Another day trip to the Isles of Scilly, hoping to see the Red-footed Booby! 23rd August 2023

Having been out to St.Mary's the week before and watched the happy faces of the birders that had been out to the Bishop's Rock to see the Red-footed Booby it played on our minds for most of the next few days and as soon as there looked to be a clear weather window I booked tickets on the Scillonian for "Part 2".

Wikipedia.

The Red-footed Booby (Sula sula) is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. Adults always have red feet, but the colour of the plumage varies. They are powerful and agile fliers, but they are clumsy in takeoffs and landings. They are found widely in the tropics, and breed colonially in coastal regions, especially islands. 

I had a pre-determined plan on the first trip and it went really well but this one was going to be different... it all depended on the weather, if the bird was still in UK waters, and if there was a boat going out that had enough customers to make it worthwhile for the owner & crew.

This was a Wednesday and the Scillonian sailed an hour earlier, leaving Penzance at 08:15. This meant us leaving Wadebridge by 05:45 to allow time to negotiate the roadworks and hold-ups on the A30 and also to find somewhere to leave the car for 12 hours. That was actually the easy part, whizzed down the A30 and plenty of room in the little car park opposite to Battery Rocks. 

Mounts Bay was like a millpond with a glassy surface and our hopes of seeing lots of good wildlife on the voyage were high.

 

A second summer Northern Gannet

Guillemots already getting into winter plumage

As soon as we got sailing out of the bay we started sighting Northern Gannets and large numbers of Shearwaters. Just a few Auks were still about with 2 Guillemots already in winter plumage.

It has been an amazing year for Shearwaters with lots of Cory's, Manx & Great all streaming down both Cornish coasts.

Cory's Shearwater

Cory's Shearwater

 

Manx Shearwater

As we motored along past West Cornwall we picked up small groups of Common Dolphins & Harbour Porpoise. Sometimes they put on a display & leapt in the wake of the ship, other times they dived and we never saw them again!

Common Dolphin

Common Dolphin

 

Common Dolphins

 

Harbour Porpoise

There were quite a few birders on board and word soon got around that a boat was going to meet the Scillonian when it docked at St.Mary's and that it would then head straight out to the Bishops Rock lighthouse in search of the Red-footed Booby.

All went well and we transferred from one ship to a smaller boat and within a few minutes we were heading out of port to cover the 4 miles out to the rock.It was estimated that it would take about 50 minutes and hopes were high that the bird would be there waiting for us!

Known as "the Bishop" the lighthouse was originally built in 1858 after a previous attempt was washed away. Several updates and versions have been completed over the years since and it rises 44 metres above mean high water.

The Bishop

 

The Bishop

The Bishop

Anyone interested in the history of this feat of engineering can use this link to the Trinity House website for more details.

https://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/lighthouses-and-lightvessels/bishop-rock-lighthouse 

When we boarded we were greeted by a cameraman/journalist from ITV who were intending to film a news item about the Booby and the birders clamouring to see it so most of us kept our heads down as soon as he started filming!

As we approached the Bishop  all eyes were on the netting around the helipad landing stage on the very top as this is where the Booby had taken to roosting... lots of gulls but no Booby!

We were all a bit crestfallen but checked out every bird in a mile radius with our binos as the skipper did a quick circle around the rock just to make sure it wasn't hiding.

So we then headed farther out to sea in search of this elusive bird that had obviously decided that its rarity factor warranted us having to work to see it. Twice more we came back & checked out the top of the lighthouse to no avail.

We then headed across to the Western Rocks, an area littered with shipwrecks and one of the main reasons for the lighthouse being there.

The skipper hoped that the bird may have been sat up watching us but sadly all we got to see was well over 100 Grey seals both hauled out & in the water.

Grey Seal

Grey Seal

Grey Seal

Grey Seal

Grey Seal

Grey Seal

 

Most of us on board now had become a wee bit despondent and had virtually given up on the Booby and presumed that the boat was now headed back to harbour.

We were lifted to see the bows turn back towards the Bishop for one final time! One of the guys next to me said "I think it's there!" and everyone raised their binos to the top of the tower in vain hope. Can't be sure till we get closer was the cry and everyone was on tenterhooks until we got a clear view of 2 red feet hanging over the side of the netting!

"There it is" came a shout and immediately everyone's faces lit up and cameras started clicking, including mine!

Spot the Booby

Red-footed Booby atop the Bishops Rock lighthouse

Red-footed Booby atop the Bishops Rock lighthouse

Red-footed Booby atop the Bishops Rock lighthouse

 

 I admit to often being a bit blase at chasing rare birds (twitching) but I've made an extra special effort to try to see 200 species in the UK this year.  This was bird 189 and a few minutes later I got number 190 as an Arctic Skua passed the boat!

Arctic Skua

All lenses pointing at the Booby

Everybody happy now!

