Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly - 20th - 29th October

Sarah, Tobias and I booked a return trip to the Isles of Scilly when we were there in August earlier this year. We decided to stop off at Exeter and Salcombe en-route to Trowan as we had not visited these locations previously. I didn't really do any birding on 20th and 21st but on 22nd a short stop at Copperhouse Creek, as a diversion to shopping, on the afternoon of 22nd produced a long staying Lesser Yellowlegs. 

On 23rd I was up at 06:30 and after tea and coffee I headed to Porthgwarra. Arriving more or less in the dark at 07:45 I started with a seawatch on the headland until around 09:15 and then worked the trees and scrub at the head of the valley. During the seawatch highlights included at least 80 Great Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Pomarine Skua and Arctic Skua but birds were very distant. There was very little to be seen in the bushes. My eBird checklist can be viewed here. We then walked into St. Ives and had a relaxed afternoon where an Osprey in off the sea at lunchtime being a highlight. 

My thoughts over the last few days had turned to a Blackburnian Warbler found on Bryher on 13th October and it was with a great deal of relief that on the day before we flew to the islands the bird was still present, so on the 24th the main quest on the day of arrival was to head to Bryher as quickly as possible after we arrived. We were up at 06:30 and by 08:30 we were at St. Just airport for our 09:35 flight to St Mary's landing at 09:55 after a bumpy flight in the strong SW winds. We checked into the Star Castle hotel and wandered around the Garrison waiting for the 12:15 boat to Bryher, there was no news of the bird as the 12:15 was the first boat across so we were on tender hooks. We boarded the boat and were soon making our way across to the west side of Bryher and to Popplestone Fields to the north of Great Pool. After a short search we were soon enjoying great views of this stunning bird as it fed in the Pittisporum hedges. Happy with our views we had lunch in the Hell Bay Hotel before heading out onto Gweal Hill and then back east to Church Quay for the 17:15 boat back to St Mary's. My eBird checklist for Bryher can be seen here.

Blackburnian Warbler- Bryher, Isles of Scilly

On the 24th I was up before breakfast and birded the pines on the Garrison beside the football pitch, past the tennis course and through the campsite before doubling back, I saw little but for a Black Redstart, eBird checklist here. After breakfast a Red-rumped Swallow showed just below the Star Castle before we were dropped at Higher Moors and walked out to Porth Hellick stopping at the Sussex Hide for a long staying Wilson's Snipe. The heavy rain forecast for the afternoon began to set in at around midday and we made our way through Holy Vale, out to Watermill, past Newford Duck Pond and at Telegraph dropped down to the coast to the south of Bant's Carn. By now the wind was strong and the rain torrential and we walked as fast as we could back south to Juliet's Cafe for lunch at around 14:00. After lunch we did a short walk through Lower Moors to Old Town in heavy rain and strong winds before retreating to the Atlantic for the late part of the afternoon. My eBird checklist can be seen here.

Wilson's Snipe - Porth Hellick, St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly

On the 25th, after breakfast we took the 10:15 boat to Tresco where we walked from the southern quay along the west coast of the island diverting inland at the Great Pool for an Olive-backed Pipit. We then headed north along the west coast to Cromwells Castle before cutting back inland for lunch at the Ruin Beach in Old Grimsby. The birding was very slow and we saw little. We then headed back to New Grimsby for the 15:30 boat back to St. Mary's. The late afternoon and evening was spent relaxing. My eBird checklist can be seen here.

Olive-backed Pipit - Great Pool, Tresco, Isles of Scilly

On the 26th we hired golf buggies and spent time in the north of St Mary's in areas we do not explore often. After collecting our buggie at 10:30 we headed to the north-east and parked along the track to Deep Point. We walked a loop around Deep Point where a Yellow-browed Warbler was calling vigorously and showed briefly, then around Mount Todden and back along Pelistry Lane and Carn Vean looking for an American Buff-bellied Pipit but failed to see it. We then headed to Telegraph where we walked a short loop around Bants Carn but saw little. After lunch at Juliet's we headed to Trenoweth and walked a loop eastwards via Watermill and down Watermill Lane to Newford Pond and then back to Trenoweth again there was little to be seen. We drove around a little and then dropped the buggie off before heading to the Atlantic for a late afternoon bevvie. My ebird checklist can be seen here.

