Scilly Pelagics T-shirts et al

First design available here

Siberian Accentor Infux 2016

A friend of ours created these spectacular designs to commemorate the unprecedented influx of Siberian Accentors in the autumn of 2016 - you can have them printed on almost anything from T-shirts and hoodies to mugs and iPhone cases. The revenue is going to a worthy cause. Check out the artist's shop  here

Get yours now! Click here

Ptarmigan, Cairngorm, 31/03/16

            

The FINNATURE Experience...

Xmas 2013 Tubenose ID Challenge Solution

1. Short-tailed Albatross off Torishima, Japan
2. Fea’s Petrel off Hatteras, USA
3. Balearic Shearwater off Scilly, UK
4. Light-mantled Sooty Albatross in the South Atlantic
5. Sooty Shearwaters off Monterey, USA
6. Grey-faced Petrel in the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand
7. Wandering Albatross, presumably Tristan, off Gough Island
8. White-faced Storm-petrel off Madeira
9. Wilson’s Storm-petrel off Hatteras, USA
10. Black-browed Albatross in the South Atlantic
11. Antarctic Petrel in the Drake Passage
12. Antarctic Prion off South Setlands
13. ‘White-bellied’ Storm-petrel off Tristan Island (Fregetta tropica melanoleuca or F. grallaria leucogaster)
14. Atlantic Petrel south of Gough Island
15. Grey-headed Albatross approaching Montevideo, Uruguay
16. Black-capped Petrel off Hatteras, USA
17. Bermuda Petrel off Bermuda
18. European Storm-petrel off Scilly, UK
19. Cory’s Shearwaters off Madeira
20. Fairy Prion in the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand
21. Leach’s Storm-petrel off Hatteras, USA
22. Southern Giant Petrel in the Drake Passage
23. Great Shearwater between Gough and Tristan Islands
24. Kerguelen Petrel in the South Atlantic
25. Grey Petrel in the South Atlantic
26. Spectacled Petrel off Gough Island
27. Subantarctic Little Shearwater south of Gough Island
28. Snow Petrel in the Weddel Sea
29. Soft-plumaged Petrel off Tristan Island
30. White-chinned Petrel north of South Orkney
31. Tahiti Petrel in the southwest Pacific
32. Matsudaira’s Storm-petrel en route to Bonin Islands
33. Atlantic Yellow-nosed Albatross between Gough and Tristan Islands
34. Black-bellied Storm-petrel (nominate) off Elephant Island
35. Black Petrel in the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand
36. Buller’s Shearwater in the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand
37. Band-rumped Storm-petrel (with Wilson’s) off Hatteras, USA
38. Streaked Shearwater off South Korea
39. Flesh-footed Shearwater in the Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand
40. White-necked Petrel off North Island, New Zealand

Revised Edition: Storm-petrels & Bulwer's Petrel

The revisions include advances in the separation of Atlantic white-bellied Fregettas illustrated with photos, photos of all four proposed taxa of the BRSP complex including additional discussion in captions, updates on records of vagrants (BBSP, BRSP, SWSP, BUPE), map revisions based on new information, extra new photos, photo guide for Gray-backed Storm-petrel so that the guide covers all of the storm-petrels that frequent the Atlantic, plus other minor revisions. There is no space on the DVDs for revisions, but revisions in the book can be applied to the DVDs. Publication due late October.

Pterodroma Petrels - Available Now!

For further details and to order your copy Click here

Pterodroma Petrels available to pre-order ...

For more details and to pre-order Click here

Expedition to Juan Fernandez

Hadoram Shirihai (the Tubenoses Project) has given us the exclusive opportunity to publish his report (full of awesome photos and new information) of his recent 'mass-chuming' at-sea expedition to Juan Fernandez Islands in search of petrels. This includes an intriguing record of what appears to be unknown dark form (i.e. a dark-morph, or a dark-type/taxon - subject to a future research!) related to White-bellied Storm-petrel. Here is a taster of what is to come:

Iberian Chiffchaff, Lower Moors, 24-26 April 2013

A singing first-summer male Iberian Chiffchaff Phylloscopus ibericus was found by Ashley Fisher at Lower Moors early on the 24th April. It constitutes only the second record for Scilly.
 

Greenland White-fronted Goose...

Having been largely silent since their arrival in October 2012, the 6 birds at Porth Hellick Pool are starting to get more vocal.

Grosbeak on feeders...

More Grozzer...

Photographed in my garden on Christmas Day!

Better video footage of Grozzer...

Make sure to watch it in HD!

Rose-breasted Grosbeak!...

At about 1230 hrs, I received the following text from my landlady, Karen Johnson - Unusual bird alert.... Looks like a sparrow but larger. Speckled breast with white stripes over head and orange patches around throat????? I have photos - this sounded very interesting indeed, i.e. like a Rose-breasted Grosbeak! But I needed to see those pictures! Maybe I'm getting old but I detest these smart phones and being the proud owner of a Nokia 3310, I wasn't going to see them anytime soon! Eventually, Karen sent the best image to a work colleague. Below is the image that popped up!!!

Photo by Karen Johnson from iPhone

Obviously, I raced home but the bird had gone missing. About an hour later, it returned briefly, and I managed to get some record video footage (below).

Dusky Warbler...

I was fortunate to bump into a Dusky warbler today while walking along the nature trail at Lower Moors. At about 1530 hrs, I thought I heard the distinctive 'tac' of a Dusky Warbler, but it was distant and there was so much noise emanating from the airfield, that I almost gave up! Having found at least 7 of these before, it was only the hope of sound recording it that bolstered my determination to relocate it (not really, but that's what it felt like!).

After what seemed like an eternity, it started calling again and eventually gave views down to a few feet. Unfortunately, I only managed to acquire some record video footage as I was fumbling around with my sound recording gear at the time!

Almost an hour later, the airfield quietened down and the Dusky just wouldn't stop calling!

Waxwings...

At least 6 birds were on St Mary's today and all proved to be very obliging. Two birds were filmed and sound-recorded by the Health Centre (below).

Firecrest...

One of two vocal Firecrests in Lower Moors this afternoon.

Vocal Yellow-browed Warbler...

While walking past the Lifeboat slipway, I heard a Yellow-browed Warbler calling. In fact it continued to call for about 30 minutes, enabling me to sound-record it. Oddly, there was sometimes an additional note included with the typical 'tseeooeet' call (see sonogram below and listen to call via player).

Aren't sounds brilliant!

Having recently acquired sound recording equipment (unfortunately too late to record the much debated Dump Clump Yellow-browed Warbler, or to attempt the putative Syke's Warbler) Bob and I are making our first forays into a more detailed appreciation of bird vocalizations - sonograms. It was pleasing therefore, to record a group of Common Crossbill in the pine belt at Trenoweth and confidently assign them to type: Type C or Glip Crossbill (see sonogram below).