Venus Pool - Pink-footed Goose

A mid afternoon visit was timed to perfection with this juv Pink-footed Goose showing amazingly well in front of the hide! It had been point blank a few moments earlier!

Feeding ravenously on the vegetation...

Then stomping forwards towards the hide again!

Bit of a pose!

Then, it was all too much effort?

Time for a lie down :-)

The Egyptian Goose still present on the middle island and juv Pintail (fast asleep for most of the time)

Venus Pool - Whooper Swan invasion!

After a quiet catch up with guys in the hide at Venus Pool and only the long staying Egyptian Goose to show for my patience, I decided to check the arable field. It was even quieter there but the lack of action was about to be forgotten once I reached the oak tree and checked the fishing pool! First a family group of 5 Yellow billed Swans... then two adults plus a juv... then another four adults... what was going on? Well, after checking a few images, there were... 12 Whooper Swans going on!! (Eight adults and 4 juvs). Dave Chapman  joined me and in between showers, it would have been rude not to confirm the numbers and age the swans plus take an image or two? There's probably nearer 20 images here, I couldn't make my mind up which to use!!

Despite there being different groups, this image was a one off with all four juveniles present tagging along together...

Generally however,  the family 'group of five' with three youngsters would keep together with one or both of the parents always with them.

Sometimes cruising randomly...

Or in a procession!

Eventually they gave some quite close passes in the corner of the pool!

 One to one moments...

Three adults together...

And the three juvs...

A one and only wing flap!

A final solo portrait or juv and adult!

And curiously, this quirky moment is probably my favourite?

 The swans were clearly deadbeat on the water, from time to time simply nodding off!

It isn't always about the rares! As birding moments go, this was right up there with the best. An unforgettable Whooper show!

Land End - Grey Catbird

The Grey Catbird at Lands End had captivated the attention of not just the birding fraternity but local news alike! I'd calmly sat out the storm of regional news / sightings whilst on St Mary's resisting thoughts of flying off... but after the Friday Scillonian gave no chance of getting there in daylight, it was back to hoping there wouldn't be a Friday night clearout!

I picked up Richard Stonier and Ash Fisher who had come on the boat and were staying nearby, before first light and with only a few miles to travel, we were there for the first call! (These pictures were taken much later!)

Another birding gateway to heaven?

And given the first Saturday chance for many, a pretty quiet start to the day!

After flicking about in the distant hedgerow, at 8.15 it finally gave a tickable view! Where's a Tunnocks Teacake when you need one? In the car sadly! It was calling regularly, often as it flew or landed in cover, so never too difficult to find.

This was the habitat viewed from far side of the site - a footpath leading behind the farmhousegains access...

And always seemed to be something in the way whilst pinning down that gorgeous rufous undertail...

Just about managed it here!

And then it was a question of dealing with highly directional harsh side lighting for an image or two?

The gallery number was steadily increasing although there was plenty of room and generally well behaved!

Eventually a few decent images covering all the angles as it emerged from cover!

An this was probably the clearest view I had! It's a relatively easy bird to 'see', getting an open clutter free view however took several hours!

But worth every minute ...

St Mary's - Porthellick - Barred warbler

Spent most of the morning with Martin Grant again, staking out and hoping to get decent views of the Barred Warbler found near the beach entrance the previous evening? Radio messages described the bird showing "incredibly well"! It's never the reality unfortunately...

There's always an irritating branch in the way!

And apart from a turn of the head, just like the Merlin, this was a one moment story!

But better to have happened than not!

St Mary's - Buzza Quarry - Merlin

Every day should end with something special and often does on the Scillies and with the light beginning to fade, we had seen Yellow-browed Warbler plus a couple of Spotted Flycatcher in Old Town churchyard. Here's the adjacent bay...

A radio message got our attention.. "Merlin perched up with a kill in Buzza Quarry". We were off...

And it was still there, despite the fact that it had now consumed the House Sparrow prey (every last bit!!) It's a 2CY female Merlin and with crop full was clearly going nowhere in a hurry?

There's a lot to change other than the turn of the head and a slightly different camera angle!

Not an every day sight eh?