Red-footed Booby. Scilly, 20th August 2023

Red-footed Booby, Bishop's Rock Lighthouse. Photo by Simon King.

Red-footed Booby atop the Bishop Rock Lighthouse. Photo by the excellent Tony Davison.

This one will live long in the memory. Not for the bird, but for the madcap adventure and fabulous supporting cast.

But before regaling our jubilant tale, there is a sombre side to this birds' appearance in UK waters. Not specifically this individual bird or species, but the rapidly increasing numbers of warm water seabirds here. Twenty years ago the idea of tropical seabirds in the UK was largely fanciful, now it's an annual event. Times are changing rapidly and it's more than a little alarming to think where we're headed. Of course there's a double-standard to caring about climate change and continuing to twitch. It's equally true to say that climate change isn't going to be slowed by the voluntary actions of individuals. We need tough action, but we get soft words and pointless suggestions of personal responsibility.

There are six species of booby, all of which are predominantly found in equatorial waters. Three of these reside in the Atlantic ocean; Brown, Masked and Red-footed.

Britain's first record of a Brown Booby was as recent as 2019. Remarkably an adult bird was found in Cornwall and twitched by a few before disappearing, only for second bird (an immature) to be found nearby and seen by many, including me. Since then Brown Booby's have been seen and claimed annually, and one was photographed in Scotland this week. Another twitchable one will happen soon. 

Red-footed Booby first occurred in September 2016, when one was picked up on a Sussex beach and taken in to care. To the best of my knowledge it dies in care, as rescued seabirds so often do. Until now there hadn't been another. Masked Booby is largely a Caribbean species, but the appearance of one in the UK wouldn't come as an enormous surprise. 

So back to our bird.  

It was first seen off a Scilly pelagic on Monday 7th August as it flashed by those fortunate enough to be aboard the Sapphire. It must have been a special moment. I was still in Sri Lanka at the time and pelagic seabirds aren't generally twitchable, so from a personal perspective it was little more than an interesting side note. As I do every year though, I considered more time on pelagic boats. Not just for the very slim chance of a major rarity, the general seabirding always looks so good too. Unlike our closely related gannets, booby species tend to roost on land. So there was always the slim chance this bird would be re-found on Scilly, but hats-off to Joe Pender and the Sapphire team for keeping an eye out on likely spots over the subsequent days. They'd checked the Bishop Rock lighthouse several times over a period of days, so it must have been a genuine shock when the booby was perched on top of the lighthouse in the evening of Monday 14th August, a full week after their initial sighting.

Any twitch to Scilly requires gargantuan effort. This one needed even more.

I was by this time back from holiday, but in the thick of catching up and (yet more) meetings. The idea of twitching a remote lighthouse seemed fanciful, so initially I dismissed the thought. Surely no one was considering it? Others are clearly more tenacious and I'll admit to being quite shocked to see travel plans emerging on Mega Chasers. Fair play. And madness. But it worked. The fastest people were at Bishops Rock by 10am the next day and, remarkably, the bird was still there. Others followed over the subsequent days and consistently connected. The bird seemed to be reliably present, and there has been speculation about the bird feeding at night on squid (as they are known to do). I made plans to join a direct return charter from Penzance on Thursday 17th, but had to pull out at the last minute. They connected and I regretted, but it was my call to bail so no-one to blame. 

Aside from the logistics of getting there, twitching a lighthouse is somewhat dependent on favourable weather. A storm was coming on Friday afternoon, so that effectively ruled-out safe passage to Bishop Rock on Friday afternoon and probably Saturday. A Friday morning attempt by some birders became the first dip. Saturday trips were soon cancelled due to high swell. The odds against felt like they were starting to stack-up. 

Most of the year there is almost no way of getting to Scilly on a Sunday. But in the summer there are Sunday sailings of the infamous Scillonian, making a day trip possible. A small group of us bought day return tickets on Thursday, but were far from set on actually travelling and were hoping for Saturday news. The swell had prevented that from happening. 

Malc, Phil W, Paul Baker and Phil Locker had bought tickets and teamed up. We messaged constantly through Saturday. Should we take a punt? It's fair to say the group was split and plenty of reasons not to travel were expressed. But then there is FOMO too. I opted to go anyway, on the basis that we should see plenty of seabirds and we definitely wouldn't see the booby at home (yes I know there's a pun in that).  Malc and Phil L were of the same view. Who dares wins. Paul and Phil W soon opted to come along too, and we set off at 10.30pm for the long haul to Penzance.

