A series of pics of the stunning male Rrd Breasted Flycatcher at Church Cove earlier this week.

Male Red Breasted Flycatcher enjoying a preen in the morning sunshine.

RBF breeds mainly in east and central Europe and winters in Pakistan ,India and the middle east and is a rare visitor to Britain mainly in the Autumn ,but most birds are first winter birds, so to see an adult male with the red throat and breast  is a real rarity.

They can be fairly phyllosc like at times .

Almost a winning flight shot showing the nice tail pattern.
 

Some more pics from earlier this year.

Adult Rose Coloured Starling Hayle  Towans June. Some good friends of mine phoned to say they had an unusual bird visiting their  garden and suspected it might be a RCStarling and asked me to take a look ,sure enough after a few minutes this splendid bird appeared in there back garden.

The yellow on the forehead is pollen .

Rose Coloured Starling Breeds to the west of the Black Sea and southwest Siberia through Turkey and Iran to West China it mainly winters in India and Southeast Arabia. It reaches Britain  and western Europe as a scarce vagrant in small numbers,

I decided to go back first thing the next morning to get some pictures as the forecast was nice and sunny and to my surprise this probable first summer bird turned up.

Not everyday you get two Rose Coloured Starlings in your garden .

Tawny Pipit .Hendra St Just May.

Tawny Pipit breeds across continental Europe to west China and south to North Africa and the Middle East it winters mainly in the Sahel ,north east Africa and Arabia. It is a rare vagrant to Britain .

 

Some belated pics from the Autumn .

Semipalmated Sandpiper .Hayle September.

You can just make out the small webs on the feet.

Semipalmated Sandpiper is a North American breeder which usually winters in central and south America and is a very rare vagrant to Britian.

Posing here with a dunlin to the left .

This first winter bird showed very well at times and would walk to within a few metres of people present.

Bairds Sandpiper.

Another North American bird which breeds in eastern Siberia too and winters in south America and a rare vagrant to Britain .

This is a first winter bird 

Hayle September.

Little Stint , Marazion September.

This is another first winter bird.

This smart little wader breeds in the high Artic coastal tundra of north Scandinavia and central Siberia  it passes through Britain as a passage migrant mainly in Autumn in small numbers on its way to its sub Saharan wintering grounds.

First winter Ruff , Marazion .

Hobby Porthgwarra September.

This was one of two juvenile Hobbys seen hawking for Dragonflies and Butterflies in the morning sunshine over the moor .

It was a real pleasure to sit there and watch these agile falcons in action.

Snow Bunting. Porthdwarra.

Lapland Bunting.

 

Isles of Scilly trip October 2020.

Indigo Bunting .3rd record for Britain and a first for England and the Isles of Scilly.

After the news of a Rose Breasted Grosbeak had been found the afternoon before on Gugh we decided to head for St Agnes to see if the bird was still there the next morning ,although there was no sign of the Grosbeak we did get to see a cracking Red Eyed Vireo another rare American vagrant .Feeling more than satisfied with our  day little prepared us for what was about to happen in the afternoon when this first winter bird was found and Kerry and i were first on the scene ,what a moment when it flew out of a wood pile and onto the grassy track in front of everyone giving great views.

This small Bunting was obviously starving from its epic journey across the Atlantic , it was seen for a few hours the next day but then disappeared not looking very well .

This Short eared Owl roosted for a few days in a hedge at Harrys Walls ,St Marys.

Nightingale ,Porthloo ,St Marys.this long staying bird showed very well at times although it did go missing for long periods like Nightingales do. A very rare bird in the southwest so it was a real treat to see one so well.

A very fresh Meadow Pipit.

Red Eyed Vireo enjoying the sunshine after its long journey the start of an epic day on St Agnes.

Eastern type Lesser Whitethroat ,Holy Vale St Marys ,this bird appeared very pale to me and was heard to give a churring call .

Note the very sandy upperparts with the brown invading the nape, crown ear coverts and lores also the very short primary projection with p2 not longer than p6 and the warm buffy wash to the flanks It also appeared long tailed.

Without in hand examination or DNA its not easy to identify to race.

Blythi or Halimodendri ? answers on a postcard,if i had a guess i would plump for the latter.

There were reasonable numbers of Redwings on the islands for a few days including this handsome bird.

Lesser Yellowlegs ,this rare American vagrant turned up on Tresco on the same weather system as the  Indigo Bunting ,Rose Breasted Grosbeak and two Red Eyed Vireos.

This bird gave great views as it fed franticly along the Abbey Pool shoreline.