More Scilly and Catbird

No more posts while on Scilly due to infuriatingly slow WiFi.

The Barred Warbler mentioned in the last post continued to show.

Barred Warbler

The 8th was mostly taken up by tantalising views of a possible Aquatic Warbler that eventually showed itself to be a Sedge Warbler. A dash to St Agnes gave good views of the Greenish Warbler after it gave us a bit of a run-around. We were just too late for the Red-throated Pipit, but we took the opportunity to see the Red-backed Shrike at the Nag's Head.

Red-backed Shrike

Back to St Agnes for better views of the Greenish Warbler, the shrike and the elusive Wryneck.

Greenish Warbler

Birding hard, but with little reward and sore feet the 10th saw us regularly tripping over the flock of 4 Cattle Egret on St Mary's.

Cattle Egret

An early Richard's Pipit on Peninnis on the 11th gave us hope on favourable south easterlies, but we saw little else new until a Lapland Bunting with the relocated Richard's Pipit on the golf course in the evening.

Richard's Pipit

Barred Warbler

The 12th brought awaited storm with associated wetness and high winds. Seawatching from Peninnis gave little except Gannets, but a Leach's Petrel battling the gale was an excellent Scilly tick. Seawatching on the 13thwas much better with a Great, 5 Balearic and 10 Sooty Shearwater, plus another 2 Leach's Petrel and 15 Bonxie. There was an influx of Black Redstart and a Common Rosefinch, but no sign of the hoped for Yanks.

Black Redstart

Common Rosefinch

Back to lovely weather on the 14th and after a quiet morning on St Mary's we did a whistle stop tour of Tresco where we hit lucky when the Eastern Yellow Wagtail was relocated, the injured Red-breasted Flycatcher showed down to a few feet and the 5 Cattle Egret fed amongst cattle.

Eastern Yellow Wagtail

Red-breasted Flycatcher

Cattle Egret

The 15th was my final day of the trip, and gave time for a wander up to the riding stables for a look at potentially another Eastern Yellow Wagtail. Not as monochrome as the Tresco bird, but it sounded good and had long hind-claws.

Eastern Yellow Wagtail?

A smooth crossing with little to see until a Bonxie, Arctic Skua and a smart Sabine's Gull on the Penzance side. News of the Grey Catbird at Land's End broke as we crossed and a frantic drive by Cliff got us on site just too late.

Stopping in Penzance I was back on site by bus before first light. After a 2 hour wait and just 16 mins before my return bus the Catbird popped up. No longer the expected skulker, this thing was sitting out in the open, superb! Some snatched photos (with all the wrong settings) and I was running for the bus. An excellent end to the holiday.

Grey Catbird