Last day on Scilly

My third and last day of a short trip to the Isles of Scilly saw me resist the temptations of island hopping to stay on St Mary's. The day began as had the previous two with a quick trip to the Garrison for views of the Blue Rock Thrush. From there I meandered around Peninnis for the first time in years, reminiscing as I went about seeing my first Siberian Stonechat, a Short-toed Lark and an ill-fated Chough which spent a few days in the fields on the flanks of the headland in 2012.

Female Stonechat, Peninnis

Male Stonechat, Peninnis

From Peninnis I sauntered through the idyllic Old Town churchyard and on to the Standing Stones field where a male Brambling had joined the House Sparrows at the feeding station set up by the Isles of Scilly Bird Group. After this I strolled through Lower Moors, gaining another brief view of Monday's Spotted Crake, and up the road to Salakee, where the Citrine Wagtail which turned up on my first day was still hanging out with the cattle.

Teal, Higher Moors

Greenshank, Higher Moors

Continuing to Higher Moors there was time for a chat with some birding pals from the mainland and, bird-wise, nothing more exciting than a small flock of Greenshank. My energy levels were flagging at this point and with just 90 minutes to go before last check-in on the Scillonian III, I figured a return to Hugh Town was probably my best option.

Male Brambling, St Mary's

Song Thrush, Old Town churchyard

At this point my phone alerted me to news of a Spotted Sandpiper on the islands - I assumed the St Agnes bird which I had failed to see the previous day had returned but on looking again this time it (or another) was at Watermill, a 15 minute walk from where I was standing. Quickening my pace, I took the direct route through Holy Vale, where we spent several happy October holidays when the children were younger, past the refurbished Borough Farm, and down Watermill Lane towards the cove where the Sandpiper had been reported.

Spotted Sandpiper, Watermill

Juveniles of this species resemble Common Sandpiper but have more yellowy legs, shorter tails and plain tertial fringes

As I approached the beach I heard a Sandpiper calling, and on reaching the strandline the birders assembled there informed me that this must have been the Sandpiper flying off around the corner to the next cove! With just 15 minutes to go before I had to leave to board the Scillonian, I was not optimistic about it returning, but after 14 minutes it did just that, giving me a minute to take some quick pictures before a brisk walk back to town. It was a poetic ending to the trip as this was the only target bird I had missed up to that point - and a reminder of the promise and beauty of the islands which provided many happy memories of my previous visits.

The Spotted Sandpiper picked insects off the rocks in the background

A good bird to end a successful trip

Finch finding

I mentioned recently that the Hawfinch invasion was in danger of passing me by - I finally caught up with one last weekend on a visit to friends in Kent but had still yet to see one at home in Dorset, so I set out this morning with the aim of doing just that. Several sites seem to be holding Hawfinch since they arrived but Bonsley Wood near Blandford Forum sounded like one of the most reliable so I headed there. I bumped into one of these chunky, short-tailed birds before I got to the main wood, a few more whilst there, and even more on the way back, confirming the impression formed from recent reports that they can be seen just about anywhere in suitable habitat at the moment. Brambling, Redpoll and Bullfinch were also in the wood, an enjoyable couple of hours in a location I hadn't checked out before.

Hawfinch, Bonsley Wood

This head-on view shows the bulk of a Hawfinch bill

Side view of the impressive bill

The best flight shot I could manage - note the curled tips to the primaries can just be seen on the edge of the folded wing

A few Brambling were in with the Chaffinch flock in Bonsley Wood

Grey Wagtail, Bonsley Wood

Bullfinch last weekend at Sissinghurst in Kent

Fieldfare, Sissinghurst, Kent

Fieldfare, Sissinghurst

Mistle Thrush in Yew at Igtham Mote, Kent

Redwing, Sissinghurst

Nuthatch, Sissinghurst

Shetland day 2: bring your waders

Our base for the first two nights on Shetland was a remote croft at Collaster on the western part of the Mainland. The croft had only been recently made available for self-catering and the owner had been taken aback by the level of interest in the property. He was a good host though, and as well as a warm welcome we found a fridge stocked with an impressive selection of breakfast meat. Keen to get out in the morning, we saved this for an evening fry-up, and while unlikely to appear in the M&S 'healthy eating' range anytime soon, it was an impressive spread.