On 28th we were up at around 08:00, had breakfast and then packed our bags ready for the journey back to Cornwall. We wandered through Hugh Town and after a little shopping headed up towards the hospital, along Peninnis Lane and out onto the headland. We then wandered back north and into Old Town Bay where, after a little rockpooling we were collected and taken to the airport for our 13:50 flight back to St Just arriving at 14:10. We then headed back to the cottage at Trowan for a relaxed afternoon. On 29th we packed and headed back to Hampshire.

Shetland - 4th and 5th October

It was my final full day on Shetland and I awoke to a dreary day with rain and a north-east wind. After a brief scan too sea at Scord I headed to Sumburgh Head and birded the farm area. Numbers of migrants had dropped off considerably from yesterday with a substantial fall in Blackcap, Goldcrest and Robin numbers. Barnacle Goose flocks were heading south and a large flock of around 175 birds roamed the Fitfull Head and Sumburgh area, a single albino amongst their ranks. The Little Bunting from yesterday was still around the farm but was rather flighty. The Great Grey Shrike was still in the boulder field at Grutness and showed a little better than yesterday's rather fleeting view. My eBird lists can be viewed here and here.

Barnacle Goose flock over Fitfull Head - Sumburgh, Mainland Shetland

Great Grey Shrike - Grutness, Sumburgh, Mainland Shetland

I then headed a short way north to Toab where a 1st winter Bluethroat showed occasionally but a little distantly in a potato field near to the post office. Also in this field were four Brambling and a Siskin. My eBird checklist can be viewed here.

Bluethroat - Toab, Sumburgh, Mainland Shetland

I then headed a short way north again to North Town close to Exnaboe. Here a lovely Red-breasted Flycatcher showed well in a garden, calling frequently and occasionally being chased by Robin's. My eBird checklist can be videwed here.

Red-backed Shrike - North Town, Exnaboe, Mainland Shetland

With little else being in the south of the mainland I headed up to Asta, just to the west of Lerwick for an Olive-backed Pipit that had been showing well in the Sycamore's around the village. This is a superb area that I had not visited before but am sure to head back to. After a little searching I located the pipit feeding in the leaf litter below the Sycamore's and spent a ten minutes with the bird before it flew, seemingly a short way south, and could not be relocated. My eBird checklist can be viewed here.

Olive-backed Pipit - Asta, Mainland Shetland

Olive-backed Pipit - Asta, Mainland Shetland

Olive-backed Pipit - Asta, Mainland Shetland

I then headed back south with the intention of doing some general birding but decided to call in on the Red-backed Shrike at Boddam which eventually showed fairly well as the rain began to fall. I wandered to the derelict cottage at the summit of the hill north of Boddam and in the garden here were a Blue Tit (scarce on Shetland), Yellow-browed Warbler and an Olive-backed Pipit. My eBird checklist can be viewed here.

Red-backed Shrike - Boddam, Mainland Shetland

I then birded Leebitten and Sandwick but saw relatively little, the highlights being two Red-throated Diver and six Swallow at Sandwick. My eBird checklists can be viewed here and here.

On my final day I only had an hour or so before needing to get my 10:10 flight back to London. I birded Grutness and saw relatively little, the Great Grey Shrike was still present and I had good views of a lovely male Siskin. And that was it, time to head back to Hampshire after a fantastic trip to Shetland. My final eBird checklist can be viewed here.

Siskin- Grutness, Sumburgh, Mainland Shetland

South-east China - 24th April (Day 4)

We were up at 05:00 and after packing our bags commenced the short drive to the Dongtai sandflats area for our final birding session at this superb site. After breakfast of bread, bananas and sweet coffee we walked the kilometre or so across the sandflats to the waters edge. The main goal was to try to improve on our views of Spoon-billed Sandpiper. At the waters edge we walked southwards closely following the waters edge and scanning the vast flocks of superb summer plumaged Red-necked Stint as they busily fed on unseen morsels. Close investigation of the sand surface revealed many tidy polychaete worm trails, molluscs and crustaceans which fuel the birds on their north bound journey and make this site of major importance. Amongst the stint were lesser numbers of Greater Sandplover, Lesser Sandplover, Great Knot, Red Knot, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, Dunlin and Curlew Sandpiper all resplendent in their summer finery and all with the same aim of feeding and moving northbound to the Siberian tundra to breed. Alas, after two hours of searching there was no sign of the Spoon-billed Sandpiper and we decided to head to the seawall scrub to search for passerine migrants. We worked our way westwards but the strong winds hampered our efforts and we saw relatively little, new species that we had not seen here yesterday were Oriental Reed-warbler, Chinese Grosbeak and Green-backed Flycatcher. On the lagoons were Pintail, Garganey and Shoveler as well as Eastern Spot-billed Duck, Black-faced Spoonbill and Saunder’s Gull.

