Soaked for a Sabine's 12th September 2024

Mark and myself set off this morning from  Ascott under Wychwood in Oxfordshire to make a two hour car journey to Burnham on Sea in Somerset. Our mission was to see a juvenile Sabine's Gull that was making a rather longer and more hazardous journey from the high Arctic to the middle of the South Atlantic. A journey, that as with a number of other Sabine's Gulls, had been disrupted by Storm Lillian  resulting in a number of storm blown Sabine's being found along British coastlines rather than out in their normal winter home at sea off South Africa.

Like many juvenile birds bred in the arctic the Sabine's Gull in Somerset had never seen a human being and therefore was ridiculously confiding and allowed itself to be approached closely, making it an even more attractive proposition to see and photograph.

A number of excellent images testified to how confiding it was and as Mark had never seen one before it was a priority to see it. Personally I have seen any number but it is always nice to see one very close as they are a charismatic and attractive gull in all plumages.

We had planned to go on Tuesday but decided to await confirmation that it was still present at Burnham but there was no indication whether it was or not until late afternoon. Instead we made for the much nearer Hosehill Lake which forms part of Theale Gravel Pits in Berkshire, to view a White winged Tern  swooping in elegant style to pluck insects from the water's surface. Success was almost immediate and Mark had another lifer to add to his growing list. 

White winged Tern

Over a post twitch coffee we discussed the Sabine's situation and resolved to go for it on Thursday regardless of whether it was reported or not.

It was a pleasant drive in sunshine down the M5 Motorway with a relaxing stop for coffee at Gloucester Services, refreshingly free of all the franchises, tat and general dross that manifests itself at most other motorway services.

The gull was frequenting some small brackish pools lying by the River Parrett and  near to where the mouth of the River Brue flowed into it 

The directions on Birdguides promised the prospect of a mile and a half walk to where the gull was but fortuitously while at the White winged Tern site we met Trevor with whom I had shared some pelagic trips last week around the Isles of Scilly. He gave us another 'unofficial' route that would allow us to park within a few hundred metres of the pools the gull favoured.

The weather for today promised sunshine and strong winds until noon but would then deteriorate into rain showers and continuing high winds.Hopefully we would have seen the gull well before the rain arrived. It did not quite work out that way though.

The route we had been given by Trevor took us out into a hinterland beyond Burnham of grass fields and saltmarsh, which was West Huntspill Country Park, its close proximity to the river and sea imbuing it, as all such places, with a sense of otherworldliness  and isolation. The  sea and sky dominant.

 

Parking the car on the grass we walked up a bank to be met by the full force of the northwest wind blowing unhindered from the Bristol Channel and then followed a track along the top of what we later learned was the Huntspill Seawall. My eyes watered from the chill force of the wind as we looked out over a  vast area of river, sandbanks and sea with the sinister looking Hinkley Point Nuclear Power Station in the distance to the west and Burnham's seafront off to our right.

We  met one other birder by the pools who told us we had missed the gull by five minutes and it had flown off west and been lost to sight. A bit disappointing but this happens in birding so we  hunkered down into our layers of clothing to wait in the hope the gull would eventually return, as it had on previous days. Other birders came along the seawall from the Burnham direction to join us but there was no sign of the Sabine's Gull anywhere.

The small brackish pools eventually visited by the Sabine's Gull.
Note the rain storm brewing in the background

A couple of wheatears flew up and down on nearby fence posts, spending most of their time on the ground to save being buffeted off the posts by the wind that had put paid to most other birdlife apart from gulls, a single Curlew and a flock of around twenty or so Shelduck on the muddy foreshore of the estuary.We thoroughly checked  every flying gull but all proved to be Black headed Gulls. 

For a couple of hours we withstood the wind's constant and unwelcome attention and then noticed the sky changing from blue to an ominous grey, further out to sea.  Mark consulted his weather app and it informed us that a heavy rain shower would arrive in nineteen minutes. Rather than take a risk of a soaking we decided to retreat to Burnham and check Apex Lake which we had been told might harbour the gull, as many other gulls hung around here, the park being a popular place to walk dogs and feed the ducks This would serve the triple purpose of hopefully finding the  gull, avoiding the pending rain storm and getting something to eat.

Arriving at Apex Lake which was relatively easy to find we walked around half its perimeter to the main part of the lake but there was not a sign of our gull only Black headed Gulls and a lot of feral Greylag Geese. 

At that moment a man behind us enquired

Are you looking for the gull?

There was no need to ask which one

Yes we replied.

I hoped he knew where it was but he was trying to be helpful by telling us it was usually where we had just come from, i.e. on the pools by the seawall and had only been seen in the park once.

Rather dejectedly we walked back to the car, stopping at a garage for some food and drink before retracing our route back to the seawall.

Once more we walked along the seawall towards the pools hoping that the gull by some miracle of chance had flown in during our absence.Of course it hadn't and nor were there any other birders present, all had apparently given the gull up as a bad job and who could blame them considering the weather.

