3 Common Rosefinch on Bryher

One of the 3 Common Rosefinch in the weedy fields at Fraggle Rock, Bryher

  Another very good day. Made my ways to Tresco this morning and went looking for the Woodchat Shrike around the Abbey Pool that Paul St Perrier found two days ago. I saw it very briefly flying away from an Elm and then bumped into Kevin Cade. He also saw it briefly and we both decided to split and try and relocate it but not before we got the Little Stint on the abbey Pool. After a while I returned to the pool. Over the sound of a helicopter nearby, I thought I heard a Citrine Wagtail call on the far side of the pool. I called Kevin and just be before he arrived, a got a Lesser Whitethroat in the ferns. Then I heard the wagtail again distantly, twice but Kevin didn't hear it. I was happy that it was a Citrine Wagtail and thinking Higgo was on his beloved Bryher I gave him a call. After working overnight he was still in bed! For the next hour I walked slowly around the pool in search of the wagtail with no success and that was the same on the Great Pool.

This Juvenile Little Stint at Tresco Abbey Pool, was the first I've seen in four years!

Lesser Whitethroat at abbey Pool

  The tide was at it's lowest and like 100's of others we walked across from Tresco to Bryher. Just as I steeped onto the latter island, news came on that a Citrine Wagtail had been seen flying from Church Quay towards Fraggle Rock! Great stuff!! I informed Higgo and he was on his ways as he needed it for Bryher. Another search in the area and nothin. So I went looking for the Common Rosaefinch at Fraggle Rock that's been there for the last few days. I immediately found it feeding on Fat Hen and only a few meters away was another one! I took a photo of one of the birds and when I looked at the pic on the back of me camera, I could see two in the same frame! The other was slightly obscured by the Fat Hen. I thought it must be the individual that was feeding nearby. It wasn't as that it was still there. 3 Common Rosefinch feeding together! Suddenly they all got up and off high and out of sight. I called Kevin and when he arrived there were two rosefinches on view. Shortly afterwards Seth and Higgo arrived but there were still only two birds. Higgo went looking for the wagtail but I stuck around and observed the rosefinches because I ain't seen one in years!

 

2 of the 3 Common Rosefinch feeding on Fat Hen

  Yesterday, when I had time during work, I kicked the Terwince fields and had 2 Whinchat, 2 Blackcap, 1 Redstart, 1 sedge warbler, 1 Chiffchaff, 4 willow Watbler 2 Spotted Flycatcher, 3 Whitethroat, and 1 Wryneck  At Porthloo Rocky Robin had relocated the 10 pale-bellied Brent Geese that have been off St Martins for over a week. At Peninnis the Red-backed Shrike was joined by another juvenile (16th) in the same fields and managed to catch up with them with the Wryneck but dipped out on the Common Rosefinch. On the airfield I got the Buff-breasted Sandpiper with 2 Golden Plover.

 

one of 2 juvenile Red-backed Shrike at Peninnis

The Wryneck was still hanging out in the Trewince fields

Still good numbers of Whinchat around

Up to 3 Dunlin at Porth Hellick

 

There were two families of five pale-bellied Brent Geese at Porthloo 

There were also 2 Bar-tailed Godwit on the beach

The Buff-breasted Sandpiper was flighty on the airfield

  Two nights ago there had been a  Convolvulus Hawk Moth phenomenon on St Agnes with some 40 moths feeding on Ginger Lillies at Covean Cottage! A few of us found out where there were Ginger Lillies on St Mary's and last night I made my ways to Carnwethers and Rocky Robin tried out Trenowth. So at 20.00 I walked into the guest house and found that they were just about to have their dinner. Louise, the owner, asked if I wanted to join them. 'What you hav'n?' I wasn't ready for this 'Jam sandwiches!' Really!! 'I rather have jam on toast' In the end I had chips from the chip van. well I guess they ain't goin to come from a plumbers van. Ideal! Talking about music and getting stuck into food,  I forgot what I came for. Anyways, Louise lead us into her garden and we walked from lilly to liily and immediately found one buzzing around. I called Robin who was watching 8 at Trenowth but we had now 2+hawkmoths. He decided to join us despite me telling him that the chips have all gone and you will have to make do with jam sandwiches! 2+Convolvulus Hawkmoths was the best that we could do for the next hour. At the same time 4 were on St Martins and 2 were on Bryher but that Covean Cottage on St Agnes attracted a total of 25!  

The small crowd observing 2 Convolvulus Hawk Moth at Carn Withers

Stray Dog were a blues-based hard rock band formed in Texas in the early 1970s. They recorded three albums before disbanding around 1976. The band originally formed in Texas under the name "Aphrodite". They moved to Denver, Colorado, where they became very popular.^{[citation needed]} They were introduced to Neville Chesters, a former road manager for Emerson, Lake & Palmer,^{[citation needed]}who convinced the band to go to London where, along with a friend and a former Tour Manager Lorenzio Mazzio, he introducedSnuffy Walden to Greg Lake, who signed them to ELP's label, Manticore Records. Randy Reader was replaced by Leslie Sampson. Lake produced three tracks on the 1973 debut self-titled album, Stray Dog, with the band producing the remainder.

In March 1973, the British music magazine, NME, reported that Stray Dog were to support ELP on their world tour, which was due to commence in Germany at the end of that month.