ISLES OF SCILLY
Day 4 | Week 1 | A Speyside Wildlife holiday.

We wake to another bright, blustery day. Following two off island days we are staying on St Mary’s today, so after collecting our lunches from the bakery we head off to Lower Moors. At the Shooter’s Pool we add a trip tick in the form of a Green Sandpiper bobbing away as it feed around the reed edge at the back of the pool. A Snipe tries to hide in the reed edge, but the bright sun picks out its bold back markings. A couple of Greenfinches come down to drink from one of the remaining puddles by the overhanging bushes from where a Chiffchaff gives a brief snatch of song.

We head on to the hides but there is no sign of the recent Pectoral Sandpiper. With only a single Redshank present we make our way out to Old Town Bay and whilst enjoying the couple of Little Egrets feeding in amongst the seaweed and rock pools some enjoy an ice cream in the warm sun.

Redshank



A weedy field at Old Town – looks OK to me!


We head around the picturesque Tolman Point and up on to the rocky area at the seaward end of the airport known as Giant’s Castle where a wader giving off a plaintive call wheels over us. It’s a golden plover but which one? I can’t get a clear view of the underwing so can’t firmly ID it, although the call is pointing towards our own European Golden Plover rather than American Golden Plover. The bird appears to go down on to the airfield so I go to investigate and finds it alert on the edge of the runway. He calls the group up but only Charles gets there in time before it takes flight again. At least the ID is confirmed as European Golden Plover. Several Wheatears provide interest on an otherwise quiet walk, but the scenery is stunning with the huge and lumpy grey rocky coastline contrasting with the deep blue sea under a brilliant blue sky.

We arrive at the beautiful bay of Porth Hellick. The neap tide is at its lowest revealing a huge expanse of rock pools and seaweed which is dotted with Ringed Plovers and Turnstones. Huge rock formations which are covered at high tide tower from the exposed seabed. What a great spot for a spot of lunch! We settle on the rocks in the lea of a natural sea wall which protects us from the strong westerly wind. As we chomp through our sandwiches there’s a group of people out at the mouth of the bay rock pooling. Two Herring Gulls provide entertainment as they toss aside lumps of seaweed looking for juicy morsels for their own lunch. The sun beats down on us and it isn’t long before some of us succumb to heavy eyelids!

Sleepy at Porth Hellick!


Wakey, wakey! And we are off again. We move on to the Seaward Hide overlooking Porth Hellick Pool. At first glance all seems quiet until Charles points out a Little Stint – right under our noses about 30ft away! Wow! What cracking views of this tiny little wader. It’s a really brightly marked juvenile with rufous feathering on the back and its distinctive white braces forming a clear V. It feeds actively in the soft mud with a sewing machine action. Wonderful. Charles then spies a Green Sandpiper which does a fly past to show off its square white rump.

Little Stint


At the second hide we manage only to disturb the roosting Grey Heron and see a Snipe and Greenshank (both asleep-exiting huh!).

We walk along the boardwalk around Higher Moors. The sheltered sunny areas are alive with midges and hoverflies – but no birds to eat them! A very fresh Peacock butterfly on the path is our first of the week. We bump in to Scilly Birdman Will Wagstaff and whilst exchanging news a Yellow Wagtail flies over calling ‘spee’ and disappears into the still blue sky.

Peacock


The walk through the Cathedral up to Holy Vale is similarly bird free (apart from countless Wrens), but again alive with insect, including lots of Speckled Woods. The along the track from Holy Vale to Four Lane Ends is alive with butterflies, and along one small stretch of ivy and bramble we have Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood and Small Copper. A couple of Goldcrests call continuously from a belt of pines, but seeing them proves more than a little difficult.

