Keyhaven and Pennington Marsh 5th October

Its been two weeks since I was at the patch and with a free morning I was up at 06:00 and heading for a stroll on the marshes. The first noticeable frost of the winter had settled and it was a beautiful sunny dawn, the mist lingered over the grazing marsh and I stopped for a coffee on the Lower Pennington Lane corner to enjoy the view and take some snaps:

Dawn over Pennington Marshes

I then strolled along the lane and down the Ancient Highway spending some time looking over Efford Lagoon which while I have been away has been landscaped and partly planted. Its looking good. There was a small gathering of gulls including 35 Black-headed Gull, an adult Common Gull, a single 1st winter Great Black-backed Gull and six Herring Gull. There was an abundance of 'Alba' Wagtails with around 40 birds on the bare soils beside the lagoon. Around 50 Wigeon and 10 Gadwall had gathered on the lagoon.

Common and Black-headed Gulls

First winter Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull and Pied Wagtail

I continued walking the Ancient Highway, there were good numbers of Chiffchaff in the hedgerows, probably around 15 in total, as well as a small increase in Goldcrest numbers with perhaps 10 birds. Across the marshes an occasional scan produced a scatter of Stonechat (5) and Dartford Warbler (3). Small numbers of Jay looked to be migrating with a movement of nine birds east.

Chiffchaff - Birds were in song today in the sunny conditions

Jay looked to be migrating in small numbers

I walked back west along the seawall constantly scanning the scrub and lagoons but it was remarkable quiet, its gone from feeling like summer to distinctly like October with the shifting of a long settled high pressure system to give way to Atlantic depressions. I recorded another three Dartford warbler, a couple of which were in song, a total of six Dartford's for the morning was a good count for the site. The tide was high and there were good numbers of waders on the lagoons and amongst them a single juvenile Little Stint on Fishtail Lagoon and a juvenile Curlew Sandpiper on Butts Lagoon. Numbers of wildfowl had increased with around 250 Wigeon, 300 Teal, 25 Pintail and at least 50 Brent Goose.

Reed Bunting - Fishtail Lagoon

Dunlin - Fishtail Lagoon

Little Stint - Fishtail Lagoon

Black-tailed Godwit - Fishtail Lagoon

All too soon had had to leave and do the sunday shopping, what a contrast being in a supermarket was to being on the marshes. Still, I needed some brownie points for my forthcoming week on Shetland and Fair Isle...

Isles of Scilly 24th-29th September 2014

Introduction
I have been visiting the Isles of Scilly since 1986 when I was a whippersnapper and a mere 15 years of age. I have been most years often on multiple visits in a year  and have visited in all months with the exception of February and November. I love the islands and classify them as perhaps my favourite destination. This was our second trip to the islands with Tobias, he first came when he was three months old in July 2013. I was quite looking forward to the holiday since now he is walking we could get to places inaccessible with a buggy and his slow pace is great for birding! So I had high hopes of finding a  mega, and with the recent easterlies I fancied an Asian species - I was not to optimistic, a Red-flanked Bluetail would be fine. As is now tradition, we stayed in the Star Castle, a far cry from some previous trips where I have been known to sleep in the ISBG hide on Lower Moors in my younger years. We caught the 16:10 flight from Lands End on the 24th September and chilled out that evening.

25th September
The day started early for me, it was my birthday, a mere 43 years old and as is tradition I try to be at a location where I am positioned to find, or at least see, a rare bird. The alarm went off at 06:00 but being a little further west than home I hadn't appreciated that it was completely dark outside at this time. So I had a coffee in the garden of our digs and watched the sunrise.

Sunrise on my Birthday looking towards the incinerator from Star Castle

My aim for the pre-breakfast birding was to head for Lower Moors for the Bluethroat that had been present since 23rd September and then head for the allotments at the hilt of Peninnis Head for the Barred Warbler and onwards to the head of Peninnis (excuse all the puns!!) for one of the two Wryneck. So I got to the hide at Lower Moors as it was getting light and positioned myself. It was then I realised that I didnt know where this bird would/could appear so a quick chat with Spider and he gave me precise directions, 'It usually appears to the right of the triangle stone and works its way along the edge of the reeds to the south corner of the pool before disappearing into the reeds for two hours'. Thanks Spider, okay, time to focus.

