17th October we went to Bryher (wryneck, ring ouzel) and then around St. Mary's (lapland bunting). The bird of the day was black redstart with a total of 34 across both islands 🤯 I didn't get close to any of the males so these photos of a female/imm will have to do 😉 #UKbirding #Scillybirds #birds
Belatedly back to Scilly again - 16 October we went to St. Martin's and had a lovely day's birding with plenty of migrants, the best of which were two red-breasted flycatchers both very showy and an absolute treat 😍 #UKBirding #Scillybirds @matthall95.bsky.social @oscardewhurst.bsky.social
A great end to the week working on Tresco finding a pallid swift hawking around between the Abbey & Great Pool. Another top addition to a good start to Nov across the islands with two Pallas’s warblers, Richard’s pipit, dusky warbler, OBP, Rbfly & RND arriving in the last two days! #ScillyBirds
As we left Carn Friars, St. Mary's on 15th @matthall95.bsky.social @oscardewhurst.bsky.social and I heard a prob. Radde's warbler calling unseen for 10 min from a hedge bank. We got recordings (sorry can't upload!) + it wasn't seen/heard again. Very cool + frustrating! #ukbirding #birds #ScillyBirds
15th October on St. Mary's, Scilly was pretty much more of the same - ring ouzel, black reds, firecrests, jack snipe and great views of wryneck at Carn Friars in the afternoon after a tour around the island #ukbirding #birds #ScillyBirds
Cracking end to my 6 days on Scilly, with a hoopoe on the garrison & a smattering of great shears, 2 sooties, 3 puffin and a bonxie from the Scillonian. 105 species total! Full trip report here: ebird.org/tripreport/4...
#ScillyBirds
What a day - lapand bunting in the morning, buff-bellied pipit and flyover whitefronts on St Agnes, and a bluethroat at Porth Hellick in the evening. Where else but Scilly
#ScillyBirds
Coloured pencil and gouache drawing of a Hoopoe on a beach of light coloured stones.
The Hoopoe that showed so well on Periglis beach, St Agnes, from my recent visit to the Isles of Scilly. Mostly watercolour pencil, with a bit of gouache, on Fabriano Artistico watercolour paper. Original is about A4 size #BirdArt #WildlifeArt #ScillyBirds #UKBirding
Choose your fighter. Great white egret and grey heron at Porth Hellick yesterday afternoon.
#ScillyBirds
Rosefinch at Porthellick beach
Spotted flycatcher at Porthellick Down
Leucistic pied wagtail at the riding stables
Rosy starling at Old Town
2nd day on Scilly (12th) w/ @matthall95.bsky.social @oscardewhurst.bsky.social @aravindsrinivas.bsky.social was quieter than the 'day of mourning' on Aggie, and around St. Mary's - highlights inc. rosefinch, rosy starling, spotted fly and a very cool leucistic pied wagtail #UKbirding #ScillyBirds
Slightly weird snipe at Peninnis today. Roosting in relatively open/dry patches. Didn’t flush as warily as other comm snipes, didn't call and less zigzagging flight. Sadly no diagnostic features for any vagrant species were seen. Probably just tired!
#ScillyBirds
Scilly’s first EYEBROWED THRUSH in 32 years!
A real Scilly ‘Golden Era’ grip back for those of us not fortunate enough, or old enough, to be around for the remarkable run of SIX through the 80s & 90s.
A proper stonker of a bird & a long overdue mega eastern thrush for the islands!
#ScillyBirds
The final quality bird of our first remarkable day on Scilly was a lovely confiding (of course) lapland bunting on Wingletang #UKbirding #Scillybirds
So mourning dove, hoopoe, American pipit down we had to walk another 200 m to see the next Yankee prize, a juv. spotted sandpiper. Birding is not supposed to be this easy and delirium began to set in 🫠#UKbirding #ScillyBirds
Back from a week on Scilly 11-18th October with @matthall95.bsky.social @oscardewhurst.bsky.social @aravindramesh19.bsky.social. The first afternoon was a twitcher's dream on St. Agnes. Off the boat and to the nearest chicken coop for the 1st English record of mourning dove 😂 #UKbirding #ScillyBirds
Black redstart
Red-backed shrike
Little bunting
Greenshank
Very glad that becoming a teacher allows for an October halfterm trip to Scilly. Arrived yday, so far adding 8 spp to my Scilly list. Highlights have been RB shrike, little bunting, 3 redpoll over and ofc the Eyebrowed Thrush. Bring on the next 5 days!
#ScillyBirds
Back from Scilly & going through images. A really fun year with some fantasitc birds and very few days without new arrivals. My own finds on st Agnes didn't get much beyond this Little Bunting on the 14th and a Short-toed lark on the 15th. Love place and the magic. #scillybirds #rarebirdsuk
A big influx of Jack Snipe today across Scilly. I saw 3 different birds on St Martin’s including 2 different birds feeding on beautiful beaches and rock pools! Such fabulous little birds. #scillybirds
This juvenile Wilson's Phalarope on Porth Hellick Pool, St Mary's showed incredibly well just a few feet away from the hides for several days.
Hoopoe on Periglis beach, St Agnes. Another bird that gave great views for several days as it fed on insect larvae amongst the boulders at the top of the beach.
An interesting 'monochrome' Yellow Wagtail on Periglis beach, St Agnes. Initially thought to be possibly an Eastern Yellow Wagtail, but the call sounded like Western. Maybe an eastern Western or a western Eastern?!
Juvenile Rose-coloured (or Rosy if you prefer) Starling on a wire at Old Town, St Mary's. These always seem to look a bit scruffy, maybe as a result of having a much later post-juvenile moult than Common Starlings?
A few highlights from my week on Scilly now I've had a chance to edit photos. Details in the alt text. Unfortunately the Mourning Dove wasn't pinned down until after we'd left. Maybe it'll stay till next year? 😂 #scillybirds #ukbirding
The Isles of Scilly as seen from the back of the Scillonian against a cludy sky with the sun just breaking through.
Goodbye Scilly, see you next year (for longer!) hopefully. Didn't see a huge number of birds, but a very enjoyable visit. Good return crossing: Sabine's Gull, 2 Great, 1 Sooty & 1 Manx Shearwater, and 6+ Storm Petrels, most of which (apart from the Sab's) were in Scilly waters. #scillybirds
Scilly Day 4:- Another fine day. This time spent on St Agnes. Hoopoe, Spotted Sandpiper, Yellow Wagtail and Curlew Sandpiper. #scillybirds
Absolutely nothing in an hour's seawatch off Peninnis this morning 😴. A Short-eared Owl sheltering behind a wall along King Edward's Road and better views of the Wilson's Phalarope at Porth Hellick, but not much else today in the very strong wind. #scillybirds
Wilson's Phalarope
Scilly Day 1:- A bit blowy and rainy, so only managed to catch up with the Wilson's Phalarope, but what a bird. #scillybirds
20k steps around St Mary's today for not a lot other than 4 Cory's Shearwaters in an hour off Peninnis first thing. Seawatching should be better tomorrow in even stronger winds, but finding anything on land is going to be difficult in this weather. #scillybirds
