Happy Hawfinch New Year!!

The Hawfinch irruption continues to dominate the birding scene both locally and nationally and hereon the blog! Firstly with one of the St Agnes birds being voted favourite image for the year...

My favourite from Whitcliffe in late December...

Plus the best from a couple of churchyards on New Years Day..

 Long may they continue to dominate the scene!! A quickfire tour of Polemere VP and route in between during the afternoon produced 55 species with nothing of note. Sparrowhawk seemed particularly evident, blitzing through small flocks at four locations and it's so easy to go through a day without seeing one!

St Agnes - Eastern ? Orphean Warbler

I had to return... This time with the big lens and even though the Orphean Warbler was unlikely to show within 80-100m at least a few better record shots may have been possible? Here's the business end of the roadside gallery...

Just as well I got the early boat as at least I inherited the pole position spot to sit once spider had 'gone birding' and left his roadside web!  I reckon he'd slept there all night? A long wait then followed until 11.30 when it finally broke cover (the Orphean Warbler - not spider - !!)  destined to put on a distant but prolonged show...

Eating Coprosma berries...

And occasionally showing quite well despite being a dot in the viewfinder!!

A flash of the undertail...

And more flight shots giving a tantalising glimpse of the predominately white outer tail feathers!

And undertail chevrons...

A few more moments in the open - it was on show for an amazing 15 minutes...

It showed again just after midday and then briefly at 2.10 but that was that! It's clearly not that faithful to this hedgerow and given the number of berried Coprosmas, could be anywhere!!

And this image taken the previous day and not analysed in close up by Ash Fisher and Bob Flood provided the impetus to at least keep Eastern Orphean Warbler in the picture. As for the decision, let's wait for BBRC to have their say!

St Agnes - Hawfinch!!

Scilly didn't miss out on the UK Hawfinch invasion! Far and away, the best views were of two individuals on St Agnes, rather than roaming too far, these were constantly dropping in to feed on a Whitebeam down Barnaby Lane...

Sometimes foraging in the grass for berries!

 

But more often than not, amid the berries!

Mesmerising habitat, which one shall I pick?

Once in a while feeding on open branches :-)

This was the most productive sequence!

Just need a turn of the head?

Yep that will do nicely :-)

 Steve Young thought so too and a Birdguides POTW soon followed :-)

St Agnes - Cedar Waxwing take 2!!

Always go back... I wasn't confident that my original views could be beaten but the Cedar Waxing was clearly enjoying the Coprosma berries down in the cove below Coastguards...

Eventually it relocated another 60m or so down the track, seeming to favour the dark shady interior of yet another Coprosma! A Yellow-browed Warbler was also briefly present in the same bush!

Amazing how far that neck can stretch?!

 But for those out of reach berries, when all else fails, simply hovering does the trick!

Gotcha...

 A couple of poses...

Followed by a brief show in the open!

And then time to celebrate with a tub of Troytown ice cream :-)

St Agnes - Cedar Waxwing!!!

Here we go again... Another aborted session up at the airfield... This time a madcap dash by taxi to the harbour... To a hastily arranged 12.15 boat... destination St Agnes... Reason - CEDAR WAXWING!!! Where is everyone?? Well, most birders were on Tresco and somewhat trapped, chasing Cliff Swallow (which I no longer needed) and Bee-eaters?

We needn't have rushed, it hadn't been seen since Will Wagstaff had found it mid morning whilst leading a group around and it clearly wasn't still handing about the field enclosures where first seen!
Al reaching for his hip flask, having trouble standing up...

So the hunt was on... It was lurking somewhere up by Coastguards Cottage,  unbeknown to us where  this other stoned birder was keeping an eye on it!

The news echoed over the radios! Seen in flight by the Lighthouse!! By now the Tresco contingent was there and quite a scrum as it gave itself up in a Pittosporum hedge some 60m away!

Strictly come record shot distance!

And after five minutes of sitting motionless, off again!

A few dashes up and down the lanes to no avail and a late (6.00) boat was put on! I wasn't planning on going anywhere else! Eventually, it was relocated in another cottage garden... And this time, blimey, showing amazingly well, if a little grumpy?

A turn of the head is all you need?

And a shuffle to reveal the blue grey of the upperwing...

But this all too brief tail fan was the moment worth waiting for!

What an amazing 24 hours - and TWO more lifers...