4th Caspian Gull for scilly

If it wasn't for Dave alarming on the chimney of Star Castle I would of never of seen this Osprey over the building flying out towards Tresco,10th.

  Mid-April and it has been very quiet for this time of year. However, yesterday evening Graham Gordon pulled off the forth Caspian Gull for Scilly! A 1st summer feeding with 3-400 gulls at high tide off campsite beach. The first Caspian Gull for Scilly in Oct '16 that Jamie Partridge was just around the corner at nearby Porth Killier.

 On the 10th, Rob and Lucy Lambert observed an Osprey over Wingletang, St Agnes while watching the male Woodchat Shrike, flying north towards Gugh. Five minutes later, Dave started alarming on top of the Star Castle and made me look up to see the Osprey flying behind her and towards Tresco.
  The following day, a Mistle Thrush and Fieldfare were at the riding stables and a Ring Ouzel was at Peninnis. The first Tree Pipit and Pied Flycatcher were on Bryher and Garden Warbler, St Martins. I had to make do with a Grasshopper Warbler reeling in the mote of Star Castle.
  On the morning of the 12th I made a quick visit to Porth Hellick and I got my first Sedge Warbler and Tree Pipit of the year.

On the 11th I had 20+Willow Warbler and 4 Blackcap at the campsite

  On the 13th Mick Scott had a Wryneck in his garden at Longstones and on St Agnes there were a male Pied Flycatcher, Grasshopper Warbler and the first Redstart of the year. The Woodchat Shrike was last seen on the 14th.
  Back on St Mary's the following day, a Grasshopper Warbler was at Watermill and 3 Black-tailed Godwit arrived at Porth Hellick. In the evening a possible Yellow-browed Warbler was heard in the north pines of the golf course.

  Of the latter species, Jim got news a few days ago about a retrapped individual that he ringed at Porth Hellick on the 5/10/16 that had been ringed in Norway! This is only the 3rd Norwegian and only the 5th foreign control!!

4 male Wheatear at the golf course, 14th, were only my second record this year.

2 Golden Plover were at the airfield, 15th

Linnet

Goldfinch

Starling

Collard Dove

Male Gadwall

1st summer Yellow-legged Gull at the tip

Herring Gulls in the sea spray

All 3 Iceland Gull are still hanging around St Mary's with the juvenile Glaucous Gull seen on and off.

Little-ringed Plover at the airfield

Ritchie Aston found this scarce Little-ringed Plover on the airfield

Today. Graham Gordon found this male Woodchat Shrike at wingletang, St Agnes. Photos by Steve Williams Also seen today, Ren found a Wryneck by the school on St Martins and on St Mary's there were single Ring Ouzel and Grasshopper Warbler with some 40+Willow Warbler

  Yesterday I spent most of the day with Ritchie Aston but it was not until mid-afternoon that we got our first bird of note. While walking the east runway towards the burnt out helicopter, Ritchie observed a Little-ringed Plover drop in front of us before moving to the edge of the runway. In the 20 minutes that it was there. only Robin twitched it before it flew off east towards Porth Hellick. It was later in the evening when Scott Reid relocated the plover in the same area on the airfield.
  Throughout the day it proved to be hard work for both us and only the 3 Iceland Gull and 4 Swallow were the best we could do. 100s of Manx Shearwater were feeding off the southern headlands. 2 grey geese that we observed distantly flying south got away from us to be identified.

  Jim trapped a Sedge Warbler at Porth Hellick and there was a Common Sandpiper at Old Town. On Bryher there were a Hoopoe and Ring Ouzel with another Hoopoe on Tresco where there was also a Single Yellow Wagtail, Common Sandpiper and Hawfinch. A Hawfinch was also on St Agnes two days ago. The first Humming-bird Hawkmoth of the year was at Jacksons Hill. On the 7th I heard and observed a Serin over the pig fields, Garrison, heading SE towards Morning Point.

