Semipalmated Sandpiper (M.Goodey)
Thursday’s birds were:
St. Mary’s – A Semi-palmated Sandpiper was found late evening on Porth Hellick Pool, where a Spotted Crake showed briefly at 16:00. The Icterine Warbler was still proving to be very elusive in the Dead Pine Walk behind the Garrison Tennis Courts and nearby a Barred Warbler showed briefly in the pig field above Lower Broome. A Green Sandpiper was on Lower Moors Pool.
St. Agnes – A Yellow-legged Gull, a Yellow Wagtail and a Whinchat.
St. Martin’s – 100+ Sanderlings and a Kestrel.
At sea – 6 Great and 2 Sooty Shearwaters were seen west of Wolf Rock (i.e. within the Scilly recording area) from the Scillonian III on the return trip from St. Mary’s to Penzance.
The pelagic trips continue to produce the goods. The evening’ highlights were a Wilson’s Storm-petrel, 120+ Great Shearwaters, 15+ Cory’s Shearwaters, 50+ Sooty Shearwaters, a Grey Phalarope, 3 Sabine’s Gulls, 6 Great Skuas, a Minke Whale, 50+ Short-beaked Common Dolphins. 3 Blue Sharks were caught, tagged and released.
Friday’s birds were:
St. Mary’s – Both the Semi-palmated Sandpiper and the Spotted Crake were still on Porth Hellick Pool, the latter still very elusive. The Wryneck was still near Giant’s Castle and nearby a Richard’s Pipit was on the airfield. In Lower Moors a Whinchat was in the Standing Stones Field and 2 Common Snipe and a Greenshank were on the pool. A Firecrest was in the Dead Pine Walk on the Garrison and a White Wagtail was in Old Town.
Tresco – 15 Greenshanks, 3 Redshanks and 2 White Wagtails.
At sea – 4 Cory’s Shearwaters, a Balearic Shearwater and 2 European Storm-petrels were seen from the Scillonian III on the return crossing from St. Mary’s to Penzance.