Map of St. Mary's

Nice views of a juvenile Ruff working its circuit around the pool, good views of Snipe, an obliging Kingfisher, a Sedge Warbler and a Grey Heron, that was it. I sat and waited, the sun was shining the hide was hot and my attention drifted. A twiddled with my camera and then looked up, whats that, a movement on the opposite side, probably just the Sedge Warbler again, I put my bins up and BOOM, a bird with a sparkling blue throat perched on a reed stem, that must be the Bluethroat then - it was 08:15. There it was in full view and it sat there for a full 10 seconds, I thought to myself, 'oh it shows well'. And then it flicked and dropped into the reeds and for the next five minutes or so it fed secretively along the reed edge often disappearing for a while before reappearing, and it then flicked and disappeared into the reeds and sedges to the south, I waited and waited, this was definitive, gone for two hours. If only I had grabbed my camera when it was on that reed stem! I glanced at my watch and it was 08:45, not time to head for Peninnis before breakfast, bugger, so I birded the willows back to the road and slowly birded back to the hotel via Porthmellon Beach seeing little en-route.

Ruff - Lower Moors

Snipe - Lower Moors

Grey Heron - Lower Moors

Kingfisher - Lower Moors

After a good breakfast we headed over to Tresco, I wanted to try my luck at finding a rare, and bar a couple of Curlew Sandpiper and a Little Stint there had been nothing reported from Tresco. I find Tresco a little commercial, perhaps even slightly pretentious, but it is a beautiful island and has a great track record for rares. Walking was slow with Tobias now that he is on his feet but that was fine by me, a good birding pace. We walked from the quay at Carn Near in the south of the island north-east via Oliver's Battery, cut across the helipad, and along Abbey Drive to New Grimsby before cutting to Old Grimsy for lunch. I saw incredibly little, 4 Goldcrest, 3 Ruff, 1 Blackcap, 2 Chiffchaff and around 20 Swallow and 1 Sand Martin - with the 25c temperatures and lack of migrants it felt like the summer. Anyway, lunch at The Ruin Beach Cafe was great, topped off with some birthday champagne!

Map of Tresco

Adult Swallow - Towns Hill, Tresco

Juvenile Swallow - Towns Hill, Tresco

After lunch we walked back south along Borough Road and then back along Pool Road, again it was incredibly quiet, 2 Whinchat at Vane Hill and 3 Wheatear. I had a reminisce about a Yellow-breasted Bunting on my Birthday in the fields at the south end of Borough Road on this day in 2000, a world tick for me then and still the only one that I have seen. We headed back to New Grimsby for our 15:45 ferry back to St.Mary's.

After landing back on St. Mary's I headed up to the allotments at Peninnis to have a look for the Barred Warbler and Wryneck, neither of which had been seen today. I spent around 1.5 hours looking but nothing, not a sniff, but around 15 Wheatear on Peninnis. That was it, back to the Star Castle for dinner and a small pub crawl in Hugh Town. On our return at 10:30 a Manx Shearwater was on the road outside the Star Castle, presumably dazzled by the lights of the hotel, so I captured it and released it away from the lights further along the Garrison.

26th September

Another early start and I birded the Garrison at first light walking through the campsite, down to Morning Point and back along Lower Brome Platform. It was slow going, 2 Wheatear, 2 Chiffchaff and little else of note. Back to the hotel for breakfast and then we headed out to wander St. Mary's, we walked back around the Garrison, through Hugh Town, up to Peninnis, down to Old Town, through Lower Moors and then for lunch at Juliets Cafe. Slow going again, 20 Wheatear on Peninnis, a Whitethroat at Lower Moors and around 5 Chiffchaff.