As we parked up on the quayside (no cafes on a Sunday) it quickly became apparent that quite a few birders had opted to take the punt too. In the end there were 130 birders. We all boarded early so as to take a position up top where there was seabirding to be had. The Scillonian was to depart at 09.15. It was a sociable but nervous atmosphere for the gathered masses, and I enjoyed seeing people I rarely have time to chat to. At just after 9am we heard from the Scilly pelagic (on the Sapphire) - the booby was still present. A loud cheer went up as news was spread. It must have seemed very odd to the non-birders on board.

The Scillonian set sail on cue and everyone settled in for seabirding. To my surprise Graham Gordon was also on board, and I joined him in a great spot on the starboard side where the sun would be behind us. It turned out to be an excellent crossing, with light enough seas and lovely weather. Aside from the many Manx Shearwaters, there were probably 40-50 Cory's Shearwaters and about 5 Great Shearwaters. The Cory's in particular showed incredibly well; I don't think I've had these views since the nineties in the US. I snapped away, partially motivated by the slim chance of papping a Scopoli's Shearwater, but mostly I was just enjoying the event. There were several pods of Common Dolphins and a few Harbour Porpoise too. The highlight was a tight flock of 6 adult Sabine's Gulls which powered through in front of us. 

Cory's Shearwater. Very much the bird of the day and a joy to see so well.

Six adult Sabine's Gulls powering south, on their way from Arctic Canada to the mid Atlantic for the winter. Phoarrr.

The Scillonian rounded the island and slipped in to Hugh Town harbour on time, with Bishop's Rock lighthouse tantalisingly visible now. Birders jostled for position to disembark, keen to get on to the pre-arranged island charters out to the lighthouse. All went well, and our team naturally managed to get on to the first and marginally quicker 'Seahorse'. We were soon off and steaming towards the lighthouse, but in an increasing swell as we left the shelter of the main islands. It was to take about fifty minutes to get there, but at a couple of miles range technology calmed nerves. Shots of the lighthouse initially showed there were multiple birds atop - blobs at this point and presumably mostly gulls. A little closer and more shots were taken. One blob soon looked different enough to suggest it was the booby. The boat eased closer and each round of shots improved the image. Soon they showed what could only be the target. We were so close to success now.

Bishop's Rock Lighthouse. An incredible piece of Victorian engineering that was completed in 1858. It is apparently the smallest island in the world wit a building on it. Incredible.

Minutes later we pulled alongside the famous Bishop Rock, the extreme westerly point of the UK - next stop USA. This is the starting line for races across the Atlantic, and sits on the very edge of northern Europe. How many people have ever even been here? The boat surged and rolled in the swell left-over from Friday's storm, but the boatmen did a fine job of manoeuvring position throughout our stay. 

The sub-adult RED-FOOTED BOOBY remained on netting towards the top of the lighthouse, decidedly unimpressed by the furore below. Despite the odds at the start of the week, we had done it. Joyous relief, even if the bird itself was the epitome of underwhelm. The booby looked healthy enough, actively preening, defecating and wing-flapping, so let's hope it's protracted stay is through choice not ill health as some have suggested. The second boat (the Kingfisher) pulled along and it's passengers celebrated too. It was a celebratory atmosphere. Twitching a lighthouse in the hope a seabird lingers is, after all, a completely ridiculous idea.

Another of Tony Davison's shots

Bob Dawson's photo.

Phil's happy.

After an hour or so we'd all filled our boots and fired endless hopeful shots in the general direction of the bird. It was time to move on. The early news as we sat in Penzance had come from the Sapphire, which was on an all day pelagic today. Not long before our arrival in Penzance, Cliff Smith had messaged the group to say that they were watching a Scopoli's Shearwater from the Sapphire, 8km SW of Bishop Rock. Knowing that they had chum bags, and that they had to come back in our direction, I had cheekily texted Cliff and asked if there was any chance they could coincide with us in the unlikely hope good birds would follow. Happily they agreed, and our skipper had also agreed to venture out a few kilometers in to the deeper water. The Sapphire soon passed close by, tooting and full of happy birders, and we set off along their chum line. Quickly there were groups of Cory's Shearwaters, with perhaps 100 or so in groups of up to 30. The views were sublime, and we all scoured for birds showing any trace of a Scopoli. Alas there were no clear birds found, nor were any strong candidates identified from photographs later. Aside from the Cory's I saw only a handful of Storm Petrels out here, but it was great fun to be birding on the waves and searching for something rare. Three ocean sunfish also put in an appearance and others saw and photographed a brief Wilson's Petrel, but that didn't dampen our mood in the slightest.