As we got to the gate on the seawall where we had stood earlier to overlook the estuary and the pools the first spots of rain began.  At first intermittent and inconsequential we hoped the shower might pass us to the west but the rain increased steadily as did the force of the wind. It rapidly became extremely unpleasant and I  turned my back as wind driven heavy rain battered me and Mark from head to toe.We were soaked and how. Our exposed position gave no possibility of shelter so we had to endure the unpleasantness and hope the shower would ease which thankfully it did but not before the rain turned to full on hailstones pinging off our waterproofs. I was all for calling it quits as the rain ran down into my boots despite the waterproofing

No one else was foolhardy enough to be out here except myself and Mark but something told me to stick with it.There was still a chance. Mark was not so sure.

The rain and hail decreased and to  much relief finally ceased but the respite would be temporary as we could see another shower brewing far out to sea. I scanned the estuary and river for the umpteenth time but found nothing.Mark went down to check the foreshore.For want of something to do I scanned the river again, noting a few distant Black headed Gulls flying upriver towards the mouth of the estuary.

One of these birds looked slightly smaller but crucially it had contrasting black and white triangles on its upperwings.

The Sabine's at last but very distant. 

Mark was a fair way off by the shore. Would he hear me if I shouted to him into the wind. I took a deep breath and screamed with all my might

Mark. Maaaaaaaaaaaaark!!!!!

He heard me and gesticulating like a madman I pointed out to mid river

It was obvious what I was trying to tell him and he turned to scan the river without success and then ran back towards me.In the process of alerting him I had taken my eye off the gull and now could not re-locate it.With Mark by my side, try as we might we could not find it.Mark was mortified at having missed a lifer by seconds. I began to doubt myself. Had I really seen it or had I imagined it? The gull was distant after all, maybe it had been a trick of the light but no I had seen it. I stopped doubting myself. 

A palpable sense  of denouement descended as Mark had missed a chance of his lifer and now we could not refind it and might not see it again. So near and yet so far.

Don't worry it is out there somewhere I commiserated

But we all know that nothing can remedy missing a bird in this way.

For ten minutes we stood looking forlornly out over the wide river and beyond. Four teal landed on the water and yet more Black headed Gulls flew up towards the estuary, battling with the wind.

I looked towards the pools and.........................

Here it is Mark. Look, the Sabine's, its flying into the pools!

The distinctive pattern of black, white and grey triangles on its wings left no margin for doubt

Lifer! shouted Mark with a mixture of relief and triumph as the sun, bang on cue, came out.

Where the gull had been in the meantime no one knew but all that mattered now was that it was right in front of us.

We made haste down to the pools and stood quietly on the wet grass as the gull fed in the shallow water and strutted on the wet grass, totally unafraid of us and often approaching to within a few yards.It was an absolutely magical experience and especially rewarding after such a long and uncomfortable wait.

As usual I took far too many images but I was enjoying myself immensely and was not about to worry about such inconsequential matters.

Sabine's Gulls are small and to my mind delicate looking, almost tern like, especially in flight with a markedly dove like head and short black bill.The crown, and nape are grey brown as are the upperparts and wings, the feathers here neatly fringed black and buff creating an appealing scalloped pattern.Slim in body with long wing tips and a forked tail it swam in the shallow pools delicately picking prey from the water's surface.It remained for ten minutes and then flew but only a few hundred metres out onto the saltmarsh nearer the shore where it pottered around on the exposed mud.

We were still on our own with no one else joining us but I could see three birders away in the distance along the seawall towards Burnham looking for the gull but in the wrong direction.They would never hear me but I waved both arms in a futile hope they might see me and for once they did as they started walking towards us.By the time they got to us the gull had flown back to the pools to carry on feeding and they too got to be up close and personal with this beautiful bird.

We left them watching the gull as another rain storm formed out to sea and began tracking towards the shore.

For those who may be interested Sabine's Gull is named after Sir Edward Sabine, an astronomer, geophysicist and explorer who was part of Sir John Ross's first Arctic expedition and who discovered the gull  at Melville Bay on the west coast of Greenland in 1818.

Skua'd in Scilly Part Three 31st August - 01st Sptember 2024

On an adrenalin high after seeing the South Polar Skua we had returned to the tent last night in high hopes of a restful night. Maybe it was the excitement or all the pasties and pastries I had consumed during the day but I could not sleep as.I lay inches from the cold ground realising that I am just too old and not cut out for camping

I am too used to home comforts.In a business career travelling the world I had the luxury  of top hotels to stay in with every creature comfort known to man and its too late to change.

I have only been in a tent three times in my life.I am therefore not savvy about camping like most of those around us in similar tents who seemed perfectly content and able to cope but they of course were experienced and had brought everything needed to make life in a tent more than bearable. I on the other hand had for example no torch for night time excursions to have a pee and even forgot to bring a pillow.

I awoke the next morning not in a good way through lack of sleep but rejoicing that having lain awake most of the night worrying about waking the others as I exited the tent to relieve myself I could now get up and get outside.Graham awoke with a moan and informed me he had been bursting for a pee but did not want to wake anyone.I said he should have just gone outside and found the hedge that I was all too familiar with!

Our pelagic sailed at 9am, so after an abortive visit to Porth Cressa Bay looking for the Gull billed Tern on behalf of Graham we paid a visit to the Coop to stock up on danish pastries and other junk food to sustain us whilst out on the MV Sapphire.Meanwhile Andy and Rich collected pre-ordered pasties from a small shop off the main street. The shop had not made any vegetarian pasties so I had to get a vegan pasty from The Lavorna Cafe but ordered two vegetarian pasties from the small shop to be collected when we returned from our pelagic.They would do nicely for tomorrow's excursion.