After lunch we wandered up to Telegraph and Watermill and back down the centre of the island. A Green Sandpiper on Newford Duck Pond got the heart going, its location and tame nature was far more Solitary Sandpiper than Green Sandpiper but it was not to be. Great views of a Green Sandpiper

Green Sandpiper - Newford Duck Pond

Green Sandpiper - Newford Duck Pond

Sarah and Tobias went back to the room to get ready for dinner and I had a quick wander back to the campsite to look for one of the three Yellow-browed Warblers that had been reported and almost immediately, as I approached the Tower Garden, was the distinctive 'swee-wee' of a Yellow-brow. I watched the bird feeding in the pines, birch and elms in the garden but the bird was always a little elusive for the camera - or rather too fast for my reactions! Fantastic little bird though and an amazing journey it must have undertaken to get to St. Mary's.

Yellow-browed Warbler - Tower Garden near to the campsite

27th September

Another early start and I again walked the Garrison, through the campsite and along Lower Brome Platform. Again it was relatively quiet, the Yellow-browed Warbler was present but a little more elusive and then as I walked th path through the centre of the campsite a pale spot caught my eye in the pines by the Woolpack accommodation block, a Red-breasted Flycatcher, billiant - a self found, always good.  I watched it for  while as it fed through the pines, again always a little elusive of the camera. There was little else around, much as was seen yesterday.

Red-breasted Flycatcher - Woolpack Accommodation Bloack

After breakfast we headed over to St. Agnes, one of my favourite islands. We did a loop of the island walking from the quay past Porth Killier around the Big Pool to Periglis Cove and then around Carnew Point via the campsite, past the Old Coastgaurd Cottages to Barnaby Lane via the Parsonage and around Wingletang Down and back to the Turks Head for lunch. 

Map of St. Agnes

Migrants were again in short supply with 5 Chiffchaff, a Curlew Sandpiper in Periglis Cove and a Pied Flycatcher and a Spotted Flycatcher in the Parsonage. The highlight came at lunchtime as a Richard's Pipit called loudly overhead and flew over Porth Conger heading to Gugh and then over Gugh heading towards Peninnis Head.

Rock Pipit - Browarth Point

Chiffchaff - Big Pool

Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin and Ringed Plover - Periglis Cove

Specled Wood of race insula found on the Isles of Scilly. It differences from the nominate race in the following ways;

• The upperside has better-developed orange markings, especially those surrounding the spots on the hindwing; 
• The underside of the forewing has orange, rather than cream, markings toward the centre; and
• The underside of the hindwing has a darker purplish-grey area at the margin, providing more contrast.

Stonechat - Porth Askin

Pied Flycatcher - The Parsonage

The Parsonage Garden

House Sparrow - The Turks Head

View from The Turks Head showing the bank of cloud of the morning shifting away to 

give a hot and sunny afternoon

After lunch we wandered back up to the Parsonage and back towards the great pool before catching the 15:45 ferry back to St. Mary's. I left Sarah and Tobias shopping in Hugh Town while I had another try for the Bluethroat. The pool at Lower Moors supported much the same as on 25th with the addition of a  Greenshank. After half an hour I had fleeting views of the Bluethroat once more. I managed two photographs, both can truly be defined as 'record shots'!

Bluethroat - Exceptional Record Shot from ISBG Hide on Lower Moors. You can just about imagine some blue!

On the way back to the hotel I had this Wheatear perched in a palm, it was an odd site, I felt I needed a beer.

Wheatear - Garrison Arch

28th September
Once again I was up early and birding the Garrison before breakfast. Not much to show for it though. After breakfast we headed for the boats and decided to go to Bryher. I have never been a fan of Bryher for some reason but Sarah loves it, I am not sure what it is about the island that I am not too fond of, not sure if its a couple of previous dips there or the rubbish dump which seems to be almost focal to the island. This time though I warmed to it, especially the south of the island around Sampson Hill and Heathy Hill.

Map of Bryher

However, it was still very slow going in the hot summer like conditions. Before lunch we walked from the quay past the Fraggle Rock, through the campsite and out to Popplestone Brow before cutting back to the Hell Bay Hotel for lunch. We saw hardly anything of note, 20 Meadow Pipits, 2 Chiffchaff, my first Willow Warbler of the trip and narrowly dipped a Rose-coloured Starling at the Vine Cafe - boring birds anyway!