Walking up Telegraph Road, news from a passing couple that we have just missed eight Red-legged Partridges is met with complete disinterest as we have tea and cake firmly on our minds! A quick check of the horse fields for a Yellow Wag is soon abandoned when it isn’t found within a minute, and with dry tongues we arrive at Juliet’s Garden for much need refreshments. From the tea garden I scope the gulls down in the bay at Porthloo and pick out the first-winter Mediterranean Gull which has been wandering around the island the last few days. Bills paid and its down to the windswept Porthloo beach for some much closer, albeit wind impaired views of this smart gull which gives terrific views. Unfortunately, it proves an expensive stop for Terry, whose scope is blown over by the wind and the body is sheered from its tripod foot. Ouch! Terry, although clearly hurting (well who wouldn’t be) remains philosophical admitting ‘at least I can now buy the little Leica scope I’d like’. That’s the spirit!

We arrive back at the guesthouse with faces glowing from a day of constant sun and wind. After an hour relaxing and freshening up we meet up for another filling evening meal before our usual jovial checklist before retiring (via the local hostelry for some).

ISLES OF SCILLY
Day 3 | Week 1 | A Speyside Wildlife holiday.

We wake to bright blue skies after a night of high wind and lashing rain. We board the Britannia and take an unexpectedly smooth ride over to St Martin’s.

Flying the flag on the way to St Martin’s


Landing at Lower Town the skipper announces ‘the exit is on the left. Those exiting on the right, the water is only ankle deep . . . if you stand on your hands!’

After a quick watch of a Small Tortoiseshell we head straight up to Tinkler’s Hill and up on to the northern side of the island. Our main quarry is a Pallid Harrier which has been seen around the islands in recent days, and has spent at least the last two days on St Martin’s. Three Ravens rise over the nearby island of Tean. They wheel around the blue sky chasing each other. One bird turns against the wind is suddenly swept across the sound across to our island. It gains height and comes over us like a large flying cross, its thick bill and shaggy neck clearly visible.

Round Island


As we pass by Porth Seal two waders appear in the sky right by us. ‘Bar-tailed Godwit following the Curlew!’ I shout. The light is perfect as the two birds spin around the bay and the lack of wingbars on the smaller godwit is
easy to see.

We continue across to The Plains with only a few Stonechats to show for our efforts. We have to make best of little shelter there is when a squall rips through. At least the gorse helps to keep the driving rain off our legs. After the rain butterflies are quickly back on the wing and we come across Painted Lady, Small Copper and Wall all sunning themselves and feeding on the low growing heather. Five Little Stints come hurtling from a beach below us and pass right over our heads.

With another squall building to the west we loiter at a suitable spot that is sheltered from the strong wind, allows us to take an early lunch in the sun and provides a view of the expansive downs in case the harrier appears. Raindrops fall and we make a quick dash to the only cover on this side of the island, a stand pines under which one of the local birders has already taken cover under. It looks like we were just on the edge of this squall and the bulk of it passed to the east, so we are quickly back on the harrier hunt.

‘Raptor!’ I call, pointing to a dark shape over the western side of the island. ‘Bah! Common Buzzard’ I pronounce very deflated. Still, the Buzzard wind-hovers for us before tipping a wingtip and letting the wind take it hurtling along the sea below us.

As we climb Turfy Hill we look back along Great Bay. Charles picks up a group of waders high up on the beach. We get our scopes onto them. Sanderling, about 40 of them. Normally found scurrying along the tideline, these birds are running around in typical clockwork fashion at the top of the beach probably feeding on sandhoppers.

Sanderlings digging for insects high up the beach


At Chapel Gate a Whimbrel rises from a little field, calling its stuttered whistle call as it gains height. Again the light is fantastic as the bird wheels around, flying off low over the sea before returning to feed in the field. The bird is only yards away and from the cover of a dry stone wall, we get super close views of this all too weary wader. A tick for some, these are certainly the best views we have all ever had of this migrant curlew. We move on to the next field and find another two birds feeding, then another bird, with a fifth eventually coming in. Wow! Whimbrel wonderland. A Whitethroat manages to distract us only for a few moments from our Whimbrel-watching.

