dub-birder: B-side Birding

If October and early November were an A track then the past week or so is definitely the B-side of my birding intensity. Not through lack of wanton lust, but more due to my new employment and voluntary effort with the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust. So despite birding the Dump, Old Town and Longstone areas daily I haven’t got much to show for it besides a fist full of scarce..or uncommon depending on your classification.

Calm, still, sunny...Scilly.

So birds. Firecrests have been getting gradually more and more thin on the ground post Firefest 2011 last week, or the week before I lose track. The Yellow-browed Warbler disappeared from Carreg Dhu a week ago while Black Redstarts are still bountiful with a hanger on by my garden and 1 then 2 yesterday and today within the school complex feeding together, at time fighting – quality!

I will never get bored of Yellow-browed Warblers....they are such little beansprouts!

The back garden is calming after it’s uber fest this autumn but a Serin on the 12^th which flew calling from within the garden as I stood at the back door drinking tea was awesome and a major garden record (my first) to add to 3 rare pipits (OBP, Red-throated and Richard’s), a Rosefinch, Yellow-browed Warbler, Siberian Chiffchaff, 3 Black Kites, Firecrest, Long-eared Owl plus all the rare insects it really has been a mega autumn for Longstone as well as Scilly!

Buteo mofo

Other birds up this end of ‘t island include 2 resident Blackcaps, 1 Chiffchaff up to 4 Woodcock, Common Buzzard, 4 Raven, daily raptors including Kestrel, Peregrne, Merlin and Sparrowhawk, usual autumnal Turdus assemblage, Grey and Pied Wagtails with the odd Skylark and group of Meadow Pipit for good measure.

Nominate form Black Redstart, none of that offensively gripping red underparts here.

The leps or should I say moths (as butterflies are becoming highly infrequent) are also still booming with baking hot night-time temperatures of 13 degrees Celsius we have been catching bits and pieces. The trapping effort is vastly reduced from 5 traps to 2 or 3 but numbers of Rusty Dot Pearl and White-speck remain in double figures while Silver Y, Rush Veneer and Diamond-backed Moth are all still being caught, albeit in small numbers. Oddly a Dingy Footman was caught a few days back, very late and had us checking our french macro guides!