Boarding the bus we headed one hour to the south to Yankou and the fabled Magic Wood which I had last visited on 9th November 2016. This rather unattractive area with bird park, modern hotels, golf courses, imposing wind turbines and littered with waste plastic and polystyrene makes one wonder why it is evidently such a popular spot for Chinese tourists. We birded the avenue of trees that is the Magic Wood seeing relatively little, the highlights being a cracking White’s Thrush, two Dusky Thrush, Silver-throated Tit, Yellow-browed Bunting and at least six Chinese Grosbeak. After a superb lunch of various Chinese dishes which included sweet and sour pork, liver in a black bean sauce, spicy cauliflower, sweet and sour aubergine and pork strips we began the five-hour drive south to Minjiang.

We arrived at Nanhui just as it was getting dark and birded the area around the hotel but it was probably a little late and we saw little but for a few common species such as Barn Swallow, Long-tailed Shrike, Dusky Warbler and Crested Myna.

Mixed flock of Red Knot, Great Knot, Bar-tailed Godwit and Grey Plover - Dongtai, Yancheng

Mixed flock of Red Knot, Great Knot and Bar-tailed Godwit - Dongtai, Yancheng

Lesser Black-backed Gull of subspecies heuglini - Dongtai, Yancheng

Lesser Black-backed Gull of subspecies heuglini - Dongtai, Yancheng

Red-necked Stint - Dongtai, Yancheng

Red-necked Stint - Dongtai, Yancheng

Gull-billed Tern - Dongtai, Yancheng

Olive-backed Pipit - Dongtai, Yancheng

Saunder's Gull - Dongtai, Yancheng

Saunder's Gull - Dongtai, Yancheng

Female Green-backed Flycatcher - Dongtai, Yancheng

Birding the Magic Wood, Yankhou

Landscape just outside the Magic Wood, Yankhou

Links to Other Days of the Trip (Click to View)
Day 1 and 2 – International flight and Dongtai.
Day 3 - Dongtai.
Day 5 - Nanhui then fly to Fuzhou.
Day 6 - Shanutan Island and Fuzhou Forest Park.
Day 7 - Fuzhou Forest Park then Emeifeng Mountain.
Day 8 - Emeifeng Mountain.
Day 9 - Emeifeng Mountain.
Day 10 - Emeifeng Mountain then Wuyuan.
Day 11 - Wuyuan.
Day 12 – Drive Wuyuan to Dongzhai.
Day 13 - Dongzhai.
Day 14 – Dongzhai then fly Wuhan to Korlor.
Day 15 – Taklamakan Desert.
Day 16 – Taklamakan Desert then Urumqi.
Day 17 and 18 – Nanshan in the Tien Shan Mountains then fly Beijing. International flight.

Mongolia - 22nd and 23rd May (Day 15 and 16) - Gachuurt and International Flight

It was a bitterly cold night in the tent last night and it was somewhat of a relief to awake and stand in the sun at the camp site at Gachurt. It then dawned on me that it was to be another morning in the somewhat sterile pine forest looking for Siberian jay, a bird I had already seen in Finland. I considered simply birding from the campsite and a walk up the hill but as the entire team were heading up to the forest I didn't want to miss out. So, after a quick coffee and some bread we headed back up the hill and into the forest. We saw very little all morning, the highlight was another Nutcracker which may well have been the same bird as yesterday - it was only around 100m away from that sighting. We also saw Olive-backed Pipit now on territory, 10 Crossbill, Willow Tit, Yellow-browed Warbler and Hawfinch. Still, it was a beautiful day and the forest was beautiful and we got distracted by a diversity of butterflies and my first ever Argent and Sable moth, a localised species in the UK which I had not seen previously. On the descent back to the camp site a male Pine Bunting showed well beside the track.