Only my eighth Scilly Little-ringed Plover

Chiffchaff

Male Stonechat

I had this Short-eared Owl leave it's roost at Lower Moors two days ago

1st summer Mediterranean Gull

Juvenile Iceland Gull

Adult Lesser black-backed Gull

The pale juvenile Iceland Gull

This Palmate Newt. found by Scott Reid on his doorstep at Rams Valley, was thought to be only the third Scilly record. It got us all running to his house until it was discovered that a few years back, Palmate Newts were brought over from the mainland and released in a pond only the across the road from Scott's house!! 

Blitzen Trapper is a Portland, Oregon-based experimental country/folk/rock band associated with Sub Pop Records,^[1] Vagrant Records^[2] and Lojinx.^[3] Formed in 2000, the band currently operates as a quintet, with Eric Earley (guitar/harmonica/vocals/keyboard), Erik Menteer (guitar/keyboard), Brian Adrian Koch (drums/vocals/harmonica), Michael Van Pelt (bass), and Marty Marquis (guitar/keyboards/vocals/melodica).^[4] Blitzen Trapper self-released its first three albums. "Wild Mountain Nation" was No. 98 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.^[5]

Blitzen Trapper released its third album, Wild Mountain Nation, in 2007 to much critical acclaim from critics such as Pitchfork Media, The Nerve, and Spin Magazine. The group signed to Sub Pop Records in the summer of 2007.

Yellow-legged Gull at Little Porth

This 1st year Yellow-legged Gull at Porthloo I had very briefly yesterday at Morning Point

  Yesterday evening I was at Morning Point observing that odd Herring Gull when I spotted what looked good for a 1st year Yellow-legged Gull. It was always above me in the wind and just as I lost it, Paul Freestone arrived. I told him that I think I just had a YLG but we couldn't see anywhere and moved on when the rain came in.
  So just before dark this evening, I had a quick look at Little Porth and with over 150 Herring Gull was that 1st year Yellow-legged Gull feeding with one of the pale juvenile Iceland Gull. Ideal! However, like yesterday, it was brief as they all flew off out to sea.

1st year Yellow-legged Gull at Little Porth

The pale juvenile Iceland Gull was showing superbly! Just a shame that it was dull and getting dark.

   Today George Kershaw relocated the 1st winter female Snowy Owl after goin missing for over two weeks! On Castle Down, Tresco, he observed it take off from the down on the west side. Then it flew towards Bryher before sweeping back over the down and east towards St Helens! Also today 3 Swallow were on Bryher with 2 on St Mary's. On St Agnes there were single Black-tailed Godwit and Brambling and still 25+Chiffchaff.

  After overnight rain and southerlies, yesterday morning I stepped out of my door for work and flushed 4 Chiffchaff off the grass. Altogether on St Mary's there were 70+Chiffchaff and 11 Willow Warbler with another 30 Chiffchaff and 5 Willow Warbler on St Agnes. Wheatear and Black Redstart were in single figures and 10 Sandwich Tern off Bar Point.

The Herring Gull, now believed to be a 3rd winter, was still at Morning Point yesterday

At the tip four days ago, I had this juvenile Glaucous Gull and thought it was the individual that has been around for the last week. Andy Holden twitched it and told me that it was a different juvenile! The day before, Will Wagstaff put me on the pale Glaucous Gull sat out in The Roads off Star Castle. So at the moment on Scilly there are three each of the Glaucous and Iceland Gull.

  

 

Both the large coffee and pale dove like juvenile Iceland Gull are still hanging out commuting with bays. 

Hopefully the two pairs of Coot at Porth Hellick will stay onto breed

Kathleen Edwards (born July 11, 1978^[1]) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and musician. Her 2003 debut album, Failer, contained the singles "Six O'Clock News" and "Hockey Skates".^[2] Her next two albums – Back to Me and Asking for Flowers – both made the Billboard 200 list and reached the top 10 of Billboard's Top Heatseekers chart. In 2012, Edwards' fourth studio album, Voyageur, became Edwards' first album to crack the top 100 and top 40 in the U.S., peaking at #39 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and #2 in Canada. In 2012, Edward's song "A Soft Place To Land" won the SOCAN Songwriting Prize, an annual competition that honours the best song written and released by 'emerging' songwriters over the past year, as voted by the public.^[3] Her musical sound has been compared^{[by whom?]} to Suzanne Vega meets Neil Young. Her father is Leonard Edwards, former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.