29th September 2019
Record shot of this Vagrant Emperor that I found hawking next to the Scilly Wildlife Trust building at Trenowth this afternoon.
The ideal conditions across the Atlantic in the last 24 hours had to drop a yank or two and this morning I was out and about in the gale force WNW eager to find it. The only yank on Scilly to be seen all day was the Buff-breasted Sandpiper still at the airfield. However, I did come across the rarest find on the islands of the day, so I thought. I was wiped out by Chris Timmon’s who discovered a Nickar Nut washed up at Higher Town Bay, St Martins!
The sun came out just after 10.00 and Jo and I started off at Content Lane and got our first Yellow-browed Warbler calling in the large Elms. At Newford Duck Pond there were 2 Reed Warbler and a first for me at this site, female Teal. We then did the circuit from watermill to Trenowth and at Peace Haven there was a single Pied Flycatcher, Painted Lady and Migrant Hawker. At Trenowth, I found a Vagrant Emperor hawking next to the Scilly Wildlife Trust building. It put on a good show for a few minutes, only to disappear when I called Keith Pellow, who we had just been chatting to five minutes ago at Jac a Bar. Fortunately, Keith relocated it in the next field and here it performed for a good five minutes zipping up and down the field. I put the news out earlier, but again it just disappeared. We also had a fly by Clouded Yellow.
Pied Flycatcher at Peace Haven
Another record shot of the Vagrant Emperor at Trenowth. This individual was by far the most showy out of all four dragonflies I’ve observed on Scilly and the fifth species of dragonfly we’ve seen on the St Mary’s this year.
Goldfinch
While watching the dragonfly at Trenowth, news came on the Scilly Bird News WhatsApp Group that the Lapland Bunting was still present at the airfield and a Dotterel had now turned up. Then I got a call from Julie and Trevor Davis to tell me they had just found a Snow Bunting also on the airfield. That was enough for us to stop searching for our own birds and ten minutes later, the Davis’s put us on the Snow Bunting that feeding on the edge of the west runway. Within ten minutes there was a small crowd of friends and we all followed the bunting slowly as moved further up the runway. Or should I say, everyone followed me as I took them for a tour around the airfield. As a result we relocated the Lapland Bunting and then the Dotterel near to the turning circle and not one of my followers payed for the successful tour that I gave. Jo and I left my followers to the plover, after seeing it, as I wanted to spend time with the Snow Bunting while the sun was still shinning bright. It was now feeding on the north runway and here we had it all to ourselves down to a few meters before the sun went behind the clouds. No yanks but a cracking day!
Also seen today:
St Mary’s: Short-toed Lark, 4 Pied Flycatcher, 2 Firecrest, 2 Turtle Dove, 2 Crossbill, Jack Snipe and Blue Rock Thrush.
Tresco: Hoopoe, Ortolan Bunting and Short-toed Lark.
St Martins: 2 Snow Bunting and Turtle Dove
St Agnes: Red Kite
Snow Bunting showing off!
Lapland Bunting
Dotterel was always distant
Wheatear
Sunset this evening
SCILLYSPIDER 2 