One of the five Whimbrel giving great views


As we approach Chapel Down the Buzzard reappears over Little Arthur Farm giving us superb views as it wind-hovers and glides around over the farm. A few more Stonechats are added to the tally, along with Small Heath butterfly.

The walk along the south of the island is windy and pretty birdless bar more views of the Buzzard and some Collared Doves. Nearing the quay for the transfer back to St Mary’s, the news we now didn’t want comes through. The Pallid Harrier had just been seen on the north of the island. Having spent over four hours searching for it we decided another hour was unlikely to prove fruitful given the bird had already been lost again. Smart move! The bird wasn’t seen again and the crossing back was more than a little wet on the Seahorse, and would have been extremely wet on the later boat – the uncovered Guiding Star! As it was, those at the bow of the boat got an absolute drenching, whilst us wimps took shelter either inside or behind the bridge section – nice and dry!

St Mary’s quay during a windy high tide


After dinner we caught up on two days of checklist having missed yesterday’s.

ISLES OF SCILLY
Day 2 | Week 1 | A Speyside Wildlife holiday.

After a hearty breakfast we make our way to the quay and board the Guiding Star for our transfer to Tresco. The shelter of the harbour masked the choppy crossing during which a procession of Sandwich Terns passed by the boat.

We land at Carn Near, or Carn Far as it is known in birding circles – ‘’cos it’s the furthest point from everywhere on the island when you need to get to the ferry in a hurry’ I quip. The wind is getting up all the time and we know its going to be difficult migrant hunting in this. Walking around the edge of the Heliport, Alan picks out a Stonechat on a near Rhododendron bush which we all get good views of before it braves the open space of the landing field and gets blown across it by the wind! We search the Abbey Pool for a Baird’s Sandpiper which has been seen until a couple of days ago (‘it does go missing tho’ Steve was told by one of the local birders). No joy. And no other waders to compensate either! The southern end of the Great Pool holds a Mute Swan and a couple of White Wagtails and Alan picks up a Little Egret overhead battling hard against the wind. Rounding the bushes on to Penzance Road, I spy a movement up ahead. ‘Pied Flycatcher!’ I shout as it disappears into a gap in the bushes. Damn! We reposition ourselves and a short wait later and out it pops. ‘Wonderful’ comments Pam. At the Rosefield crossroads we search a few sheltered edges and Charles picks up a second, much whiter and cleaner, Pied Fly.

We walk along Pool Road with more White Wagtails trotting around the bulb fields and the odd Pheasant scratching around. Under one of the Pheasant feeding bins there is a sizeable flock of House Sparrows and Chaffinches feeding in the spilt grain. ‘Kestrel!’ Steve shouts, and whoosh! It flies straight into the feeding flock under the feeder but comes out empty handed.

We arrive at the Great Pool hide for lunch to the sound of a squealing Water Rail which promptly shuts up. Thanks! Along the reed edges there are an assortment of waders probing the soft mud. A couple of Curlew Sandpipers wade belly deep with the heads deep underwater for most of the time. On the odd occasion they lift their bills clear of the water, the long downward curve is very clear. In the shallow water several Dunlin probe with more deliberate action, and about twice as fast as the Curlew Sands. We then pick up three smaller birds on the reed edge with a much faster feeding action – Little Stints. Snipe, Mallard, Teal and several Gadwall are dotted along the reed edge in front of us. One of the trees to our right has a couple of Little Egrets sat in its top. Make that three. No four. Alright – there’s seven!

Out of nowhere a dumpy grey wader appears with the Dunlin. ‘It’s a Knot’ proclaims Steve. The Knot is oblivious to its new found audience as it feeds busily making its way closer, and closer, and closer to us. It’s too close to focus! At such close range the dull grey plumage is transformed with each of the upperpart feathers ending with a thin white fringe and a neat arrowhead which ages it as a juvenile.

About the closest I’ve ever been to a Knot


Amongst the increasing flock of roosting Greenshank and Redshank on the far side, a large, brownish wader stands tall over the shanks – a Black-tailed Godwit.

