield. I was soon off on my way and to cut a long story short, this bird gave me the run around throughout most of the afternoon and had disappeared from the airfield, flushed by an incoming plane.

Eventually I returned to exploratory mode, the only notable birds from the remainder of the day being a Yellow Wagtail on the airfield and a freshly arrived Whinchat in Old Town Bay.

The big news of the day however, was the discovery of a Blackpoll Warbler on Bryher. I was too far out at the time of the news, dipping AGP from the airport and would never have made the 3:00pm boat. Had I made it, I would have dipped anyway. A bittersweet day really, having really enjoyed the birding until the birds ruined everything.

Friday 12th October

Rather than rushing over to Bryher I decided to continue explorations and react only on news of the Blackpoll, such had been its elusiveness yesterday. I began with a walk to Penninis Head and then later went onto the Garrison, where I met Richard. Both areas were very quiet, save a few Goldcrests, Meadow Pipits and that type of thing.

Good news on the radio – the American Golden Plover had been refound, this time in Porth Hellick Bay. Third time lucky for me - it was in the bag, however not too much time to dwell on it, as during the stride over to Porth Hellick a Solitary Sandpiper had been found on a dung heap on Bryher!

The AGP was however, a smart looking bird, a juvenile notably greyer than our Goldies, with a bold supercillium and smaller, slimmer build and attenuated (© Collins) rear.

American Golden Plover - Image Coutesy Richard Powell

On the walk back to Hugh Town a smart female Merlin was noted, perching briefly atop a conifer tree.

So, Solitary Sand, my first ‘big’ twitch of the holiday and one that did not present any problems. The bird showed very well at close range on the dung heap and was unperturbed by the crowds.

A very smart bird actually and one that the field guide really doesn’t do justice to. Although very similar in plumage to Green Sand, its dainty structure was more reminiscent of Wood sandpiper. Again, as seems to be a theme with yank waders, it featured a slim attenuated rear.

Solitary Sandpiper on Bryher

Overheard at the Solitary twitch (seriously); a dudey type old woman asked her husband loudly 'what's that we've been looking at?' Her husband told her, of course Solitary Sandpiper and she replied 'yes it is all on its own'!

A small influx of Coal Tits, usually a Scilly rarity, were also causing some excitement around the isles. Most of these were thought to be Irish Coal Tits. I did see one, without any effort from the main path at Bryher on the way to the Solitary Sandpiper.

Thunder and lightning followed with a thorough soaking and a battering of hailstones. Take a bit more than that to ruin a two-tick day.

Croxall Lakes 22nd September

Saturday 22nd September, 8.30am - 11.30am

Back on one of the regular patches, Croxall Lakes.

Some muddy edges had returned a glimmer of hope for local wader action, however at the time of writing i suspect the newfound scrapes have not survived the week's earlier deluge. We'll find out tomorrow.

The star bird this morning was a single juvenile Black-tailed Godwit, a regular but by no means common passage bird in the West Mids region. Other waders noted; 1 Redshank, 3 Green Sand and 2 Snipe.

There was a bit of noticeable overhead vis mig in the form of Meadow Pipit and Skylark. Also 3 high altitude Jays.

Little Egret today numbered 4. Around 70 Black-headed Gulls were present. Goosander had increased to  10 on the river. A Little Grebe, 22 Shoveler, 6 Buzzard and Reed Bunting also noted.

Little Grebe - image courtesy of Martyn Yapp

Yank Wader Fest

Sunday 16th September 

A fully-loaded weekend continued. Sunday saw a jaunt to see an American Visitor on the south coast. Britain’s second ever Short-billed Dowitcher of course, which had already lingered a couple of weeks.

Our driver for the day, Mr Richard Powell arrived with Martyn to pick me up about 5.15am-ish.

At Lodmoor RSPB shortly before 9.00am, we noted 6 Pale-bellied Brent Geese over the car park.

The Short-billed Dowitcher was showing well on the West Scrape, which was viewable from the path and whilst it wasn't close, the scope views were good. This was a well-marked juv, with a very bold supercillum and of course, the tertial notching that separates it from Long-billed. Perhaps the Yanks should have called it a Shorter-billed Dowitcher rather than a Short-billed, as it still has a hefty driller which probed deep into the mud.

