Wryneck

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.

Penninis Head

Penninis Head on the Scillies is a headland that sticks out into the Atlantic like a net scooping up migrant birds. On the western side this Wryneck entertained us with its ant hunting antics.

A Welcome Home

Having spent the last fortnight in Nova Scotia it’s nice to come home; especially when there’s a welcome.

Even as the Red Arrows put on a spectacle in the sky I found myself struggling to find Andy’s Icterine that he saw here on the hill. It had obviously moved on. I made my way towards home only to find this little chap on the hedgerows. A welcome Wryneck.

 

 

Look who’s in the flower bed

A big thank you to to Trevor and Gill Davies for letting people into their house to see the Wryneck that occupied their garden at Cley next the Sea this week. A well marked individual this one which made it look even more reptilian than usual. Fascinating woodpeckers these.

Rubber-necking Wrynecks

Three very reluctant Wrynecks at Winterton earlier this month. This particular one favoured Rowans and sat out in the sunshine … for just an instant.

 

Awry Bird

I had a wonderful day with Simon Barnes at the end of August when we took in a few birds left by the fall of the previous weekend. One of the birds we visited was a Wryneck at Salthouse, found earlier by my good friend Trevor.

Wrynecks are one of those birds that hark back to their dinosaur origins. They have a fascinating reptilian like appearance. This individual was as showy as it could get. From the moment we arrived it was sitting up in the top of bushes and parading around on the shingle. I took a few snaps and it was in my mind to get something better when I had the time to return, sit and wait for the bird to come closer.

The Wryneck obviously had other ideas. I was writing up reports the following day but gave myself a break from working mid-morning and drove to Salthouse expecting to photograph the bird and be on my way home in an hour, an hour and a half at most. Three hours later I was still looking for the damn thing! Although reported earlier, it had gone to ground. It did eventually show but had undergone some sort of character morph from the previous day and remained distant. It took a further hour before the bird ventured close enough for some half decent shots.