ALL DAY TRIP TO ST AGNES – WINGLETANG DOWN – ST WARNA COVE – TROY TOWN MAZE – PERIGLIS COVE – BARNABY LANE
WEATHER: overcast and windy all day with some light rain and Short spells of sunshine
St Agnes is the smallest of the five inhabited islands, but it still took nearly all day to walk around it. From the quay we walked up the hill and turned off into Barnaby Lane, a Red-eyed Vireo ad been seen along the lane several times over the last few days. The lane was lined with tall bushes, it was dark and quite windy along there, we had very chance of seeing anything and that is what happened, we saw nothing.
A Logan Stone can be seen in the background
The lane takes you to the wide-open area called Wingletang Down, it was very windy out in the open, a few Meadow Pipits took to the air as we walked along the grassy tracks passing clomps of gorse and heather. A small group of birders were watching something near the rocky coastline, it turned out to be one of our target birds, the BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER. One of my favourite wader waders, this little beauty showed very well for us,
three pictures of the Buff-breasted Sandpiper
We took our fill of this lovely little bird before walking off in a clockwise direction along the coastal path. We saw pipits, wheatears, Stonechats and gulls and out on the rough sea we watched Gannets, Cormorants and Shags. The route took us through areas where huge lumps of granite rock stood like sentinel on the landscape, carved into wonderful shapes over millions of years by the weather.
sculptured by the weather this is called Nag's Head
We found a lovely sheltered area near Warna’s Cove, next to Warn's Well, where we ate our picnic lunch, during lunch we found two Whimbrels on the rocks, our first of the trip. We then continued our walk to Troy Town and the camp site, we searched an area called the ‘Maze’ for a Short-toed Lark, but the bird did not show.
Wimbrel seen in Warna's Cove
The group found a café near the camp site and stopped for coffee and cake whilst myself and Neville soldiered on to scan the beach area in Periglis Bay. We saw many waders in this sheltered area; Bar-tailed Godwits, Sanderling, Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Turnstones and Oystercatchers. A large female Sparrowhawk dashed down the beach trying to catch a wader for lunch but missed them all, it settled on the kelp for a while.
Bar-tailed Godwit with a Dunlin and a Ringed Plover
four Bar-tailed Godwits with two Ringed Plovers
The rest off the group arrived just after all the waders had scattered, so we set off for the 4pm boat. We spent another 30 minutes looking for the Vireo, without seeing it, before we walked down to the quay to catch the boat. Low cloud and drizzle had set in around 3pm but it was clearing now, we had some sunshine on the trip back to St. Marys.