Scillies and the South-West

I didn't start well, dipping on the Hoopoe in Worcestershire in the morning (I missed it by an hour), and then also promptly dipping on the major rarity in Gloucestershire that evening. I stupidly left the main viewing point and then turned round 10 minutes later to watch others in the distance waving in my direction. But it was too late. By the time I got back there, the bird had gone to roost. I was livid. The next morning, Thursday, I woke early and shot off back to the rarity site at nearby Eastleach Martin. Yet again, I appeared to be out of luck: there was no sign of the bird for the next 2 hours. Again, I decided to wander off (not least because if the bird did appear in my absence, it was unlikely to go into hiding for any length of time – unlike the night before). But as I looked up ahead of me, I noticed another birder taking video footage of something the other side of the hedge, and as I gestured to him to inquire as to the bird’s whereabouts, he pointed ahead of him – he had clearly relocated it! I broke into a far brisker walk and within a minute or so was staring at point-blank range at a 3rd for Britain – a stunning first-summer male Long-tailed Shrike! Not only was it just a few yards away, but it was also busy hunting for insects and even caught a vole/mouse at one point, which it proceeded to butcher on a thorny branch, all rather nonchalantly and showing no interest in its admirers whatsoever!

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At Woodbury Common near Budleigh Salterton, my luck was in this time: a couple of wardens were happy to point me in the right direction for the birds in question and within minutes I clapped eyes on my first Dartford Warbler for years. In fact, I saw at least three or four of these smart little passerines over the course of the next hour or so, but they weren’t on show all the time: it was also quite showery and very hot making photography difficult. Still, I managed some pretty pleasing images, both close-ups and wider shots to capture the bird in its setting. All rather satisfying.

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By midday, the birds were becoming increasingly elusive, and I decided to head on further south. I paused at Hayle Estuary, a familiar haunt, and enjoyed traying capture one of 30+ Mediterranean Gulls on camera. On the boat over to the Scillies, I had expected to see more, but the weather wasn’t conducive to rare seabird watching. I did get some nice views of Short-beaked Common Dolphin and Manx Shearwater, Mediterranean Gull and Gannet but little else of note.

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Rather than recounting what I saw on each of the four trips, I'll summarise: the Friday trip’s highlight for me was a cetacean lifer: Fin Whale! We saw two individuals at least, blowing their distinctive tall column of water vapour and breaching to reveal their long Minke-like bodies with a small dorsal fin towards the rear end. (Minkes have a smaller, more diffuse spray that’s blown backwards slightly.) Anyway, with patience and persistence, I managed to get some record shots of this first for me. Somewhat distracted by the whales, we also enjoyed watching Short-beaked Common Dolphins bow-riding – another highlight of the various trips – as well as two Minke Whales! (below).

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Other major (unexpected) highlights were the ‘Tuna boils’, the Blue Shark catches (4 in total?) and of course, there were the birds too. The Tuna feeds were especially thrilling as an area the size of a large swimming pool frothed and bubbled with the thrashing of hundreds(?) of tuna fish, which in turn attracted swarms of gulls and the occasional rarity and whale.

Wilson’s Storm Petrel showed especially well (c. 20+ birds in total), especially on the first few trips – in the calmer seas.

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The European Storm Petrels (below), in contrast, had stumpy tails and constantly rapid wingbeats; they would also drop to the surface of the water but only briefly in a splash-landing and then rise up immediately as though afraid to get wet.

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And we also had a single Cory’s Shearwater, a fine Sooty Shearwater and just one Great Shearwater. I recall a second Cory’s and Sooty being called near the tuna boils, and I think I got onto one of these in the mele.

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On the last evening, I focussed on capturing European Storm Petrel on camera (as there were more of these on show), but the Wilson’s kept their distance more that night and photography was also more challenging because of the rougher seas. We also saw a few Harbour Porpoise and at least four Sunfish, with their bizarre fin-waving antics. I spent a good while at the front of the boat looking down at the dolphins just below me – and amazing sight. Oh, and of course there were the Manx Shearwaters – loads of them – and I spent a while trying to get my best shots of these too.

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On the Monday, I shot over to St Agnes in search of a scarcity, one I hadn’t seen for years. (I was lucky, too, to notice they’d moved the departure time forward to 10am and made it just in time, whilst other birders missed out – this also meant that there were only about 4 other birders on the island.) Anyway, I wasn’t the first to arrive at Periglis Bay; a resident birder was already there sharing the disappointing news that the bird hadn’t been seen for an hour. But I thought it couldn’t have gone far, and it had also nipped off before to another nearby islet (Burnt Island) and had returned, so I just settled down on the dunes and had a nibble while I waited. Occasionally, a small flock of Ringed Plover and Dunlin would appear, only to shoot off again to another nearby beach, and I guessed it would only be a matter of time, with the tide falling, for the scarcity to re-join them to feed. I scanned again and again, between mouthfuls of chicken wraps, and eventually I struck gold. There, with the summer-plumaged Dunlin (all with obvious black belly-patches), was a bird with an all-white belly and more attenuated rear end. This was the surely the bird I was looking for: White-rumped Sandpiper! Chuffed to bits, I crept as close as I could to the bird (not easy given the pebbly terrain), but I was soon withing shooting distance – and with nobody else around! I was in my element.

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On the Tuesday, I decided to head over to Tresco where I headed straight for the main hide overlooking the Great Pool. Here I was quick to spot the birds of interest: 3 Green Sandpipers and 2 Wood Sandpipers, examples of which eventually came very close to the hide. (I actually got even better views of a Wood Sandpiper at Porthellick on one of the last two days: see above.) But again, I felt pretty pleased that I’d managed to connect so quickly with the target species here.

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The Scillonian crossing on the way back to the mainland was also worth mentioning. There were quite a few birders on the lookout for rare seabirds, so I was especially chuffed to spot all the scarcities before anyone else: firstly a Sooty Shearwater, then a Cory’s Shearwater and finally, a Wilson’s Petrel (with 3 ‘Euros’) – as well as a few Short-beaked Common Dolphins. So, not a bit end to the trip! (I managed a photo of the first of these but the latter two eluded me, sadly.) So, all in all, this was a trip of mixed fortunes: sure, the pelagics didn’t produce the vast numbers of rare seabirds I had hoped for because of the calm conditions, but the same nice weather enabled me to get my best shots of Wilson’s Petrel, European Storm Petrel and Cory’s Shearwater (and a decent image of Great Shearwater).