Willow Warbler - Near to Fraggle Rock Cafe

Bryher from Timmy's Hill showing Great Pool and Great Popplestone

After lunch we walked south and around Heathy Hill and Sampson Hill seeing a couple of Wheatear, a Whinchat and the Hooded Crow that has been resident on the island since the early 'noughtys'. A pallid looking Chiffchaff at The Green got the pulse racing but it was noting more than a standard Chiff, perhaps with a little eastern blood. And that was that, back on the ferry and a quick bird around the Garrison which yielded a Yellow-browed Warbler and nothing else.

29th September

The final morning before our 11:11 flight back to Lands End and I was up early and wandering across the campsite towards the woolpack accommodation block. Very little around so at the Woolpack I decided to turn and head back for breakfast and to pack for the flight but then I caught a movement in the Pittisporum bushes flanking the Woolpack Battery, I raised my bins and there, clearly, was an Acrocephalus warbler, but where were the rufous tones of a Reed Warbler, and then it called 'tack, tack tack' BLOODY HELL!! It must be a Blyth's Reed Warbler, I had no more than 10 minutes before having to leave so I wapped off some photos, summoned a couple of birders and watched as much as I could. It came to the top of some Bracken, surely there would show rufous tones now it was in better light but no, this bird was grey/brown. The tertials looked plain, the wing looked short but something just didn't seem right for Blyth's, I checked my watch - damn it I had to go, 10 minutes on a bird that needed at least an hour. A quick breakfast and off to the airport for the flight to Lands End.

Acrocephalus at the Woolpack Accommodation Block

Acrocephalus on the Woolpack Accommodation Block

However, once home and reviewing my photographs I came across this next chance shot and believe that it clinches the identification. The photo shows Primary 3 (P3) being more or less equal to P2, P1 is minute and just visible in this shot so that P2 forms the leading edge of the wing (i.e. is the first obvious primary) and P3 is the next feather in. In Blyth's P2 is equal in length to P5 whereas in Reed P2 is equal to P3. This bird appears to show a formula most closely matching Reed Warbler. Darn it!!

Acrocephalus on the Woolpack Accommodation Block

After leaving Scilly, and on arriving at Lands End, we grabbed our bags and had to head for St. Ives for the doctors surgery, Tobias had fallen in a Bramble bush on Bryher (quite appropriate really) and had to have some thorns removed from the palms of his hand, poor lad! He was braver than I thought when faced with a Cornish nurse and a needle! We had a walk at Portgwarra in the late afternoon but we saw little, two Chough, a Chiiffchaff and two Porpoise off shore. Night at our cottage at Trowan.

30th September

Another early start and I birded Cot Valley but it was desperately slow, a Firecrest was the highlight plus two Chough. I didn't even hear a Chiffchaff. Then down to Marazion Marsh but very little, it was remarkably dry - I am not fond of Marazion at the best of times. We spent the afternoon relaxing in St. Ives.

1st October

Packed our bags and headed home. No eastern mega.

September 2014 Rarities

Introduction
This is my summary of what I consider to be the most exciting records from the UK in September 2014, this is not aimed at being a comprehensive account of all the rare's in the UK in this month, for such accounts see the Birdguides review of the week or the Rare Bird Alert weekly round-up. I am largely writing this as a personal record of UK records and sightings to aid my knowledge and feed my interest in UK bird records. I aim to publish the previous months records in the first week or so of the following month. The photographs that I used have been gleaned from the internet, I aim to provide the photographer with full credit and a link to their website or blog, if you see that one of yours has been used and you object to this then please email me and I will remove it immediately, alternatively if you would like to supply a better image or additional information or links then I will add. Contact me at simon@ecosa.co.uk

Weather
A summary of the weather for September 2014 can be found here.

