GREAT BLUE HERON on St Mary's

A cracking photo of the 1st summer GREAT BLUE HERON at Lower Moors If you would like any copies please contact smith.cavell@googlemail.com

  Early yesterday evening Cavell Smith was in the ISBG hide at Lower moors when two herons came in and landed on the scrape at very close range. He immediately noticed that one was a Grey Heron while the other bird was notable larger and darker and knew it was something different. As a result he concentrated on the latter individual. In the twenty minutes that he observed it, the Grey Heron was always trying to push it away. He told me that another observer came into the hide and told him that it was a possible GREAT BLUE HERON and would be the second for the UK!
  The first I heard about it is when Higgo called me and told me that there was a possible GBH at Lower Moors, but it's flown off towards Old Town Bay. I picked the guys up and they went off to the bay while I looked in the standing stones Field. It wasn't long until it was relocated in the bay and from here we all observed it foggy conditions and very bad disappearing light. The heron was feeding well on tiny fish and was still present when we all left at dark.

GBH at Lower Moors More great shot by Cavell Smith

  While observing the GBH, I got a call from Graham Gordon and the first thing he said to me, has it got chestnut thighs? No I replied. The next thing he said was that him and Bob Dawson had seen it the previous morning in dense fog at the back of the Big Pool, St Agnes and after suspecting it might be a Great Blue had written it off because of the lack of colouration on the legs. It had flown off into the fog and they decided to let it go as both were busy at work,

Comparison with a Grey Heron on the left

Record shots of the GBH at old Town Bay this morning

 At 06.00 this morning, 925 and I relocated it feeding in old Town Bay feeding on the falling tide with a single Grey Heron. Here it stayed until it flew into the dense fog at 11.00 and wasn't seen again until 14.30 in fields bordering the east side of holy Vale. It was only seen by handful of birders before it flew off with a Grey Heron into the fog again. Unfortunately for the other twitches who came over for it did not catch up with and it was never seen again for the rest of the day.

Green Sandpiper at Lower Moors

  Also seen today were a Wryneck in off the sea at Old Town Bay, jack Snipe, Lower Moors, 2 each of Hoopoe on st Agnes and Martins, Night Heron at Porth Hellick and Lower Moors and the first Golden Oriole was on Peninnis.

Todd Snider with 'Good Things Happen To Bad People'