Nutcracker - Gachuurt

Yellow-browed Warbler - Gachuurt

Olive-backed Pipit - Gachuurt

Siberian Chipmunk - Gachuurt

Willow Tit - Gachuurt

Willow Tit - Gachuurt

Hawfinch - Gachuurt

A species of Skipper - Gachuurt 

A species of White - Gachuurt 

A species of Clouded Yellow - Gachuurt 

A species of Clouded Yellow - Gachuurt 

A species of Blue - Gachuurt 

A species of Fritillary - Gachuurt

Our final campsite at Gachuurt

Forest at Gachuurt

Left to right Jon, Marc, myself, Barry, Duncan, Richard and Lorand

Gentian at Gachuurt

Argent and Sable - Gachuurt

A species of Skipper - Gachuurt

Pine Bunting - Gachuurt

 Pine Bunting - Gachuurt

Heading for our hotel at around 13:30 we made a stop on the meandering Tuul River where the highlights were approximately six White-crowned Penduline-tit and further views of Azure Tit and a skulking pair of Long-tailed Rosefinch. This was to be your final birding and as we skirted the southern outskirts of Ulaanbaatar my thoughts turned to the flight home and seeing Sarah and Tobias. We passed the airport and then turned off road for one last time bumping along a dusty track and via a lagoon which held Demoiselle Crane, White-winged Black Tern, Ruddy Shelduck and Goldeneye. A flock of 12 Azure-winged Magpie showed in scrub adjacent to the river and then we headed for the hotel. Having checked in at the comfortable Mongolica Hotel I dumped my bags and went for a short walk around the hotel grounds seeing Dusky Warbler, Arctic Warbler and Amur Falcon.

The Tuul River south of Ulaanbaatar

White-crowned Penduline-tit - Tuul River, Ulaanbaatar

White-crowned Penduline-tit - Tuul River

White-crowned Penduline-tit - Tuul River

Long-tailed Rosefinch - Tuul River

Ulaanbaatar Power Station

Arctic Warbler - Mongolica Hotel

Dusky Warbler - Mongolica Hotel

Dinner was held in a private dining room with Tumen, Oyunna the support team and us. Jon was noticeably late and after checking his room it was apparent that he had dumped his bags and gone out but had not returned. A search team was sent out and soon returned with a dishevelled looking Jon, it turns out he had left the hotel grounds and got lost in the scrub along the river. We enjoyed a tasty meal and copious amounts of Vodka. I crashed at around 11:00.

I awoke fairly late on 23rd and decided to skip breakfast, packed my bags and we were picked from the hotel at 07:30 for our transfer to the Chinggis Khaan International Airport for a 11:05 departure to Istanbul. We departed late at around 13:05 landing at 18:15. Our onward flight to London Heathrow left at 18:35 but the Turkish Airline staff assured us that it would wait - off course it didn't and as we departed the plane it was clear we had missed our onward flight. Fortunately we were quickly rescheduled and were put on the 20:20 flight which landed at Heathrow at 22:30. After saying our goodbys I was on the road and home by 01:30 after being diverted half way around Surrey due to a closed M3.

It had been a great trip, Mongolia is a fantastic country and the birding was great, only 10 ticks but some fantastic species and a good range of eastern species which occur as rare vagrants in the UK. Tumen, Oyunna and the support team did a fantastic job of organising and running the trip and I would definitely recommend them if one is contemplating a trip to Mongolia.

Trip List
Total of 222 species with 10 ticks (shown in bold). World-list now 6,208 (HBW Alive taxonomy).

