I was going to include a report of this sighting in a future blog post about our stay on the Isles of Scilly this March. However, after consideration, I have decided to do a short post specifically about this sighting. The story unfolds as follows:-
Saturday 14th March
I'd gone for a long walk along the coast on a dull and windy day, starting at the top end of Watermill Lane in the north-east of St. Mary's and tracked south round the coast, seeing little of great interest.
I was just about to crest Porth Hellick Down at 11h00 when I noticed a Kestrel at some distance inland. As I'd seen little up until now, I decided to bang off a few shots, without any expectations because of the distance and the light. Not knowing whether Common Kestrel was a common sight on the Scillies, I reported it on the 'Isles of Scilly Bird Group' WhatsApp group. I then continued back to base at Littleporth.
The rest of the day was uneventful.
Sunday 15th March
I'd been on a boat trip out to St. Agnes, and then out to Tresco, and was sitting back at base when a message came through on the WhatsApp group. I will let the following images take up the story. The bits with the green background on the right are my 'contribution'.
- and so it went on! I could barely contain my excitement. This was, of course, a lifer for me, and an extremely rare bird, with only 14 accepted records in UK since the year 1900!
Later that afternoon I had a message from Birdwatch magazine and Birdguides offering me a commission for a finder's report which, of course, I had to decline. However, although I'd not been the finder, I take great satisfaction in the fact that it was my photos that verified the find - even if they were rubbish!
Far better photos were obtained by other people the following day and on subsequent days.
I'll return to this sighting when I publish the full story of my stay on the Scillies on this blog.
In the mean time, stay safe, stay home and stay happy.
congratulations!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Anne. It's the person that realised it was something different that deserves the congratulations, however!
DeleteA fun day, keep it up Richard.
ReplyDeleteIt was! - you too Bob
DeleteA brilliant contribution to the ID of this bird....'As I said, not good shots!'....matters not a jot Richard. Great stuff.
ReplyDeleteKeep on keeping on in isolation Richard.
Thank you for those kind words, Pete. I think that my two most exciting birding moments ever have been on the Isles of Scilly. A wonderful location!
DeleteCongratulations, Richard. Even a poor photograph can clinch the ID of a species, and obviously your pictures did the trick with this sighting. I will check my records later, but ai am pretty sure that I have only seen this species in South Africa and Ethiopia. It boggles the mind to think that if you had already had an excellent day of photography you might not have even bothered with the long shot!
ReplyDeleteI saw this species only in Ethiopia, not in South Africa, Richard, despite it being shown as locally common in some areas.
DeleteThank you, David. I was quite surprised to hear that you have only seen this species in Ethiopia, as I too was under the impression that it is quite common in Spain and Eastern Europe. Yes, I could easily have not bothered to fire off shots that day, particularly as I was tired, having walked for a couple of hours in a strong cold wind. For me, this one is up there with the Snowy Owl sighting - also on the Scillies!
DeleteTake good care - - - Richard
A big well done. Days like this are rare but will be remembered forever. Congratulations on getting any kind of shots.
ReplyDeleteYep, Marc - not going to forget this one in a hurry! Thank you for your kind words.
DeleteHello Richard this is a second try after I whrote two days ago. Hope this one will get through. Congratulations with the spotting op this bird.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Roos
Hi Roos. I don't know what might have happened to your original comment - I didn't see it, and if you tried to send it two days ago, it wasn't to this post as I only published this post yesterday! Thank you for your patience.
DeleteI hope that all is well with you. Take great care - it can't go on for ever - - - Richard
Toda una satisfacción esta observación, enhorabuena amigo mío!!! Un fuerte abrazo desde el confinamiento español.
ReplyDeleteSaludos Germán. Fue bueno saber de usted. Espero que esté logrando mantenerse seguro y saludable en estos tiempos terribles. Mis mejores deseos desde el cierre de Inglaterra (¡espero que el último fragmento se traduzca bien!) - - - - Richard
DeleteHi Richard,
ReplyDeleteit's great if you can photograph a species that you think is a "normal" bird. Great that you can provide proof of this again :-)
Kind regards and be safe
Helma
This was pure luck, Helma!
DeleteMy very best wishes - - - Richard