HOODED CROW at the Golf Course!!

 

This HOODED CROW was a very rare bird to visit Scilly, as there have only been 3-4 recording, including the long staying individual on Bryher!

  I heard my first Cuckoo of the year at Porth Hellick this morning and there was a slight increase in the three common warblers which included, 6 Blackcap, 9 Willow Warbler and 20+Chiffchaff. Over 20 Swallow were hawking over the pool with 3 Sand Martin and a walk to Deep Point produced 2 Wheatear and my first Tree Pipit of the year flying towards Pelistry. The fog rolled in and while I was at Giants Castle, my third new bird of the year was a lost Yellow Wagtail, calling in the dense fog, while another Tree Pipit was at Salkee.

  In the afternoon, I had an hour and decided to have a look on the golf course. I noticed a few Carrion Crows in front of me, feeding on one of the fairways, and took no notice of them. Then I stopped dead in my tracks as just on the brow of the hill, was what I first thought was the Bryher Hooded Crow! This would be the first time that I have seen this Hoody on St Mary's. I lifted my bins, to check it was not one of the hybrids, and could clearly see it was a pure Hooded Crow. This was a cracker, looking very pale and quite striking with the contrast of the grey and black. I contacted everyone and told them to come and see this bird, because I don't think it's the Bryher individual. Joe and Robin were first to arrive, followed by Martin. They all agreed that it was a cracker and fired off some shots. There was only one way to find out if this is the bird from Bryher or not and that was to call Higgo, who was visiting the island for the day, and see if he had seen it? His reply was that he had seen the Bryher Hooded Crow, along with a male Pied Flycatcher and Redstart and on Samson Hill, a HOOPOE, but believed that it was probably one of the hybrids. This was no hybrid and all four of us were observing a very rare visitor with less than five Scilly records of HOODED CROW!!  It was associating with 10 Carrien Crow and although flighty at times, it did perform well. I had to return to work and thought I might come back later.

 

HOODED CROW feeding with Carrion Crows on the golf course 

 I didn't return to the golf course as I got a call from Big Al about a male Blue-headed Wagtail found by a visiting birder at Lower Moors With in minutes I was there, just missed the adult PURPLE HERON and all I saw of the wagtail, was it fly into the back of the reeds calling. Again work was calling and I had to go. Two hours later I was back in the hide observing a rather elusive male Blue-headed Wagtail on the far side. Also in the area there were, 30+Swallow, 20+Sand and 3 House Martin, 5 Blackcap, 3 Willow Warbler, 3 Chiffchaff, a single Snipe and an immature Grey Heron. 
  There seems to be more Goldfinches and Linnets that have arrived on St Mary's today.

 

You can just make out the yellow of this male Blue-headed Wagtail, in the center of the photo, at Lower Moors 

 

Yellow Dung Fly with prey, Green Farm 

WOODCHAT SHRIKE at the Garrison!

 

Female WOODCHAT SHRIKE near the Steval on the Garrison  Martin Goodey  

  Except for a Redwing, it was the same birds at Porth Hellick. Over 40 Swallow, with a few Sand Martin, 5 Willow Warbler, 7 Chiffchaff, 2 Blackcap and an adult Grey Heron. Later, I picked up a high flying Marsh Harrier flying away SE over Longstones.

 

Marsh Harrier high over Longstones  

 Enjoying the sun in the dead pines 

  Mid-afternoon and I took a stroll around the Garrison. I was approaching the Steval, when in the corner of my eye, I caught the glimpse of a bird flying away and out of sight. I was sure that I had just seen a WOODCHAT SHRIKE! I waited for ten minutes, but no sign of anything. I didn't have much time and thought I would return later to have a look. However, as I walked around the corner along the top path from the Steval to the Woolpack, I could see two birds on the posts in front of me. The nearest I clearly see was a Wheatear, but the other, over twenty posts away, looked good. I put my bins up and bingo! WOODCHAT SHRIKE! It was back on and distant. I quickly took some record shots and then it just disappeared! I couldn't tell you what race it was or if it was a male or female. While I started looking around, I contacted everyone, but after ten minutes I had to go. I returned shortly afterwards and Big Al had relocated it in the same area. Joe arrived and also took some record shots and from his photos we identified it as a female WOODCHAT SHRIKE! As I was leaving. both Richie and Tony arrived and two hours later, everyone had caught up with it as it performed very well, now on the north side in the dead pines to at least 19.30 in the evening sun.
  Big Al spoke to Doug on St Agnes, and Doug told Big Al that he was still watching the female WOODCHAT, that Chas discovered yesterday on Wingletang, at 15.45. I found this bird at 14.30, confirming that it was a different female WOODCHAT!




Brief footage of the female WOODCHAT at the Steval area, Garrison

 

 

Everyone happy after seeing the WOODCHAT! 

PURPLE HERON at Porth Hellick!!

 

Adult PURPLE HERON at Porth Hellick What a cracking shot by Martin Goodey! 

