Garden Centenary!

Just totted up my garden list and this mornings Short-eared Owl was my 100th species!!

Viz Miggin' - Tuesday 14th November 2011

This mornings efforts watching the visible migration over my house produced the following between 0900-1030hrs. Weather was fine with occasional cloud and a stiff E/SE wind with stronger gusts:

Chaffinch - Resident birds showed some dispersal but only c50 actually counted
Fieldfare - 41
Redwing - 124
Bullfinch - 1 male
'Alba' Wagtail - 4
Starling - 87
SHORT-EARED OWL - flew high west mobbed by Carrion Crow.
Skylark - 10
Meadow Pipit - 7
Woodpigeon - 44
Black-headed Gull - 1
Curlew - 1
Lapwing - 144 (flocks of 30,24 and 90)
Golden Plover - 1
Goldfinch - 10

Other species recorded but not counted were: Herring Gull, Carrion Crow, Rook, Jackdaw, Collared Dove, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Dunnock, Robin, Wren, Magpie.

1st winter male Desert Wheatear at Nanjizal

Finally got the opportunity on Tuesday to nip down and see the Desert Wheatear at Nanjizal. What a superb bird. The weather wasn't particularly pleasant but I spent about an hour with this bird completely on my own! It came extremely close at times and finally close enough for one or two reasonable photo opportunities. This is only the sixth record for Cornwall and the first since 1997!

Probable Eastern Asian Lesser Whitethroat, St Agnes, IoS 27th October 2011

A few photos of the presumed East Asian Lesser Whitethroat on St Agnes. I'm of the opinion that this is 'minula' rather than 'halimodendrii'? If my memory serves me correctly the halimodenrii at Lelant and Porthcurno a few years ago showed much more grey on the head than this bird. Photos of the Porthcurno bird on the right for comparison.

Photos above and below by Matt Sallis.

Scilly Week - Day Eight

I had purposely booked a late plane ticket to take full advantage of a whole day on our final day on Scilly. However, as per usual the bloody weather put pay to any great ideas and by 10am the fog rolled in and the wind picked up. I resigned myself to the fact that once again I would be going home on the Sicklonian III. So that was that, but no complaints. Another superb week on Scilly with three lifers (!), seven Scilly Ticks and 15 year ticks, aswell as great company with the lads and meeting up again with loads of birding friends and aquaintances. It'll take some beating!