FINAL DAY - WE VISTED THE DUMP ALLOTMENTS - PORTHLOO & PORTHMELLON BEACHES - PENNINIS ALLOTMENTS
WEATHER: cloudy with sunshine and showers, light winds.
What can I say about our final morning, except that it continued in the same vein as the rest of the week. We saw very little and we dipped massively on the Rosefinch once again!
We started by walking down the hill to the Dump where you have views of small allotments and gardens from the road about 20 meters above us up a slope. For the past few days the Rosefinch has been seen frequenting the allotments. We saw sevral species as we stood gazing at the rows of vegetables and flower beds, a few Chiffchaffs filtted about, a Grey Wagtail dropped in, we Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Goldfinches and all the common garden birds.
Common Chiffchaff is the best I could come up with this morning
After an hour we gave up, Matt had to return to the guest house to prepare for an earlier departure and Chris & Pete were doing the same. So, Pauline, Vicky and me set off for Porthmellon Beach. There were few birds to be seen there becuase of the sea-defence work being carried out, but we did find a Common Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstones, Oystercatchers and some gulls.
the same bird in adifferent tree with different light
Porthloo beach held silimar species except for the Sandpiper but as we were coming back four Pink-footed Geese flew over the bay heading up the island, wow! a new bird for the trip. The morning petered out after that, we walked into town to buy lunch and then set off to Porthcressa beach but not before they dragged me into a cafe for coffee and cake!
At Porthcressa we saw the usual Sandwich Terns, Med Gulls, Curlew, Oystercatchers and Turnstones. We then decided to make our 7th attempt at seeing the Rosefinch in the sycamore tree on the Penninis Allotments. We stood in our usual place and waited, and waited, then waited some more. We gave up at 1pm and walked further up the path where a guy with a huge camera lens was watching the same sycamore but from the other side. he had photographs of the Rosefinch taken just 10 minutes earlier, doh!!! The bird had showed up whilst we were there but on the other side of the tree. Well that did it!! I marched into town, bought a chainsaw and cut the bloody sycamore into tiny pieces, ha!!
We walked back to the guest house seeing our first Hummingbird.........Hawk Moth on the valarian near the hospital. At 1:50 we were collected and taken to the airport for our flight back to Penzance, it all went smoothly except for the rail-strike. I had to stay over an extra night in Penzance before I could get home, Pauline, bless her, offered to drop me near Yeovil on her way to Bristol.
Incidentally, an American Swainson's Thrush arrived yesterday on Tresco, we had the opportunity to go over late yesterday afternoon and agin early this morning but none of the group wanted to risk being stranded over there and missing the flight home!
The trip was over, the bird count was low but we did see a few goodies such as: Greenish Warbler, Yellow-browed Warbler, Firecrest, Wryneck, Jack Snipe, Little Bunting, Cory's, Sooty, Balearic and Great Shearwaters, Grey Phalarope, European Storm Petrel and a few Common migrants such as Pied & Spotted Flycatchers, Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, garden Warbler, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Wheatear & Whinchat.