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ISBG AGM: Early in June 2007 the ISBG held its AGM. Martin Goodey, the Chairman, was able to report another excellent year for the Group, with membership (Friends & Members) around 515 and finances remain healthy.

Martin Goodey stood down as Chairman and was replaced by Will Wagstaff. The other incumbent Executive officers were re- elected and they are as follows
Martin Goodey, Treasurer
Alan Hannington, Secretary
Nigel Hudson, Recorder & Conservation Officer
Bob Flood, Editor

The Membership Secretary is still Danni Borrett.

Kris Webb has retired from the Scillies Records Panel and has been replaced by James Lidster, currently a member of BBRC. The Records Panel now consists of Nigel Hudson (non-voting secretary), Ren Hathway, Doug Page, Keith Vinicombe, Will Wagstaff & James Lidster. The panel now has one current and two ex-members of the BBRC.

It was agreed that ISBG should fund a new hide at the beach end of Porth Hellick situated near the sluice and planning permission has been applied for.

WILSON'S PETRELS

The 2002 pelagic season is well underway. The star attraction of course is Wilson's Petrel. The first of the year was seen in June (for the third successive year) on the 27th. There have been 12 more birds seen to July 24th. Three were seen on one night and two were feeding side-by-side in the slick on another occasion. Obviously, islanders enjoy very much seeing Wilson's Petrels almost at will and most have joined in the fun. In addition, a good number of visitors have joined the trips and been thrilled with such good views that simply are not attainable with any regularity anywhere else in British and Irish waters.

Wilson's Petrel by Bob Flood

ROSE-COLOURED STARLINGS

For the second year in a row Rose-coloured Starlings have invaded Europe and the UK has enjoyed birds on the fringes of this invasion. Not surprisingly, Scilly has had its share. Birds were seen on St Agnes (male-type) and St Mary's (female-type) in June. After a break another male-type turned up early July on St Mary's, but just for the day. Two were seen together on St Martin's at the start of July. Another was seen on St Martin's towards the end of July. It is impossible to know how many birds were involved. Certainly three were, but perhaps as many as six made it to Scilly. As an additional note, a local fisherman just off Scilly found a strange looking bird on deck feeding at the start of June. He photographed it and then identified it from books as another Rosy.

Rose-coloured Starling by Martin Goodey

Rose-coloured Starling by Bryan Thomas

SPRING BONUS FOR YEAR LISTERS

Three scarce/rare species have turned up mid/late May that have provided an unexpected boost for year listers. The Spoonbill was first seen flying over the Golf Course on May 21st and spent some time at the Great Pool next day, then Annet the day after. The female Hawfinch visited the bird table of a local resident on May 21st and 22nd. The resident told birders who subsequently enjoyed the bird May 23rd and 24th. A visiting birder struck lucky when opening the flap of the Sussex Hide at Porthellick with a drake Green-winged Teal only a few yards away on May 25th.

Hawfinch by Bob Flood

Green-winged Teal by Bob Flood

Spoonbill by Bob Flood

LESSER KESTREL

The following pictures of the first summer male Lesser Kestrel present on St Mary's in the golf course area from May 14th were taken by Bob Flood.

Lesser Kestrel by Bryan Thomas

Lesser Kestrel by Bob Flood

SPRING PIPITS

Two large pipits livened things up in early May. A Tawny pipit was found at Middle Town on Sunday May 5th. It was extremely flighty but gave itself up since it had a passion for one particular series of  fields and returned there time after time. A much tamer Richard's pipit was located next day at the other end of the island on the cricket pitch. It had all the plumage characteristics of Richard's pipit but did appear 'small' suggesting it may have been one of the smaller eastern races.

Richards Pipit by Bryan Thomas

Richard's Pipit by Bob Flood

RING-NECKED DUCK

One of the surprises of the season was the arrival of a drake Ring-necked Duck at Porthellick on May 1st. As the photos show the bird is in immaculate condition. With patience views have been obtained down to 20 feet. It is much more normal for this species to arrive in October following Atlantic westerly gales.

