A trip out to Tresco on the Isles of Scilly always means a possible sighting of those Golden Pheasants. I’m told they are not a self supporting population … but hey! who cares. They are just magnificently opulent.
As well as Golden Pheasant we also saw Lady Amherst’s and a hybrid between the two … a least it indicates they are breeding! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Having heard the Pallid Harrier wandering around the Scillies archipelago had landed just around the corner from us we made a dash for Lower Moors where it had been seen within bushes. As we arrived the damn thing flew off to an area where there was no general access. I led the group up to a nearby viewpoint and we were eventually rewarded with half decent view of it circling up and then heading South out to sea. Not the feather detail crippling views we wanted, but still nice to see. The photo I managed to get shows the diagnostic number of visible primaries… if you look closely.
A flashback to October and a Peninnis Radde’s Warbler that popped up in front of Tania and me. A dark dull rainy day under a gun metal grey sky so the photo isn’t as good as the views we had.
Deep within the heart of woodland on the island of Tresco in the Scillonian archipelago there are golden birds of legends.
A lot of people have started going to the Northern Isles in preference to the Isles of Scilly over the last few Autumns. With good reason; Shetland and the like turn up a good number of birds. For me however Scillies is the place to be and square mile for square mile gives an exceptional return on time and effort expended in finding and seeing birds. Birds are concentrated within a small area.
This week we strolled 300m from seeing a Swainson’s Thrush from across the Atlantic to see a Wryneck from Northern Europe.
Wrynecks are either a pain to see or are all over you like a rash. This individual was firmly in the ‘showing well’ camp.
When you stand on Hugh Towns seafront and state sometimes a Merlin might be viewable from here and a Merlin duly appears; you might raise an eyebrow.
When later the same day you stand watching a field with a backdrop of elms and state it looks good for a Little Bunting and one pops up within minutes; you might widen your eyes a little.
However, later the same day when you say to your guests lets look in this sheltered weedy field … it looks ripe for a Common Rosefinch; and one flies down the hedgerow within seconds and perches up next to you … it might cross your mind to think carefully what to ‘talk-up’ next.
A slow walk north along the full length of Tresco is like drinking a fine wine. It has to be done slowly and enjoyed. Overcast with rain was gradually replaced with warm bright sunshine and the Scillies excelled at what it is best at … being beautiful.
In our annual trip to the archipelago we took a boat to Carn Near from St Mary’s, where we are staying, and made our way up the island to Castle Down. It’s years since I’ve been up to the North end of the Tresco but it was just as special as I remembered it. Gosh it was warm. A flyover Siskin reminded me it was October. Three Dotterel were thrown in for free with an added bonus of a pod of Harbour Porpoise offshore. What more could we ask for …
Over the New Year period, being in Tier 4 Norfolk and therefore restricted to home has given me time to think and reminisce.
I have been following the reports of Fin and Humpback Whales around the Isles of Scilly this last week with interest. I would so like to have been there. Sightings of whales were coming in thick and fast. It’s difficult to tell how many of each species were present but on one particular day there appeared to be nine animals around the islands. This is purely speculative on my part of course as some of the sightings may have been double counted and remember I am 400 miles away. In time when records are examined by the more than competent guys on the ground a truer number will be agreed.
The whole event took me back to some occasions in the past when I’ve been surrounded by whales myself. One came to mind. In the bay of Funday 2016 I remember thinking I could have walked out on the Humpbacks that were gathering in the mist around the boat. Later on in the same week a pod of Fin Whales came at the boat. Let’s just think about that for a moment. Each whale around 20 meters long and weighing about 47,000 kg. moving at 20 knots, making a bow wave and coming straight towards where I’m stood on the deck of a 60 foot cruiser one and a half metres above the waterline. There were around ten of them. That’s close to half a million kilograms of flesh coming straight at the boat. You get the picture. As they neared the beam they slipped under the keel and were away. Their wash dragging the boat sideways. A heart stopping moment. Wonderful, wonderful animals.
Some of the Fin Whales in the bay of Fundy – that’s the problem with telephoto lenses … they don’t fit everything in.
Humpbacks in the mist bay of Fundy
We were walking on St Agnes within the Isles of Scilly archipelago earlier this month when we saw something unusual. Three grown chaps on their knees with their heads in a box.
As we walked closer I could see it was a moth trap they were peering into. “Anything good?” I asked. To which I was greeted with big smiles. Three very obliging guys then proceeded to show my group the contents of their moth traps; but they kept the best until last. A Silver Striped Hawkmoth. This was the first time this species had been seen on the Scillies. Although we get around 10 a year arriving throughout the UK from their normal southern Europe and North African range they still remain a good find for anyone running a moth trap.
My thanks to the guys once more.
The Tresco estate on the Isles of Scilly have taken it upon themselves to introduce Red Squirrel onto the island. When we were down there in October we sat in the garden cafe and there were several that entertained us as we fought to keep the House Sparrows from our lunch.
Red Squirrels are endearing little mammals that do make me chuckle as they bound from place to place punctuating their leaps with static pauses; as if they are surprised their surroundings changed when they moved!
Letter From Norfolk 