30 Red Kite a Scilly record!

12 Bee-eater on St Agnes equaling the Scilly record and is the second highest number to be observed in the UK after 18 in Oxfordshire and I've forgot what year that was. 

  This morning, St Agnes awoke to sound of Bee-eaters around the lighthouse. However, when the birds were spotted, there wasn't 7 that were seen yesterday evening, but 12 Bee-eaters! Mid-morning and Ren called to say that the gulls were going crazy above town. I rushed out from the castle and saw my first Hobby of the year, but that wasn't what was putting the gulls up. We soon discovered why when Higgo called to say that he was on Bryher when he could hear the gulls mobbing something. He looked up and spotted a Red Kite coming in off the sea with a flock of gulls following the kite. A closer look at the gulls turned out to be a flock of 30 Red Kite! There has only been over 10 records on Scilly. We continued to scan the skies when Bob Dawson text to say that, from St Agnes he saw them the kites pitch down on Annet and joined the sub-adult COMMON CRANE.  We were all hoping they would make there ways over to Mary's and shortly afterwards I got one low over Lower Moors. For the next hour I was getting calls and text from everyone with maybe up to 8 Red Kite seen on Mary's. I caught up with 3 at Rose Hill and at Pelistry, I got 5 Red Kite Afterwards, the birds just disappeared into thin air and no more were seen.
  Things were only just beginning when contacts from Cornwall told us that the Black Stork that has been in the SW of Cornwall since yesterday was observed leaving Porthgwarra and heading in our direction. Again all eyes were to the skies and an hour later both Ren and Will Scott picked the stork up flying from the ESE low over Lower Moors and out towards Morning Point where it was lost to view. Later we discovered that a local flushed it at close range on the SE slope of the Garrison and fly off towards Peninnis. Shortly afterwards, Doug Page observed it come in off the sea from the SW at Troy Town, St Agnes. Luckily I've seen two already on Scilly, but how much I would of liked to see this one. Maybe it might reappear tomorrow back in Cornwall where all our Red Kite have come from. Of the latter species, over 180 were seen at St Just airport, Cornwall with smaller numbers in the area.

3 Red Kite over pelistry

  Higgo and Robin had twitched the Bee-eater on st Agnes and were hoping to catch the Black Stork maybe. I finished work at 17,53 and just made it for the super boat to Agnes. I got 5 Bee-eater in the post office area, but for the next hour, that was all I saw. I followed these five wherever they went, when I realized that there were 6 then 7 and they continued to increase and were getting very vocal until there were 12 Bee-eater hawking in the air together! They all came down and perched in a Tamarsik and showed very well in the bright sun. It couldn't get better than this, but it did when I just caught 2 Night Heron flying away from me in the direction of Gugh. They were back on, but they looked like one adult and an immature bird. Later, Bob Dawson told me that some visitors had two heron come into the Big Pool at 22.30 last night. Obliviously the same birds. The Bee-eater, on occasions, got up to hawk together and I started counting, 1,2,7,9,13! 13? I counted again and got 12. once more up they got . 1,6,10,13,16,19! Only joking, but I got 13 again. So difficult to get it right when there dancing around and there dipping behind hedges.
  I left the Bee-eater and I could still hear them and glimpsed 5 birds while talking to Doug at the post office just before I caught the boat back home. What an amazing day!

Bee-eaters with St Agnes lighthouse

10 Bee-eater

12 Bee-eater

10 Bee-eater

8 Bee-eater

I spent a lot of time with these amazing birds and this and the forst photo are two of my favorite images

  Yesterday morning I Kayaked over to St Martins and in the hot sun and walked the coastal path hopping to see the adult Purple Heron that was last seen on the 3rd. The only birds of note were singles of Whitethroat, Swift, Wheatear and Sanderling. I also had up to 6 Painted Lady's and 2 Rush Veneer. Back home in the Star Castle garden there were 8 Humming-bird Hawkmoth feeding on the flowers with singles also seen in town

  While observing the 4 Bee-eater at Pungies Lane two days ago, a text came through from Paul St Peere telling me that he had just watched 2 Bee-eater leaving Porthgwarra, SW. This morning the 4 Bee-eater from yesterday on St Agnes had rose to 6 Bee-eater! Are two of the birds the Porthgwarra individuals? Later in the evening there were 7! Who expected that this morning they that there would be 12 Bee-eater!

Rush Veneer at the Daymark

  It seems that the 1st summer Squacco Heron has left us and the last time it was seen (3rd) was when I had it in front of the ISBG hide and as you will hear from this video, it was very vocal.

I've got 4 Mallard type things over a month old from down the road, because the lady had too many. Chesney's girlfriend, Loopy Lucy and myself dug out a pond and they love it!

