Thursday 30 September 2004

30th September 2004 St. Martins, Isles of Scilly 9.45am – 2.30pm, St. Mary’s 2.45pm – 6.30pm. Sunny warm and clear


Diver sp. 1 in flight off St. Martins
Shag c.5 including sinle immature recalling desmarestii being extremely pale on the foreneck, breast and belly.
Little Egret c.3
Wood Duck c.5 pinioned Porthloo Duck Pond
Fulvous Whistling Duck 1 Porthloo Duck Pond
CREAM-COLOURED COURSER 1 UK485 first-winter plumage with some chevrons on wing-coverts and developing head pattern. Bill short and decurved primarily black with pale base, White supercilium with some darker streaks. Black primaries and underwings. Subterminal black tail band. Legs pale ivory and scaly somewhat reptilian with some red veins visible running down from top of legs. Many scales on swollen knees. Would run around sheep field pausing to take Daddy Longlegs and leatherjackets. Showed down to a matter of feet. Superb.
Buff-breasted Sandpiper 3 juv’s walking to within feet of us on St. Mary’s Golf Course. All had juvenile scaly upperparts with dark feather centers. Pale eye-ring setting-off dark eye. Short straight dark bills. Rich yellow legs. No obvious wingbar in flight and whitish underwings. Superb.
Yellow-legged Gull 1 adult on rocks off St. Martins. Dark bluish upperwings and mantle, bright yellow legs.
Sandwich Tern c.4
Swallow c.5
House Martin 1
Wheatear 1
Chiffchaff 2