St Agnes 12-14th October 2020

Another year has passed, way too quickly, but once again I find myself on St Agnes. Expectations for good birds are pretty low these days, but a much needed break and time with friends, in particular Andy Carroll, who generously had allowed me to stay with him in the very comfortable Croft at the Troy Town end.

12/10

I flew over to the islands mid afternoon on 12th, getting across to Agnes around 5pm. It was pretty cold and wet, with a relentless north westerly wind, and as a consequence little to look at just yet. I met Andy and we were just heading off to do some birding when news of a Red-breasted Flycatcher on the rocks by Wingletang reached us. Given the lack of birds it was a promising sign and worthy of a look. It was remarkably elusive in the rocks but we saw it well enough. That was pretty much it bird-wise.

13/10

Another day of relentless north westerlies. Birding was slow but we managed a few bits and pieces - Whinchat, a smart male Lapland Bunting and a single Yellow-browed warbler were the highlights. Common migrants were far from that, with only a couple of Redwings and Chiffchaff. We were in the pub for 3pm and the remainder of the day degenerated into an excellent session. 

14/10

After the previous night we weren’t out until the afternoon. The weather had turned and the wind was switching east, always a good omen. It slowly became a glorious day. 

Whilst we were eating a very late breakfast, proper birders found an American Buff-bellied Pipit at Horse Point. Perhaps the least inspiring of any American vagrant landbird, nevertheless it is a great find and a properly rare bird. I’ve seen two previously on Scilly; the first modern times record in 1988 and a second in 1996 that Lee and I found together. Since then the species has become much more regular, with multiple records annually. In fact it’s probably the commonest American passerine to reach our shores these days, a dive even seen one in Cheshire. Still, it was worth seeing even if we set off with only limited enthusiasm. But it was a cracking bird, showing very well in glorious sunshine as it fed on short turf between the rocks with Rock Pipits and Meadow Pipits. I think I’d forgotten how distinctive this species is, and it called frequently too. 

Heading back across the island and casually birding, it was apparent there were more birds arriving. The magic east wind was working. Fieldfares and Redwings were around, and there were lots of Swallows too. Birds were moving.

Next was news of a Bluethroat by the Coastguards Cafe. We’d initially ignored this and assumed it was a typically brief and elusive bird, but as we walked past the Parsonage we were told it was showing well. And so it was. A really lovely 1st winter male, with plenty of colour and bags of character. It fed unconcerned on the path, approaching to about 20 feet a couple of times. A considerable upgrade on the bird I saw on Shetland last week.

The sunset was truly spectacular this evening too. The wind is set to stay in the east so there are certainly grounds for optimism for the rest of our stay.

In the wider world it was amazing to hear that the lammergeier had found its way to the south coast and old mate Laurence Pitcher was watching it on his Beachey Head patch. Safe travels back to the Alps.