Woodchat Shrike at the Golf Course

1st summer Yellow-legged Gull on St Mary's  

 

I didn't get out until gone mid-day. I kicked a lot of fields and got a single Tree Pipit at Pungies Lane. A call came through from Martin Elliot replying to me questioning him yesterday about the interesting Yellow-legged Gull that's been hanging around on St Mary's for well over a month now. He asked me to get some more pics of the gull and send them on. The Golf Course is a good bet and there it was feeding with 4 LBBG. I took a few shots on the deck when I noticed, some distance away, what looked like a shrike land on top of a bramble. It turned out to be a male Woodchat Shrike and for the next three minutes it bombed around the golf course, never settling down, until it flew through the pines in the direction of Barts Carn. At a guess, I would say that it had just arrived. As it disappeared, Will Scott arrived and whistled me to get my attention as he could see I had somethin. For the next hour we could not find it. Up to 5 Greenland Wheatear were also on the golf course. Robin was returning from St Martins, and can you believe this? He picked the Woodchat up on top of a bush near the quarry while passing in the tripper boat!! When he was on dry land, he rushed to spot where he had seen it and flushed a female 'type' Golden Oriole instead! As a result of this, Will Scott returned in seach of the Golden Oriole and got a male Pied Flycatcher and relocated the Woodchat. Then returning home, an immature male Golden Oriele flew past him and briefly showed very well in Carreg dhu Gardens. He waited for it to return and as he steped out of the entrance gate, above him, was a female NIGHTJAR!! 

At the same time that found the Woodchat a Bee-eater was heard over the cricket pitch, St Agnes and on Bryer there was a Wood Warbler.

 

This male Woodchat Shrike was so mobile I couldn't keep up with it and was always distant as you can tell by the heavly cropped shots

 

 

This 1st summer Yellow-legged Gull is believed (by it's bigger chunkier appearance and darker underwing and upperparts) of that from the Atlantic region instead of the Mediterranean.

A pair of Stonechat were busy feeding 2 juveniles on the golf course

 

Goldfinch

 

 

Nina Nastasia was born in Hollywood, California and is of Calabrian and Irish descent.^[1] She began writing songs in 1993,^[2] and released her first album, Dogs, in 2000. Only 1,500 copies of the album were initially pressed, with Nastasia putting together the album packaging herself in her apartment. Nastasia sold them at her shows, quickly selling all of them. By the end of the year 2000, the album was out of print. Famed DJ John Peel took notice of the album (calling it "astonishing") after having been given a copy by Steve Albini. Peel began playing songs from it constantly on his radio show on BBC Radio 1. The album, as well as Nastasia, subsequently gained a cult following