                             

Another hour or so later we turned back towards St Mary's and docked alongside the Scillonian. Just time to grab a lamb and mint pasty from the quayside shop before walking up the gangway to embark once again. The Scillonian sailed at 4.15 and once again we positioned ourselves, this time on the Port side. The show continued, with almost constant Cory's action and the occasional Great. More common dolphins bow-rode and a Minke Whale appeared by the boat at one point. As we neared Land's End there was a pulse of Great Shearwaters and a single Sooty Shearwater. We then encountered the evening line of Manxies, piling westward back towards island breeding grounds on Skomer and Lundy. This is the point that several Fea's have been seen, and we searched hard but without success. No matter, it had been another brilliant crossing. 

Great Shearwater

We were back in the car around 7.15, having spent around 10 hours on boats and constantly searching for birds. The journey home was a long one - all those hours at sea took their toll, but it was a happy band of birders travelling. We took turns on the drive and I was finally home at 01.15.

Now that was a twitch to remember.

OML. 569 (for now).

.

Local Bonuses 18th August 2023

A site meeting on the Rudheath limebeds today produced a surprise patch tick - Green Woodpecker. As I understand it a rare bird (Paul has seen one before). Two young Peregrines were still zapping around. That aside it was all work, but great to be designing new wetlands and hopefully this will soon be a breeding wader bonanza.

However on the way back to the office I called in to the yacht club at Budworth Mere to see the eight Black Terns which had been present since early morning, with a single Common Tern also amongst the multitude of hirundines. An adult and a juvenile Yellow Wagtail were on the pontoons amongst several Pied Wagtails, and a brood of 7 Tufted Ducks were nice to see.

Then back to the office.

Sri Lanka 26th July to 10th August 2023. Part two: birds

This was my first time in the Indian sub-continent and so naturally I was keen to see some birds, and there were plenty of opportunities. Unlike Bali last year, birds were everywhere. Part of me wanted to see as many endemics as possible, but I managed to make sure that I was able to enjoy seeing everything I came across. It's rare I have the opportunity to bird abroad much these days and so I didn't wish to get caught up in tick chasing as it often leads to frustration. 

It was an absolute pleasure to be in a country where birds abound. I'd made sure most of our hotels had potential for at least some casual birding, and the itinerary provided for a couple of morning's birding. However due to timing these were not overly successful. In the end I managed a pretty good tally, and I enjoyed the photography too.

On our journey from the airport I was keeping an eye on the sky. Inevitably the fist species seem was the ubiquitous House Crow followed by Common Myna, but from the car I was surprised to see multiple Spot-billed Pelicans* sat on lampposts as well as a few Brahminy Kites, White-breasted Kingfisher and Little Cormorants*. 

White-breasted Kingfisher. Common but always stunning.

We had arrived early morning on 27th, so spent the day by the pool in our Colombo hotel recovering. Happily there were trees and gardens around the pool, so the bird list soon grew. Black-hooded Oriole, Yellow-billed Babbler(E*), Rose-ringed Parakeet, Black-rumped Flameback (Lesser Goldenback)(E*),  Large-billed Crow, Brown-headed Barbet, Red-vented Bulbul, Oriental Magpie Robin, Greater Coucal and Asian Koel made for easy entertainment in between cocktails and splashes in the stunning pool. Little Egrets and Red-wattled Lapwings flew over. This was all very pleasant, and was followed by a lovely evening tour of Colombo, a seemingly very pleasant city in the brief time we spent there. 

Lesser Goldenback

Purple-rumped Sunbird

We had an early start to Kithugala on 28th, although it turned out not early enough. the planned birding at Makandawa rainforest was a disappointment as we arrived far too late. This is the most diverse part of the island - forest in the 'wet zone'. I was probably being too ambitious to hope to see much here, but I had at least hoped to see a few localised specialities. Sadly it wasn't to be, so an area to come back for.  Our long early drive was tiring on the back of the journey so I napped mostly; a Crested Serpent Eagle was the only bird of note.                                                                                    

Crested Serpent Eagle

When I did eventually make it to the  Makandawa Forest there were of course birds; Yellow-browed Bulbul*, Sri Lanka Hill Myna(E*), Southern Hill Myna*, Sri Lankan Hanging Parrot (E*), Small Minivet, Scarlet Minivet, White bellied Drongo*, Velvet-fronted Nuthatch, Square-tailed Bulbul*, Lesser Yellownape, Oriental White-eye, Black Eagle, Asian Palm Swift, Oriental Honey Buzzard, Shikra, Purple-rumped Sunbird* and Loten’s Sunbird* were all nice to see. If honest I left the area disappointed and kicking myself for not working-out this part of the itinerary better. Thankfully it was to get much better.