4 Bee-eater on St Mary's

Bee-eater at Content

  This morning, yesterday's 4 Bee-eater on St Agnes were still around the lighthouse area until 10.00 when they disappeared. Just before 13.00, Darren Mason called me to say that he had 3 Bee-eater on wires at Green Farm just by his garden. I informed everyone and picked up John Headman on the way up to the site. We found all 3 birds briefly on the wires before they all moved on towards Maypole. I went to get Will Scott at Telegraph, but before I got there he had all 4 birds on wires off Pungies Lane. Here they were vocal and proved very mobile and after ten minutes they flew off and later on they appeared back on St Agnes! The Mediterranean feel continued when I looked from the screen at Shooters Pool and flushed the adult Night Heron at very close range. I also got 3 wheatear at the airfield.

The 4 Bee-eater proved very mobile and were always distant. Hopefully they will return back to St Mary's

The adult Night Heron flying off towards Higgo's Pool

After killing a rather large Eel at Porth Hellick by stabbing it with it's bill, this Grey Heron was struggling trying to swallow it.

Adult Lesser-black backed Gull

A worrying sight was this cat hunting on Giants Castle

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Cedar waxwing on Scilly!?

1st summer Squacco Heron showing off at Porth hellick

  On the 2/6 at 07.30 I was playing football on the Garrison when 925 and his missus, Loopy Lucy were trying to get my attention. I knew it was goin to be a bird, but it came as a surprise when he told me that there has been a possible Cedar Waxwing at Rose Hill Studios. I've never stopped playing football for a bird. Not even when I played for the birders against the islanders for the Tresco Rose-breasted Grosebeak in '93 or a Corncrake just down the track in '94. Both birds that I needed at the time. However, I found myself picking everyone up and racing down to the studios, still in my football gear! Has anyone ever twitched a bird with their footy boots on? Unfortantly the waxwing was never seen again, despite birders searching in the area for the next few days.
  It was observed by a non-birder, having a bath, only 2-3 meters away from her. It was only there for a two minutes and the reason it flew off is because she threw some mealworms at it. she got everything spot on for a Cedar Waxwing. As she described it, the tuft, black across the eye, red on the wing, very bright yellow at the end of the tail, pale breast, size of a starling and green! Green? Maybe a big throw back, but we still believe that she had the first Cedar Waxwing for Scilly and she even heard the shrill call as it flew into the orchard nearby. If you take into account that at the same time, 3 catharus thrushes turned up, Grey-cheecked, Swainson's Thrush and Veery and we were out in the field looking for yanks, I think we can say that we all missed out on a Cedar Waxwing!

  Anyways, two days ago I was watching the Squacco Heron from out in front of the seaward hide at Porth Hellick, when it got up and flew off towards Normandy. An hour later I was at Lower Moors and just before the sun went down, in came the Squacco to join a Yellow, White wagtail and a Green Sandpiper on the scrape. Just after 22.00, one of the adult Night Heron flew over the squacco heading towards Porthcressa.

1st summer Squacco Heron showing at very close range at Porth Hellick

with the Green sandpiper

It was always being pushed around by the Grey Heron

The squacco arrived at Lower Moors just before dark

Male White Wagtail

This Green Sandpiper stuck around for a few days on the scrape and was a unusual record for this time of year

There were still over 80 swallow and 20 House Martin at Porth Hellick

For the last week this Whimbrel has been in the Porth hellick area. Here I got this record shot at Giants Castle. There were also up to 9 Wheatear nearby

Male Stonechat showing off a white rump

Rock Pipit are breeding in good numbers and not too far away were 3 Cuckoo

Male Linnet

Mallard duckling at Porth Hellick. For the first time on st Mary's, Canada Geese nested at the latter site and a few days they had 3 goslings. Today there was only one. Ren and I observed one of them upside down in the water drowning!

  The evening of the 4th saw SE and the following morning Paul St Pierre and Will Wagstaff came across Scillies third June record of a singing Greenish Warbler behind St Martins Hotel. The day before the adult Purple Heron and a Golden Oriole was seen. Meanwhile, also on the 4th, Higgo was on Bryher and scored with 2 Bee-eater singles of Garden warbler and Spotted Flycatcher. Then he went and found Scillies second record of a male SPANISH WAGTAIL! The first was a male that Bryan Thomas, Higgo and I found on the Tresco Abbey Pool while watching Nigel Wheatly's cracking Spotted Sandpiper, 31/5/06. The COMMON CRANE was relocated on Annet during a Shearwater SpecialToday, the Bee-eaters moved over to st Agnes where later in the day there were 4 Bee-eater


Ian Botham has had a go at the RSPB telling them that they 'FORGOT THE BIRDS' Watch this video and see what you think of the idiot. you can read more of what the plonger said here  http://www.shootinguk.co.uk/news/sir-ian-botham-threatens-to-sue-44001