Bird Watching August 2011

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Extermination to conservation: Why one man changed his mind about sparrows

The mystery of the migrating Pied Flycatcher 001cover.indd 1

August 2011 £4.10

06/07/2011 16:58

online

Garden birds

Lifers & first

Cory’s Shearwater The most gull-like of the larger shearwaters, the pale-billed, rather uniformly brown Cory’s has a relaxed, languid flight-style.

Sabines Gull This is a hugely desirable highly pelagic little gull, with distinctive triangles of colour on each wing and a dark cap.

Rarity rewind: 16 august 2006 Olive-tree Warbler, Boddam, Shetland

Seen by a handful of birders on Shetland, the ID of the UK’s first and only (accepted) Olive-tree Warbler was a classic example of identification using field photographs, rather than direct field observation. The bird was first identified from fleeting views, firstly as an Icterine Warbler, then an Eastern Olivaceous Warbler. It was only after analysis of the photographs taken by Hugh Harrop, that the identity as a first-winter Olive-tree Warbler was clinched.

Olive-tree is a large Hippolais warbler from south-eastern Europe.

Hugh HArrop

Here is a tricky one, as there is a bit of variation about how different people use the terms.

Lifer is used for a bird which you have seen for the first time. In its absolute strictest sense, lifer means the first time you have seen the bird anywhere in the world. However, many birders use it as shorthand for a tick on their British life list.

First, is more controversial, as in its purest term it means the first occurrence of the particular bird (in the UK unless specified). If you use ‘first’ to mean ‘lifer’ you may be liable to a small amount of patronising, snobbish sneering from certain naughty birders, who may consider your usage ‘dudish’ behaviour, but that is another story…

Great Shearwater Big, stiff-winged, elegant and spectacular, Great Shears also have distinct black caps, white tail base and dark underwings.

Juniors Bildarchiv (Alamy)

buster

August is a traditional month for pelagics, offshore trips in boats to search for scarce or rare seabirds, which are much easier to see out at sea than from the shore. Scilly has been a traditional area for such trips, with excursions to search for Wilson’s Petrel, the rarer shearwaters and skuas and any other seabirds. For instance, Birder Special Pelagics (www.scillypelagics.com) run whole day trips out of St Mary’s on August weekends (see website for details).

You need sea legs and a strong stomach, but the rewards can be breathtaking views (and photographs) of brilliant seabirds up close. And you never know what will appear…

Robin Chittenden

Jargon

Scilly seabird pelagics Robin Chittenden

This blog, subtitled Notes from a Devon Garden, is produced by Tony Whitehad, a press officer for RSPB in South West England, and Laura Whitehead a web and print designer, who share a garden with their two children (and their various pets).

Dominated by fine photos rather than excessive words, this visual feast is a window into this family’s garden wildlife in Devon.

Though it is not the most prolific blog out there, new updates are worth the wait as it is the quality of the photographs which is the main attraction.

Recent contributions include a beguiling Hedgehog feeding on a pathway and Nuthatch and a juvenile Bullfinch at the feeders http://gardenbirds. wordpress.com

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The islands form an archipelago 28 miles off the southwestern tip of Cornwall. The islands have a population of 2,100 and are designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Read more about the Scilly season at birdwatching.co.uk

As the rich blessings of early autumn’s fruitfulness come into our gardens, it is easy to fall into the trap of believing that this time of plenty will be an easy one for the birds.

Bear in mind, though, that the bird population in your garden has just increased with the new brood of summer, and there are plenty of extra bills to feed, and an increased demand for water – just as the traditional hottest month occurs.

So, please remember to keep the feeders will stocked (and as always avoid whole loose peanuts and dried bread), and particularly offer some source of water for drinking and bathing. If you haven’t already got some kind of bird bath, get one (even if it turns out to be an upturned dustbin lid)!

Bloody-nosed Beetle

If you walk through RSPB Titchwell this summer, keep an eye on the path and try to spare the life of at least some of the Bloody-nosed Beetles which cross it. The rest get splattered by careless feet, as these big (2cm long) round, flightless (the wing cases are fused) beetles are plodding at best. If you irritate them you can see where they get their name, as they exude bright red fluid from the mouth, which resembles blood. If in doubt about the ID, check the ‘feet’, they are like little lobed ferns.

