Introduction.

This trip was not the manic wildlife trip I usually do, but a much more touristy trip with some wildlife elements, key targets were Scilly shrew, Cornish choughs, scilly isles speckled wood and false widow spider. We were based in Lostwithiel for 4 nights and 3 nights on St Mary's.

Saturday 30th May

Deeply disappointed that I had been unable to go to College Lake to see the Polecats that had been showing so well due to work commitments on Thursday and Friday and now my trip to Cornwall was upon us all paid for upfront and well planned not allowing for change and it would be over a week before I would be able to go and I was very anxious they would suddenly go and I would have missed out. After the overnight drive we reached Kingsteignton and quickly found the sleeping (are they always asleep?) spoonbill had been there for a while. Not much else, and as the western sandpiper at Dawlish Warren had not been seen, we had a few touristy stops but noting noteworthy wildlife wise. Onwards onto Dartmoor, buzzards were everywhere as were the Dartmoor ponies, a short walk on the moor produced meadow pipit, skylark and wheatear of note. Our last stop was Mount Edgecombe, searching for stick insects, but although we could find some signs of their presence, no sign of them, I will get them one day. A great spotted woodpecker and grey squirrel were present but not much else except the continuing flow of painted ladies in off the sea.

Sunday 31st May

A walk around Minions was quite productive chiff chaffs and willow warblers still singing and a female redstart foraging for food for a nest full of youngsters I could hear in a nearby tree. A woodland walk in the Tamar valley gave us muntjac, loads of beautiful demoiselle damselflies and a single broad bodied chaser. Colliford lake was very quite, a fox and wheatear the highlights, no sign of the black duck, but still loads of painted ladies flying through.

Monday 1st June

More touristy things today, don't worry they will diminish as the week progresses, but at the first site a wood warbler was ample reward, and another site we did have nesting ravens so not too bad after all. This was followed by a visit to the Lizard, here after a good look at the butterflies inc my first large skipper of the year on the beautiful coastal bloom. Our target was choughs, a species I have not seen in England. This was quickly changed as the pair showed well over the nest site, a fulmar and several shags of note. Our next stop was Gwenter where a woodchat shrike had been the previous day, but there was no sign of it during an extensive search, but a wall butterfly was a bonus. The final stop was Truro where we went searching for spiders, here are two introduces species, tube web spider which was easily found and false widow spider which was more elusive, I did manage to locate one and coaxed it out for a photo, it was time to go so I tried to coax him back into his crack but he had other ideas. It lept off and bit my arm before dropping to the floor and running away. As I dropped to the floor in extreem agony... well actually no I hardly felt it but it did itch for a few hours and left a little mark which was present a week later. Still well worth tracking down.

Tuesday 2nd June

A morning stop at Colliford lake was unproductive as all the ducks were all asleep, so we went all touristy, it was not a total washout, we went to the monkey sanctuary that has a maternal roost of lesser horseshoe bats, but they can only be seen on CCTV which was a shame. Loads of butterflies, painted ladies the most common and a few azure damselflys enjoying the good weather. An encounter with a family party of pheasants along a path the highlight. We headed back to Colliford lake where we finally connected with the Black duck which was being harassed by a drake mallard, but not much else of note at all so we called it a day.

Wednesday 3rd June

An early rise for the drive to Penzance where we joined the "sick"illonian to transport us to St Mary's for our 3 nights stay. I need not have worried even though the boat is designed specifically to induce its passengers to vomit, it was too calm today for the Scillonian to work its magic. Just off Lands End we encountered a couple of basking sharks, and a bit further on a load more were spotted approx. 20 in total. Bird wise it was quiet, singles of gannet, manx shearwater and storm petrel the pick. A few harbour porpoises were encountered just off the islands along with a grey seal. On arrival in St Mary’s we quickly joined a boat the St Agnes and a short while later we were at Little Port Askrig a random area on the south west side of the island. A few familiar faces were already watching the eastern black eared wheatear having twitched by helicopter in the morning. They quickly put us on to it and we watched it on and off until we had to get our boat back late afternoon. It showed very well and after a few moments with the camera not working I got some nice photo’s. Several linnets and singing rock pipits were also present in the area, a few common blue butterflies and lots of six spot burnett moths. The walk back to the boat produced a few of the speckled wood ssp insula which are abundant on the islands. Back on St Mary's and after sorting out our B&B we headed for food then a beach vigil for shrews without success.