Snipe

Golden Plover

Several frying pans were needed to hold the meat feast laid on for us: bacon, sausages, black pudding, haggis and saucermeat - a sort of offal-based, sausage-slab affair as far as we could tell, and apparently a Shetland speciality, pronounced by the locals as 'sossermit', almost in a single syllable.

Brambling

Ruff

Before that though there was birding to be done and bearings to be got. We started as we meant to go on, hunting out likely looking patches of habitat and grilling them for birds before moving on to the next. Over the next 24 hours my Shetland education continued, and I started to appreciate the radical differences between birding the archipelago in autumn and birding at home. Whereas in Dorset I might go to an extensive patch of specialist habitat or a nature reserve, up here a patch could be a tiny stand of willows or even a solitary tree.

Great Northern Diver

Great Northern Diver

Similarly, whereas at home I would typically avoid areas of human habitation in search of wildlife, on Shetland, gardens are one of the most likely locations to find the cover necessary to attract birds in an otherwise treeless landscape. 'Walk in the ditch, not in the road' was one of the many rules of the game to be observed and good guidance it was too - over the course of the coming days this flushed out a number of birds - nothing particularly rare, but enough to prove the wisdom of the advice. The poor weather continued, so there was also a bit of birding from the car in that first few days - a good way to see waders in roadside fields.

Hooded Crow

Slavonian Grebe

Another Purbeck Pallas's

Purbeck's Winspit Valley held two Pallas's Warblers yesterday so I headed there when the rain stopped this morning. I had barely left the village and started down the footpath to the valley when the bright yellow rump of a Pallas's Warbler buzzed down the track in front of me and ducked into the hedge. This was no doubt the same bird as that found yesterday by Andrew Lawson, brother of fellow Swineham regular Marcus. Down at the bottom end of the valley I could find nothing rarer than a Firecrest and a few Blackcaps, but with large numbers of Goldcrests present, the valley held a sense of promise at least.

Pallas's Warbler - my 3rd in Dorset in 2 days

Not perfect photos (taken at ISO 3200 in very low light) but an intimate view at least

Blackcap at Winspit

One of many Goldcrests in the valley

Goldcrest

The seaward end of Winspit Valley

A late male Southern Hawker at Winspit

Brambling in the car park at Arne RSPB to end the day

Ton up!

I'm not sure what the run-rate for a 'good' photo year-list should be by the end of February, but I suspect 100 is well below it. Anyway, that's what I have reached and the honour of being the 100th species captured on film digital recording media falls to the Bohemian Waxwing. Naturally, I had to manipulate the order in which I notched up the ticks on my recent trip to East Anglia to bring up the hundred on such a glamorous species, but, let's be honest, it just wouldn't have been the same if it was a Skylark. We spent Friday night on the way back from Norfolk to Dorset in a budget motel at Barton Mills in Suffolk - conveniently close to Mildenhall where the Waxwing had spent much of the previous week. I was able to twitch it whilst the rest of the family were still doing their morning ablutions.

The Waxwing, a first winter bird, was feeding in prime Waxwing habitat - a modern suburban housing estate

That pesky twig spoilt an otherwise perfectly good photo - one step to the left or right and the bird would have been obscured by the vegetation in front of me (I was using a bush for cover) so there was no way around it. And Photoshop would be cheating.

As a first winter bird, the characteristic waxy red tips to the wing feathers, caused by the shafts extending beyond the barbs, could not be seen in the closed wing, but can just about be seen coming through here in the raised wing

So with that landmark chalked up, I am starting to wonder what I might get to by the year's end, whilst not being sufficiently committed or confident as yet to set a proper target. There is still significant potential for work and family commitments to scupper the whole project and leave me wishing/pretending I had never started it. For now, though, it is time to savour the milestone and admire the beauty of Bombycilla garrulous.

