top of page

On the 30th September:

1975

Overnight on St. Mary's, in the morning, just after dawn, we were on the Garrison looking at a warbler silhouetted as it darted through the pines, keeping mainly to the outer branches. When it came closer into the early morning sunlight we saw an amazingly black and white striped bird, a Black-and-white Warbler.

Later, we went to Peninnis Headland where we saw 2 immature Short-toed Larks and a female Lapland Bunting,

3 new birds in a morning.

We left St. Mary's on the Scillonian for Penzance, during the crossing there were lots of Gannets, a few Kittiwakes, 3 Great Skuas, 2 Grey Phalaropes, a Sooty Shearwater and a distant large shearwater.

Black-and-white Warbler, LAT 03, St Mary
Black-and-white Warbler, LAT.jpg
Black-and-white Warbler 02b, St Mary's,
Black-and-white Warbler 04b, St Mary's,
Black-and-white Warbler 03b, St Mary's,
Black-and-white Warbler, LAT 01, St Mary

Black-and-white Warbler, illustrations by Laurel Tucker.

1978

A visit to Chew Valley Lake where there were fewer waders, but we still saw a Ringed Plover, 2 Green Sandpipers and 3 Spotted Redshank, also 2 Black Terns and a Red-crested Pochard. Later at Cheddar Reservoir we saw a Grey Phalarope.

1979

Today, we caught the early boat from St. Agnes to St. Mary's, passing Porthcressa Beach we saw 12 Sanderling and 7 Turnstone. We made our way to Holy Vale to look for the Thrush Nightingale but after a long search, gave up, then we went to Old Town to try for a Woodchat Shrike, but we didn't see that either. We did see a Tree Pipit, a Spotted Flycatcher and a Whinchat.

We returned to St. Agnes where we saw another Whinchat, a Stonechat, 3 Redstarts and an Ortolan Bunting.

1984

A drive to Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, where there was a 1st winter Cream-coloured Courser, a new British bird. The bird was seen by the side of a ploughed field, keeping to the grassy edge, at a distance of about 25 yards.

2003

A visit to Northwick Warth where there was a Buff-breasted Sandpiper, also seen were c100 Turnstone, c40 Curlew, 6 Redshank, c60 Teal and lots of Meadow Pipits and Skylarks.

2006

A visit to Northwick Warth seeing a male and female Ruff and other waders.

Next

Page.

bottom of page