Ok, I missed out on Jaclyn's and Jim's BLACK STORK yesterday, which is now in Dorset, but when I went to see how they were getting on at the Porth Hellick ringing station this morning, discovered they had not trapped anything, I left them both and went around the corner and flushed a bloody adult PURPLE HERON a few meters in front of me!! That was good enough for me! The heron was put up on the main track bordering Carn Friars towards Deep Point. Circling a few times it then flew off NE towards Pelistry, where I lost it. I called everyone until my credit ran out. Robin joined me briefly at Pelistry, then, on my own I checked Holy Vale. Here I flushed it in the low branches of Elms and it flew off low towards Porth Hellick. With no credit, I rushed to Martin's house and he put the news out to everyone. After half an hour of searching, Martin flushed it on the loop trail, I was at the crossroads, chanting to Jim and Robin at the time, and it flew off over the pool towards Carn Friars. In the end, everyone caught up with it and it was last seen at 16.00 by Higgo, in the same field where I had it at Holy Vale. I thought this PURPLE HERON might of been yesterdays bird that was seen at Swingates, Cornwall, but this was ruled out when the Cornish bird was seen at Drift Reservoir later this afternoon. 

 

This is when I first flushed it off the track at Carn Friars, just after 09.00...  

 

 

And this is when I flushed it at Holy Vale, about two hours later, heading off towards Porth Hellick 

 

Adult PURPLE HERON at Porth Hellick all Robin Mower

 

My first Painted Lady of the year was at Holy Vale with another later at Peninnis 

Also at Porth Hellick there were 6 Chiffchaff, 2 each of Willow Warbler and Blackcap and 40+hirundines. On the pool, there was no sign of the female Pochard. Later in the afternoon, a Short-eared Owl at Lower Moors, flew low towards Rocky Hills and I disturbed a female Merlin on a boulder at Giants Castle. A single Redwing was at Pelistry and just before I flushed the heron at Carn Friars, a Blue Tit flew over high from the SE and seemed to come in off the sea! Robin also observed hirundines and 4 Tree Pipit come off the sea at the same point where I had the Blue Tit. 

 

Tean and I found lots of Nursey Web Spider on our walk today. They were all over the shop! We looked closely at the variety of body patterns that these spiders can have. The best one was the top shot, with the orange line through the center.  We also found 10+Green Tiger Beetles and a single Oil Beetle.  

 

White-faced Fly at Penninis was a first for Tean and I.   

 

Moth sp? at Peninnis 

 

Moth sp? at Parting Carn  

 

Oak Egger caterpillar? at Peninnis  

 

Male Linnet at airfield 

 

Sunrise from my house. There was a NW breeze with bright hot sunshine throughout the day 

BLACK STORK!!!!

 

Got my first Comma Butterfly of the year at Trenowth 

  Like many birders on the island, I spent most of day looking for the 6th BLACK STORK to be recorded on Scilly!! Both Jaclyn and Jim had it early this morning circling low over Porth Hellick Pool!! Jim told me 'If it weren't for the Herring Gull mobbing it, it would of come down' As it was, it carried on low east, across the down, over the brow of the hill and out of sight! Fortunately, on August 27th, 2001, Doug Page found a bird on St Agnes and informed us all on St Mary's. Here, Ren, Bryan, Paul Stancliffe and I, observed it flying low, east, over the harbour. Four years later, on the same date, I observed a single circling above Star Castle, before drifting slowly off ENE on almost the same flight pattern as the 2001 bird! Bryan was the only one who connected with it.
  Higgo tried his luck on St Martins, for Jaclyn's and Jim's stork and relocated yesterdays Wryneck found by Viv, near the campsite. He also had the 2 first Tree Pipit of the year. Back on St Mary's, Smoothy scored with a Bee Eater over town heading south towards Star Castle! I had just left the latter site on my way to pick him bloody up!
   
  At Porth Hellick there were 3 House Martin, 10 Swallow, small numbers of Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff, 4 Blackcap and a single Fieldfare. There were also 3 Swallow at Pilestry and an imm/fem Black Redstart at Porthloo. I spent twenty minutes near home, looking into the blue skies and got a single Kestrel, male and female Sparrowhawk and a dot in the sky, turned out to be a Marsh Harrier heading SW!

 

Wren trapped at Porth Hellick 

 

This spiral snail was on the wall at Star Castle and is tiny. Does anyone no what species it is?  

  

 

Nursery Web Spider in the garden These spiders can show different and striking patterns on there body

 

Solitary Bee, (Andrena thoracica)  in the garden

  

 

I'll try and identify this SolitaryBee later 

 

Imm/fem Black Redstart at Porthloo

 

This Marsh Harrier at Telegraph,  is more than likely the one that's been present on the island for nearly two weeks   

 The SW also did well today, with a Red-rumped Swallow, Purple Heron and Bee Eater, all in Cornwall and at Durlston, Dorset, the first British spring record of a RED-FLANKED BLUETAIL was a female!!! There was also a Red-rumped Swallow in Ireland and east in the Norfolk, an Alpine Swift!