All of us naturally hoped we might see another South Polar Skua but Andy also needed Scopoli's Shearwater and myself a 'Fea's' type petrel if you please. Again my chances were minimal but who knows. Andy had a much better chance with Scopoli's as a number of them had been picked out from the flocks of Cory's Shearwaters on earlier pelagics. The best way to identify them is to photo the underwing pattern of white on every Cory's you see as this is the most obvious diagnostic difference between the two.The white on the Scopoli's underwing primaries extends further down the wing towards the tip.

Cory's Shearwater

Again the weather was fair this morning with sun to start although an hour of rain was predicted to arrive around ten

Today we headed out for the same place as yesterday but the large numbers of shearwaters had for the most part moved on as had the tuna. At ten it began to gently rain and after an hour showed no sign of stopping contrary to the forecast. The rain was not hard enough to be uncomfortable but enough to be annoying. 

As  before bread was distributed off the back of the Sapphire to attract a following of gulls of which there were a lot more than yesterday. Some way out Rich,who is something of an expert on gulls let out a yell.

Caspian Gull!!  At the back of the boat!!

I was somewhat taken aback by the response from the locals on the boat as they rushed for the back of the Sapphire.Apparently Caspian Gulls are something of a mega on these Scilly pelagics. In Oxfordshire, where I live I regularly see them at my local reservoir. I stood back as a crowd formed at the back of the boat to photograph the gull..In the end the gull remained wih us for over an hour circling the boat and feeding on the bread along with all the other gulls so there was plenty of time for photos.

As Caspian Gulls go this was a classic bird showing all the diagnostic features and judging by its size a male.

Caspian Gull-juvenile

A strange, white disk like shape appeared in the sea  amongst the squabbling gulls off the back of the boat. Resembling a very large dustbin lid it lay on its side with a fin occasionally feebly flapping above the sea's surface. It was an Ocean Sunfish, a curious creature that traverses the high seas following the sea currents.It sailed with purpose right through the crowd of gulls on the water which showed a mild interest but decided it was far too large to tackle or eat.They can grow to an enormous size and this individual was not particularly small.

Ocean Sunfish

Shortly after the excitement of one unlikely Scilly mega in the form of the Caspian Gull, another two megas arrived in the guise of two, moulting adult Black Terns flying above our wake and which got Bob further energised as these are also very rare on a Scilly pelagic.They passed us and headed further south.This year I have seen several at my local Farmoor Reservoir so again it was strange to see people getting so animated about them

Black Terns

Probably the best birds to arrive at the boat were three adult Sabine's Gulls which followed us in the rain for a while before they too headed further out to sea

Sabine's Gull - adult

A Puffin came speeding past us and an immature Pomarine Skua circled a few times before departing. Later an Arctic Skua was chasing gulls high in the sky above the wake of the boat.

The small number of Cory's Shearwaters present meant there was little chance of finding a Scopoli's but each Cory's that arrived was dutifully photographed just to make sure. I have seen a Scopoli's in Scotland so was not too concerned about their absence. My hope was for a 'Fea's' type petrel but miracles rarely happen twice and I settled to be content with the South Polar Skua, my only new tick so far this year but very welcome nevertheless and bringing my species total for Britain to 537.

The familiar wait by our chum slick brought in only two European Storm Petrels and as the light began to fade Joe turned the Sapphire for home and we hunkered down for the hour it took to get back to St Mary's.

Once on land it was back into The Atlantic for  a beer but we were all very tired and soon it was time for the wearisome trudge up the steep hill to our campsite and to endure one last night of mental and physical camping torture with the tent.The night was predictably hellish but I eventually got some sleep.

Seen from MV Sapphire

0900-1600hrs

Cory's Shearwater 40+

Great Shearwater 70+

Sooty Shearwater 5

Manx Shearwater 100 

European Storm Petrel 2

Fulmar Petrel

Pomarine Skua 1

Arctic Skua 1

Sabine's Gull 3

Caspian Gull 1

Yellow legged Gull 2

Herring Gull

Greater Black backed Gull

Lesser Black backed Gull

Black headed Gull

Black Tern 2

Arctic Tern 4

Common Tern 40

Puffin 1

Gannet

Ringed Plover 2

Turnstone 1

Ocean Sunfish 1

Next morning Graham and myself stared in a daze at each other and without prompting chorused Never Ever Again!!! It was nice to know it was not just me that loathed camping but on the bright side it was over now and we could say au revoir to our canvas home of horrors forever.

However bad news came when we learnt The Scillonian had encountered mechanical problems yesterday  on its way to Penzance. There was doubt if it would sail back to St Mary's today and if it did not we were stranded. Not so bad for me being semi retired, apart from the prospect of another night(s) in the tent from hell  but the other three had work to go to tomorrow.

Serious anxiety assailed us all as we had no way of knowing what was going on at this early hour on a Sunday.

We took all our bags down to the quay where you can leave them in a large room especially set aside for luggage.We would collect them when we returned from our pelagic and boarded The Scillonian, assuming it sailed.