Ring-necked Duck by Bob Flood

RARE SYLVIA WARBLERS

By the end of April most Scilly birders had seen two Sardinian warblers and a Subalpine warbler, but not Whitethroat or any of the other commoner Sylvia's. A male Sardinian Warbler was foundon St Agnes on March 29th but was very difficult to see over the three days of its stay. However, it was photographed. A first-summer male Sardinian Warbler found on St Martin's, however, obliged birders by sunbathing and, normally, offering good views and the chance to be photographed. A male Western Subalpine Warbler located at Porthellick on April 26th showed well from short periods and then disapeared for very long spells. Some video was taken but the image is too small to make a grab worthwhile.

Sardinian Warbler, St Agnes by Ian Wilson

Sardinian Warbler, St Martins by Bryan Thomas

RED-RUMPED SWALLOW

Scilly has been fortunate in recent years to receive annually the very attractive Red-rumped swallow. On April 22 this year one was located by Dial Rocks but seen only briefly. However, next morning it was relocated around Abbey Pool and provided excellent views. It was amongst a mixed flock of Swallow, House martin and Sand martin, offering plenty of opportunity to make comparisons on flight jizz as well as the obvious plumage differences.

Red-rumped Swallow by Bob Flood.

Red-rumped Swallow by Bryan Thomas

YELLOW-LEGGED GULLS

Two first-summer Yellow-legged Gulls have been sighted on Simpson's Field, Tresco, from 17 to 20 April at least. One of these has been present since March 22. They are of the form Larus cachinans michahellis from south-west Europe and north-west Africa, which is the only form of 'Yellow-legged' Gull so far recorded on Scilly. The nominate L. c. cachinans or Caspian Gull from the Black Sea coasts and cental Asia could conceivably be sighted on Scilly despite the islands' far west location. A sighting of this form would be extremely exciting.

The year has been good for gulls to date. There have been three American Herring Gulls, three Yellow-legged Gulls, a Ring-billed Gull, a Mediterranean Gull and an Iceland Gull. There have also been several sightings of the Scandinavian Herring Gull nominate form Larus argentatus, which is very scarce on Scilly with the British form L. a. argenteus being the main Herring Gull throughout the year.

Yellow-legged Gulls by Bob Flood

Bullfinch Pleases Year Listers

A male Bullfinch graced Trenoweth Farm in the firsthalf of April. Bullfinch is rare on Scilly. Its occurrence was welcomed by all because it was such a stunning bird, and especially by year listers who need such records if they are to break the 200 mark this year.

Bullfinch by Bryan Thomas

More Spring Migrant Photos:

Although the Little Bustard and Pallid Swift were the main rarities, Scillies also hosted other good birds including Little Bunting and Pintail, a genuine bird not from Porthlow Duck Pond!

All photos from Bryan Thomas

Alpine Swift & Pallid Swift Together on Scillies.

On Saturday 23rd March Bob Flood went to Tresco having failed to re-locate the Little Bustard seen the previous day on St Agnes. As a small compensation he found an Alpine Swift over the dump area on Tresco. Unlike many spring migrants, and particularly swifts, it has stayed on Scillies up to at least Tuesday 28th March and was joined by a Pallid Swift on its visit to Bryher on Monday 25th. John Higginson had gone over to Tresco to see the Alpine Swift and instead located it, from Tresco, over Bryher. Going to Bryher he then found a pale brown swift, later positively identified as Pallid.

Almost at the same time Kris Webb (Spider) had found a Little Bunting at Carn Friars. Scillies in March is becoming like Scillies in October.

The following two photos from Bryan Thomas show the Alpine Swift when on Tresco.

Pallid Swift on Bryher, William Scott

Alpine Swift by Bob Flood

Alpine Swift by Bob Flood

Little Bustard: Second for Scilly

A Little Bustard was located at Punch Bowl, St Agnes, late afternoon of March 22. It was extremely flighty and flushed extremely easily. In fact, it was flushed about four times before probably moving over to Annet. The islands were scoured on March 23 to no avail.