St Martins

Tresco

St Mary’s

Clouded Yellow

St Agnes

Chaffinches and other garden birds need a good supply of water

David CHapman

GARDEN BIRDING Don’t forget to put out food and water

WHILE YOU’RE OUT BIRDING, LOOK FOR...

David CHapman (Alamy)

Chris Gomersall (Alamy)

Juniors Bildarchiv (Alamy)

BASKING SHARK A wonderful wildlife bonus, all you usually see from the world’s second largest fish is a dorsal fin and tail and perhaps the tip of the nose.

WHERE EXACTLY ARE THE ISLES OF SCILLY?

Chris Gomersall (Alamy)

Wilson’s Petrel The big draw for many birders to the south-west approaches is this southern ocean storm-petrel, famed for pattering over the waves on yellow-webbed feet

Clouded Yellow is one of the great migrants of the insect world. Like Painted Lady butterflies and, to a lesser extent, Hummingbird Hawkmoths, they appear in wildly variable numbers from year to year, in the butterfly equivalent of bird irruptions. In very good years they can be plentiful, but in others quite scarce. They can be easily told from similarly yellow Brimstones, as they have a different shape, bold black wingtips and when perched (always with closed wings) have distinctive spots.

Pine Marten

One of those mammals that most of us have never come close to seeing, but we know is out there, the Pine Marten is rarely seen outside Scotland. There are special hides, such as the one at Speyside, where it is possible to see these gorgeous mustellids as they come to feed on food bait. In other places, they have been attracted by the seeming not too healthy lure of jam sandwiches. Pine Martens are forest mammals which look like very large, dark stoats with creamy bibs.

If you photograph any of these species, send your photos to birdwatching@bauermedia.co.uk

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Chris Skinner’s Norfolk farm is helping to give sparrow numbers a much-needed boost

FARMING FOR

SPARROWS

Pictures: Tom Bailey

There has been great concern recently about disappearing sparrows, yet not so long ago we were trying to get rid of them. Graham Appleton visits a farmer who has changed from exterminator to conservator

I

was recently shown a cutting from 100 years ago, announcing the launch of a sparrow club to deal with ‘the sparrow pest’ in Suffolk. There were many of these groups of farmers in East Anglia, working together to reduce losses of cereal crops, but the thing that interested me particularly was the name of the farmer leading the campaign in Bungay – Mr CS Skinner – because Mr Skinner’s great nephew has become one of the leading conservationists in East Anglia; just one example of the enhanced role of farmers in the countryside.

Chris Skinner manages High Ash Farm on the outskirts of Norwich. When I first moved to Norfolk 15 years ago, his was a conventional farm, with a rotation of cereals and sugar-beet.

Chris already loved his birds and, of an evening, we could walk around the broad headlands to see sun-bathing Little Owls, catching the last rays of the day’s sun, and listen to Yellowhammers in the hedgerows. The fields which formed the main basis of the business

Farmer Chris Skinner shows Graham Appleton some of his produce

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sparrows

were clean (weed-free), rolled (no places for slugs and snails to hide) and productive but there were already signs of change to the ethos that guided farm management. Every year, more and more nestboxes would be put up and the feeding stations near the farm buildings and in covets around the farm became bigger and more popular with Yellowhammers, sparrows and many others. There was innovation too; like spreading grain in hedgerow bottoms at the end of March, to help Yellowhammers get through the spring ‘hungry gap’, and sowing crops of mustard into wheat and barley stubble as soon as the crop had been taken off. These nectar-rich flowers were a huge draw for the moths of late summer and early autumn, after which birds moved in to eat invertebrates and seeds as autumn turned to winter. This was an early sign of the way that Chris could develop a farm-sized bird table for winter flocks containing thousands of Linnets and other species that need big, open spaces.

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EXCLUSIVE TO BIRD WATCHING READERS

JOIN US ON A G 14 October 2011 WWT Martin Mere reserve, Burscough, Lancashire

T

he Bird Watching team has planned an exciting day out at the WWT Martin Mere reserve in Lancashire on Friday 14 October 2011.

At this exclusive event we will be joined by Alan Davies and Ruth Miller, famous for their record-breaking Biggest Twitch, top bird photographer Ron Thomas, and the warden and his staff for a day of great birding culminating in the evening geese spectacular.