Another 50 minutes back to harbour with happy customers and just time for a wander across to Porthcressa cafe for a coffee & some cake before catching the 4:15 afternoon sailing back to Penzance.

More shearwaters, dolphins and porpoise on the return leg and another really flat sea trip which I must add is not always the case!

So was it worth it? Of course it was, a fantastic day out with friends and also made new friends and renewed acquaintances. The number of birds, cetaceans and other marine species we saw in one day was incredible. If you get good weather then there's nothing better than a day trip out to the islands, Red-footed Booby or not!

Here is the link to the ITV News feature that made Good Morning Britain the following day.  I can be spotted in the background but always with a camera stuck to my face!

ITV News

 

 

 

Purple Heron at Ruan Lanihorne, Cornwall. 9th April 2023.

 

An early start paid dividends this morning as I caught up with the adult Purple Heron down on the Fal at Ruan Lanihorne.

It was hunting in the reeds on the upstream side of the bridge before eventually flitting across the road out to the open water side.

Always difficult to pick out as it skulked around the marsh and the high hedgerow by the road made it even harder to find a hole to poke the lens through.

Good to see so many friends down there and sad to overlook the Black-winged Stilt that was also there but I'm a bit "stilted out" at present!

A few more pics to follow.....

Black-winged Stilt at Bude. 4th April 2023.

 It's been a long time since I've seen a stilt in Cornwall and this one was well worth the wait.

It was found on the River Neet at the Strand in the lower part of Bude town in North Cornwall.

Almost like it was meant to be because a couple of us were at the funeral of dear Alan May who was the co-founder of the Lostwithiel U3A birdwatching group when I heard that this bird was in the locality. We'd toasted Alan at the wake so thought it rather appropriate to shoot off to Bude and seek out this bird....I'm sure he would have approved!

Having spent several hours in a "shitty" corner of a field for a Little Bunting yesterday this bird was a joy to see as I parked the car beside the river, crossed the road, started taking pictures! That simple & the light was good as well!

Here are a few from this afternoon, especially trying to show off those magnificent long legs it has.

River Warbler at RSPB Ham Wall, Somerset Levels. 15th June 2021.

 

Our annual pilgrimage up to Somerset in the early summer was well timed today to coincide with the viewing of the long-staying River Warbler.

A vagrant bird more used to the heat of Eastern Europe across into Russia it sang it's little heart out for us today.

These birds are gradually spreading into parts of Western Europe but it was a first for me in this country. I did hear one singing in Hungary a couple of years back but got no photographs.

It must have been at Ham Wall reserve for about 10 days now and I never expected it to be still around & even less be as showy as it was.

I'd done my homework on it's song and it was immediately recognisable as soon as we got near.

It was about 10 metres from the path into the Avalon Hide and came very close to us as we stood in awe of this stunning songbird. Standing on the tops of cow parsley and reeds the sound of it competed with the backdrop of clicking camera shutters.

At the end of our day we saw it easier and more often than any of the other warblers such as Reed, Sedge and the very vocal Cetti's.

Here are a few more images.

Rosy Starling in North Cornwall garden. 10th June 2021.

 

I received a message from a friend yesterday afternoon to say that his mother had a Rosy Starling (Rose-coloured Starling) regularly visiting their feeders in her garden and was I interested in photographing it.

Goes without saying I was very keen but... we had our 2 young granddaughters for the day and I couldn't (or didn't want to) get away so I agreed to go later that evening.

However it came in really wet and dull with the classic Cornish sea mist descending on the area. We then decided to leave it till this morning to try.

I was concerned as with all things wildlife that the bird may have moved on and I'd have got the "you should have been here 5 minutes ago" scenario!

I arrived at the prescribed time and asked "is it still around?". "Oh yes it's in the garden now" was the reply.... I'm not used to that!

I went into their house and lo and behold it was on a dead tree stump at the bottom of their garden just stood there posing.

What lovely people too, they let me photograph resting my lens on an an upturned vase  on the draining board and through the kitchen window. Realistically there was nowhere else to get a good angle from so it worked out really well.

I've seen and photographed a few of these birds over the years but none as brightly coloured or as showy as this fine adult bird.

This species regularly ventures into Western Europe from its breeding range in the Asian Steppes and there had been recent reports that this year could see a lot of them in Britain. Indeed as I write there are about 5 we know of in Cornwall.

It was feeding on fat balls in 2 feeders hanging from a dead tree stump and was quite aggressive to the house sparrows and common starlings that were "regulars" at this feeding station. It did hold back when a larger jackdaw was feeding but attacked everything smaller.

I watched it bathe in a pool of water on someones flat roof and then sit around with it's 'punk' hairstyle whilst it dried.

I stayed about an hour and in that time it was in the garden for about 90% of the time and I took 355 photos of which here is a small selection.