Thursday 4th June

An early start and a return to the beach but still no shrews, breakfast eaten and we headed off to Tresco, mainly to visit the gardens but we had a good walk round, and saw a good selection of the common birds and butterflies. A family of stonechats the highlight. But disaster ensued the camera packed up completely and refused to even power up it was completely dead, I was most annoyed and even more so after failing to find any stick insects. I had a compact with 4x zoom so not too great and also a small camcorder so all pics are taken with these so the quality will not be quite as good as usual. Still it was a fantastic day and a nice pint of beer at New Grismby eased the woes a little. Back on St Mary's and a quick pub meal before taking the evening boat trip with commentary by Will Wagstaff out to Annet, it was a great trip if a little chilly. Here we had a few razorbills and shags before picking up the puffins on the island. A harbour porpoise was spotted briefly but I missed it, but I did spot a few storm petrels whizzing past as we met up with the manx shearwater gathering, a total of 150 or so were seen, followed up with a fantastic sunset. I took a dusk walk around lower moors, a pipestrelle bat and a couple of large hawk moth sp which would not stay still for ID the sum total of my efforts.

Friday 5th June

A leisurely breakfast then it was off to Porthloo beach where we spent over two hours in vain for Scilly shrews. Bored we walked to Lower Moors, narrowly missing a woodpigeon crapping me, god knows what it had been eating but its second attempt was much looser and bounced from the pavement and I copped some of the splash-still its supposed to be lucky. At lower moors, where loads of eels were spawning in the pool and ditches. We spotted the golden oriole and it showed well but a little distant for my working optics some record video the best of it. There were loads of swallows and house martins collecting mud from the pool which was nice to watch. We had a late leisurely lunch at the Old town beach cafe enjoying the beautiful weather before starting another shrew vigil on the beach. A rock pipit entertained as we prepared for a long search, but before we were really settled the wife had a scilly shrew at the far end of the sea wall, we headed down and I managed a few pics as it whizzed around and past my feet and into a crack never to be seen again, that pigeon must have been an omen. There were lots of louse sp avoiding the attentions of the birds. We visited Carreg Du gardens, full of bees and butterflies including several holly blues and some moths a silver Y the only one I recognized, a chiffchaff was present amongst the commoner species of birds but not much else. It was back to town and I indulged in several local ales over a pleasant meal to celebrate.

Saturday 6th June

A pre breakfast walk in the rain was not what I had planned but that was the reality and nothing apart from 18 oystercatchers on the beach. We took a walk around the island in the now nice sunshine but a little breezy, all the usual suspects with large numbers of linnets to report. It was particularly quiet everywhere a greenshank on higher moors pool and little egret on the beach of note. News of a yellow legged wading bird made us look a bit harder but nothing. Some lunch and then news of a little bittern at Lower Moors, but it was injured and had gone into the reeds a short time before our arrival never to be seen again, our first rabbit on the island was more helpful feeding on the edge of the pool. Time was up so we headed back to Scillonian. The trip was very choppy and the boat did its trick making quite a few of the passengers ill, I managed to avoid it but only just. The trip had a large number of manx shearwaters passing through with at least two balaeric shearwaters spotted before I had to concentrate on keeping my lunch down. A quick stop in Newlyn and we quickly picked up the roosting glaucous gull which did not join us for chips although every other gull in the harbour did. It was time to head home - well not quite, with regular updates from Farnboro John throughout the week on the polecats continuing presence that would be our destination, but first one last stop near Buckfast, where the greater horseshoe bats only two were flying around the Abbey Hotel.

Sunday 7th June

Arriving at College lake in Buckinghamshire at 9.30am after a night in the car in Taunton Services. We stayed in the car as the trainee warden was helping a radio crew with a treasure hunt. The warden was most helpful and a fellow Royal supporter (Reading FC - not a Monarchist) we chatting about the club as we were shown to the hide. Two minutes later and he reappeared the polecats were showing from the barn, we headed over and had two cracking polecats coming to food outside the window, and even with my now limited camera equipment I got some great shots as they were that close, we also had a brief muntjac and a brave rabbit but I suspect the young polecats were not quite ready to tackle a large rabbit just yet . The polecats showed on and off for an hour. A quick visit to the hide was aborted as it was rammed, and we watched a robin feeding a youngster which kept comically dropping the food only for the parent to try again, and again several times until the parent eventually rammed it down the youngsters throat. Not a bad trip at all apart from the camera!

Birds - 91

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