Throughout the day there will be talks and workshops, guided walks and the chance to ask all your questions about optics, as well as free entry to the reserve and a glimpse behind the scenes. All this for the bargain price of just £49.95 per person.

Included in the day will be:

■ Free entry to the WWT Martin Mere reserve ■ Welcome from Centre Manager Andy Wooldridge and Editor Sheena Harvey ■ Wildfowl ID seminar and guided walk with Alan Davies and Ruth Miller, top world birders from The Biggest Twitch ■ Bird Photography course from Ron Thomas ARPS (numbers limited to 12 on each of two sessions; first come, first served) ■ Captive birds for photography workshops from Rockcliffe Raptors ■ Behind the Scenes talk from Assistant Reserve Warden Tom Clare ■ Guided walk with the Bird Watching experts Mike Weedon and Matt Merritt ■ Optics surgery and opportunity to try equipment from the In Focus team ■ Dusk geese spectacular ■ Refreshments mid-morning and mid-afternoon ■ Half-price entry to Martin Mere on Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 October

Optional extras (£5 per person) ■ Early birders walk with Alan Davies, Ruth Miller and the Bird Watching team ■ After Dark Walk with the Warden ■ Evening talk on The Biggest Twitch by Alan Davies and Ruth Miller

To book your place, fill in the coupon (right) or email bwreaderday@bauermedia.co.uk or call 01733 468201 (if answer phone in operation, please leave your name and contact number for a return call. Please do not leave card details)

For more information v 052-053 Martin mere.indd 1

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exclusive day out

A GREAT DAY’S BIRDING

MEET THE BIRD WATCHING TEAM

MEET THE BIGGEST TWITCH ALAN AN’S D RUTH!

Find out about the WWT’s Spoon-billed Sandpiper project

Bird Watching day out at Martin Mere, 14 October 2011

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Please supply at least one of the above so that Bauer Media (publishers of Bird Watching) can contact you about the day out Bauer Media Group (the publishers of Bird Watching) have other great offers and promotions that we think you’ll like, but if you’d rather not hear about what we’ve chosen for you please tick this box

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places at £49.95 per person Security number Valid from

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I would like to apply to take part in the Bird Photography Workshop. Number of places I would like to take part in the Early Birders Walk (6.30am start) Number of places at a cost of £5 per person (payable on the day) Send your completed coupon in a secure envelope to Nicki Manning, Bird Watching, Bauer Media, Media House, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6EA Terms and conditions: Reader day is subject to a minimum number of bookings. Bird Watching reserves the right to cancel the day if these bookings are not achieved. Payment can only be taken by credit/debit card or postal order; we regret that cheques cannot be accepted. Payments will only be processed on or after 31 August 2011 when the day is confirmed. Places on the Bird Photography Workshops will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. Places on all other talks, walks and seminars (including After Dark Walk and Biggest Twitch Talk) can be booked on the day. All participants must be at Martin Mere by 9.30am on Friday 14 October 2011.

on visit www.birdwatching.co.uk/martinmere www.birdwatching.co.uk 53

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The Fascinating Life of

Pied Flycatchers E

very August brings an anniversary in the life of my garden, an unfolding mystery to my doorstep. For some reason, and despite the fact that their nearest breeding grounds are more than 70 miles away, Pied Flycatchers visit my backyard every year. I cannot fathom why. There are no sessile oaks, their favourite tree for breeding, nor is my garden a migrant trap by the sea; it backs on to a heath and is seven miles inland.

There is plenty of identical habitat for miles around, yet there don’t seem to be many reports of Pied Flycatchers anywhere near; just in my garden. Yet incredibly, there have been as many as three individuals around at the same time in our birch tree on an August morning, and on several hallowed days I have had more Pied Flycatchers in my garden than Portland Bill, that giddily famous migration hotspot which lies about 30 miles to the south-west. Clearly I live in a Pied Flycatcher zone, where the birds don’t breed and they don’t spend the winter. My garden, instead, is a point along a route.