Purple-rumped Sunbird

Sri-Lankan Hanging Parrot

Southern Hill Myna

                             

Black Eagle

We then drove on to the highland town of Nuwara Eliya and had a meander through the impressive Victorian Gardens as dusk fell. White-breasted Waterhen was the only new bird for the trip in this beautiful but somewhat out of place garden. Overnight we stayed at the equally out of place St Andrews Hotel, which was more Alpine than Sri Lankan. The whole town as lovely, even if it is a legacy of the British Empire..

On the morning of 29th July I walked from the hotel for and ventured to the adjacent golf course briefly. New birds for the trip included Indian Swiftlet*, Spotted Dove, Grey-headed Canary Flycatcher, Cinerous Tit and Black-throated Munia*. It was soon time to depart to catch the famous tea train from here to Kandy. In the end, though, the train was so delayed we ended up back in the van, but at least on a roadside stop I saw my only Hill Swallows (*) of the trip. the afternoon and evening was spent in the lovely town of Kandy, visiting a famed temple (and very impressive it was too), before a short drive to Polwaththa Eco Lodge, set in forest and so precisely my kind of place. 

So the morning of 30th felt like my first proper birding of the trip. The lodge guide was pleasantly useless, but we did find some good birds with some effort: Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher*, Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill (E*), Sri Lanka Wood Pigeon (E*), Sri Lanka Scimitar Babbler (E*), Crimson backed Flameback (E*), Brown-capped Babbler (E*), Yellow-fronted Barbet (E*), White-rumped Shama and Dark-fronted Babbler* were all added in the morning, before we all set-off for a walk through the forest with a guide, eventually ending with a swim at a fabulous waterfall.

Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill

                                         

Tickell's Blue Flycatcher

Sri Lankan Wood Pigeon

                            

Yellow-fronted Barbet

                            

That evening I was back out in the forest alone, and decided to give what I thought was a long shot a try. We were in the range of an endemic owlet, so I asked the camp if they knew areas and they told me roughly where birds were sometimes seen. I headed down, adding Layard’s Parakeet (E*) to the list, and played an owlet call. I got an immediate response, and after a bit of time a very smart and evidently disgruntled Chestnut-backed Owlet (E*) flew in and landed above me. I was made up to see this bird and spent a fair bit of time watching it, definitely bird of the trip. It's presence drew a whole cacophony of other birds and so I also added Golden-fronted Leafbird, Common Iora and Black-naped Monarch  to the list, along with a whole load of parrots, drongos, minivets, myna's nuthatches and barbets.

Chestnut-backed Owlet

               

                

                

In the morning of 31/07 I had a little time pre-breakfast, so headed back to the same area. The owlet was still vocal and showed again, such a marvellous bird. I got much better views of Sri Lanka Grey Hornbill and Yellow-fronted Barbet, before adding three new trip birds: Crimson-fronted Barbet E*), Common Tailorbird and Thick-billed Flowerpecker. I could have stayed longer here, but we had a great destination coming next; the famous rock fortress Sigiriya.

Red-ventted Bulbul

Pale-billed Flowerpecker

                            

We encountered our first elephant on the road near to our hotel in Habarana. It's hard to fathom living alongside these giants, with cars swerving around like we do with squirrels and foxes at home.  Out hotel ('The Other Corner') was my favourite of the trip. It not only had fabulous bird-filled grounds, but great cabins and a wonderful pool. Immediately behind the hotel grounds a track lead to the embankment of a huge reservoir (Habarana Lake) where Karen and I went for a short stroll in the evening. What a place; beautiful views across the water and browsing elephants in the grasslands. Naturally birds were everywhere and a host of new species were added to the trip list: White-browed Fantail, Indian Peafowl*, Grey-breasted Prinia, Black headed Ibis, Black-winged Stilt, Oriental Darter, Asian Green Bee-eater, Indian Cormorant*, Little Grebe, Purple heron, White-rumped Munia, Indian Robin*, Whiskered Treeswift, Sri Lanka Swallow(E*) and Pheasant tailed Jacana crowded the reservoir, along with common egret species and Grey Herons.

Malabar Pied Hornbill

               

Ashy Prini

Purple Heron

                            

After dinner we were invited to take a short walk looking for night wildlife, in particular fishing cat. No luck with the cats, but we did see Indian Nightjar*, a very showy Brown Fish-owl and two Slow Loris.

