Spoonbill + Bonxie & Common Scoter

Bonxie

Common Scoter

Spoonbill

Spoonbill

This Spoonbill was on green island this afternoon the Bonxie was near the seven stones on friday and the common scoter was near St Martins on friday morning.

Great Shearwater (puffins gravis)

On todays Pelagic we managed to attract this Great Shearwater in to the boat . We also saw 3 Sooty Shearwaters 2 Great Skuas .

Ortolan Bunting

This Ortolan Bunting was on the footpath by little porth Ortolan Buntings are a  native of most European countries and western Asia, the Ortolan Bunting  migrates in autumn to tropical Africa, returning at the end of April or beginning of May. Its distribution throughout its breeding range seems to be very local, and for this no obvious reason can be assigned. It was said in France to prefer wine-growing districts; but it certainly does not feed upon grapes, and is found equally in countries where vineyards are unknown. It reaches as far north as Scandinavia and beyond the Arctic Circle, frequenting cornfields and their neighbourhoods. It is an uncommon vagrant in spring and particularly autumn to the British Isles.

Thursdays Pelagic

Grey Phalarope

Grey Phalarope

Manx Shearwater

Puffin Winter Plumage

Sooty Shearwater

Ocean Sunfish

On todays Pelagic we saw 2x Sooty Shearwaters 1x Arctic Skua that didn't show very well 4xGreat Skuas 4x Arctic Terns 1x Grey Phalarope 1x Puffin 15x Harbour Porpoise and 2 x Sunfish.

Baird's Sandpiper Not White Rumped Sandpiper

After another look at the pics we took on Sunday the Sandpiper we saw was a Baird,s Sandpiper not a White Rumped Sandpiper . One of the best identification features is the long wings, which extend beyond the tail when the bird is on the ground. Only the White Rumped Sandpiper also shows this, and that bird can be distinguished by the feature from which it gets its name.

Their breeding habitat is the northern tundra from eastern Siberia to western Greenland. They nest on the ground, usually in dry locations with low vegetation.

Monday's Pelagic Part 2

Adult Arctic Skua

Adult Arctic Skua

Cory's Shearwater

Great Shearwater

Great Shearwater

On Monday night,s pelagic we also saw 1x Adult Arctic Skua 5x Great Shearwaters .

Monday's Pelagic Part 1/ Cory's Shearwaters

On last nights Pelagic 5 miles SE of St Mary's  the wind was SW 5-6 with a 3 to 4 meter swell we saw 30 of these Cory Shearwaters. Cory Shearwaters breed on islands and cliffs in the Mediterranean, with the odd outpost on the Atlantic coast of Iberia.. In late summer and autumn, most birds migrate into the Atlantic as far north as the south-western coasts of Great Britain and Ireland. They return to the Mediterranean in February. 

Peregrine Falcon + Wheatear

Peregrine Falcon Eastern Isles

The Northern Wheatear makes one of the longest journeys of any small bird, crossing ocean, ice, and desert. It migrates from Sub-Saharan Africa in Spring over a vast area of the northern hemisphere that includes northern and central Asia, Europe, Greenland, Alaska, and parts of Canada. In Autumn all return to Africa, where their ancestors had wintered.Arguably, some of the birds that breed in north Asia could take a shorter route and winter in south Asia; however, their inherited inclination to migrate takes them back to Africa.

Minkie whale

The minke whale is the smallest of the baleen whales found in UK waters, measuring 7 to 10 metres when fully grown. Females are usually slightly longer than males. The body of a minke whale is slender and very streamlined; the head is narrow and pointed. The small dorsal fin is usually strongly falcate (curved) and is a unique feature used to identify individual animals in the Hebrides. It is positioned about two-thirds of the way down the back and is visible at the same time as the blowhole when the animal surfaces. The blow is not normally visible at sea. The dorsal fin and back are dark grey or black, the belly is bright white and there is a distinctive white band on the upper side of each pectoral (side) fin. Lifespan is estimated at around 40 to 50 years.

Buff Breasted Sandpiper

Buff Breasted Sandpipers breed in the open arctic tundra of North America and is a very long-distance migrant, spending the non-breeding season mainly in South America, especially Argentina.

It migrates mainly through central North America, and is uncommon on the coasts. It occurs as a regular wanderer to western Europe, and is not classed as rare in Great Britain or Ireland, where small flocks have occurred. Only the Pectoral Sandpiper is a more common American shorebird visitor to Europe.