Bottle-nosed Dolphin in St Mary's Harbour

This Bottle-nosed Dolphin was showing so well just off the quay in St Mary's Harbour

  I had a call from Joe Pender yesterday afternoon to tell me that there was a Bottle-nosed Dolphin in the harbour. I've never seen one before and a quick look out of the window, that looks over the harbour, and Elle and I observed it swimming very close to the quay. I rushed down and it put on a good show as it swam by. Then Ossy gave a shout 'Ere!' With others I climbed aboard The Merideran boat and from the top deck we all got cracking views as it followed the boat around the quay.
 
  A visit to Porth Hellick this morning produced up 10 Willow Warbler, 9 Chiffchaff, 2 White Wagtail and 2 Sand Martin.
  At 12.00, with Robin, Lucy, 925, Big Al and a few non-birders, I went over to St Agnes to go and hopefully see Graham's Hoopoe that he found last week. Graham came to greet us and for the next 30 minutes he was leading Hoopoe tours and he had the bird pinned down in a field below the Parsonage where we all observed it for a good ten minutes before it flew off. I stuffed my face and had a large brew at Graham's before making my ways over to the beach below the campsite to see the male Redstart that was seen yesterday and found it feeding with a female Black Redstart, 4 male Wheatear and lots of phyllocs. A female Merlin flew by and on the Big Pool there was a single Canada Goose. (A very rare sight here). 925 also saw a Tree Pipit and on Bryher Higgo got two of the latter species. These being the first of the year.

This Continental Song Thrush was a nice surprise

Before the thrush, this Continental Robin was trapped and showed no fat reserves

 

Elle ringing her first Willow Warbler

 

 

Up to 16 Willow Warbler and 15+Chiffchaff were on St Agnes. While on Bryher Higgoi also got 15+willow Warbler.

 

Robin Mawer

The Hoopoe showed well but was always distant

A very smart looking male Redstart. Note all the flies buzzing around that it was feeding on

 

Up to 4 male Wheatear were on the beach with a single Black Redstart

  

The Hoopoe tour leader

 

Returning to St Mary's and the Bottle-nosed Dolphin put another good show

Night Heron over Hugh Town

Juvenile Iceland Gull at Porthcressa

  Since my last blog, coming on to almost 2 months now, it's been pretty quiet on the islands. However in the last week, Will Scott watched an adult Purple Heron over his house at Longstones, 25th. Graham has had a Hoopoe feeding around his house for the last four days on St Agnes and on the 17th, I jumped in me wagon at Star Castle with guests in, and started pulling away, when I spotted a Night Heron flying over the church and heading towards the Porthloo area where it seemed to come down. For the next three days it was seen briefly at Lower Moors and on the 20th, over Will's house. Migrants are just starting to trikle through and today there was a single Willow Warbler on St Agnes and I had up to 3 on St Mary's. The first of the year was trapped yesterday at Porth Hellick. Ring Ouzel, White Wagtail, House and Sand Martin and Swallow have also been seen.

 

Two weeks ago, thanks to Bob Dawson and Hayley, we stayed over on St Agnes and got my first 12 Wheatear of the year. There were also 4 Black Redstart and a single House Martin on the island.

 

These 2 adult Greenland White-fronted Geese have wintered at Porth Hellick

 

 

 

From top to bottom, Grey wagtail, Pied wagtail, Robin, Starling and Turnstone

 

This juvenile Iceland Gull has been observed in the last month on Scilly.

 

Herring Gulls getting stuck into bread that we threw at them. As a result we got told off by the TIC. It was worth it though.

 

Moldy Giant midget Gem we spotted on St Agnes

 

 

Love to see band live. Jesse Sykes and The Sweet Hereafter have traveled extensively in both the US and in Europe, and have had the pleasure of touring with: Black Mountian, Earth, Sparklehorse (rip), Bright Eyes, Iron And Wine, Marissa Nadler, Laura Veirs, J. Tillman, Great Lake Swimmers, and many more. They have shared the stage with acts on opposite ends of a vast spectrum of genres, ranging from Sunno))), Boris, Nicolai Dunger, Coco Rosie all the way to Steve Earle,  Lucinda Williams and Gillian Welch. The core  still remains singer-songwriter Jesse Sykes and guitarist/ writer Phil Wandscher.