Autumn in the Scilly Isles

By Terry Bond - Tuesday 11^th September

If you weren’t there for this first indoor meeting of the Autumn season you missed a real treat. Terry is well known for his amusing style and this talk about the twitchers and birds of the Scilly Isles was very entertaining and informative. He has had the good fortune to have visited these lovely islands around 35 times over a number of years and so his knowledge is extensive and his collection of slides diverse.

After mentioning a few species which do not inhabit the islands and which we might take for granted here on the mainland (green woodpecker, nuthatches and bullfinch, for example), the talk examined the huge variety of birds, including many “rarities” one might expect to see in the autumn in the various habitats to be found on the islands, namely rocky coast; freshwater; beach; woodland and grasslands.

He pointed out that bird behaviour can be different on the islands compared with the mainland. Shags tend to be seen in rafts (communal floating groups) whereas here on the mainland they are usually more solitary. Virtually anywhere on the island you might expect to see a profusion of wheatear, not just on the rocky uplands.

Of course each autumn sees a mass migration of birdwatchers to the Isles of Scilly, the reasons to be found in the wide variety of unusual birds to be discovered there. Where else in Britain could you go in the hope of seeing blue-winged teal, water rail, purple sandpiper, great skua, Cory’s shearwater, bluethroat, upland sandpiper or American nighthawk? Where else could you go to see sparkling white beaches with few people on them?

Thanks to Terry for a very interesting and amusing talk!

Chris Steel