Searching for Baird’s Sand


Tipped off that the Baird’s Sand sometimes gets on to the beach near the Abbey Pool we make haste. Passing the southern part of the Great Pool again we find the three Little Stints have relocated and we find a lone Little Ringed Plover running around with them. We search the beach. Ringed Plover. Oystercatchers. Various Gulls. More Ringed Plovers. Turnstones. More Ringed Plovers. But no Baird’s Sand.

The wind is beginning to lift sand off the beach and hurl it at us. Time to retreat . . . to the Tresco Gardens café! As we arrive at the café I spot something whizzing around the entrance. Is it a bird? Is it a butterfly? No it’s a large moth, with brilliant red hindwings. It’s struggling in the wind, but eventually settles high up on the wall of a building, almost disappearing with its cryptic markings matching the wall brilliantly.

With the wind strengthening further, and news of a Pectoral Sandpiper on St Mary’s, we head for the earlier boat back. The skipper shows his expertise on the return voyage, hugging the edges of Bryher and Samson for shelter and then riding along the waves rather than slopping through them. A windsurfer speeds past as if he’s powered by rocket fuel. Not to be outdone, a couple of Gannets whiz around, banking with wing tips nearly touching the surface and disappearing in to the troughs between the lines of waves. Fantastic! We see the Guiding Star making its way to Tresco (from St Mary’s), it too disappearing behind the ever heightening waves. It’s more than a little choppy right now! We arrive back at St Mary’s quay. ‘If you’re wet it’s not our fault’ quips the skipper as we climb the quay steps.

We dump our rucsacs at the guesthouse and six of us head off to Lower Moors. With no news since the mornings initial sighting we are twitching in the dark, just hoping that the Pec Sand is still on the pool. We arrive at the ‘new’ hide. Greenshank. Smaller wader – Dunlin. Frantic scanning. No sign. I look across at the other hide where three pairs of binoculars seem to be trained on one area to their right. I try to follow the line of their sight, scouring the reed edge around the hide opposite. I see a movement and ‘got it!’ I announce. I give directions and soon Terry, Bill, Pam, Charles and Alan are all watching a small wader moving through the reeds on the opposite side of the pool. ‘Not great views. Lets get round to the other hide’ I decide. A few moments later we are looking down at an empty reed edge from the other hide. It can’t have flown while we were walking round could it? Did that Grey Heron scare it off? No there it is. But its largely obscured but eventually it comes out in to the open and we all get good views of this American relative of the Dunlin as it pecks away only 40 or so feet from us. It wanders out of view again and it loos like views would be better, albeit slightly further, from the other hide. We nip back round and sure enough, although now 40 or so yards rather than feet, we can see the bird well. I struggle to get a clear view through the tops of reeds to get a good photo, but a few clicks later I’m happy enough given the fading light, moving reeds and a bird which refuses to come out in to the open! We take different routes back, and Charles and Terry are lucky to add Green Sandpiper to their trip lists.

Pec Sand


After freshening up, we take the walk up to Juliet’s Garden for a sumptuous meal and lively banter. What a great way to round off the day!

ISLES OF SCILLY
Day 1 | Week 1 | A SPEYSIDE WILDLIFE holiday.

I meet up with the group at 8.15 am on the quay in Penzance and we board the Scillonian III for our sea passage to the Isles of Scilly. Just as we leave the quayside, we see a Rock Pipit obligingly sitting out on the harbour wall. We are soon heading out following the coastline towards Land’s End and the relative calm of Penzance harbour gives way to increasingly choppy seas and a strengthening south-westerly wind. The sea all around us looking more than a little lumpy with white horses atop the waves as the boat begins bounce, the height of the vertical movement of the stern getting steadily higher! A few of the passengers are looking decidedly green-gilled, but we are all OK and in good spirits, even when one mighty bow splash leaves Wendy soaked and a squall speeds through, heavens opening briefly upon us.