The weather was grey and almost windless this morning which was meant to be a bad omen for seeing seabirds However once well out to sea we found good numbers of Great Shearwaters, although mainly sitting on the sea in large rafts, there being no wind. Bob became quite emotional about the 'Great Shears', saying the rafts of them sitting in close company on the sea were a wonderful sight and the largest he had seen for some time. The birds themselves showed little alarm at our presence and were so close you could hear them calling to one another, the call reminiscent of a Kittiwake or the sound a child's toy trumpet makes.

Great Shearwaters with the occasional Manx Shearwater in their midst

Cory's Shearwaters were few and far between although we found one that looked a good candidate for Scopoli's but consulting Bob with the photos of the underwing he pronounced it too marginal to be sure and Andy decided he could not count it

Cory's Shearwater

Great Shearwater

A Short beaked Common Dolphin bow rode the Sapphire and I leaned over the prow to watch the dolphin effortlessly speeding along with us in the water below. Further out we encountered many tuna boils, the huge fish, as per usual, carving through the sea at great speed, even at times becoming airborne and all the while attended by gulls and shearwaters circling over the mayhem they were creating.

Bluefin Tuna

Some skuas came in to check the swarm of attendant feeding gulls  with no less than three Arctic and one Pomarine Skua joining them briefly. Terns too were more in evidence and one Arctic Tern and a flock of twenty five Common  Terns came to investigate but did not linger.

Even stranger a Common Kestrel passed over us miles out to sea as did a Ruff.

We stopped for the customary spreading of chum and waited. Our pasties were retrieved from bags and consumed during this quiet spell of waiting but nothing came to join the gulls which Bob said was not unexpected as there was little wind to distribute the smell of the chum to distant petrels.

He added there was also little chance of a Wilson's Petrel turning up as we floated by the slick  and of course one promptly arrived. It's getting late in the year to find a Wilson's in Scilly waters and on seeing this straggler Bob opined that miracles do happen after all. Certainly some birders on the boat were prepared to believe in miracles this being an unexpected lifer for them, achieved at the very last moment.

We returned to port in time to catch the crippled Scillonian which had been deemed to be seaworthy  and it slowly made its way  out of St Mary's quay and set course for Penzance.

We commandeered our usual spot at the back of the ship and had a good spell of bird and dolphin action throughout the trip back to Penzance.Most bizzare was an encounter with a small passerine that was picked up by Andy flying towards the ship when we were well out to sea.No one was quite sure what it was until it got closer and we saw a white rump. It was a Northern Wheatear, looking very vulnerable but it did not, as expected, seek sanctuary on the ship but carried on flying low over the waves and passing us.

Northern Wheatear migrating off the port side of The Scillonian
c Graham Jepson

A tiny scrap of feathers it steadfastly flew on across the hostile sea and the last I saw, it was still flying strongly towards Cornwall and comparative safety. Here before my very eyes was evidence of the wonder of bird migration and the hazards it entails.

I do hope it made eventual landfall.

I do not think I will ever look at a  migrant wheatear in the same way ever again

The End 

Seen from MV Sapphire

0800-1430hrs

Cory's Shearwater 60+

Great Shearwater 2000+

Sooty Shearwater 20+

Manx Shearwater 1000+

Pomarine Skua 1

Arctic Skua 3

Arctic Tern 1

Common Tern 25

Wilson's Petrel 1

European Storm Petrel 2

Fulmar Petrel

Greater Black backed Gull

Lesser Black backed Gull

Herring Gull

Black headed Gull

Gannet

Common Kestrel 1

Ruff 1

Short beaked Common Dolphin 50+

Bluefin Tuna 200+

Skua'd in Scilly Part Two 30th August 2024

We set the alarm for 6.30am, just after dawn and I awoke feeling very cold and damp. In a tent on Scilly feeling cold and damp, surely not?

In the night I had slipped off the totally inadequate inflatable mattress I had been given and was lying on the floor through which dew and condensation had permeated onto me, somehow lying half in and half out of the sleeping bag.The interior of the tent had been very hot during the day but at night the temperature had dropped like a stone.

I stepped outside the tent and it was pleasantly mild. How come? 

Still, at least I was feeling refreshed from my long sleep if a little damp.The weather forecast was predicting another sunny day with pleasant temperatures so that was something to look forward to 

One pelagic down and three to go, would we be lucky and see a South Polar Skua? That was the unspoken hope of all of us. The reason we were here. 

Rich joined me outside the tent and we prepared to set off for Porth Cressa Bay while Andy said he would join us later, deciding to sample the dubious delights of the toilet block. We wandered down the steep path and through an awakening Hugh Town.Arriving at the beach we found the tide was out but already there were two ladies swimming in the sea. There was no sign of the tern just some noisy Oystercatchers piping away and the ever present.Herring Gulls stalking a currently deserted beach..

We sat on a bench and waited to see what if anything might transpire.A couple of Sandwich Terns arrived and commenced fishing in the bay.Ten maybe fifteen minutes had passed when I saw another large tern flying over the sea by some rocks to our right. Its flight was markedly different to that of the Sandwich Terns in that it was dipping like a Marsh Tern to pick prey off the surface of the sea.The Sandwich Terns were characteristically diving head first into the water but this tern never did that.

Gull billed Tern

It had to be the Gull billed Tern.