Now is the season of stop-offs. When we birders think of migration, it’s easy to forget about half-way houses. We marvel at the movements of migrants; we celebrate their coming and we commiserate their going. We tend to think of their journeys in terms of where they leave and where they winter and, with some exceptions, we define the journey by its beginning and end, not by the journey itself. That perception is beginning to change, though, as ringing recoveries and satellite transmitters give us more details of birds in transit. But for now, what we don’t tend to think, when we might catch a glimpse of a Willow Warbler in our garden, or even a Swallow skimming our rooftops, is that stop-offs – even brief ones – are important, even crucial, to our birds.

But back to my Pied Flies. As mentioned above, I cannot quite fathom what they see in my garden, as opposed to other local places, but I have nevertheless done some research to find out more about them. To my surprise, it turns out the Pied Flycatcher is one of the best-studied migrants in Europe, and there is a great deal that you can surmise

even from a brief sighting.

For example, I am pretty sure (notwithstanding the fact that ageing Pied Flycatchers is not easy), that the birds in my garden are youngsters – that is, first winters.

This means, for a start, that they are obviously not following a route that they have travelled before, as an adult might have done (and since my records trace back five years, it is unlikely that an adult would have lived that long, anyway). So it seems that some kind of repeatable compass-bearing has brought them to me. It is known that in autumn these migrants first orientate towards the south coast of England, so it is perfectly possible that they have come from as far away as Scotland.

Another intriguing fact unearthed by the researchers gives an insight into how old my visitors are. It has been discovered that, once young Pied Flycatchers leave the nest, they spend their next 40 days or so in their immediate local area rather than setting off on their migration straight away. These local wanderings are known as dispersal, and often involve distances of no more than a kilometre or so; it is thought that, when dispersing, young birds are sussing out locations within their area to which they might return next year and set up territory. It will also help them to take in the nature of their homeland, to guide them in the final stages of their return migration in the spring.

However, after that 40 days, the youngsters set off. It is known for certain, since experiments have proven it, that Pied Flycatchers have sophisticated ways of finding their way. They use a star compass, using the rotation of the firmament to orientate in the correct direction; put them in a planetarium, alter the star pattern and you find the Flycatchers adjust their preferred direction accordingly. They also use a magnetic ability; it seems that the angle of incidence of the magnetic field indicates how far north or south the birds are (angle of incidence is 90° at the pole, 0° at the Equator), helping them to orientate in the correct direction, and also helping them to know when to stop their migration.

David Kjaer (Nature Picture Library)

Dominic Couzens gets to the bottom of a recurring mystery in his garden

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David Kjaer (Nature Picture Library)

pied flycatcher

Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca Length: 13cm Wingspan: 22cm Diet: Flies, spiders, caterpillars Habitat: Woodland, urban areas UK numbers: 38,000 pairs (summer)

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GO John Miles

TOP TIP presented by

Come back in winter for wild geese and other wildfowl.

SITE GUIDE GRID REF: NX 745 615 DIFFICULTY

1 Dumfries & Galloway

Threave

Ospreys nest at a historic estate

T

hreave estate covers 1,500 acres, and was once known for its gardens and castle, but now with added management its birds are a good reason to visit the site owned by the National Trust for Scotland.

Summer sees Ospreys return to their platform on the island, joined by Ravens nesting on the castle along with Swifts, Jackdaws and Stock Doves. The woodland has Great Spotted Woodpecker, Treecreeper, Redstart and several tits. Woodcock

can be seen in the evenings, when you might also hear Grasshopper Warbler and Water Rail down by the marsh. Reed Bunting and Sedge Warblers also breed here.

Several ducks use the area, with breeding Mallard, Teal and recently Shoveler. Waders also feed around the marsh with Snipe, Lapwing and Redshank, and Common Sandpipers nesting along the river.

Whitethroats and Yellowhammers nest along the hedgerows while

raptors are everywhere, with Red Kites enjoying the silage cutting when you see them flying around with Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gulls.

Winter sees the estate being used by geese, with both Pink-footed and Greenland White-fronted Geese being likely. Hen Harrier and Short-eared Owls join the Barn Owls to hunt over the marsh while rarities have included Blue-winged Teal, Bittern and White-tailed Eagle.

John Miles

V5 OS 1:50,000 Region 5 Southern Scotland www.memory-map.co.uk 0870 743 0121

How to get there: Easily found off the A75 two miles west of Castle Douglas. Take the roundabout on the bypass at grid ref: NX 751 612 and take the sign for the castle. You drive down a track into the car park.

