The Mistle Thrush remained on the Golf course, St Mary’s on the 1st and two Common Swifts flew over. Annet held two hundred and ten Manx Shearwaters on 2nd and a Lapwing and two Common Swift were over St Martin’s. An evening pelagic on the 4th produced a Scopoli’s Shearwater which if accepted will constitute the 2nd record for Britain in Scillonian waters. The first Wilson’s Storm-petrel of the year was seen from a pelagic trip on the 7th and elsewhere, three Greenshank were on Porth Hellick Pool.
A minor Common Crossbill ‘invasion’ began on the 8th with eight birds at Longstones. The following day there were thirty at Trenoweth and on the 11th more than fifty birds were at Longstones and a further ten were at Trenoweth. A Lesser Redpoll flew over Longstones on 14th and a White Wagtail and Green Sandpiper were at Porth Hellick Pool. Green Sandpiper numbers had increased to three at Porth Hellick the following day and a 1st summer Med Gull was also there.
A pelagic trip on the 18th saw Cory’s Shearwater and Sabine’s Gull and an Icelandic Black-tailed Godwit was at Porth Hellick Pool. A Wilson’s storm-petrel was seen from the pelagic on the 20th along with a Great Shearwater. Birds reported from Tresco that day included thirty Sanderling and four Common Sandpipers. With land based birding on the quiet side, the pelagic trips dominated the birding scene for the rest of the month with a further thirteen Wilson’s storm-petrel sightings, five Great Shearwaters, two Sooty Shearwaters and four Balearic Shearwaters. Another possible Scopoli’s Shearwater was seen on the 27th and a possible Black browed Albatross was seen near Seven Stones in the morning before drifting past St Martin’s later the same day.
The month ended on a high with the island’s second ever Marsh Sandpiper at Porth Hellick Pool on the 29th. The stunning bird was found late in the afternoon and performed well in front of the Stephen Sussex hide into early August.
Paul Freestone (c) ISBG 2009
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