Isles of Scilly 2019

On a crazy whim, we decided it was high time we ventured down to the Isles of Scilly in the autumn. I hadn't visited this wonderful archipelago, hanging some 26 miles off Land's End, Cornwall, since 1993 and my better half had not been at all, so we booked up for a week and set out to enjoy a few days of what ever the weather provided. The drive down from Norfolk takes time, but we were able to enjoy a quick look at Land's End in the late afternoon, before overnighting locally and arriving on the main island of St Mary's the following day. 

With our wide interest in natural history, we knew there would be plenty to do, even if bird migration failed to produce the goods - and bird migration is really what Scilly is all about in the autumn. As it turned out, we hit things pretty nicely, with a good mix of very rare birds around, plus a fair share of regular migrants to keep us occupied. Rare visitors that had been blown off course from North America included Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Red-eyed Vireo, White-rumped Sandpiper and Blue-winged Teal - a lovely cluster of New World species! Other highlights in the bird line included two Pink-footed Geese (a long way from wintering in Norfolk!), Eurasian Spoonbill, Spotted Crake, Wryneck, Common Raven, Greater Short-toed Lark, Blue Rock Thrush, a good number of Yellow-browed Warblers and a very confiding Snow Bunting.

A combination of British autumnal weather, bird behaviour and human behaviour often makes bird photography difficult on Scilly, so I didn't take much in the way of bird photos, but you'll find a couple of videos of the remarkably confiding Blue-winged Teal and Spotted Crake on my Facebook page.

Eurasian Wrynecks are the weirdest of woodpeckers. Cryptically coloured and easily passed off as a piece of wood, this bird looks perfectly at home on the arm of a bench on Peninnis Head.

As we left the house in Hugh Town, St Mary's one morning, this Rock Pipit was mooching around in the road right outside the front door!

Several White Wagtails were feeding on the roof of a building in Holy Vale. This is the continental counterpart of our Pied Wagtail and both forms can sometimes be found breeding on the Isles of Scilly.

One of the very much lost, waif and strays on the islands during our stay. This Red-eyed Vireo would have been making its first trip to Central or South America for the winter when adverse weather swept it across the Atlantic Ocean.