ALL DAY ON BRYHER WITH VISITS TO GREAT POOL - POPPLESTONES - HELL BAY - SHIPMAN POINT AND LARGE AREAS ON SHIPMAN DOWN
WEATHER: A lovely start, clear sky with much lighter winds - cloudy later with some showers. Top temp 16C
It's pretty dire for birders on the islands at the moment and especially dire on Bryher!! Very few migrant species are present and it is hard work just finding common migrants. We opted for Bryher because some of the group had never visited the island and there was hope that something would be discovered there.
From breakfast we walked down through the allotments on Peninnis and then across to Porthcressa, we saw very little and the bay held the usual gulls and a few wader species, no terns were present. Our 10:15 boat left on time and soon we were scrambling up the quay onto Bryher.
We headed for the other side of the island, passing the tennis courts and the Great Pool. As we approached the tennis court area a Lesser Redpoll flew over, calling. That’s not a bad sighting for Scilly. We saw Mute Swans on the pool and very few birds elsewhere. A report went out of a Short-eared Owl viewed from Popplestones beach, we were not far from there.
the view from Popplestones beach
The owl had gone off over the fields by the time we arrived, doh! A short sea-watch produced sightings of many Gannets and a few Cory’s Shearwaters, the beach held Oystercatchers, Ringed Plover, Rock Pipit and White Wagtails. A Raven flew over in the near distance and a few Swallows dashed about.
the sea was still a little rough out there
The headland above Popplestones was a great place from which to sea-watch from, we spent 30 minutes doing so. An amazing number of Cory’s Shearwater were passing, large groups came through, Gannets were the same. One guy reported 200 Cory’s passing in 30 minutes, we saw about 50.
our first Whinchat of the day
We spent the next couple of hours walking to Shipman Point and across the Downs, we noted a couple of Stonechats and a few Meadow Pipits. On the descent from the Down we bumped into a Whinchat and got our best view and a little later we found a second one giving even better views. That was birding highlight of the entire visit to Bryher!
the second Whinchat
We sat at the pub near Fraggle Rock and enjoyed a drink in the fading sunshine, dark clouds were looming and rain was on its way. A short walk to the quay produced sightings of two Chiffchaffs and half a dozen Swallows. From the quay we added Curlew to the day list and not much else.
Shags with Cormorant
We stayed dry for the return journey to St Mary’s, but the sky did open up as we walked back to the guest house and we had to dash to find shelter.
We had visited another of these beautiful islands, the day had been very enjoyable, we had walked in beautiful, stunning landscapes in glorious sunshine, we can’t complain about there being no birds around, it is what it is!