The Dowitcher suddenly took flight then disappeared for a while in scrapes that were not so viewable. Soon again though it was sighted from the pagoda which was crammed full of birders and further sporadic views were gained.

 

A Dowitcher with a comparitively short bill - digiscoped by Richard Powell

At this reserve we also noted a 2nd-winter Med Gull, 3 Common Sandpipers, c20 Dunlin, Black-tailed Godwit, 6 Ringed Plover, 3 Snipe, 1 Sarnie Tern and Little Egret.

 

Med Gull - digiscoped by Richard Powell

The Dowitcher had again vanished, so news of a small number of Balearic Shearwaters past Portland beckoned a seawatch.

We spent almost two hours seawatching from the Obilisque or whatever its called. No Balearics unfortunately and the seawatch was uneventful.

Noted; 2 distant Arctic Skua, around 30 Common Scoter, plus all the usual Auks, Gannet, Shag etc. A solitary Wheatear, Rock Pipit & passing Swallows were noted around the lighthouse. Our seawatching seemed to attracted a few baffled American tourists; this time of the wrong (i.e. human)  kind. We were asked if we were looking for:

a) Whales

b) Ships

c) Germans

Hmm ok....time to blow Grocksville and move on.

Continued news of a White-rumped Sandpiper at Steart Point on the Parrett Estuary in Somerset – just a short hop off our journey back to the midlands via the M5. We were soon powering our way towards another Yank wader.

As it was a tick for me, my heart was in my mouth when the White-rumped Sandpiper was in the air seconds after walking all the long-windey way down to the flooded field at Stockland Reach. Fortunately the bird soon settled but was a bit flighty until it shook off a Ringed Plover that seemed to be causing some annoyance.

Better views were soon provided as the WRS settled in the company of a very crisp looking juv Curlew Sand and watching them both together was a fine wader treat on which to end a very enjoyable day. Little Ringed Plover was also noted here.

White-rumped Sandpiper digiscoped by Richard Powell

White-rumped Sandpiper - digiscoped by Richard Powell

Juvenille Curlew Sandpiper - digiscoped by Richard Powell

Yorkshire Belle mini-Pelagic

Saturday 15^th September 2012 

With a recent taste of East Yorkshire seawatching , me and Martyn were keen for some more of that and hopefully getting a bit closer to the skua and shear action. We therefore rolled into Bridington Harbour over an hour before the sailing of the Yorkshire Belle to join an eager queue of birders, a few dudey types and some strange grockle folk who did not own a pair of binoculars at all. A few Purple Sandpipers and a lone Guillemot were noted in the Harbour.

The Yorkshire Belle

I hadn’t been on board the Yorkshire Belle since 2008 when the combination rough seas, a fret, plenty of puking (not by me) and no birds forced the vessel back to port early. This time this RSPB-organised cruise was much better in terms of birds and visibility. A great selection of birds were noted, although the winds and weather were a little too nice really for anything too unusual in the mix. But then, you never know for sure what is out there.

The scores on the doors: Bonxie x 4, Arctic Skua x 5 (all dark phase, including a bird in the harbour that was called as Pom – we were unconvinced & veered towards Arctic), Sooty Shearwater x 1 (very close to t'boat), Manx Shearwater x 4, Red-throated Diver x 2, Puffin c8, plus all the other stff you would expect to see in the way of Auks, Shag, 1000’s Gannets, Fulmar, Kittiwake, Common Scoter etc. 10 plus Harbour Porpoise were noted.

Oceanic bully boys - great bird, Bonxie

Manx Shearwater - sadly no Balearics

Puffin - Above 3 images courtesy Martyn Yapp

What I would say is if you go on this cruise, make sure you get a seat in prime position and make sure you use your own eyes, brain and judgement. Don’t rely on the staff of the Belle, helpful and as well-meaning as they are, as there was mistakes being made and stuff getting missed. I am being polite here.

Back in harbour by 1.00pm the quiet fishing town now appeared to have transformed into the Yorkshire version of Benidorm. The number of Purple Sands had increased and the harbour also contained a number of Redshank and some whelks.