We moved closer and in our bins confirmed it was the Gull billed Tern. It came into the shore although still relatively distant and dropped into the sea to bathe. We made haste down to the beach to get closer but it rose and flew off to our left behind some rocks and never came out the other side. We scanned and scanned but it had somehow given us the slip.Possibly it had gone inland as it had been seen feeding on the airfield yesterday afternoon.

We sat and waited for a possible return but it did not happen.We got chatting to a passerby holding a bag of pain au chocolats who told us they were for sale at the Coop for £1 each but we needed to hurry as they were popular and soon sold out.Neither of us had eaten anything so Rich went to get the pastries from the Coop. Andy joined me at the beach but I had no good news for him

Rich returned having purchased the last three pain au chocolat and a little later the tern also returned but only very briefly before disappearing inland again but at least Andy had seen it

Now with time on our hands we went in search of serious sustenance i.e pasties.The fourth member of our party Graham was on his way on The Scillonian to join us at noon. We returned to the campsite and sorted various things out by which time it was approaching noon. Rich and Andy went down to meet Graham off the ship and give him a hand with his baggage..

I decided to check out the trees on The Garrison behind the campsite.Yesterday Rich and myself had briefly seen a Pied Flycatcher there.

I followed the trails through the dense bushes and trees.Blackberries were already ripening, turning from hard red to softer black and the sky above was azure. It was far from unpleasant.If only I had a decent bed with plump pillows and clean sheets to look forward to everything would be to my total satisfaction but like some malignant monster the tent lurked at the back of my mind.

I walked for quite a time around the bushes and trees but saw nothing more than a Robin and lots of Swallows.A small flicking image caught my eye. Following its course it landed on a bare branch. A Pied Flycatcher at last, which lived up to its name and flew out to snatch flies, never returning to the same perch twice

I stood for almost an hour watching it flying back and fore before returning to the tent and finding it empty lay down in the sun and pretended all was well despite the interior of the tent having gone from the fridge like temperature in the night to that of a hot oven now. I took my shirt off and lay staring at the canvas above me. I called the others on my mobile and discovered they were having an ice cream lunch with Graham down at the harbour.

Eventually my pals arrived back at the tent and we showed Graham his corner of the tent.To say he was underwhelmed would be an understatement but needs must. He thought it might be OK but sounded none too convinced.

We went down to the quay to board the MV Sapphire for our second pelagic cruise and were surprised to discover that although billed as a birder's pelagic we had a shark fisherman on board as well.No worries on my part as to see another shark would be highly acceptable.

There then followed the familiar long sail out to the Bishop Rock Lighthouse and beyond, trailing the ever hungry  gulls in our wake, snatching the bread morsels being cast to them from the back of the Sapphire.

Today there was a difference however as there were a large number of Bluefin Tuna present, it was estimated over a 100, which announced themselves by creating huge splashes of spray, called boils, as they pursued their pilchard  prey at high speed.They are giant metallic coloured fish, almost dolphin sized.Most of the time all you can see of them is a  shark like pointed dorsal fin cutting through the sea but occasionally they leap spectacularly clear of the water in their frenzied feeding.

Now a quick word about the Bluefin Tuna. In 2007 the population was close to collapse but protection measures brought it back from the brink to the extent that in 2021 it was removed from the IUCN's List of Endangered Species. So what happens? This year investigations are being conducted into the potential for commercial and recreational fishing of the tuna.Will we never learn

LEAVE THEM ALONE!

Due to the presence of the feeding tuna today we encountered much greater numbers of large shears and indeed the smaller Manx. Cory's seemed to be everywhere coming at us non stop from all angles both distant and close and it was a similar case with Great Shearwaters although they were only around half the number of Cory's.

Cory's Shearwaters

Sooty Shearwaters, always the least numerous of the shearwaters were also here but as ever just circled the boat once before whizzing away across the sea

Sooty Shearwater

The shearwaters and gulls follow the tuna closely so you know where the tuna are even under water, the birds waiting on the water until another boil occurs, flying to it and fearlessly feeding on the pilchard scraps amongst the frenzied tuna.Bob Flood commented on how well fed the shearwaters looked and I  am not surprised as tuna boils were occurring all around us at regular intervals 

Eventually we found ourselves over the same reef we had stopped over yesterday and came to a stop.The pungent chum was dispersed and the slick slowly formed, drifting away from the boat as a silky smooth patch on the surface of the sea.

The shark fisherman cast his lines over the side and we sat and waited. Us for birds he for a shark.

After the usual wait of thirty or so minutes a few Storm Petrels came to investigate the slick.Tiny black birds with a white rump, they speed busily across the wave tops, disappearing and re-appearing in the wave troughs, dodging hither and thither, hard to follow as they search for food.

A Pomarine Skua, in adult or almost adult plumage came to check on us, circling in the sun before cruising away further out to sea, its prominent long, curiously flattened central tail feathers replicating spoons

Pomarine Skua

I cannot recall just when the shark fisherman hooked a shark but I was standing at the back of the boat and he was further up on the port side his rod bent almost double. In the course of playing the shark he stood on the bench that runs around the sides of the boat and slowly the shark pulled him towards me.

Eventually he was stood over me, heaving on the rod and line as slowly the shark came into view. Bizarrely the hooked shark was followed to the surface by another which I learnt from the fisherman often happens as the hooked shark emits a form of distress signal which attracts other sharks. In the course of our conversation he told me, in between violent heaves on the rod, that Blue Sharks only come to these waters between May and October when the water is warm enough and then retreat out to the mid Atlantic. By tagging them something has been learnt about their movements, with tagged blue sharks being found off The Azores and even as far as the coast of South Carolina in the USA.

