2nd BLUE ROCK THRUSH for scilly

22nd September 2019

Ren found this 7th BLUE ROCK THRUSH for Britain between Morning Point and The Steval, Garrison, where I took this record shot

With the over night SES winds and torrential heavy rain, this morning was a feeling that something good was goin to be found today. I didn’t get out until gone 09.00 and on the airfield there were a single whinchat, 30+ Wheatear and 60+Meadow Pipit. After I had done a taxi at work, I found myself at Trewince some two hours later. Already Mike Young Powell found a Short-toed Lark on St Agnes and in the twenty minutes that I had been at Trewince, I had already seen 4 Whinchat, 3 Wheatear, 2 Spotted Flycatcher, 4 Blackcap and single Tree Pipit and then a call from an excited Ren, stopped me in my tracks! ‘Spider, I’m pretty sure I’ve just had a BLUE ROCK THRUSH!!’ My reply was simple ‘You have Ren!’ Of cause he had seen a Blue Rock Thrush and ten minutes later I joined him just below the Steval. He showed me the record shots and I gave him a big tight long cuddly hug to the point that he couldn’t breath! His face was smothered deep into my Parka fury hood from my coat. After Ren stopped spitting and coughing out the fur bits from my hood, I gave him a manly handshake instead. He told me he first had it very briefly near Morning Point, where he took the pic, before it flew around the corner, out of sight, in the direction towards The Steval. Ren then relocated the thrush in the next bay from the corner only to be flushed by walkers and Ren lost it but thought that it had probably continued towards The steval. I immediately put the record shot and details out on the Scilly Bird News WhatsApp Group and then we started searching for the bird along the coastal path from the latter site towards Morning Point. However, after we had reached Morning Point, there was not a sniff of the thrush and I decided to retrace my footsteps back towards The Steval. Nearing The Steval, I saw Richie Aston making his ways down the slope towards me. He had only been with me for less than a minute when from around the corner, over the rocks, in front of us was the Blue Rock Thrush flying towards us. It didn’t stop until it had flown below the cliff face we were standing on and then landed on a large boulder some 50-60 yards away. I could see Bobby ‘Dazzler’ Dawson and beckoned him over by pointing where the thrush was. Then it was off again towards Morning Point. In the next few hours, the bird proved very mobile, ranging from Morning Point to almost the pottery but everyone present manged to get brief views on the deck or in flight.

I had up to 30 Wheatear on the airfield but only 3 were at Trewince where I took this image of a very confiding individual.

One of the 4 Whinchat at Trewince

This is the first sighting that Richie Aston and I got when we relocated the BLUE ROCK THRUSH after Ren had last seen it, just below The Steval as it flew below us looking from the cliff top.

It paused very briefly before disappearing off towards Morning Point.

A small crowd assembled on the cliff top in between The Steval and the Pottery hoping to catch a glimpse of it.

And here’s Bobby ‘Dazzler’ Dawson doing, well I duno what he’s doing, but I think it’s somethin to do with him celebrating with the song ‘Agadoo’ after seeing the thrush. Like Ren, I saw the only other record for Scilly back in 1999 at Porthloo and like this one, it was male. A few days before the Porthloo individual turned up, Ren went and discovered that White’s Thrush on St Agnes where there was also a Siberian Thrush nextdoor on Gugh!!

The Blue Rock Thrush disappeared for over an hour after last being seen near Morning Point. Next to my home there were 2 Yellow, 10 White Wagtail and a single Whinchat. Ren let me know that the thrush had been seen again but there was no sign of it when Jo and I turned up. As the second record of American Wigeon for St Agnes had turned up on the Big Pool, we made our ways to Porth Hellick where we sheltered from the heavy downpours and all we got was the Jack Snipe and new in, 3 Teal. We also had a Spotted Flycatcher at Trenowth and at the Standing Stones field, 3 Whinchat and single Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat.

Brimstone Moth Caterpillar

Also seen today were the Lesser Yellowlegs and yesterdays Bluethroat both viewed from the Swaroviski Hide, Tresco Great Pool but no sign of yesterdays Dotterel on Bryher.

Yesterday, I had a brief look through the Dead Pine Walk before work and got a single Crossbill, Garden Warbler, 2 Spot Flycatcher, 2 Yellow and 12 White Wagtail and 15+Blackcap but dipped out on the Wryneck later in the afternoon at Buzza Quarry.

Spotted Flycatcher

There were up to 20 Turnstone at Porth Mellon

Two days ago there was this Pied Flycatcher opposite Bishop View

And at the Dead Pine Walk, Garrison, up to 6 Spotted Flycatcher where I also had single Crossbill, Garden Wabler, 2 Yellow and 12 White Wagtail and 15+Blackcap.

On the 19th while feeding the ducklings from the french windows first thing in the morning, I heard a single Crossbill flew over NE followed by a Grey Wagtail The Crossbill returned again and landed in the garden where I took the above record shot. It flew of towards the Daed Pine Walk where I also had 2 Spotted Flycatcher and a single Grasshopper Warbler.