BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER at the airfield

Juvenile BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER showing well as usual on the airfield.

  With 2003 Great Shearwaters yesterday passing Porthgwarra, Cornwall, I made the effort to get to Giants Castle for first light. I didn't arrive until 06.45 and with the F4-5 SW, it felt good. With in minutes I had 3 Great Shearwater and 1 Balearic Shearwater. There was also a stream of Gannets moving west. In the first hour, I had a very close juvenile SABINE'S GULL, (only my secord for Scilly) 9 Great and 1 Baleraric Shearwater, 1 Great Skua and 200+Gannet.
  I called the others to get up here and drive up to the airfield and walk down from there. As a result, Tony found a 1st summer female WOODCHAT SHRIKE on the airport lane just past the Mainland Marketing building. At Giants they managed to get a few Great Shearwater and a close in Great Skua, and then they were off. They were only there for over 30 minutes, all part timers and they bloody ate all my chocolate. Two Finger Orange Kit-Kats, my favorite and looking at there faces, after they had scoffed the lot, there's too!

TOTALS OF SPECIES OFF GIANTS CASTLE  F4-5 WSW 06.45-12.30

1 Juvenile SABINE'S GULL
29 Great Shearwater
2 Sooty Shearwater
1 Balearic Shearwater
2 Great Skua
4 Kittiwake
2 Fulmar
1 auk sp
500+ Gannet
11 Alba Wagtail
1 Harbour Porpoise

  After they had left, the wind had gone WNW and things started quieting down. I could see the rain coming in from the west and returning along the airfield, a wader further up, flew low across infront of me in the driving rain. I instantly knew what it was and I put my bins up. A very wet looking BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER was feeding with 5 Ringed Plover. I had a look at it and then ran like the devil towards me wagon. I was soaked to the born. I guess this was the bird that was found this morning on Shipmans Head, Bryher. Again the chocolate lot returned and told me, that they were hoping to find a Buffy on the airfield when returning from Giants Castle. The rain eased off and we got good views of it feeding with an adult Golden Plover. Where did the plover come from? A Black-tailed Godwit flew overhead going west and the grey and white looking flava wagtail from the Garrison, paused briefly on the grass. Over 30 Wheatear and White wagtail, with a few Pied Wagtail mixed in, were dumped down on the airfield during the rain.

Taken by Robin Mawer

BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER sharing the runway with a Ringed Plover

Molting adult Golden Plover with one of the many White Wagtail on the airfield

Over 500 Gannets passed Giants Castle

Sheltering from the rain. I think Higgo's celebrating after seeing the Buffy or is he's doing a rain dance?

Here's Tony's 1st summer female WOODCHAT SHRIKE just off the airport lane. As you can see, it has no white primarie patch and was thought to be a Balearic Shrike. However, when it opened it's wings, it showed a small amount of white. This still does not rule out Belearic, as they can also show this feature. I did not see this bird, so hopfully it will still be present tomorrow. Robin Mawer

  In Ritchie's car, I joined Higgo and we went for a drive. I was starving, (Ritchie ate 2 packets of my chocolate fingers) So we stopped off at my place to get some walnut cake, just for me and only me. As I started getting it down my neck, John Denver came on the radio, NO! I couldn't tell them to turn it off, because my mouth was stuffed with cake and if I opened my mouth, then all of the cake would of gone into Higgo's ears and Ritchie would of laughed so much and crashed the car. I don't think Higgo would appreciate my nuts in his ear hole! Not just that, Higgo would of hit me, I would of lost a lot of cake and with Ritchie taking 3 packets of my chocolate fingers, well I would of had a real crap day! In the end I had to suffer. Good music then followed with Van the Man singing the Danny Timms song, The Water. We didn't see any birds of note and when I got back in me wagon at the airport, I ate my meat pasty that I had left in there over 2 weeks ago! Martin was with me and I shared it with him to make sure it was safe to eat. No sign of the woodchat, but after a good 20 minutes, we relocated the Buffy and with me wagon, we got cracking views.

If you enlarge you can see Ritchie eating his 4th packet of my chocolate fingers! Note that no one is looking out to sea. Unless Tony's got a diddy tripod with a diidy scope, that he likes to look through other peoples tripods.

Gray had a CITRINE WAGTAIL on St Agnes first thing this morning and 20 Great and 2 Sooty Shearwater passed Horse Point. Smoothy went to Tresco and got it or another Citrine at Rosefields. 

Flava wagtail spp?

Any ideas?

  When I had time this afternoon, I had a quick look for yesterdays flava wagtail in the sheep field next to work. From the horse paddock, I immediatly found it feeding with the 2 Yellow Wagtail. Yesterday when I came across this wagtail, it's pale grey upperparts and white underparts, first gave me the impression of a 1st winter Citrine Wagtail. However, it didn't look right and on the second glance, the head pattern was not right and the wing bars were an off white and not so prominent as that of the latter species. I could see it was a 1st winter Yellow Wagtail, but which one? When it called it sounded like the 2 Yellow Wagtails. I knew that it wasn't Black or Grey-headed Wagtail, as they've got a similer call to Citrine Wagtail. So which flava wagtail is it? Has anyone got any ideas?
  Also in the area there were, 2 Pied and 4 Spotted Flycatcher, 4 Blackcap and 2 Goldcrest. I think most of the stuff was hiding from the rain.

Martin took some footsge of the flava wagtail. You can hear it call when it takes off near the end.