September 2014
September is traditionally the month where migration picks up and the summer doldrums are truly behind, and so September 2014 proved to be an amazing snap out of a quite August into a mega month for rarities in the UK. The air flow was predominately from the east and thus the birds were dominated by eastern species with a sprinkle of American spice from the 25th onwards, once again Shetland stole the show.

After the early part of the month dropped excellent numbers of scarce drift migrants along the east coast the month really began (almost in its closing hours), in terms of megas, with a Masked Shrike found early on the 21st September along the hedgerow behind Rose Cottage, Kilnsea. The bird showed well at times until the months end. At first the identification of the bird proved a little daunting until the oddities of the pallid plumage tones, dark rump and white primary flash clicked into place. This is the third British record, assuming its acceptance in Britain with the first being at Kilreny, Fife from 29th October to 14th November 2004 and the second being a one day bird on St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly on 1st November 2006.

Masked Shrike - Steve Gantlett. More of Steve's fantastic images, mainly from his home area of Norfolk can be seen on his website here

There was a great record on 21st September of a Fea's Petrel tracked as it flew north along the north-east coast from Flamborough Head, east Yorkshire at 08:15 to Holy Island, Northumberland at 18:15 being seen from at least 16 sea watching sites during this period. An account and images can be seen on the Farne Islands blog here.

After a rather prolonged spell of easterlies eventually the first of the major autumn depressions tracking across the Atlantic began to deposit their first Nearctic species on the northern islands from the 25th September onwards (see synoptic chart below).

Atlantic depressions reached the northern islands on 25th September depositing the first Nearctic passerines of the Autumn - more to come in October!

After these depressions Shetland became a place where east truly met the west with a mind blowing array of rarities. From the west came:

• Red-eyed Vireo - 25th September at Sumburgh, Mainland
• Swainson's Thrush - 28th September at Norwick, Unst
• Yellow-rumped Warbler - 29-30th September at Pool of Virkie, Mainland

While, amongst the more regular eastern scarcities from the east there were the following rarer species:

• Paddyfield Warbler - Whalsay on 1st, Fair Isle on 5th
• Pallid Harrier - Fair Isle on 8th-17th, Foula on 17th-20th, Mainland 18th-21st
• Red-flanked Bluetail - Sumburgh, Mainland on 19th
• Great Reed Warbler - Bressay on 20th
• Eastern Subalpine Warbler - Unst on 22nd-29th 
• Pechora Pipit - 22nd-25th on Unst
• Blyth's Reed Warbler - 22nd on Fetlar
• Lanceolated Warbler - 22nd on Fair Isle
• Great Snipe - Foula on 24th-27th
• Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll - 26th-28th on Mainland
• White's Thrush - 29th-30th on Mainland
• Arctic Warbler - Multiple records
• Citrine Wagtail - Multiple records
• Rustic Bunting - Multiple records
• Olive-backed Pipit - Multiple records

Birders based on Shetland must have had a fantastic time with perhaps the most stunning and sought after species being the White's Thrush which showed very well at Loch of Brow, some amazing images and videos appeared on the internet. Check out this mega video on Youtube.

White's Thrush - What a fantastic bird! And a stunning shot by Steve Minton aka the 'Shetland Misfit'. See more of Steves fabulous images on his Shetland Misfit blog here

Late September also produced other American passerines including Ovenbird present briefly on 27th at Mizen Head, County Cork and Red-eyed Vireo present on 27th at Loop Head, County Clare and 27th-29th at Firkeel, County Cork.

Finally, a superb male Eyebrowed Thrush was present on North Ronaldsay, Orkney on 30th September. Unfortunately this was just a one day bird, and a species that has been very difficult to get to grips with in the UK which surely would have been widely twitched if it had lingered. Up to the end of 2012 there had been 20 records of Eyebrowed Thrush in the British Isles, these are fairly widely scattered with the Isles of Scilly and having had three records while Shetland has three. This spread is perhaps surpassing given the species eastern origins. The peak month for the species is October with a total of 15 record from this month up to the end of 2012. The last twitchable bird was as far back as 1993 when a 1st winter was present on St. Marys and Tresco, Isles of Scilly from 7th-14th October on St.Mary's, 15th-16th October on Tresco and again St. Mary's on 18th October. Of the 20 records 12 have been one day birds - a trend which many wish to see broken.