Where to park: The main car-parking area is by the information centre.

Postcode: DG7 1RX Distance and time: The circular walk from the car park is approximately two kilometres.

Allow two hours to see all the birds. High water levels in winter may break off the circular walk but it is not far to come back on yourself.

Terrain: The main path to the castle is suitable for wheelchairs but is quite steep from the car park to the junction of the two paths. For those with poor vision, there is a tapping rail down to the castle. The path to the wood is undulated. Walking boots are suitable for most areas.

Facilities: Toilets are found at the car park, but there are more facilities in the gardens or you can go back to Castle Douglas.

Public transport: There are several buses running to Castle Douglas and along the A75. Use Traveline for information, 01387 260 383.

Sites nearby: Carlingwark Loch (Go Birding, September 2002), Loch Ken, Galloway Forest.

LOCAL GUIDE

1

Park in the car park next to the visitor centre. The visitor centre is occasionally open but the toilets are open all the time. Walk down the hill where the path breaks off to the right to visit the wood and two hides. A recent thinning has left the wood open but several species can still be found here.

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2

The two hides look over the marsh and the river with a mixture of summer and winter birds. The Osprey nest can be seen from the left end hide and the marsh here has several breeding and wintering birds.

The island was famous for the castle built by Archibald the Grim, but Ospreys are nesting so visiting has

3

become even more exciting in the summer months. You can view the birds from a special platform but if you want to visit the island, ring the bell to attract the boatman, who will take you across.

A wheelchair access hide has views across the river and into neighbouring fields where winter geese are possible.

Organisations: The SOC, The Scottish Birdwatching Resource Centre, Waterston House, Aberlady, East Lothian EH32 0PY, Scotland.

National Trust for Scotland – www.nts.org.uk/Property/61/ Club contact: SOC Dumfries branch, Mrs Pat Abery, 01556 630 483.

RSPB members group, Cynthia Douglas, 01644 420605, cynthia@cdouglas.plus.com County recorder: Paul Collin, pncollin@live.co.uk Maps: OS Explorer 312, OS Landranger 84.

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AUGUST 2011

07/07/2011 17:42

Brian Unwin

TOP TIP presented by

Red Kites are likely in vicinity of Thornley Woodlands and Far Pasture reserves.

SITE GUIDE GRID REF: NZ 192 628 DIFFICULTY

2 Tyne and Wear

Shibdon Pond

Wetland birds flock to green oasis in built-up Tyneside

W

ere it not for the roar of traffic, you could imagine being in the depths of the countryside at this very urban nature reserve.

In fact the 35-acre site – managed

by Durham Wildlife Trust for Gateshead Borough Council – is surrounded by development. Near the huge MetroCentre shopping mall, it is tucked between the town of Blaydon and the busy A1, beyond which is an industrial estate and, across the Tyne, Newcastle’s west end.

Late summer is a good time to visit this SSSI on former colliery land, its main feature a 10-acre lake resulting from mining subsidence and fed by water rising from old underground workings. An outflow channel to the Tyne enables the water level to be controlled and it is usually lowered to coincide with early autumn wader passage.

As a result the likes of Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit, Spotted Redshank, Greenshank and Green and

Wood Sandpipers may be present.

Last summer up to five Little Egrets were on show too, while several Water Rails and a Spotted Crake probed about the reedbed fringes.

Brian Unwin

V5 OS 1:50,000 Region 4 Northern England www.memory-map.co.uk 0870 743 0121

How to get there: From south, turn off A1 Gateshead Western Bypass just beyond MetroCentre into Swalwell. Go right at roundabout and right at traffic lights on to B6317 to Blaydon then straight on at A694 crossroads roundabout. Pond is on right after half a mile. If driving from north, take first slip road after bridge over Tyne then go right at roundabout on to A694.

After this passes under A1 turn right at crossroads roundabout on to B6317 to Blaydon (then as above).

Postcode: NE21 5LU Where to park: Large car park off B6317, behind Just Learning Nursery (grid ref: NZ 192 628).

Public transport: Regular bus services to Blaydon from Newcastle and Gateshead.