  This morning on the way to work, at Porthloo the juvenile Curlew Sandpiper was feeding with 2 Dunlin, 60+Sanderling and 3 Whimbrel and 7 Mediterranean Gull. A Tree Pipit and Yellow Wagtail flew overhead.

juv/1st winter Mediterranean Gull avoiding the surf

Juvenile Curlew Sandpiper

Up to 3 Whimbrel were at Porthloo

Eastern 'type' Yellow Wagtail at the Garrison

But which one?

  On the way to work I stopped off at Porthloo where it was high tide and feeding with 4 Dunlin, 40+Sanderling, 20+Turnstone, 8 Curlew and a single Whimbrel, was a juvenile Curlew Sandpiper. There were also the 3 juv/1st winter, adult and 2nd winter Mediterranean Gulls and a mix of Pied and White wagtail.

Juvenile Curlew Sandpiper at Porthloo

The adult and 2nd winter Mediterranean Gulls losing their heads!

Just before 08.00, I was driving a worker to the vines at Holy Vale and we passed Maypole, there was the BEE-EATER on the wires. It flew overhead, calling and headed off towards Longstones

There was a SW breeze and at mid-afternoon, I had a good walk around the Garrison in the baking hot sun. Along the dead pine walk there were singles of Whinchat, Pied and Spotted Flycatcher, Blackcap and 2 Reed Warbler. Elsewhere there was a Redstart at the campsite, but looking in the sheep field, I clocked on to what I first thought was I Citrine Wagtail. It didn't take long to relise that it was an Eastern Yellow Wagtail, but which one? It was feeding with 2 Yellow Wagtail and at times all 3 showed well following the same 2 sheep. I had to move on and called the guys to let them know that there was an Eastern 'type' Yellow Wagtail. All together totals on the Garrison included, 4 Pied and Spotted Flycatcher, 3 Goldcrest, Reed Warbler and Blackcap, 1 Whinchat and Redstart and 3 Yellow Wagtail, including the Eastern type.

  

Eastern Yellow Wagtail

When it called it sounded like the 2 Yellow Wagtail it was feeding with. Any comments would be welcome.

From the top, Whinchat, Redstart, Pied and Spotted Flycatcher and Reed Warbler, all on the Garrison

Up to 3 Tree Pipit were at Lower Moors

TODAYS TOTALS

Eastern 'type' Yellow Wagtail
5 Yellow Wagtail
20+White Wagtail
10+Pied wagtail
5 Tree Pipit
7 Goldcrest
2 Redstart
10+Reed Warbler
3 Whinchat
25+Wheatear
7 Spotted Flycatcher
8 Pied Flycatcher
10+Willow Warbler
4 Chiffchaff

Porthloo'typ Duck Pond looking a little dry!

Good numbers of migrants

Don't see this on Scilly often. Spotted Flycatcher, Whinchat and on the bramble, Redstart. Two seconds before this shot was taken, there were 2 Whitethroat, 1 Wheater and another 2 Spotted Flycatcher on these posts,

  Strong SE overnight continued throughout the day and a morning walk around the Garrison found 1 Tree and 4 Meadow Pipit, 2 Blackcap, 2 Wheater, 1 Stonechat, 5 Spotted Flycatcher and 50+Swallow. A 1st winter Mediterranean Gull was at Morning Point. Mid-morning I had a brief look at Trenowth and found a Redstart, 4 White Wagtail, 3 Chiffchaff and nearby I could hear the BEE-EATER.

Spotted Flycatcher on the Garrison

  At 13.45, I made my second visit to the Garrison, this time with Bryan and it was obvious that a lot more migrants had arrived. There were 4 Spotted Flycatcher on the dead pine walk, however, walking on the top path between The Steveal and Woolpack, things lived up a little. Scanning the posts ahead of us, lined up on the wires, were, Spotted Flycatcher, Redstart, Whinchat, Wheatear and Whitethroat. It gave me an idea of what Portland or Spurn must be like when they get a fall of common migrants. My half an hour was up and had to get a move on back to work and left Bryan with the birds.
  All together we saw 2 Redstart, 2 Whitethroat, 1 Whinchat, 1 Wheatear, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Reed Warbler and 7 Spotted Flycatcher.

Bryan Thomas

This Redstart showed very well near the Woolpack, Garrison

In the evening I drove past Bishops View and saw my only Pied Flycatcher of the day. This was followed by a walk from Higher Moors to Porth Hellick Beach. At the former site there were, 5 Blackcap, 6 Willow Warbler, 5 Chiffchaff, 1 Spotted Flycatcher and 2 Reed Warbler. On the loop trail at Porth Hellick there were 3 Whinchat and 1 Sedge Warbler. On the pool, 1 Dunlin, 9 Greenshank, 2 Kingfisher and coming into roost, 20+alba Wagtail and a Scilly record for me, 12 Yellow Wagtail! 6 was the most that I had seen before this.

A group of 3 Whinchat were at Porth Hellick

1 of the 12 Yellow Wagtail in a flock coming to roost at Porth Hellick

2 Rusty-dot Pearl have just entered the house, 23.45.

A few of the other birders had a better day than me in finding scarce birds. On St Martins, Will and Big Al found 2 different WRYNECK, while on St Agnes, Gray also had a WRYNECK and on Gugh, ORTOLAN BUNTING. Of the latter species, Gray thinks that it's the same bird he had yesterday on the criket pitch, as it's dull looking. So the one on the Golf Course yesterday, is a different bird as it's a brighter individual. Robin got 2 Curlew Sandpiper on Tresco Great Pool.   

The BEE-EATER getting some jip from a young Swallow at Maypole

Beautiful and calm off Porthloo this evening