Striped Hawk-moth Hyles lineata

A striped Hawk Moth was caught on the night of 20/21st by Mick Scott at Longstones, probably arriving at  the trap after midnight. It is the 5th for Scilly and the first for Mary's.There are two old records  from a disused lighthouse and two were caught in June 1996. It is a migrant native to Africa but is widespread throughout Europe in most   years,it occasionally reaches the UK seldom in any numbers. Other early migrants caught here since trapping began on 15/02 are The Gem  (4), Dark Sword-grass (5), Pearly Underwing (3) ,White-speck (one) and Silver Y (2).

Striped Hawk Moth by Mick Scott

Spring Godwits

Black-tailed Godwits are uncommon on Scilly and rare in the spring. However, in mid-March a group of five were located on Porth Mellon beach. They soon flew off and gave wonderful views to birders out and about in Hugh Town. Subsequently, they have taken up temporary residence on Simpson's Field, Tresco, and have been joined by a sixth bird. There is also a Bar-tailed Godwit on Pentle Bay, Tresco, so it is currently possible to see these two godwit species on Scilly the same day, which is a very rare opportunity

Black-tailed Godwit by Bob Flood

Early Migrants

Late on March 12 the wind picked up and turned ENE rising to Force 6+. This resulted in the arrival of the first Wheatears with at least 100 on St Mary's alone. Most were males.  Later that day a male Ring Ousel was located in Little Arthur Farm on St Martins, which was subsequently seen at the west end of the island. Pied and White Wagtails were found in reasonable numbers, mostly Pied and all males. There was also a significant fall of Chiffchaffs with possibly several hundred across the islands.  On March 14 another male Ring Ousel was found at Porthellick on St Mary's. Meanwhile the first Swallow made it to Scilly gracing the Great Pool on Tresco and several Sand Martins were found nearby on Abbey Pool. Early on March 15 a group of 5 Black-tailed Godwit were located resting on Porth Mellon. They later flew to Tresco, but not without offering a squadron flyover of Hugh Town. Black-tailed Godwits are a rare spring migrant on Scilly. That day the first Sandwich Terns were seen feeding in The Roads. March 16 saw the first Willow Warbler amongst a group of Chiffchaffs at Little Porth, St Mary's.

Shags

Adult Shags on Scilly in March are in fine breeding plumage. They are readily seen around the islands and sometimes in feeding rafts of 150+ in The Roads. However, a number of first-year birds are taking a relaxed approach to life on Scilly. Several are frequently seen off the Quay. One in particular has taken to chilling out on the harbour steps. The bird happily stands there whilst passengers file past whilst getting on to inter-island boats.

Shag by Bob Flood

American Herring Gulls on Scilly

Three first-winter American Herring Gulls have been sighted on Scilly. Each has distinguishing features such as different stages of moult of scapulars from juvenile to first-winter and extent of pale on the base of the bill. The sightings so far are summarised below:

Bird 1 first seen 30/1, last seen 17/2 (may have departed).
Bird 2 first seen 6/2, found dead 28/2.
Bird 3 first seen 25/2, still alive and flying around Tresco (1/3).

The photograph below is of the corpse of Bird 2. Note the Glaucous-type bill. The body feathers are mainly smokey-brown and the rump and uppertail-coverts are densely patterned with brown. The tail is all dark. Primaries are dark brown but the inner-primaries are much paler. The upperwing coverts in general are brown with indistinct paler fringes. Scapulars show two generations (a) front scapulars are first-winter and each shows an indistinct central anchor (b) rear scapulars are juvenile, brown with thin paler fringes, some of which are heavily worn. A detailed article on these occurrences of American Herring Gull in the Isles of Scilly, and discussion on their identification, will shortly be appearing in Birding World.

American Herring Gull by Bob Flood

Divers and Grebes

Great Northern Divers can easily be found in the waters between the islands in March. At the moment there are at least 15 present. A Black-throated Diver (or two) has been present in the Roads all year, but has not been as obliging as the two Great Northerns in the photo below, that drifted slowly past Bar Point early March. There are also five Slavonian Grebes present between St Martins and the Eastern Isles.

