Monday – On St. Mary’s 2 Pied Flycatchers were at Rosehill, with another opposite Porth Hellick House and further bird in the sunken garden at the corner of Porthloo Lane & Telegraph. 3 Great & 2 Sooty Shearwaters were seen from Peninnis Head. On Tresco the resident Common Buzzard had Read more…
Tuesday – The Citrine Wagtail and a Kingfisher were at Lower Moors. 2 Green Sandpipers and the Spotted Sandpiper were at Porth Hellick Pool, the Spotted Sandpiper was joined briefly by the Citrine Wagtail, typical Scilly East meets West! The Solitary Sandpiper was still on Tresco. The evening sharking/birding trip produced a Balearic, 6 Sooty & 20 Great Shearwaters, a Sabine’s Gull, a Black Tern, 5 Arctic Tern, 4 Minke Whales and 5 Atlantic Bluefin Tuna.
Wednesday – The Citrine Wagtail & 5 Common Snipe were at Lower Moors & the Spotted Sandpiper was still at Porth Hellick Pool. The Solitary Sandpiper was still on Simpson’s Field Tresco and elsewhere on the island were 14 Knot, 3 Common Sandpipers, 2 Dunlins, 100 Sanderlings, a Yellow-legged & 2 Common Gulls. 60 Sandwich Terns and 2 Mediterranean Gulls were at Porthloo. 30 Great Shearwaters were seen from the Scillonian III near Seven Stones. A brief 2 hour pelagic trip with a More4 camera team yielded a Wilson’s Storm Petrel, 40 European Storm-petrels, a Cory’s, 20+ Sooty, 80+ Great & 1000+ Manx Shearwaters, 3 adult Sabine’s Gulls, a Great Skua, 2 Blue Sharks, 4 Atlantic Bluefin Tuna and 10 Common Dolphins.
Thursday – The Citrine Wagtail a Tree Pipit & 2 Common Whitethroats were at Lower Moors and 3 Green Sandpipers, a Dunlin, a Redshank and the Spotted Sandpiper were at Porth Hellick Pool. A Spotted Flycatcher, a Whinchat & 5 Wheatears were on Porth Hellick Down and a Tree Pipit was at Longstone. A Garden Warbler was on Bryher and the Solitary Sandpiper was still on Tresco. The evening pelagic was quiet by recent standards but still managed to produce 3 Wilson’s Storm-petrels, and singles of Sooty, Great & Cory’s Shearwater. A Blue Shark was also caught, tagged and released. (more…)
Wednesday – A Solitary Sandpiper found on the Great Pool, Tresco was re- identified by local birder John Higginson, after it was initially reported as a Lesser Yellowlegs.
Thursday – The Solitary Sandpiper was still on the Great Pool, Tresco. 9 Greenshanks, 2 Common Sandpipers and a Common Snipe were on Porth Hellick Pool and a Little Egret was on Annet. On the return crossing of the Scillonian III from St. Mary’s to Penzance a feeding frenzy of birds was seen 40 minutes out, amongst them were 15 Cory’s, 6 Great and a few Balearic Shearwaters.
Seen on the evening birding/sharking trip, which was mainly drifting & chumming, were: 50 European Storm-petrels, 10 Wilson’s Storm-petrels, a Great Shearwater, a Balearic Shearwater and 3 Cory’s Shearwaters. Also a Blue Shark was caught, tagged and released. (more…)
Friday – The Baird’s Sandpiper was still on the Great Pool, Tresco, a Pied Flycatcher was at Longstone and the female Merlin was at Buzza.
The first night of the birders’ special pelagic weekends produced lots of European Storm-petrels, 2 Wilson’s Storm-petrels, 1200 Manx, 200 Great, 75 Sooty & 3 Cory’s Shearwaters, a Yellow-legged Gull, 3 Great Skuas, 3 Grey Phalaropes and 200+ Common Dolphins.
Saturday – A Common Whitethroat was at Mount Todden, 3 Common Sandpipers were on Porthcressa Beach, 8 Greenshanks & a Redshank were at Porth Hellick, 10 Great Shearwaters & 6 Sooty Shearwaters flew past Peninnis Head and 2 Great Skuas were odd Deep Point. Birders who braved a very wet & windy daytime pelagic trip were rewarded with 50+ European Storm-petrels, a Wilson’s Storm-petrel, 200+ Great, 75 Sooty, a Cory’s, a Balearic & 100s of Manx Shearwaters, a Great Skua ,lots of Common Dolphins and a Blue Shark. (more…)
Tuesday – 50 Sandwich Terns and 2 Mediterranean Gulls were on rocks in Porthcressa Bay. A Common Snipe and a Sanderling were in Lower Moors. Wednesday – 9 Greenshanks were on Porth Hellick Pool and 3 Golden Plover flew past Giant’s Castle, where there was a Whimbrel on the rocks. Read more…