To rack up a really good score would require some of our more elusive and secretive species to perform for the camera. So having mobilised the rest of the family after twitching the Waxwing, I persuaded them that a trip to nearby Lynford Arboretum would be fun, more in hope than expectation that I might catch up with one of the Hawfinches that are seen there from time to time. Fortunately one had been staked out near a feeding station and was showing on and off to a small crowd of admirers. The photos were poor in view of the distance and low light but good enough to pass the 'identifiable' test.

I haven't seen Hawfinch (#108) for a few years so it was good to see one on the ground

This bird fed actively in the leaf litter

Check out that conk!

With two of the most desirable species on the British list in the bag there was time for a more leisurely stroll around the arboretum. A Brambling at the feeding station was a bonus and I was able to improve on the photos of Marsh Tit taken in the garden of our holiday cottage on the Suffolk coast earlier in the week.

Brambling (#109), Lynford Arboretum, Norfolk

Marsh Tit, Lynford Arboretum, Norfolk

Marsh Tit, Lynford Arboretum. Norfolk

Copper-headed Pre-teen, Lesser Blonde Chatterbox and Owl-headed Matriarch were three species I was not expecting to see at Lynford

So, not bad for what was supposed to be a travelling day, three potentially tricky species added to the year list and some quality time with the family (who spent the rest of the journey being totally uncommunicative and playing with handheld electronic devices). Oh go on then, one more of that twig.

Note how it is in perfect focus. The twig, I mean.

Quality time

After Swineham rewarded me so handsomely for a quick and dirty visit midweek, I thought I should take it slower last night. I headed there straight after work and stayed until dark: the equivalent of flowers, chocolates and a meal by my standards.

Brambling: in the open at last

I almost didn't get there at all, distracted on the edge of Wareham by the continued presence of a small Brambling flock, which had been joined by several singing Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers since my last visit. The Bramblings have been tricky to photograph all winter, remaining wary and positioning themselves deep or high in a variety of small trees. With a bit of good light last night, I was determined to out-wait them, and eventually one did perch briefly in the open.

Willow Warbler, Swineham

More Chiffs and Willow Warblers were singing around the pits and while photographing them I met a lady who'd been out to the Point to look for the local Common Seal. She reported seeing a Barn Owl en route and, best of all, a Long-eared Owl in the bushes a few hundred yards from where we were stood. The location seemed as likely a spot as any for Long-Eared Owl, and the fact that the bird remained in the bushes while she tried (unsuccessfully) to get a picture with a compact camera before it was eventually flushed by some other passers-by also sounded more like a Long-Eared than a Short-Eared Owl. The sceptical (and insanely jealous) mind inevitably considers possible confusion between the two, particularly as Short-eared is regularly seen here and Long-eared is something of a rarity in Poole Harbour. So if you're reading this, compact camera-wielding lady, sorry I doubted you, and thanks for the gen.

Chiffchaff, Bestwall Road

The Owl had apparently flown along the hedge line but not gone far so I thoroughly checked some likely locations without success. As dusk approached I waited at the end of the pits which affords a good all round view. A Marsh Harrier came in to roost and a Barn Owl cruised past but that was about it. I had texted news of the report to the nerve centre of local bird news, a.k.a. Steve Smith, who joined me for the last of the light.

Barn Owl, Swineham

Steve phoned just before he reached my vantage point to say he had flushed an Eared Owl from the bushes next to the path, and that it looked too dark for a Short-Eared. Soon after I picked it up heading in my direction, and managed a couple of shots in the half-light. From field views the underwing tips looked pale and barred, the underparts more extensively streaked and the upperparts more uniform than Short-Eared, so we retired to Chez Moore to consume the pictures, field guides and vegetable biryanis.

Underwing pattern shows several bars towards the pale wing tip, not solidly dark tips as in Short-eared Owl

The photographs, which I fully expect to secure at least a commendation in the 2013 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, showed enough for us to feel confident about identifying it as a Long-Eared Owl. So my third Swineham tick in a week, and another good bird on the 'walked from home' list (Steve gave me a lift back to the curry house but I walked one way, which is allowed. See clause 4.2, section VIII of 'Walked from Home List Rulebook', as amended 12/4/13).

Long-eared Owl has darker and more uniform upperparts than Short-eared Owl and a richer chestnut patch on the wing