Distance & time: Hide a quarter mile from car park. Reserve paths add up to about one-and-a-half miles. Allow at least two hours.

Terrain: Walk over short grass to hide (at grid ref: NZ 195 627).

Boardwalk over marsh.

Unsurfaced paths possibly muddy in places.

Accessibility: Always open.

Facilities: Thornley Woodlands Centre (for hide key purchase – £5) off A694 between Winlaton Mill and Rowlands Gill open noon-2pm weekdays, noon-5pm weekends/Bank Holidays. Also wildlife information and toilets, 01207 545212. Toilets also at Swalwell Visitor Centre (grid ref: NZ 197 620) open 10am-5pm daily except Christmas/New Year, 0191 414 2106.

Sites nearby: Shibdon hide key also accesses hides at other Gateshead reserves: Clara Vale (grid ref: NZ 131 648), Far Pasture (grid ref: NZ 173 593), Lamesley Pastures (grid ref: NZ 252 578) and Thornley Woodlands (grid ref: NZ 178 604).

LOCAL GUIDE

1

Paths from car park lead to lake hide, marsh boardwalk and reserve’s woodland/scrub trails. Ignore outdated information that car park is beside Blaydon Swimming Pool, which has been demolished.

Hide overlooks east end of lake where passage waders may be present in late summer/autumn. Also

2

AUGUST 2011

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logged in August 2010 were Garganey, Little Egret, Water Rail, Spotted Crake, Mediterranean Gull and Kingfisher.

Common Terns nest on raft “islands.”

Sedge and Reed Warblers nest in reserve’s marsh, part of which is accessed by boardwalk, but they’re hard to see in late summer. Dragonfly activity has been known to attract the

3

occasional migrant Hobby.

As well as typical woodland and scrub birds, the reserve’s west end is sometimes visited by unusual passage migrants. Red-backed Shrike, Barred Warbler and Bluethroat have been recorded in August/September, while Wryneck, Golden Oriole and Icterine Warbler have provided spring surprises.

4

Club contacts: Durham Bird Club, Membership Secretary, Derek Lawrence, 07957 541820, derek_suzy@hotmail.co.uk Gateshead Birders, www. gatesheadbirders.co.uk County recorder: Durham Mark Newsome, mvnewsome@ hotmail.com Maps: OS Explorer 316, OS Landranger 88. www.birdwatching.co.uk 57

07/07/2011 17:42

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO FIND A FIRST FOR BRITAIN?

David Saunders, as he was in the 1960s

David Saunders is a man who knows, and with autumn migration, and the possibility of all sorts of transatlantic vagrants not far away, he recalls a memorable day on Skomer some 50 years ago

T

he autumn of 1961, my second year on Skomer, off the coast of Pembrokeshire, as warden for the infant West Wales Naturalists’ Trust, was a particularly stormy one.

The last day visitors landed was on 19 September, the island boat then scuttling for winter quarters in Milford Haven. In the first days of October, with more bad weather imminent, two research workers from the Royal Holloway College, Peter Fullagar and Peter Jewell, brought their week’s study of the Long-tailed Field Mouse and unique Skomer Vole to an abrupt end. They departed on 4 October, a day earlier than planned and only just in time.

Then, for us, the wonderful relief of solitude.

That feeling which only dwellers on small islands fully appreciate: the moment when they have their island to themselves. For, with my wife and 10-month old son, I became the sole inhabitant of all 720 acres of Skomer; after Anglesey the largest island in Wales. These were the days long before the Skomer warden had assistants, voluntary wardens and long-term research workers, when health and safety anxieties and regulations and mighty management plans were far in the future. Wind

and tides ruled our daily lives, especially with regard to crossing the mile-and-three-quarters to the mainland at irregular intervals for supplies and mail. Our transport was a 12ft dinghy with a Seagull outboard engine – guaranteed to cut out in choppy conditions.

Crossings were a matter of being careful and sensible and we never forgot the oars.

Thursday 5 October 1961 dawned as predicted, the wind south, a little later turning south-east, force five and increasing, which boded well for autumn migrants as I made my early morning patrol. In most winds, South Stream Valley proved a snug spot for migrants, but today the lack of shelter from the south-east meant I only located a single Chaffinch and two Robins. There was, however, the delight of four Buzzards hanging in the wind and a late passage of Swallows heading east, flying low across the already gale-flattened bracken.