On the Scillonian III


Rough seas usually means good seabirds – bit not today. A few Herring Gulls kept up with the ship, but Gannets rarely approach close by. By the time we have first sight of the islands we have a very disappointing three Fulmars and one Manx Shearwater.

Land ahoy!


With sight of the islands our anticipation is heightened. We pass the Eastern Isles with the long, sandy-beached St Martin’s stretching out behind them. Looking down Crow Sound we can see Round Island lighthouse in the distance, with Tresco to its left disappearing behind the main island of St Mary’s. We turn in to St Mary’s Sound and St Agnes appears on our left, with the small island of Gugh sat in front of it. As we turn towards Hugh Town, the view south down to Bishop lighthouse is breathtaking. The flat island of Annet stretches in front of the jagged peaks of the Western Rocks. The twin hills of Samson come in to view, with Bryher tucked behind them and a closer view of Tresco.

St Mary’s quay


We disembark and head straight for our guesthouse. A relaxing drink and lunch before heading off along the beaches of Porthmellon and Thomas Porth and on to Porthloo. The wind is ever strengthening, and looking across the harbour to the docked Scillonian; the small boats dotted across the harbour are listing from side to side – even in the sheltered harbour side of the island. ‘I wouldn’t like to be heading back to Penzance in this’ remarks Alan. Despite the ferociousness of the wind, the beaches do hold some birds. Black-headed Gulls pick along the wet tide line at items deposited by the crashing waves. Turnstones walk through the litter along the dry high tide line, turning over lumps of seaweed to reveal tasty morsels. A couple of Wheatears brave the openness of the beach, one flitting around the dry seaweed, the other content to chase sandhoppers along the open sand.

With news of a ‘probable Pallid Harrier’ over Bryher then Tresco, I confidently predict that it won’t hang around and it would be either off to St Martin’s or the north of St Mary’s. With this in mind, the plan was to make for the open space of the golf course to look over to St Martin’s and Tresco. But . . . the strengthening wind would probably see us blown over up there, so we switch to Plan B – find some sheltered spots, just as much for ourselves as for the birds!

After grilling the exotica on Porthloo duckpond (Wood Duck, Fulvous Whistling Duck, Chiloe Wigeon etc), we take a slow meander along the Low Moors Nature Trail. House Martins and Swallows feeding over one area in the lea of a large stand of trees indicate a sheltered area, free of wind and in the warm sun. Bliss! Amidst the hirundines we pick out a lone Sand Martin, its small size, faster, jerky flight setting it apart from its larger cousins.

Two very different Speckled Woods



Whilst watching a couple of Speckled Wood butterflies around a bramble patch, I pick up on a Reed Warbler moving along the bracken hedge in front of us. Its pretty much hidden, put after a little while Charles picks it up a little further long the hedge and it eventually gives excellent views sat put on the brambles and bracken stems. It has a habit of hanging upside down and then lurching towards its insect victims which it picks off the plant stems. Other non-avian interest is provided by Long-winged Conehead (grasshopper family) and Small Copper and Common Blue butterflies.

We head in to the tangled, almost mangrove like willows of Lower Moors. At the near-dry Shooters Pool a Snipe gives brilliant views as it bathes in the puddle left in front of the viewing screen. Wendy picks up on a warbler which also comes down for a bathe, albeit out of view for most of us. Steve manages to get in a position to get a clear view and just as he announces it as a Willow Warbler it promptly takes flight and disappears headlong in to the dense willows.

At the first hide overlooking the Pool we get views of Greenshank, Redshank, Snipe and Dunlin – but we are looking straight in to the sun so we relocate to the other hide with the sun behind it. What a difference! Suddenly the near silhouettes are transformed into brilliantly lit birds – and how close are they! They are literally feet away from our line of binoculars. The Greenshank towers over the others, wading up to its belly in search of prey in the deepest parts of the pool. The Snipe have moved over to the back of the pool, but the Redshank and Dunlin pick along the nearest edge to us. The Dunlin is very delicately marked, with its gingery head, scalloped brown uppers and white underparts broken by smudgy chevrons down its flanks. A Kestrel drifts over and a White Wagtail makes a brief appearance.