The shark dragged him away back up the side of the boat to amidships and was eventually hauled aboard.

As on the day before we all rushed with our phones to take pictures of the shark.It was a veritable scrum and just then it happened, at the worst time possible

 A shout came, from, I think Lee Gregory, at the back of the Sapphire

Large Skua!

Could it be? There was a mad scramble as everyone had the same thought. Grab a camera.I was stranded amidships with just my bins, my camera still on the bench at the back of the boat. I had to make a decision. Forget the photo opportunity just set eyes on the skua. The most important thing now was to see the skua as it could be the holy grail we sought. Thankfully I got it in my bins, balancing on the rocking boat and trying not to tread on anyone's toes. 

Brown and bulky it could surely only be a Great Skua or a South Polar Skua.No one at this moment knew for certain.

A few managed to get images of it as it passed someway off the back of the boat and powered through the milling gulls, sweeping past them and away.It was gone in a minute. Incidentally only one of the previous sightings this year was of one circling the boat all the others behaved exactly as this one did.In and out without stopping.

Now came the inquest and examination of the images on the back of cameras. Graham who is an extremely good photographer had got a superb image of it. Having seen a South Polar Skua on a previous Scilly pelagic trip this year he was reasonably certain this was one. The person to give confirmation and a final verdict was Bob Flood, a world expert on seabirds and currently stood at the wheelhouse door.

Graham took his camera down to Bob  and showed him the image on the back of his camera. For minutes  the rest of us waited as Bob closely scrutinised the image and then to much rejoicing pronounced that in his opinion it was definitely a South Polar Skua. No one was going to dispute his verdict that's for sure.

Most of the diagnostic features were present in Graham's image, a small bill and head in relation to the body, lack of dark cap on the crown, uniform brown upperparts and upperwing, short tail and slim build compared to a Great Skua.

South Polar Skua c.Graham Jepson

South Polar Skuas are found in the southern hemisphere breeding along the coastline and islands of Antarctica.Non breeding birds disperse across the southern ocean ranging from the Antarctic pack ice to sub antarctic regions. A minority reach the northeast Atlantic, usually between August and October and this is probably the source of the birds around The Isles of Scilly

But for the shark I would have been in position to get my own images but really it was of little consequence when I  could truly say I had seen a South Polar Skua. A new world and British tick for me, Andy and Rich.. We had taken a huge gamble and it had paid off and how. Even Bob Flood recognised this and came down to the back of the boat to congratulate Andy who had organised the trip and persuaded us to join him.

This individual was deemed to be a different bird to those seen earlier this month. I believe five have been seen this year now and four the year previously

For me there is only one that matters.

Needless to say a celebratory drink in The Atlantic was considered the appropriate finale to an unforgettable day.

Now for the tent!

Seen from MV Sapphire

1700-2100hrs

South Polar Skua 1

Cory's Shearwater 2500+

Great Shearwater 1000+

Sooty Shearwater 12

Manx Shearwater 2000+

Pomarine Skua 3

European Storm Petrel 6

Fulmar Petrel

Greater Black backed Gull

Lesser Black backed Gull

Herring Gull

Yellow legged Gull 1

Black headed Gull

Gannet

 

Blue Shark 2

Bluefin Tuna 100+

Skua'd in Scilly Part One 29th August 2024

On the 22nd of August this year a South Polar Skua was sighted at sea southeast of St Mary's, the largest island in the Isles of Scilly.This prompted Andy to suggest chartering a boat from St Mary's to go far out to sea to look for this mega rarity.of which only three sightings in British waters have been accepted so far, although there have been at least three other records this year that have still to be assessed by the BBRC.(British Birds Rarities Committee)

This August has proved exceptional for the numbers of seabirds such as Great and Cory's Shearwaters that have been seen from the regular seabird charters, run by Bob Flood, and that have become such a popular feature of the August birding calendar. The chance of now finding a South Polar Skua, unheard of a few years ago, is proving an additional thrilling and irresistible prospect. 

I was obviously keen to see the skua which would require a minor miracle as the chances of connecting were so slim but if I remained in Oxfordshire I definitely would not see one so why not take the huge gamble and go for it. My personality is such that this was a challenge I felt obliged to accept and my competitive nature did the rest.

However there was one huge cloud on my personal horizon and that was we would have to camp for three nights on Scilly, as being the school holidays there was no accommodation anywhere on St Mary's. My last attempt at camping when I came down to twitch the Red footed Booby on the Bishop Rock Lighthouse was an unmitigated disaster that left me scarred in mind and body see here 

It really was touch and go for a while but the South Polar Skua was a mega and Andy did assure me the four man tent was far more spacious than the miserly one I had been given last year. I decided to take a chance, reflecting on the tales I could bore everyone with, if by some minor miracle we saw the skua.It would be the stuff of legend.

Without really thinking about it further I sent a text to Andy saying to count me in on the trip and the next day we liased about costs and where to meet for the drive down to Penzance. Andy heroically made all the bookings and even beat down the price of the four man tent at the Garrison campsite above Hugh Town although it was still very expensive. Shared between four of us it worked out at £120.00 each which by Scilly standards was reasonable.

