Gulls taking ants on the wing!

Mediterranean Gull just about to snatch a flying ant at Carn Morvel yesterday 

  Yesterday in the afternoon sun, I was observing a Hobby with Ren catching flying ants on the wing at Carn Morvel. Ren wasn't catching the ants with Hobby. I know he's called Wren but that would be stupid as he can't fly! A small number of Black-headed Gull arrived and one of them pushed the Hobby off and that was the last we saw of that. Ren also moved on and I stuck around for another 30 minutes. Now there were 4 Mediterranean and over 50 BHG all feasting on the flying ants that were all over the shop around the carn area. Both Herring and Lesser-black backed Gull were also attempting to catch the ants but gave up easily and flew off.

 Sunday morning just gone and Higgo called to tell me that he was two miles south of St Mary's on Joe Pender's pelagic and there were good numbers of Cory's Shearwater moving. Between 10.00 - 12.00 I was at Giants Castle with 5 Cory's Shearwater close in sitting on the water. Twenty minutes later there were 14 hanging out with others moving west with 2 Sooty Shearwater. A scan further out to the SSE and there were 100's of both Cory's and Great Shearwater feeding with Bluefin Tuna that I observed out of the water. Joe was to the SW and I called Higgo and told him there were over 800 large shearwaters some two or yhree miles to your east. He came back with 'We've had 4 Wilson's Petrel and there are large shearwaters everywhere!' In total they had an impressive 2 Balearic, 200 Sooty, 4000 Manx, 1200 Cory's and 550 Great Shearwater with 100 Bluefin Tuna and 5 Minke Whale!! Including my birds I saw to the SSE there were over 2000 Cory's and 750 Great Shearwater!! I also got single Wheatear and Whimbrel and in off the sea 3 Swift..
  At 18.00 I returned with 'Rocky' Robin and John Headen but the wind had picked up a frac making it little more choppy out there. As a result we only got 35 Cory's, 5 Sooty, 200+Manx Sheaterwater and a single Great Skua in an hour.
  The only other birds of note were a Melodious Warbler showing well in Mick Scotts garden at Longstone, 14th, and the Lapwing still at Porth Hellick.

I was hoping the Hobby would stick around but this BHG quickly moved it on.

Gone a bit crazy on gull pictures. OK, I went over the top. Observing Lesser and Greater black-backed, Herring Mediterranean and Black-headed Gull twisting and turning to snatch an ant in mid-air!

And here's another gull. Dave looking messy after getting some grub down her neck after I just fed her! Also, helping me out with cleaning me wagon or maybe making it dirtier.

And here's Rosie the Collard Dove who is just about to make her ways into my room. She can hang around for around picking around on the carpet for quite some time not bothered about me when I mve to get on with whatever I'm doin.

Lapwing still showing well at Porth Hellick

Juvenile Dunnock

House Sparrow

Sounds very like the band 'She keeps Bees'Sharon Van Etten (born February 26, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter from New Jersey. 

Lapwing at Porth Hellick

An unusual record for this time of year was this Lapwing at Porth Hellick

  Except for Darren Mason observing a Purple Heron (27th July) from Watermill towards Innisidgen and amazing spectacle of high numbers of Great, Cory's, Manx and Sooty Shearwater with a Scilly record of 20+Wilsons Petrel (27th July) with the palegics on Joe Pender's Sapphire, it's been pretty quiet. Today waders at Porth Hellick included 2 Green and 1 Common Sandpiper, 12 Green and 1 Redshank, 4 Dunlin and a single Lapwing.

  On the evening of 26th July Rocky Robin and I did some seawatching off Deep Point and got 51 Cory's Shearwater in an hour. This was followed by 27 Cory's from the 17.20-18.50 on the 2nd August and from the Woolpack, Garrison we had 12 Cory's, 9th August.