Lower Moors Pool


Greenshank


Leaving the moors we find a Wheatear sat forlornly on a rock in the middle of a grass field (‘why am I hear?’ its probably asking itself) and on to a deserted Old Town Bay. Just past Nowhere (‘or is it now here?’ asks Charles) we come across a handful of wagtails on the playing field by the school. White and Pied – the white looking so much cleaner and smarter than the dingy, scruffier Pieds.

We are soon back in town and climbing the stairs of our guesthouse to our rooms. An hours rest before dinner, checklist and then off around the corner for Will Wagstaff’s (the Scilly Birdman) Wildlife of Scilly slideshow which simply whets our appetites for the week ahead!

GARDEN EXOTICA
The male Sudan Golden Sparrow, first seen in the garden on 22 Aug, reappeared briefly on Monday and had so far evaded my camera. Today tho, the camera was set up at the upstairs window and SNAP! gotcha! What a star. My only previous encounter wit hthis species was in 1992 when I found one in The Gambia where it is a scarce visitor.

Male Sudan Golden Sparrow. A first for Cambs?!

RED-BACKED SHRIKE @ PRIOR'S FEN
Kev 'Pinky' Du Rose and Prior's Fens do it again! The initial call from Kev on Friday evo was a little distressing as I was actually out of area (aagghh!) and planned not to be back until late Sunday evening. Thankfully I managed to rearrange things and made it to the shrike at one of my fave Peterbirding sites to spend five hours watching it on and off. It was stinking hot in the sweltering sun and the light for best part of the afternoon was crap. With a little perseverance I managed to get some half decent shots out of the 200+ pics I took (the beauty of digital images eh!).

Immature Red-backed Shrike, Prior's Fen, Cambs


Heavily barred unders and scaly uppers age this as a young bird


This takes my 'top birds to perch on bulrush' list to three - this RBS, Penduline Tit (of course) and . . . . Long-eared Owl!


For more Red-backed Shrike photos click here

DRAG ACTION
I spent an hour or so wandering around Woodwalton Fen NNR in search of darters and wasn't disappointed. Common Darters were everywhere, including dozens on the railings of all the bridges, and Ruddy Darters zipped around the reeded dykes.

Male Ruddy Darter Woodwalton Fen NNR.


Female Ruddy Darter Woodwalton Fen NNR.


Pair of Ruddy Darters Woodwalton Fen NNR.


Male Common Darter Woodwalton Fen NNR.


Female Common Darter Woodwalton Fen NNR.

GARDEN MOTHS
A rare run of the trap overnight produced a couple of garden ticks including a fine Dark Swordgrass. Not especially rare with 112 previous Hunts records.

Dark Swordgrass

OF TREEPS AND SLUGS
Well I'm cock-a-hoop this evo, having found two near-fledged broods of Tree Sparrows in the two nest boxes by the house. On seeing an adult come out of one box, I climbed the tree to find a brood of three Treebies, so I decided to check the adjacent box which held another three. Both broods are within a day or two of fledging.


Brood of three Treeps in one of my nest boxes

Expecting all six young to make it out of their homes, this will make it 14 broods for the year totalling 33 young! Fantastic given that this is only the second year I've had them breeding here (and not seen on the fen for 15+ years).



Orange form of the Large Black Slug

Some would say its weather for ducks, but it sure is weather for slugs! They love these damp days, and this evo I counted 22 orange Large Black Slugs in the back garden. I rarely see the black form of the Large Black Slug, and so far this year, I ahven't seen any Leopard Slugs which I've seen in the garden before.


Three orange Large Black Slugs on over ripe bananas

GARDEN MOTHS
A rare moth-trapping session overnight yielded only a small catch, but included a new garden tick in the form of Bulrush Wainscot.