To make this trip come about would require some organising at such a late juncture but somehow we found ourselves with firm bookings on four of Bob Flood's celebrated pelagic seabird trips.Two on Thursday and Friday were evening trips of around four to five hours and the latter two on Saturday and Sunday were all day trips of eight hours each.

We could do no more and just hoped the birding gods would smile on us.

Thus it was at eleven in the evening on Wednesday night I rendezvoused with Andy and Rich near Reading, in a small housing estate just off the M4. I was leaving my car there and Andy would drive us down to Penzance through the night.

It went to plan and soon we were heading down the motorway to Bristol and then onto the M5 towards the west. As is usual with us twitching folk we blathered away about birding exploits of the past, our prospects of seeing the skua and dissed various twitching and birding personalities. It's harmless and passes the time away as sleep always eludes me on these trips as I get far too excited. and animated.

It's always the same on a twitch and I should be used to it by now but it's always slightly different as I make another departure from the mundane realities of life and embark on an adventure.Walking into a motorway services such as Taunton in the early hours of the morning is not a thing I  normally do. The normal in daylight hours becomes abnormal in the middle of the night  and in the process becomes oddly fascinating even slightly romantic.

Four hours later we drew up in the deserted car park overlooking Marazion Beach. I was aware of the close proximity of the sea but it was pitch dark so it remained invisible but very audible. We settled to go to sleep until dawn.Sleeping in a car is not my forte, especially after my last experience attempting it at Lower Largo on a madcap twitch from the Isle of Arran to see a Stejneger's Scoter  and a Grey headed Lapwing see here 

I lay on the back seat of the car half awake in the darkness, a million thoughts coursing through my head while the other two slept soundly.Why can't I do that? Never mind the dawn eventually rose and we went in search of  refreshment at an Asda garage and then seeking, well what else in Cornwall but pasties. Rich or Andy knew of a pasty place which might be open and although ridiculously early in the morning they let us in and told us to come back in forty minutes as the  first  pasties of the day were only now being cooked.

To while away the time we went back to Marazion Beach, dominated by a deserted looking St Michael's Mount, a single light shining from the impressive building. All very romantic but our interest lay in a Semi palmated Sandpiper that had been reported from here the previous day.We scanned the deserted beach, the wet sand from a receding tide shining in the weak sunlight and populated by a few hyperactive Sanderling but there was no sign of the Semi P.

We returned for our pasties and very nice they were too.Well, when in Cornwall what else does one eat?This was to be the first of many.

We drove to nearby Penzance and at this early hour managed to find a space to park the car for free along the seafront. Lugging all our baggage back to the quayside, we were relieved of it there and the bags were stowed away in metal containers for the journey to St Mary's.

After a slight delay waiting in line by the quayside we boarded the venerable Scillonian, an ancient vessel that has seen better days but we are all well used to it by now.We made for the back of the ship and set ourselves up on the wooden benches there which is a prime position for seawatching from the ship.

The day was predicted to be sunny but first came an irritating rain shower to torment us but this soon passed and the sun took charge as we sailed away from Penzance. It would be a pleasant trip.

Once past the Runnelstone buoy, familiar to generations of seawatchers who have sat on the cliffs at Porthgwarra seawatching in all weathers, we were clear of Land's End and birds began to appear. Black and white Manx Shearwaters planed away on either side of the ship, their flap, flap, glide flight distinctive. Then something larger appeared, coloured pale greyish brown on its upperparts and white below, sweeping away with languid flaps of its very long wings.It was my first sight this year of a Cory's Shearwater. It is always thrilling to see a 'large shear'. Soon there were more, moving across the ship's bows over a now very blue sea

Cory's Shearwaters

Some minutes later we saw our first Great Shearwater, always a favourite of mine.Smaller and with shorter wings than a Cory's they flew low over the sea, their black cap and white uppertail coverts making them  more attractively patterned compared to the overall blandness of the Cory's plumage.

Great Shearwaters

We encountered large shearwaters throughout the three hour crossing with Cory's by far the more numerous and there did seem to be more large shearwaters present than is normal. In total we counted 85 Cory's and 10 Great Shearwaters although both were exceeded in number by Manx Shearwaters.

Up to now I had forgotten the fact I was tempting fate by staying in a tent.Something I had vowed never to repeat after last year.After docking at noon at St Mary's we walked to the campsite which is located at about the highest point on the island.Initially you have to negotiate an incredibly steep path which just as you feel you cannot go on any  further levels out and by taking a shortcut across a playing field we got to the campsite's reception centre.

Apprehensively we announced our arrival and awaited to see what we had been allocated in the way of a tent.The feeling of apprehension stayed with me as we were taken to where our tent was pitched on the  campsite.What would it look like and would there be another screw up? To my immense relief it was large and could easily accommodate four of us. You could even stand up inside it and if the proverbial cat had been available............ well. 

Even better the weather was  benign, the howling wind and rain of last year but a distant memory, so things were definitely looking up.

We were due to go out on our first pelagic trip at 5pm this very evening but once having stowed our gear in the tent Rich and myself  decided to go and look for a very rare bird for Scilly - a Gull Billed Tern,  that had been present for a couple of days at Porth Cressa Bay which lies at the back of Hugh Town.

