2nd LESSER SCAUP for Scilly

This 1st male LESSER SCAUP at Lower Moors was first thought to be a 'aythya' hybrid.  Thanks to Josh Jones, who first brought our attention to this second for Scilly, and Chris Batty.

  While observing the LESSER SCAUP at point blank range on the scrape at Lower Moors with Bob Dawson this morning, there were 2 Reed Bunting calling nearby. Bob thought that there might be another yank duck that's arrived on Tresco on the same winds as the scaup. At 11.00 we found ourselves looking out from the Swarovski hide at a good number of wildfowl on the Great Pool. However, there was not a single 'aythya' duck on there! In fact we didn't see any diving ducks elsewhere and the highlights were a female Shoveler, 2 Little Grebe, 16 Wigeon, 35+Gadwall, 50+Teal and 5 Reed Bunting. (4 around the Great Pool and a single at the Abbey Pool

Female shoveler

  Along pool Road it was also very quiet but we did manage to get 2 Yellow-browed Warbler, 2 Firecrest, 15+Chiffchaff and 2 Brambling with 20+Chaffinch. Walking along from Carn Near towards the beach towards the Blockhouse proved hard work and we could only muster 2 Mediterranean Gull, 8 Little Egret, 1 Black Redstart and a male Merlin. For the rest of the day it didn't get any better.

2 Yellow-browed Warbler were at each end of Pool Road

There were also 2 Brambling in the area

  

Immature male Merlin

There were a 2nd winter and adult Mediterranean Gull at Pentle Bay

Little Egret with the 2nd winter Mediterranean Gull

Up to 8 Little Egret were also at Pentle Bay

One of the Little Egret had coloured rings on it's legs. What we could make out was Yellow CO on the right leg and red Z on the left. We couldn't get anything else on the ring as it flew off. Please contact me if anyone could shed some light on this egret.

  Yesterday, Higgo and I gave it hour off Peninnis and except for small numbers of Gannet, it was pretty crap! We did get the Pink-footed Goose in the fields on are ways up to the headland. Higgo had not seen the hybrid thing (thinking maybe GreaterxLesser Scaup) at Lower Moors and after he had seen my pics of what I took the day before, he wasn't impressed and thought it looked like a strange Scaup. Photos can be deceiving. However, he still wanted to see it in the flesh and get the wing pattern. Anyways, there was no sign of it and we tried Porth Hellick with Chesney tagging along with us now. We relocated it at the far side with just it's head in the water behaving like a dabbling duck. No one could not put a name to it and it was decided to flush it and see it fly. So all we had to do was show Higgo's face and watch everything scatter and that's what he did. As Higgo showed his face, the scaup when alerted, raised it's neck and now it did look like Lesser Scaup! This was the first time that it had been observed like this and when it did fly, it showed off a classic Lesser Scaup wing pattern. Higgo and Chesney thought that it was a Lesser Scaup while I still wasn't convinced. As Josh stated on the first day that it was found, he right that it was a 1st winter male LESSER SCAUP! Fortunately I saw the only other record which was a male that arrived with a 'putative' female at Tresco Great Pool, 26th Oct-2nd Nov '99. so this was a welcome Scilly tick for many and long overdue.

The Pink-footed Goose at Peninnis

 With it's unusual behavour of favoring the shallows, technique of feeding like a Mallard, not once observed diving and also appeared to have a larger bill and a more rounded head, raised questions that maybe it's a hybrid.   

However, when alert, it looked smaller and looked just like a Lesser Scaup

 

And this was confirmed by it's wing pattern.  

Watched this movie for the first time a few days ago 'The Jacket' with Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley, Kris Kristofferson and Daniel Graig. I had to find the soundtrack by Brian Eno because I liked it so much. Professionally known as Brian Eno or simply Eno,^[4] is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer, and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music. Eno had worked with Robert Fripp on the LPs (No Pussyfooting) and Evening Star, David Bowie on the "Berlin Trilogy" and helped popularise the American band Devo and the punk-influenced "No Wave" genre. He produced and performed on three albums by Talking Heads, including Remain in Light (1980), and produced seven albums for U2, including The Joshua Tree (1987). Eno has also worked on records by James, Laurie Anderson,Coldplay, Paul Simon, Grace Jones, James Blake and Slowdive, among others. Also he appeared as Father Brian Eno at the "It's Great Being a Priest!" convention, in "Going to America", the final episode of the television sitcom Father Ted