Purple Sand - 100% guaranteed in Brid Harbour - image courtesy Martyn Yapp

The rest of the day included a visit to Bempton Cliffs and South Landing. Unfortunately westerly winds had pretty much killed falls of migrants and bush-bashing at Bempton provided us with little more than a singular Whitethroat. Although the auks had left the cliffs there was still a smaller number of Gannets and Fulmar still on the cliffs. Always good to watch.

South Landing, same story in terms of passerines. However here a wader fix was provided with 2 Knot, 2 Sanderling , Dunlin, Redshank and many Turnstones in the bay. A distant Bonxie passed at sea.

Ochruros Musings and a Good Staffs Day

11th August 2012

The Ochruros season came to a poignant end, watching a lone bird hopping about on roofs from an elevated urban watchpoint. I can now reveal that Martyn and I kept tabs on two separate presumed single males from spring into summer. It was an absolute privilege to watch these charismatic urban dwelling birds right from the very heart of the conurbation,

Both of the birds seemed to remain unpaired, although this could not be proven as the birds became elusive after their initial territorial singing. Both were 1^st-summer birds, which gives me great hope as it is though that 1^st summer birds tend to return to their natal area. Perhaps the apparent lack of breeding is simply due to a lack of experience?

 

12^th August 2012

Croxall Lakes, 7:45am

Starting out at Croxall, alas the high water level on the main pool is still causing much disappointment on the wader front. However there was visible muddy scrape on the back pool and this and the river banks had attracted 10 plus Green Sandpiper, and 15 or so Snipe. A single Common Sand was on the edge of the main pool. 3 Little Egrets today, with up to 6 being reported of late.

In addition to the increase in wader activity there was a noticeable movement of passerines. This included 1 Garden Warbler, 2 female Blackcaps, some lovely yellowy juv Willow Warblers, 2 Chiffchaffs and 1 Yellow Wagtail.

Goosander are now a regular fixture on the river. A Kingfisher was on the back pool.

Blithfield Reservoir, 12:00

With an easterly breeze and a slight inclemency in the air, it was time to move on to bigger and better things (ie Blithfield) for the remainder of the day.

I hadn’t quite expected a regional tick today, but soon after arrival I was furnished with one! 2 Sandwich Terns were around the deeps as we watched from the Fisherman’s hut. 

Sandwich Tern - images appear courtesy of Martyn Yapp - http://www.theregionaltick.blogspot.co.uk/

Another very good Staffs bird was a juvenile Marsh Harrier that was in Tad Bay at 2:55pm, having put in a number of appearances both here and at Uttoxeter in recent days.

Other notable birds were 2 Yellow-legged Gull present (adult and 3^rd cy), a juv Arctic Tern along with 30 or so Common tern and 2 Common Sandpiper.

Tri-County Regional Birding

Saturday 4^th August 2012

With the ghetto birding season all but over and autumn approaching, it was time to make a return to the A38 gravel pits for a few hours this morning. The water levels are at last receding, albeit very slowly.

Croxall Lakes 9.10am

Enough muddy edge had appeared on the main lake to accommodate a Common Sandpiper, with another 2 also on the river. No Common Terns today, perhaps sadly now departed due to lack of success. Notable birds on the reserve included 2 Goosander on the river, 1 Little Egret, 10 Great-crested Grebe and a Buzzard.

Almost on first name terms with this song thrush now...

Sunday 5^th August 2012

Grimley New Workings, Worcs 8:00am

Although not documented on here, the previous visit to Grimley with Martyn saw us dipping White-rumped Sandpiper at 6:00am on 15^th July. An important regional bird missed out on there. You can read more details of this tragic morning and also about historical midlands records of WRS on the Regional Tick blog.

This morning’s regional twitch however was more of a success. Great White Egret, a bird that has become much more regular in the West Midlands region in recent years was still absent from my personal regional list.

This was easily put right though, with the bird flying into the main pool around 8.00am-ish and preening and showing well for us. We were close enough to observe the striking green loral patch and long yellow bill, before this gangly egret headed off north. At the time of writing, this bird is still putting in daily appearances at Grimley. 