Bulrush Wainscot - a common species but still new for the garden

GARDEN DRAGON
On a rather dark, stormy looking day I was pleased to be entertained over lunch by this fine male Southern Hawker which has been perched on the leylandii hedge outside my office window.


Male Southern Hawker

GARDEN BIRDS
I nearly choked over breakfast when a Sudan Golden Sparrow visited the garden feeders. Looks like I'm gonna have to start an exotics garden list as well. Unfortunately, by the time I got the camera set up with the scope it had done a bunk and wasn't seen again. I did managed to get a couple of snaps of a couple of garden favourites.


Female Great Spotted Woodpecker on garden nut feeder.


Juvvy Treep looking for Mum and/or Dad to ram some seed down its throat.

LOCAL PATCH BIRDING
Spent the afternoon walking around the fen, and it was one of my best days on the fen to date. The tracks and dykes were stuffed with dragons and damsels - Migrant and Brown Hawkers, Common and Ruddy Darters, and loads and loads of Emerald Damsels. A couple of juv Marsh Harriers were out-performed by two scrapping juvvy Hobbies over our heads. Flushed a family party of Grey Partridges, plenty of juvvy Reed Warblers, Skylarks, Whitethroats etc - fab time.

MY NEW BABY BINS
This weekends British Birdwatching Fair saw the launch of the new LEICA Ultravid 32 series of binos. Along with the 8x20 and 10x25 series, this now completes Leica's Ultravid range.


The new LEICA Ultravid 8x32 - gorgeous or what!

As a member of Leica's Optical Innovation Team I'll obviously be seen as biased, but I'm on the OIT for one reason - I'm a birder. I use bins every day of my life and talk to birders all around the world about optics and their needs.

As a community, birders continue to challenge optical manufacturers to produce better birding products. For the last 15 years I've been helping Leica do just that, and I think two of the most recent introductions in particular, the Televid 62 scope and the Ultravid bino range, directly respond to the needs and challenges set by birders.

The 8x32 Ultravids are simply outrageous. They are incredibly light (525g on my scales) and tiny (116mmx116mm) and optically superb (you would not expect anything else from Leica!). Can a 32mm bino get any smaller than this? And where do we go from here? Wait and see!

The pick of the other optics on show at the Bird Fair had to be Nikon's new High Grade 'lights'. Weight was the main reason why this range never caught on (along with possibly the shallow depth of field and slighlty narrow fild of view at this level) - so will the new lighter models now catch on? Lets hope so. I believe that every truly great product deserves its day, and the Nikon High Grade Lights rank amongst the best of birding optics.

GARDEN DRAGONS
I've had a couple of Migrant Hawkers in the garden most days for the last few weeks, but today an influx of at least 16 males hawking around the back garden including these four chaps. The top photo shows just how unterritorial these guys are and often forming large feeding groups in woodland rides and along sheltered field edges.

SOUTHERN EMERALD DAMSELFLY
News of a number of Southern Emerlad Dams at Sandwich Bay (Kent) was more than welcome, so I joined friends Tim & Margaret Benton for a dash down to see witness only the second ever sighting of this species in Britain.

We arrived at Sandwich Bay to be greeted by some familiar faces and both male and female SEDs on view. We located at least two different females and at between 5-7 males. The differences from (Common) Emerald damselfly is very obvious, in particular the bi-coloured pterostigma (the small coloured panel near the tip of each wing) and the ante-humeral stripes. The females are really robust with very thick abdoments.



Male Southern Emerald Damselfly Lestes barbarus Sandwich Bay, Kent. Note the bi-coloured pterostigma and green stripes down the thorax.




Female Southern Emerald Damselfly Lestes barbarus Sandwich Bay, Kent. Note the thick, robust abdomen, bi-coloured pterostigma and thorax stripes

Southern Emerald Dams were only added to the British list last July when a small number were found at Winterton Dunes in Norfolk having been predicted only a year before by Adrian Parr in Atropos. Rumour has it the Kent individuals were found in mid-July (the Norfolkf onesl ast year were found on 30 July) and it is likely, given the two locations, that these are recent arrivals from the continent where the species is known to be expanding its range.

