Trip reports

Autumn in the Isles of Scilly

Friday, 17 April 2009

Autumn in the Isles of Scilly was the title of Terry Bond's talk to the local group on Friday 17th April. It was a compilation of some 35 autumnal visits that Terry has made to the Isles - as he said it shows you like the place not just the birding. One theme that Terry kept coming back to was "check, check and check again". This was because in any flock of common birds such as starlings there was the possibility of a rose coloured starling or a mediterranean gull in a mixed gull flock.
Terry's talk had many sloides of both common anr rare birds on the Islands - turnstone and sanderling, shag and cormorant. He told us when the best times were to view a rarity, when birds normally far out at sea come close inland. Terry's photographs naturally included views of some of ths islands with their differing habitats. Rarities were represented by American upland sandpiper and blue winged garganey. We saw the American yellow-billed and black-billed cuckoo, but the mega-rarity was the American nighthawk - their equivalent of our nightjar - with it's attendant twitchers.
For most of the birds and locations Terry had an amusing anecdote and as there was something of intererest for ever taste, everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy the evening's talk.

The next talk on May 15th taking us to the Falklands promises to be every bit as entertaining. Remember that you don't have to a member to come along to Llandaff Parish Hall.