This Lapwing showed well at close range at Porth Hellick (10-12th)

Also 4 Dunlin

2 Green Sandpiper

12 Greenshank

This Black-tailed Godwit was at Porth Hellick at the end of July but kept it's distance 

Moorhen

Grey Heron

Painted Lady

Starlings waiting for me to feed them

And here's Dave! Well it's a female but I didn't know that when I raised her from a baby over 3 years ago. All the press giving a bad impression of Herring Gulls across the country attacking dogs at the moment and swallowing them whole! I would maybe believe it if it was a mouse hound but a St Bernard!! Well that's the kind of crap you get from 'The Scum and Daily Fail' and people fall for it! The kids love feeding Dave as the parents take photos.

I'm a Creep playing in Israel!! Were selling out to war!!

  Radiohead played on occupied Palestinian land 2 weeks ago to Israeli's for a lot of money!! Great cover with some words changed to show the ole finger to Tom Yorke and his band for continuing to play despite 1000s of fans and Palestinians pleading for them not to. If you didn't know, Israeli are testing out their new fighter jets, F-35 on Gaza! If you watch mainstream news then you wouldn't of seen it.

   I recommend watching UK Column News. http://www.ukcolumn.org/

An honest news from the UK and that's not the BBC!! Give you the real facts, the truth and the sauces of where the news in coming from. Well worth watching. 

Here are the lyrics to Creep

Creep by Some F*#king People

When we got the call
Saw dollars in my eyes
We're supporting apartheid
But the pay's really high

I float like white phosphorous
Over Beit Hanoun skies

I wish I was ethical
We're so very unethical

But Im a creep
I'm playing Israel
What the hell am I doing here?
I don't belong here

I don't care if it hurts
I want to have control
I want a perfect paycheck
On Bibi's payroll

I don't even notice
No Palestinians around

I wish I was ethical
So very unethical

But I'm a creep
Playing Israel
What the hell am I doing here?
I don't belong here

We're selling out to war
We're selling out, to war, war, war, war

Whatever makes Bibi happy
Whatever he wants
We're here for apartheid
Palestine's occupied

I'm a creep
Playing for Israel
What the hell am I doing here?
I don't belong here
I don't belong here

2nd July record of Red-rumped Swallow for Scilly!

Bobby 'Dazzler' Dawson' found this cracking Red-rumped Swallow at St Agnes this morning. This evening Robin and I relocated it at Porth Hellick 

  At 07.30 this morning, Bobby 'Dazzler' Dawson' text to say he had observed on St Agnes, a great  record of White Wagtail breeding and at Broweth, only the second July sighting of Red-rumped Swallow on the Scilly after Geoff  Barter had a single in 2014! The swallow was only present in the morning and later on at 18.00, Robin picked me up and we thought we would try Porth Hellick to see if maybe it was there. First we stopped off at Porthloo and got a single juvenile and 2 2nd summer Mediterranean Gull. At Porth Hellick there were up to 20 Swallow, 5 House Martin and a very high number of 8 Sand Martin for this time of year. A Hobby flew through but after an hour of searching there was no sign of the red-rump. Robin wanted to go to Deep Point and as we drove past Porth Hellick I asked him to slow down so I could check out the hirundines on the wires. Still moving looking through the screen with my bins I said, I think I've got it! Sure enough it was there and we got cracking views as it stretched it's wings just above our heads from the path. Although very mobile, Martin was the only one who twitched it and it stuck around the area being harassed with the other hirundines by the Hobby.
  This is the first time I've been out for over a month but on the Tuesday the 4th, while playing football next to Nowhere, I heard a Serin and watched it come down into the garden. I could only put the news out at half time but ten minutes into the game I heard again and saw it perched on top of an Elm before returning to the garden!

There were 2 2nd summer and a single juvenile Mediterranean Gull at Porth Hellick

Reed Warbler

The swallow proved very mobile after leaving the wires

This Hobby made return visits to Porth Hellick

As soon as I open my door first thing in the morning, these lot are waiting and jump in and have a party!! If the door is slightly ajar, they are there hoping around my feet looking for spiders and currents!! 

While Ben was doing a great cover of the White Stripes song, the crowd were singing in their heads 'OH JEREMY CORBYN, OH JEREMY CORBYN' just like the millions across the nation even here on Scilly it's taken off and can be heard by both locals and visitors from The Mermaid Pub!!