In the centre of the island, Lapwings foraged in the fields accompanied by flocks of Starlings, while small numbers of Meadow Pipits were continually passing overhead. The ruined farm buildings sheltered the island’s only tree and this, along with several elderberry bushes and our garden, which we attempted, often with

little success, to keep rabbit-proof, was always great for migrants. Today, Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, Robins, a Blackcap, Blue Tits, Goldcrests, Chaffinches and a Reed Bunting were all present. Nearby the North Stream Valley proved equally productive.

The final part of my journey took me along the ivy-covered cliffs above North Haven landing beach, just a few yards from the house.

The cliff, today superbly sheltered from the south-east wind, was ideal for small birds with more Blackbirds, Robins and Blue Tits.

Additions to my morning list were Stonechats, a Spotted Flycatcher and a Great Tit. I felt very satisfied at what I had seen. Encountering birds like these, breeding on the mainland but mostly only occurring here as migrants or occasional visitors, always gave me a thrill.

Attention-grabber

About to turn away, a welcome mid-morning snack of cheese and crackers next on my agenda, my attention was caught by a small bird, quite unlike any other present. At first it stayed on the far side of the cliffs, a clear view proving difficult, but soon, after a patient wait, it worked closer, at times making occasional

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blackburnian warbler

SKOMER FACTS Skomer is an island off the coast of southwest Wales, no more than 1.8 square miles in size.

It’s one of a chain lying less than a mile off the Pembrokeshire coast, separated from the mainland by the Jack Sound.

Skomer is a National Nature Reserve, a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Protection Area. It is managed by the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales.

The Blackburnian Warbler was found here

The Blackburnian Warbler sheltered on this cliff

The only tree on Skomer – in 1966

short flights after insects, at others almost vanishing from sight. Yes, it looked like a warbler, but quite unlike any that I had ever seen or could recall illustrated in any book.

It was roughly Pied Flycatcher size, but with a longer tail and the stance of a warbler, while most striking of all was the bright sulphurcoloured breast. Other immediately apparent features were a yellow stripe running from the base of the bill to above and a little beyond the eye, and two somewhat pale buffish stripes which ran down the mantle. I was mesmerised.

Just what was I looking at? What could this bird be, foraging on my cliff? I quickly fetched my wife to share in my discovery, and to ponder with me as to what bird it might be. It was to become a day of watching and wondering, and not surprisingly I missed my snack.

In those pioneering days on Skomer we had no radio, even for emergencies, just six distress rockets, tractor headlights and a store of driftwood to light as a beacon. Skokholm Bird Observatory, clearly visible and barely three miles away across boisterous Broad Sound, might as well have been 3,000 miles distant, for there were no means of communication. We had no ID books other than A Field Guide to

Blackburnian Warbler, by Peter Fullagar, based on David’s extensive notes and descriptions

the Birds of Britain and Europe by Peterson, Mountfort and Hollom, The Handbook of British Birds and the run of British Birds magazine since the early 1950s. Certainly nothing to help me identify our mystery visitor.

Next day, with frequent rain storms and the wind veering south-west and increasing, the bird had gone. Indeed, most of the birds seen and enjoyed the previous day had departed. My

diary records that I spent the afternoon writing – I emphasise writing, as we had no typewriter – a report on our sighting for the Rarity Records Committee of the journal British Birds.

Frustratingly, another week elapsed before the sea calmed sufficiently for a journey to the mainland and Marloes Post Office.

In mid-December James Ferguson-Lees, then executive editor of British Birds, replied: “Your description of the strange bird you saw on 5th October is rather puzzling and I am proposing to send that round the Rarity Records Committee to see if other members of it agree with my suggestions.”

It would be a year after our mystery bird had spent its day on Skomer before a second letter arrived; this from Chris Swaine, honorary secretary of the Rarities Committee. In it was the news that “we have at last got your ‘queer passerine’ round this Committee twice; it has been to James Baird in the USA also. The outcome is that we’re almost certain the bird was a Blackburnian Warbler. We cannot be quite sure, however, and feel we must agree with James Baird that it is best regarded as a ‘probable.’ Congratulations on taking a very thorough description.” www.birdwatching.co.uk 75

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