3 BLACK KITES!!

3 BLACK KITES over Maypole!

  First light and I was with Jim and 925 doing a spot of ringing at Porth Hellick. On the way to the site, I flushed my first Woodcock of the autumn at the Higher Moors end. 3 Siskin and very small numbers of Chaffinches were also flying over. In the hour I was there, we trapped 15 Swallow, 5 Chiffchaf and 1 Blackcap and Robin. I went to have a look to see if the BLUETHROAT was on the beach. I immediately found it feeding with a Wheatear and 2 Grey Wagtail at the top of the beach. Here I had all to myself and as you'll see from the footage, it showed pretty well. A Firecrest was near the hides and on the wires at the crossroads there were over 60 Swallow and a single House Martin

Bryan Thomas

This 1st winter male red-spotted  BLUETYHROAT just came closer and closer

This is all I saw of the Juvenile LESSER YELLOWLEGS, back on and asleep

  It was time to get to the Quay, because Gray, a mate from work, was taking Ren, Jamsie, Higgo, Tean, and myself, to Annet, picking up Grayham from St Agnus on route. We were almost at Annet, when Graham got soaked to the bone by a big wave. It was so damn funny and I was sitting opposite him and didn't feel a drop. We slogged our way across Annet in the burning sun. It was so bloody hot for mid-October. We flushed Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Black Redstart and a flighty RICHARD'S PIPIT with over 40 Meadow Pipit on the NW corner. We returned home with Dire Straits blasting out of the speakers from the speed boat. Gray had the volume so loud that he could not hear me telling him to turn it down a little. If you heard the music from St Mary's or even Cornwall, then I do apologize.

Totals included

1 RICHARD'S PIPIT
6 Black Redstart
3 Wheatear
8 male Blackcap
5 Chiffchaff
2 Robin
3 Song Thrush
1 Blackbird
1 Dunnock
1 Stonechat
40+Meadow Pipit
1 Humming-bird Hawkmoth
1 Rush Veneer
2 Rusty-dot Pearl

A bull Grey Seal was there to welcome us on arrival

We found these orange ants under some plastic

1 of the 6 Black Redstart that we got

For a scary moment we all thought Higgo was driving

 
  When on dry land, I rushed Tean and her friend eliza up to Bar Point, where they were involved with others to do a beach clean up. I dropped them off and I was approaching me home, Will scot came on the radio about something in the sky. It was breaking up and I couldn't make it out. I saw Bryan Bland at the side of the road. Although I didn't know what the hell Will had got, I knew it was something good and got Bryan's attention. I asked Will on the radio 'what is the species?' '3 BLACK KITE!' Shite! Before I finished saying get in me wagon Bryan, he was by my side with in seconds. It's amazing how fast an old man can move, like Bryan, when it comes to a rare bird. I've seen it many times. Out of all the birders shouting down the radio to where the kites were, I managed to hear, 'You can see them from Sage House' That's me house and we were there to find a small group looking into the blue skies. We both bailed out and Nit got me on them. They were circling over Maypole between 1000-1500 ft, but you could easily see what they were. Then they started drifting NWW straight towards us and once above, they started circling again. We obsrved them for a good ten minutes before they drifting off SW in the direction of the airport, still at the same hight. For the next hour, birders were still following them.

Robin Mawer

The 3 Cornish BLACK KITES just in after being seen over Porthgwarra in the early afternoon

  I did the fields at Content and found there was an increase in birds. In the first field I looked at there were 1 Pied Flycatcher and Willow Warbler, 10+Chiffchaff, 2 Black Redstart, including a smart male and 25+Siskin NE. The other fields held a single Skylark, 35+Meadow Pipit and 3 Black Redstart. Martin came on the radio about the 3 BLACK KITES being above Watermill and getting lower and lower. I picked them up above Newford and observed them drifting slowly south. They started coming down until they were just above the trees and out of sight. ten minutes later Robin was on the radio telling everyone that they had come down in  Holy Vale to roost. The weathers crap tomorrow, so it looks like they might be around for a few days before continuing there journey south.

Who's watching who?

Have you ever seen a blackberry as big as this one?

This SPOTTED CRAKE has been on Tresco Abbey Pool for the last few days. Also seen today were a MELODIOUS WARBLER at Carn Gwarvel and on St Martins, Andy Jorden found a BLYTH'S REED WARBLER just west of the school.

Looking from Porthloo towards Star Castle this evening Robin Mawer

The most recorded artist ever! MICKEY NEWBURY. This song'Just Dropped In' wasone that Jimi Hendrix loved. It's been covered by many but this by far is the best version.