The imagery of Scilly walks

My long awaited inaugural visit to the Isles of Scilly Isles began on the 11th October ‘24’ with departure from the most easterly borough of Essex at 6 am. Ten hours later, we flew out of Lands End airport, the most westerly point of mainland U.K. bound for St Mary’s and within an hour of landing, I had my first life tick, an Isabelline Wheatear at Star Castle.




A few pints of ‘Tribute’ Cornish ale in the Atlantic Pub, finished the first day nicely. Day 2 started with climb up to the Island’s hospital and out towards Penninis Point where we found an obliging Short Toed Lark before picking up a distant Wryneck.


The flora of the islands was incredibly alien with varieties of succulents and conservatory plants growing happily in gardens.


 

Pressing on to Hugh Town harbour our ferry was waiting to St Agnes and the second lifer of the trip, an Olive backed pipit. Further exploration of the island turned up a Wryneck, before we decided to lunch at the Turk’s Head 



                       Wryneck 

Olive backed pipit


                           Rock pipit

Song thrush





      The Bar Beach, St Agnes looking across to Gugh

Returning to St Mary’s we wandered down to the ISBG hide where we were treated to views of a Common and Jack Snipe …too close! So close it wasn’t possible to get a photo. The day finished with a meal and beer at the Atlantic …that Tribute sure went down well!

Day 3 started with a wander up to see the Short toed lark again, taking in a Grey wagtail on route and venturing back to the ISBG Hide to see the Wilson’s Snipe. 
      Greenshank at Old Town Bay


      Short toed lark

     Continental Blackbird (note the black beak)

     Wilson’s Snipe


     Greenfinch

Hugh Town harbour

Day 4 was our pelagic trip and quite a large swell at the beginning of the experience made photography quite impossible and caused a couple of the passengers to call for ‘Rolf’ and ‘Huey’ but worse was to come in the shape of the onboard loo (description available on application!). The swell eventually subsided somewhat in the Celtic Sea and I could capture some images of my 3 Shearwater lifers, plus a plethora of other species including Puffin, Yellow legged gull, Guillemot and Bonxies, not to mention a regular sighting of Common dolphins.
     Osprey and Raven on the approach to the Isles
                 Solitary  Spoonbill on the outlying rocks

     Yellow legged gull

     Yellow legged gull

     Corey’s Shearwater 

      Great shearwater 

      Sooty shearwater 

                  Great Shearwater 

     Bonxie or Great Skua

     Great Shearwater 

                   Bonxie

      Corey’s Shearwater 

      Northern Gannet
                                     (Copyright - Mick Rodwell)


      Returning birders from the Celtic Sea

Day 5 took us to Tresco and we skirted the Abbey and gardens, which gave a sense of what lay within but a visit will have to wait for another time and when the plant species are at their best. Yellow Browed warblers have plagued us all week but I finally got to see one though didn’t get the chance to photograph one. The lake in front of the Gardens had 13 Whooper swans on it, then moved to the nearby beach where we caught sight of a distant Hoopoe. The final bird of Tresco was a Firecrest before a very nice cup of Earl Grey and a slice of Carrot cake at the New Inn before getting our ferry back to St Mary’s from New Grimsby Quay. Another float past the Spoonbill on the rocks on our return


     Whooper Swan

     Whooper swan family

     Distant Hoopoe on the beach

     Firecrest 
     The Sapphire awaits us



Day 6 was the wettest day of the week and a trip to the island of Bryher to catch the mega rare Blyth’s pipit. Thankfully there were enough eyes around to spot the bird, just before the heavens opened. Not the most impressive bird to add to my life list but I probably never see another. Shelter was then the imperative, firstly in a farm shed but when a short break in the weather allowed, we were able to reach the Fraggle Rock pub, where we finished the visit before being rescued an hour early by Joe Pender’s Sapphire.


     A distant and wet Blyth’s Pipit

Black Redstart back on St Mary’s 

Despite the rainy day, it was a fine evening on St Mary’s

Our last full day kept us on St Mary’s, skirting the runway and heading up to the north of the Island. The weather was warm and the gradients were challenging. We could only call on a solitary Pink footed goose to add to our trip tick list but enjoyed a beach packed lunch.
Sparrowhawk 

Pink footed goose

Black Redstart at Little Porth beach

Black Redstart at Little Porth beach

Scillonian III coming towards St Mary’s 


Our departure day was pretty miserable and windy but once luggage was packed and deposited in the storage unit to be loaded onto the Scillonian III, we took a walk around the Garrison and looked upon the seas which would take us to Cornwall, three hours away








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