Male Eyebrowed Thrush by Mark Warren, Assistant Warden at North Ronaldsay Bird Observatory. An account of the find can be read on the North Ronaldsay Bird Observatory blog here.

And so, after a stunning close to September the peak weeks for rares are upon us, what will the winds bring…….

Previous Monthly Accounts Can be viewed here:

• August 2014
• July 2014
• June 2014

Keyhaven and Pennington Marsh 21st September

I was itching to get back to the patch yesterday but commitments prevented it so it was a bit gutting to hear the news of a Semipalmated Sandpiper and Richard's Pipit found at Keyhaven Lagoon so on the sunday an early start was made to see if I could catch up with these birds and to catch up on the birds at the patch. The weather was distinctly fresher than of late with a brisk north-easterly wind and a clear sky giving lovely bright conditions.

I parked on the corner at Lower Pennington Lane and walked west. There were thousands of hirundines, mainly House Martin, feeding over the fields inland from the corner and while there seemed to be a steady easterly movement of birds this didn't amount to a huge number of birds, perhaps a few thousand, maybe up to 10,000, through during my time I was on site. This movement in hirundines seemed to be reflected a little by Chiffichaff and as  walked the Ancient Highway westwards I had at least 15 birds moving in a definite 'viz mig' manner eastwards alone the hedgerow lining the track.

The work during the summer landscaping Efford Lagoon has created extensive bare areas around its margins and this is currently favoured feeding area for pipits and wagtails, today there were approximately 50 Meadow Pipit and 25 Alba Wagtails present, many of the Alba Wagtails appeared to be White Wagtail. Otherwise the Ancient Highway appeared fairly slow with a total of three Yellow Wagtail and two Whitethroat being the only birds of note other than the hirundines and Meadow Pipits moving overhead. 

White Wagtail feeding around Efford Lagoon

Chiffchaff - I recorded at least 15 birds moving east along the Ancient Highway

At Keyhaven Lake there was a single Sandwich Tern and in the scrub inland from the lake there were five Chiffchaff and a single Whitethroat. There were around 60 Turnstone roosting on the boats on the lake, they seem to favour the RIBS presumably as the rubber surface offers better grip than the fibreglass of the numerous yachts. They certainly make a mess of the boats!

Turnstone roosting on a RIB at Keyhaven Lake.

I eventually got to Keyhaven Lake and there were around 30 birders present scanning the lagoon. I bumped into Tim Parmister and he informed me that the Semipalmated Sandpiper had not been seen but that the Richard's Pipit had been showing on and off. So I set-up my scope and began scanning. There were a lot of birds on the lagoon with perhaps 250 Dunlin, 45 Ringed Plover, three Little Stint, 50 Grey Plover, 25 Knot, 75 Teal, 50 Wigeon and my first Brent Goose of the winter. At least three Wheatear were also present on the mud around the lagoon. I scanned the back edge of the lagoon in the hope of picking up the Richard's Pipit and after a while there it was, perched on a clod of mud along the edge of the sedges and grasses. After putting a few of the assembled birders onto it I tried to get a few digiscoped shots but it was a little distant and there was considerable camera shake from the wind.

Brent Goose - My first of the winter

Grey Plover and Knot - Good numbers on Keyhaven Lagoon today

Richard's Pipit - Very distant digiscoped shot taken in considerable wind. 

After an hour or so I wandered on and had a quick look on Fishtail Lagoon for the Semip. but no luck, there were a handful of Teal and Wigeon plus approximately 75 Black-tailed Godwit. Three Spotted Redshank were feeding in unison along the back of the lagoon, I am not sure there are many other waders other than Avocet that feed in unity like this. It was time to head back so I walked the scrub along the back of Butts Lagoon and then past the dry Shoveler Pools back to the car.

 Wigeon - A lovely chestnut male in eclipse plumage on Fishtail Lagoon

Spotted Redshank on Fishtail Lagoon