Altai Snowcock
Chukar
Hazel Grouse
Black-billed Capercaillie
Mute Swan
Whooper Swan
Bar-headed Goose
Greylag Goose
Swan Goose
Siberian Scoter
Common Goldeneye
Smew
Goosander
Common Shelduck
Ruddy Shelduck
Mandarin Duck
Red-crested Pochard
Common Pochard
Tufted Duck
Garganey
Northern Shoveler
Gadwall
Eurasian Wigeon
Chinese Spot-billed Duck
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Common Teal
Great Crested Grebe
Horned Grebe
Black-necked Grebe
Rock Dove
Hill Pigeon
Oriental Turtle-dove
Eurasian Collared-dove
Laughing Dove
Pallas's Sandgrouse
Pacific Swift
Common Swift
Common Cuckoo
Eastern Water Rail
Baillon's Crake
Common Moorhen
Common Coot
White-naped Crane
Demoiselle Crane
Common Crane
Black Stork
Eurasian Spoonbill
Eurasian Bittern
Chinese Pond-heron
Grey Heron
Great White Egret
Pied Avocet
Black-winged Stilt
Pacific Golden Plover
Little Ringed Plover
Kentish Plover
Greater Sandplover
Oriental Plover
Northern Lapwing
Whimbrel
Black-tailed Godwit
Ruff
Curlew Sandpiper
Temminck's Stint
Long-toed Stint
Sanderling
Little Stint
Asian Dowitcher
Eurasian Woodcock
Swinhoe's Snipe
Common Snipe
Terek Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper
Green Sandpiper
Common Greenshank
Common Redshank
Wood Sandpiper
Marsh Sandpiper
Black-headed Gull
Brown-headed Gull
Pallas's Gull
Relict Gull
Arctic Herring Gull
Common Gull-billed Tern
Caspian Tern
Whiskered Tern
White-winged Tern
Common Tern
Little Owl
Northern Long-eared Owl
Ural Owl
Eurasian Eagle-owl
Osprey
Bearded Vulture
Himalayan Griffon
Cinereous Vulture
Greater Spotted Eagle
Steppe Eagle
Golden Eagle
Booted Eagle
Western Marsh-harrier
Eastern Marsh-harrier
Hen Harrier
Japanese Sparrowhawk
Eurasian Sparrowhawk
Northern Goshawk
Black Kite
Upland Buzzard
Eastern Buzzard
Common Hoopoe
Eurasian Wryneck
Grey-faced Woodpecker
Three-toed Woodpecker
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Lesser Kestrel
Common Kestrel
Amur Falcon
Eurasian Hobby
Saker Falcon
Brown Shrike
Isabelline Shrike
Chinese Grey Shrike
Great Grey Shrike
Red-billed Chough
Asian Azure-winged Magpie
Eurasian Jay
Mongolian Ground-jay
Eurasian Magpie
Northern Nutcracker
Daurian Jackdaw
Rook
Common Raven
Carrion Crow
Coal Tit
Willow Tit
Siberian Tit
Azure Tit
White-crowned Penduline-tit
Lesser Short-toed Lark
Mongolian Lark
Horned Lark
Eurasian Skylark
Crested Lark
Eurasian Reed-warbler
Northern House Martin
Barn Swallow
Eurasian Crag Martin
Pale Sand Martin
Yellow-browed Warbler
Hume’s Leaf-warbler
Pallas’s Leaf-warbler
Dusky Warbler
Siberian Chiffchaff
Arctic Warbler
Asian Desert Warbler
Lesser Whitethroat
Bearded Reedling
Eurasian Treecreeper
Eurasian Nuthatch
Wallcreeper
Common Starling
White-cheeked Starling
White’s Thrush
Eyebrowed Thrush
Naumann’s Thrush
Dusky Thrush
Red-throated Thrush
Asian Brown Flycatcher
Siberian Blue Robin
Siberian Rubythroat
Orange-flanked Bush-robin
Red-throated Flycatcher
Black Redstart
Common Redstart
Daurian Redstart
Guldenstats Redstart
Rufous-tailed Rock-thrush
Common Stonechat
Northern Wheatear
Isabelline Wheatear
Desert Wheatear
Pied Wheatear
Brown Accentor
Mongolian Accentor
Saxaul Sparrow
House Sparrow
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
Rock Sparrow
White-winged Snowfinch
Small Snowfinch
Tree Pipit
Olive-backed Pipit
Red-throated Pipit
Water Pipit
Richard’s Pipit
Blyth’s Pipit
Grey Wagtail
Citrine Wagtail
Eastern Yellow Wagtail
White Wagtail
Brambling
Hawfinch
Chinese Grosbeak
Common Rosefinch
Beautiful Rosefinch
Long-tailed Rosefinch
Mongolian Finch
Twite
Redpoll
Red Crossbill
Two-barred Crossbill
Eurasian Siskin
Lapland Longspur
Meadow Bunting
Godlewski’s Bunting
Pine Bunting
Pallas’s Bunting
Yellow-breasted Bunting
Little Bunting
Black-faced Bunting

Links to Other Days of the Trip (Click to View)
Day 1 and 2 – International flight then Ulaanbaatar to Mungum Sum
Day 3 -  Mungunmorit and Gachuurt area
Day 4 - Drive to Dalanzadgad
Day 5  – Gurvan Saikhan National Park
Day 6 - Gurvan Saikhan National Park
Day 7 - Gobi Desert and Khongor Sand Dunes
Day 8 – Gobi Desert to Bogd
Day 9 - Baga Bogd Mountain and Kholboolj Lake
Day 10 - Kholboolj Lake and Barig Mountain
Day 11 - Barig Mountain and Sangiin Lake
Day 12 (Part 1) - Sangiin Lake and Bayan Lake
Day 12 (Part 2) - Sangiin Lake and Bayan Lake
Day 13 - Hustai National Park and Terelj National Park
Day 14 - Terelj National Park and Gachuurt Area