We also found several Wasp Spiders while searching for the damselflies - fab eh!




Wasp Spider - dig the zig-zag web

FARCET FEN BIRDING
It was one of those great mornings to be out in the field - still, sunny and warm and the fen was leaping with birds and drags.

32 Treeps is the highest count to date and included most of the seasons youngsters, and a flock of 37+ Yellow Wags in one of the stubble fields was likewise a new record count for the patch. Add 170+ House Sparrows, a juvvy Marsh Harrier, Hobby, a couple of Sprawks, Reed Warblers, Whitethroats, etc - great stuff.

In the garden the Treeps bullied the other birds off the feeders and the seemingly now resident Zebra Finch (remember him - turned up the same evening as my Pied Fly last week!), was reasonably approachable with my camera hand-held - well, I can't be fussed trying to digiscope a cage bird!



Ziggy the Zebra Finch - a new garden resident?

GARDEN BIRDS
A newly fledged Tree Sparrow in the garden today is the 25th fledged youn seen this season. This years six pairs have now raised 11 broods (three pairs raised six broods, 18 young last year).




The latest baby Treep in the garden - the 25th fledged young for the year

UGLY DUCKLINGS
I spent the evening in Ely on BOURC business checking out the city's Muscovy Duck population. I found 25 adults and 38 young - is this species destined for admission to the British List?



Muscovy Ducks in central Ely including babies

GARDEN BIRDS
Wow! What a day. Hot on the heels of garden tick no. 99, Red kite last week, last night I found a fem/imm Pied Flycatcher in the front garden - garden tick no. 100! It performed well until a thunderstorm moved in.

I awoke to heavy rain and in a brief respite mid-morning I couldn't see the Pied Fly, but the buzzy call I first heard last night (which went un'IDed) was pinned down to an escaped Zebra Finch.

Late morning the rain stopped, the sun came out and insects were suddenly on the wing. The garden was hoochin' with birds, including a couple of new baby Treeps. I soon located the Pied Fly in next door's garden feeding from one of the large weeping willows. It was on the house side, so I was able to watch it for about 15 mins from one of my bedroom windows. Whilst hanging out of the window, garden tick no. 101 flew over - a noisy Grey Wagtail. And within half an hour, a Reed Warbler bounced through the garden - garden tick no. 102!! Unbelievable, three garden ticks within the last 24 hours! The Reed Warbler appears to have taken up residence for hte afternoon and judging by the amount of juicy items its finding, it ain't going hungry!

To add to the garden tally, a Willow Warbler performed well early afternoon and a Common Sandpiper (from the nearby irrigation res) was heard a couple of times - presumably flying around the fen when disturbed from the res.

GARDEN WILDLIFE
Another warm, sticky day, with the garden again alive with insects. The second Wall butterfly of the week, and hundreds of hoverflies and irritating thunderflies. The house is covered in dead hoverflies - in every room - and at one point I had nine live hoverflies sat on my keyboard! And I didn't get a photo!

This evening saw three dragonfly species hawking in the garden for insects - two Brown Hawkers plus Southern and Migrant Hawkers. One of the Brown Hawkers tangled with the Southern a couple of times - top stuff!

I found one of the Brown Hawkers roosting in a leylandii hedge in the back garden. The light wasn't good, and it was under the over hanging branches, so I had to use flash - something I don't like doing.



Brown Hawker - one of two in the garden this evening


I also found this Comma roosting on the side of one of my window boxes.



Comma roosting on window box

GARDEN WILDLIFE
The garden continues to be heaving with insects (and a few birds!).



Wall - only the second for the garden




Hoverflies - part of the massive invasion in recent days




Female Emerald Damselfly - a garden regular