Naturally  there was no sign of it which was hardly surprising as the beach was well populated with holidaymakers, making the most of the sun, sand and sea. The Sandwich Terns and Mediterranean Gulls that hang about here had long since retreated to the distant rocks that guard the entrance to the bay. 

Exhausted from lack of sleep I slipped into a semi daze but soon it was time to ascend the road of hell up to the campsite to collect bins and cameras for our first venture out to sea.

We waited on the quay to board the MV Sapphire, an open boat with rudimentary seating for around thirty to forty people.This trip was to be a combined shark fishing and birding trip lasting four or five hours

The fisher folk attempt, with rod and line, to hook migratory Blue Sharks to be tagged, as us birders sit around looking out to sea for birds. Meanwhile Bob Flood stands at the wheelhouse door and gives a tannoy assisted alert on any birds hoving into view as we head out to sea. The modus operandi as far as birds were concerned was to cast bread on the water as soon as we left the harbour which attracted a squadron of gulls to follow in our wake.This in turn would hopefully lure in shearwaters and other seabirds to investigate the gull flock.

There was a palpable sense of excitement and anticipation as we cruised out of the harbour, trailed by a blizzard of hungry gulls and headed for the distant Bishop Rock Lighthouse, now irrevocably linked to this time last year when it was host to both a Brown and Red footed Booby, surely one of the most legendary of birding experiences in this remarkable group of islands

It would take too long to go through everything we saw in the following hours but suffice to say it was magical.To be out at sea miles beyond the lighthouse surrounded by nothing but sea and sky and with the expectation that anything could turn up and maybe even a South Polar Skua was a heady mix of emotions

Great Shearwaters came to investigate regulary as did Cory's but in lesser numbers with a couple of dark rather sinister looking Sooty Shearwters by way of variety, that whizzed past the boat.

Sooty Shearwater

We continued to sail to about 5km southwest of the lighthouse and then the boat stopped to start spreading a slick of chum to attract petrels

It takes some time for anything to happen as the smell of the chum has to spread on the wind and when the petrels smell it they come to investigate the slick which spreads like oil on the water far beyond the boat. In the meantime the fisher folk carried on fishing over the reef we were now floating above.

Eventually one hooked a shark, the rod bending alarmingly, the  line taut, the sight generating much excitement amongst us. I had always longed to see a shark close up and having missed out seeing one on a similar trip some years ago relished the opportunity to now see a live Blue Shark.After a considerable time playing the shark it was finally hauled aboard. A slim, long, muscular body writhed and contorted with surprising power and had to be subdued by a foor placed firmly at each end of its powerful torso.

It was the colour that surprised me.It really was blue, not a dull grey blue but a shining almost iridescent satin blue that ran the length of its upperbody, the rest being silvery white.

It was duly tagged, with excited birders clustered around taking pics on phones and then unceremoniously heaved back in the sea, the handlers carefully grabbing it by the tail. avoiding the teeth and its wildly thrashing body.I was told this shark was a small one but who cares, it was a shark, a live one and exceedingly beautiful. I never expected it to be quite so blue.

After this excitement a quiet spell ensued,.pasties and sandwiches were consumed, conversations struck up as everyone waited..What would be next? 

An excited shout came from someone at the back of the boat  - Sabine's!

Sabine's Gull

A juvenile arrived to check the slick, looking tern like, tiny and fragile compared to the larger gulls but fully capable of surviving out here at sea.It soon disappearerd but returned once before heading off who knows where.

Another shout - Wilson's in the slick!

The longed for Wilson's Storm Petrel, for those who have never seen one, flew at speed along the slick. its longer wings, protruding feet and different flight action distinguishing it from several European Storm Petrels that had also arrived. 

The light began to fade as the sun dropped below the sea's horizon, a seascape that was to my eyes magical, the sky turning rose pink and purple as the sun prepared to leave us.

But birds continued coming

Another disembodied shout - Skua! A small one. It's a Long tailed!

And indeed it was, an adult no less that circled around and above the ever lengthening slick for a number of minutes.

Long tailed Skua

The arrival of an immature Pomarine Skua generated just as much excitement and it too cruised around above us until it had satisfied its curiosity.

Pomarine Skua

Eventually Joe started the engine and turned the MV Sapphire for home and an  hour of steady sailing brought us into St Mary's harbour, almost in the dark, the lights onshore shining bright and welcoming.We stopped for one drink in The Atlantic but all of us were dead tired and we still had to endure the climb to the campsite.

Back at the tent I collapsed into my sleeping bag, supported on an inflatable mattress that was hardly adequate but my tiredness overwhelmed me and I was asleep in no time. Nothing would wake me now. Blessed sleep with the promise of an early start tomorrow to return to Porth Cressa Bay and try for the Gull billed Tern.

Seen from MV Sapphire

1700-2200 hrs

Cory's Shearwater 170

Great Shearwater 300

Sooty Shearwater 2

Manx Shearwater 100

Sabine's Gull 1

Greater Black backed Gull

Lesser Black backed Gull

Herring Gull

Black headed Gull

Gannet

Long tailed Skua 1

Pomarine Skua 1

Wilson's Storm Petrel 1

European Storm petrel 25+

Fulmar Petrel

Arctic Tern 5

Kittiwake

Blue Shark 1