Great White Egret - courtesy Martyn Yapp - http://www.theregionaltick.blogspot.co.uk/

Great White Egret - courtesy Martyn Yapp - http://www.theregionaltick.blogspot.co.uk/

Other birds noted at Camp Lane Pools were 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Grey Heron, 5 Skylark and a Buzzard.

At Wagon Wheel Lane, surprisingly the floods seemed to have almost dried up. That did not however, deter 2 Green Sand, 1 Dunlin, 1 Snipe and 1 LRP.

Marsh Lane, West Midlands 10:30am

A Temminck’s Stint was reported early morning. A report that turned out to be ‘erroneous’ - the bird in question was in fact a smart adult Pectoral Sandpiper! That will do nicely, a second regional tick in one day, not often that happens. Very nice indeed.

Also here 1 LRP, 3 Oystercatcher and 5 Common Tern.

Blithfield Reservoir, Staffs

We now visited our third county of the day.

On the way to Blithers we stopped in at a withheld location, where there were some unseasonably wintery sights, including 7 Wigeon and a staggering 32 Goosander. This was counterbalanced with a more summery sight of some juv Yellow Wagtails. A thunderstorm was approaching.

At Blithfield we concentrated on the Dam and Causeway areas hoping the storm had dropped something tasty in. It did drop in a Little Gull, but we did not see this.

About 50 Common Terns were present and a Yellow-legged Gull was on one of the bouys. A different bird than the YLG from a couple of weeks ago, this one being a full adult. Also 2 Common Sandpiper on the causeway.

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

Sunday 29^th July

It’s fair to say last Sunday was a good wader day.

Martyn and I headed up to Frodsham Marsh, the reason for this – a Buff-breasted Sandpiper that had appeared yesterday. This would be a new tick for me, although it did sound elusive and flighty in yesterday's report. All the words I don’t like to hear. At any rate a wader fix was badly needed, so off we went.

Scanning Tank 6 from the main path, there were quite a number of birders assembled, including a few familiar faces from across the Staffs border. An impressive flock of up to 1000 Black-tailed Godwit were roosting, along with a single Bar-tailed Godwit and 3 Redshank. Dunlin were more active as we searched through them unsuccessfully for the Buff-breasted Sand.

This approach clearly was not working with none of the birders present managing to spot the BBS. After an hour or so we decided to try another tack, to find another viewing area as the bird had been seen at the back of the tank late yesterday and some parts of the tank were very distant viewing from where we stood.

Our investigations paid off. There were quite a number of small waders working through the vegetation on the other side, mainly Dunlin, but also a Little Stint, 4 Snipe and single Ringed & LR Plovers. There was also a Ruff here and once we got onto that, Martyn locked onto another small wader – the Buff-breasted Sandpiper!

It stayed closely associated with the Ruff whilst it was feeding and it was moving quickly. A new bird for me, it was slightly smaller than I’d anticipated but it’s warm, buffy colouration was noted, as was its short bill and yellow legs. Assumed the bird was an adult. We had good scope views for about 10 minutes before all the waders flushed by a Marsh Harrier. Both the Buff-breast Sand and Ruff flew off with a Lapwing flock.

Other birds noted included 3 Yellow Wagtails, a showy Reed Warbler, 53 Shelduck, 3 Teal, 40 Curlew (in a nearby field) and 2 Ruddy Shelduck.

We then spent the afternoon around the Burton Mere/Inner Marsh Farm area.

At Burton Mere we had 3 Avocet, 20 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Snipe, Little Egret, 1 Ruff (a male moulting out breeding plumage), 3 Oystercatcher, 4 Redshank and a few Teal and Gadwall. A Water Rail was heard calling.

Dragonflys noted were Common Darter, Brown Hawker and Blue Tailed Damselfly.

The hide at Inner Marsh Farm was far less populated that Burton and therefore a more enjoyable place to watch from. Waders again was a key theme – 105 Black-tailed Godwit, 27 Redshank, 7 Avocet, Dunlin, 1 LRP, 1 Ringed Plover 1 Oystercatcher, 1 Snipe. Also here Little Egret, 2 Buzzard, 4 Common Tern (3 juvs) and a few Teal.