Great Northern Divers by Bob Flood

Iceland Gull

On the 27th Feb an Iceland Gull was found on Porthlow by Mike Scott, a new local birder who has taken over The Longstones Centre. The bird was still present the next day.

Iceland Gull by Bob Flood

American Wigeon

A female American Wigeon was found on Tresco on 25th February, keeping  separate from at least 2 other Wigeon.

American Wigeon by Bob Flood

Injured Short-Eared Owl

Tuesday, Jan 29th. An injured owl was found on St Martin's and brought over to St Mary's with the afternoon mail ! It was seen to be a Short-eared Owl - as expected being the commonest owl found in winter months though still quite rare. It was examined by John Clare on the quayside and found to have a broken wing and will now go to the vet, Rick Barrowman, and then back to John for recovery. The photo was taken by Bob Flood when the owl was being examined at the quayside.

Update on Short-eared Owl
Unfortunately on examining the Short-eared Owl taken into care yesterday it was decided that the bird had to be put down. The wing was completely severed from the body and no remedial surgery was possible. The bird had been found in the cow field of Steve Walder on St Martin's and had been kept by him for 3 days before getting the boat across from St Martins to St Mary's. Even if it had been possible to ship it over earlier there would have been no possibility of operating on it.

The Scilly Skua

On Tuesday 22^nd Jan 2002 at about mid-day the skua that had been cared for by John Clare & Anne at Evergreen on the Isles of Scilly was released back in to the wild.

We’ll keep you updated when the DNA analysis comes back and hopefully this one will be definitive. "

VELVET SCOTER: 16^TH SIGHTING FOR SCILLY

A female Velvet Scoter was first seen from an inter-island boat on the morning of Jan 6. It was subsequently watched from the Block House on Tresco as it drifted toward Great Cheese Island off Borough Farm. It was seen in the same area next day. Velvet Scoter is a great rarity on Scilly, on par with Ring-billed Gull, with this individual raising the total number of sightings to 16, involving 21 individuals. Three Common Scoter have also been seen early January.

RING-BILLED GULL: 13^TH SIGHTING FOR SCILLY

A first-winter Ring-billed Gull was found at St Mary’s Dump on the morning of Jan 4. It has also been seen on Porthmellon Beach. This species is surprisingly rare given Scilly’s status as a Mecca for Yanks. This was just the 13^th sighting of this gull. Patient observers at the dump also added species such as Grey Wagtail, Black Redstart and Lesser Redpol to their year lists.

DARTFORD WARBLER REMAINS INTO THE NEW YEAR

A male Dartford Warbler is still present early January in the Buzza area of St Mary’s. It is normally found feeding amongst the boulders along the beach front, below the Children’s Play Area. The bird is very tame and can often be seen down to 20 feet as it squabbles with local Stonechats and wintering Chiffchaffs. There were three reports of Dartford Warbler in 2001, which were the first since 1996. One was found in April on St Martins, another in October on McFarland’s Down, and then the individual at Buzza in December. All were males raising the question about the actual number of individuals involved – one, two or three? Whichever, there are only 12 records of Dartford Warbler prior to 2001.

GRENLAND WHITEFRONTED GOOSE DICES WITH DEATH

Greenland White-fronted Goose by Bob Flood

An adult Grenland Whitefronted Goose appeared on St Agnes in December and subsequently was seen on Tresco, mainly in the fields by the Church at Old Grimsby. This is about the 90^th bird seen on Scilly. On Tresco in late December shoots are held, mainly for Pheasant, Woodcock, Pigeons etc. On December 29 during a very noisy shoot the Greenland Whitefront became anxious and took off, flying straight over the shoot around the Dump area. Shooters were so surprised that they simply followed the bird with their guns as it flew over. It returned to the Church Fields. However, the bird could not be found in the New Year(?).

HIGHLIGHTS OF OCTOBER 2001

The most interesting records for October 2001 are summarised below. Photos of many of these birds appear in the October 2001 Photo Gallery.