It was an early(ish) start on 01/08, but I checked out an Indian Paradise Flycatcher* nest behind our cabin before setting off. We were soon mobile on the slightly-too-small bikes, heading 12km along country dirt tracks towards the famous Sigiriya Rock Fortress. As we cycled I saw my first Woolly-necked Storks of the trip, and had a single flyover Alexandrine Parakeet*. The bike ride soon became hard work, but me and Cal toughed it out to the very end I'm glad to say. Then three of us (Cal, Tom and I) climbed the UNESO fortress in the heat of the day, but it was a worthwhile trek up the 1,000 or so steps. The views were breath-taking, but more impressive was the architecture and the history. Bird-wise it was largely more of the same, but House Swift was new for the trip. The action packed day continued in the afternoon as we headed off on safari in Minneriya National Park for a successful search of elephants. New birds included Jerdon’s Bushlark*, Paddyfield Pipit, Indian Roller*, Asian Openbill, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Lesser Adjutant, Great Cormorant  and Pied Kingfisher. That evening we again headed out in the dark, but again had no luck with the fishing cats; however a splendid flying squirrel was superb to watch in full glide.

Indian Paradise Flycatcher

               

Indian Roller

                             

Shikra

                                         

White-bellied Eagle

               

Red-wattled Lapwing

Asian Openbill

I spent the morning of the 02/08 birding the dam area again It was low key but enjoyable and I picked up plenty of new birds for the trip: Black-capped Bulbul (E*), Coppersmith barbet, Changeable  Hawk-Eagle, Jerdon’s leafbird*, Wood sandpiper, Ashy Prinia*, Orange-breasted Green Pigeon, Emerald Dove, Chestnut- headed Bee-eater, White-rumped Munia, White-browed Bulbul* and Pale-billed Flowerpecker*. From here we headed east towards the beach town of Trincomalee on the east coast; our home for a few days in the impressive Uga Jungle Escape Resort. Naturally I'd chosen this hotel as it was set in woodland with it's own lakes, whilst having sole access to a vast and stunning beach. As we arrived in the hotel there were new birds on the lakes by reception: Indian Pond Heron and Stork-billed Kingfisher. At dusk a crocodile lurked in the water.

Sri Lankan Green Pigeon

Stork-billed Kingfisher

Common Kingfisher

                                        

The next few days were dominated by chilling and beach time, although we also went on a whale watching boat and snorkelled at Pigeon Island, where turtles and sharks dominated the day. From boats I managed a few Crested Terns, a Caspian Tern and a couple of Bridled Terns. The biggest surprise though was a single Wilson's Storm Petrel dancing through some fishing boats as we searched (unsuccessfully) for whales.

A short stroll from the hotel gates along the road in the evening of 04/08 was rewarded with a Blue-faced Malkoha* and a pair of Indian Thick-knees* under the only black skies of the trip.

On 06/08 I finally got to grips with several Sri Lankan Green Pigeons (E*) around the hotel, and on 07/07 added I Golden-fronted leafbird, Purple Sunbird, Striated Heron and Scaly-breasted Munia  to the list before we headed off again, arriving at Wilpattu National Park mid afternoon and settling in to our wonderful safari camp. We had enough time for a first game drive in the late afternoon, when the focus was on mammals and in particular leopard. I was of course also birding and our excellent host Darrell found a nice balance of showing me birds when he could. We drew a blank on the big mammal highlights in the first couple of drives, but it was to all come together nicely at the end.

Little Bee-eaters

New birds for the trip that day included Black Drongo, Sri Lankan Jungle-Fowl (E*), Grey-headed Swamphen, Green imperial pigeon and Baya Weaver, then back at the camp a Jerdon’s Nightjar* called and showed in silhouette form. Over the next couple of days I also added Large Cuckooshrike, Jungle Prinia, Greenshank, Lesser Whistling-duck, Great Thick-knee* and Lesser Sandplover, but the real story was the a combination of the mammals and the fantastic views of many birds I'd already seen; Sri Lanka Grey hornbill, Oriental Honey Buzzard, Changeable Hawk-eagle, Bee-eaters, Storks, Kingfishers, a roosting Brown Fish-owl were all brilliant to see so well right next to the jeep. Back at the camp I added Tawny-bellied Babbler* and savoured the commoner birds.  We also took a walk with Darrell to a nearby reservoir where new birds included Ashy Woodswallow,  Grey-headed Fish-eagle and several Black-shouldered Kites (nice to see after the Essex bird before I came here).

Sri Lankan Junglefowl

                

Milky Storks

  

Changeable Hawk Eagle

                              

White-browed Bulbul

                              

Black-winged Kite. Just a couple of week's after seeing the UK bird.

Black-crowned Night Heron

Brown Fish Owl

  

The trip list in the end was 142 birds. I'd managed half of the endemics, but of course none of the more difficult species.  Hopefully I will return and concentrate on the birds, but this had been a wonderful trip.

Coppersmith Barbet

Lesser Adjutant