BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER at the airfield

Juvenile BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER showing well as usual on the airfield.

  With 2003 Great Shearwaters yesterday passing Porthgwarra, Cornwall, I made the effort to get to Giants Castle for first light. I didn't arrive until 06.45 and with the F4-5 SW, it felt good. With in minutes I had 3 Great Shearwater and 1 Balearic Shearwater. There was also a stream of Gannets moving west. In the first hour, I had a very close juvenile SABINE'S GULL, (only my secord for Scilly) 9 Great and 1 Baleraric Shearwater, 1 Great Skua and 200+Gannet.
  I called the others to get up here and drive up to the airfield and walk down from there. As a result, Tony found a 1st summer female WOODCHAT SHRIKE on the airport lane just past the Mainland Marketing building. At Giants they managed to get a few Great Shearwater and a close in Great Skua, and then they were off. They were only there for over 30 minutes, all part timers and they bloody ate all my chocolate. Two Finger Orange Kit-Kats, my favorite and looking at there faces, after they had scoffed the lot, there's too!

TOTALS OF SPECIES OFF GIANTS CASTLE  F4-5 WSW 06.45-12.30

1 Juvenile SABINE'S GULL
29 Great Shearwater
2 Sooty Shearwater
1 Balearic Shearwater
2 Great Skua
4 Kittiwake
2 Fulmar
1 auk sp
500+ Gannet
11 Alba Wagtail
1 Harbour Porpoise

  After they had left, the wind had gone WNW and things started quieting down. I could see the rain coming in from the west and returning along the airfield, a wader further up, flew low across infront of me in the driving rain. I instantly knew what it was and I put my bins up. A very wet looking BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER was feeding with 5 Ringed Plover. I had a look at it and then ran like the devil towards me wagon. I was soaked to the born. I guess this was the bird that was found this morning on Shipmans Head, Bryher. Again the chocolate lot returned and told me, that they were hoping to find a Buffy on the airfield when returning from Giants Castle. The rain eased off and we got good views of it feeding with an adult Golden Plover. Where did the plover come from? A Black-tailed Godwit flew overhead going west and the grey and white looking flava wagtail from the Garrison, paused briefly on the grass. Over 30 Wheatear and White wagtail, with a few Pied Wagtail mixed in, were dumped down on the airfield during the rain.

Taken by Robin Mawer

BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER sharing the runway with a Ringed Plover

Molting adult Golden Plover with one of the many White Wagtail on the airfield

Over 500 Gannets passed Giants Castle

Sheltering from the rain. I think Higgo's celebrating after seeing the Buffy or is he's doing a rain dance?

Here's Tony's 1st summer female WOODCHAT SHRIKE just off the airport lane. As you can see, it has no white primarie patch and was thought to be a Balearic Shrike. However, when it opened it's wings, it showed a small amount of white. This still does not rule out Belearic, as they can also show this feature. I did not see this bird, so hopfully it will still be present tomorrow. Robin Mawer

  In Ritchie's car, I joined Higgo and we went for a drive. I was starving, (Ritchie ate 2 packets of my chocolate fingers) So we stopped off at my place to get some walnut cake, just for me and only me. As I started getting it down my neck, John Denver came on the radio, NO! I couldn't tell them to turn it off, because my mouth was stuffed with cake and if I opened my mouth, then all of the cake would of gone into Higgo's ears and Ritchie would of laughed so much and crashed the car. I don't think Higgo would appreciate my nuts in his ear hole! Not just that, Higgo would of hit me, I would of lost a lot of cake and with Ritchie taking 3 packets of my chocolate fingers, well I would of had a real crap day! In the end I had to suffer. Good music then followed with Van the Man singing the Danny Timms song, The Water. We didn't see any birds of note and when I got back in me wagon at the airport, I ate my meat pasty that I had left in there over 2 weeks ago! Martin was with me and I shared it with him to make sure it was safe to eat. No sign of the woodchat, but after a good 20 minutes, we relocated the Buffy and with me wagon, we got cracking views.

If you enlarge you can see Ritchie eating his 4th packet of my chocolate fingers! Note that no one is looking out to sea. Unless Tony's got a diddy tripod with a diidy scope, that he likes to look through other peoples tripods.

Gray had a CITRINE WAGTAIL on St Agnes first thing this morning and 20 Great and 2 Sooty Shearwater passed Horse Point. Smoothy went to Tresco and got it or another Citrine at Rosefields.