• Ring-necked duck – A first-winter male was first seen at Watermill on the 2^nd, moving to St.Agnes Big Pool on the same day where it remained until the 15^th. Perhaps the same bird was seen briefly on the morning of the 11^th and again on the 13^th at Porth Hellick.

• Rough-legged Buzzard/Hawk – Present throughout the month, favouring St.Martin’s and the Eastern Isles.

• Corncrake – One reported on St.Martin’s on the 15^th.

• Spotted Crake – One spent the 1^st – 24^th on Tresco Great Pool and was joined by a second from the 15^th – 20^th. One was seen at Lower Moors on the 14^th.

• Stone Curlew – One was on St.Mary’s in the Longstones area on 19^th- 21^st.

• Dotterel – Recorded throughout the month from four Islands, involving 2-3 birds.

• Buff-breasted Sandpiper – One extremely obliging individual was on the airport from the 3^rd – 15^th, apart from a brief visit to St.Martin’s on it’s first day.

• Pectoral Sandpiper – One was present on the St Agnes Cricket Pitch on the 4^th before moving to Tresco Great Pool on the 5^th – 20^th.

• Sabine’s Gull – Recorded on 5 days.

• Wryneck – Recorded on 15 days, involving 10 birds.

• Shore/Horned Lark – Present on St.Agnes /Tresco on the 1^st - 23^rd

• Woodlark – One reported from Tresco on the 18^th.

• Short-toed Lark – Recorded on 22 days, involving 2-3 birds.

• Richard’s Pipit – Recorded on 16 days, involving between 4 and 6 birds.

• Olive-backed Pipit – One was found on St.Agnes on the 15^th and was seen there until the 17^th. One was reported flying over the Penninis allotments on the 21^st.

• Red-throated Pipit – One was on Little Porth beach on the 22^nd to the month’s end.

• Bluethroat – Three birds were recorded, one on St.Martin’s on the 13^th, one on St.Agnes on 18^th and one on St.Mary’s on 21^st.

• Pied Wheatear – The first for Scilly was present on Porthcressa from the 14^th – 18^th.

• Barred Warbler – Recorded on 7 days, involving 3 individuals.

• Dartford Warbler – One present at McFarland’s Down on St.Marys from the 18^th – 22^nd.

• Subalpine Warbler – One showed very well at Porth Hellick on the 19^th to the month’s end.

• Cetti’s Warbler – One frequented St.Mary’s from the 9^th to the month’s end.

• Marsh Warbler - One was on St.Agnes in the fruit cage on the 6^th – 8^th.

• Paddyfield Warbler – One was in and around the Buzza allotments on the 13^th and 14^th.

• Booted Warbler – One was on Tresco on the 17^th – 19^th.

• Melodious Warbler – One was on St.Martin’s on the 12^th-15^th with others being reported from Lower Moors and Carn Gwaval on the 14^th.

• Dusky Warbler – One was on Bryher on the 14^th.

• Raddes Warbler – Two birds were reported, one on Lower Moors, St.Mary’s and one on Pool Road, Tresco. Both on the 19^th.

• Yellow-browed Warbler – Recorded on 29 days, involving up to 16 individuals.

• Red-breased flycatcher – Recorded on 16 days, involving up to 14 individuals.

• Red-backed Shrike – Recorded on 23 days involving 8 individuals.

• Magpie – Seen on all the islands during October.

• Rose-coloured Starling – One on Bryher, around the dump from the 2^nd to the month’s end. One reported on St.Martin’s on the 3^rd.

• Hawfinch – One was at Pelistry on the 21^st to the 22^nd.

• Rose-breasted Grosbeak – One on St.Martin’s on the 13^th and14^th.

• Common Rosefinch – Recorded on 9 days, involving 5 individuals.

• Little Bunting – One was on St.Mary’s on 5^th – 12^th. One was on Tresco on the 15^th.

• Ortolan Bunting – One was reported from Gugh on 3^rd.

• Yellow-breasted Bunting - One was resident on St.Agnes on 5^th – 10^th.

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