In this third (and final) part of my account of my October visit to the Scilly Isles, I cover the last two days of our stay. The first part of my account can be found by following the link here, and the second part here.
Sunday 12th October
We'd seen that there was to be a mini seabird trip round the islands taking place this morning, and Roger and I were interested. It was going to be led by well-known Scilly ornithologist, and the official recorder for Scilly, Will Wagstaff. I was a bit concerned that, if the boat was to be as packed as the regular boat to St. Agnes was on the previous day, it would be a fairly cramped and difficult session. In the event, there were only twelve participants in a boat, "Osprey", that has a capacity for 93 people. We had all the room in the world! The weather was glorious, and the seas quite calm, and at 10:00 we were on our way.
 |
| "Osprey" - photographed on 13th October, 2014 |
Will gave a very comprehensive commentary over the boat's PA system as our travels progressed. I confess to being somewhat unaware as to where we actually were for much of the time, so you'll now get a series of bird images, with little comment as to where they were actually taken.
Our first reasonably close sighting was of a group of Shag on a small rock in the sea en-route to Tresco.
 |
| Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) - near Tresco |
As we approached Green Island, just off Tresco, a Spoonbill was clearly visible in amongst the gulls.
 |
| Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) - Green Island |
Also present were a large number of Sanderling at rest. I've only ever seen Sanderling before in relatively small groups (6-20?) and running along the beach at the waterline. To see a few hundred all at rest on the rocks was new to me. Here's a couple of images of a few of these birds.
 |
| Sanderling (Calidris alba) - Green Island |
 |
| Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) (female) - Green Island |
Will commented that there was an unprecedented number of Grey Heron on the islands at present. This is one that flew past us as we passed by Pentle Bay (I think!).
 |
| Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) - Pentle Bay (?) |
A bit further on, Will pointed out a lone Cormorant which flew to join a group of Shag. There are many Shag in the Scillies, but very few Cormorant in comparison.
 |
| Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) - Tresco |
 |
| Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) and Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) - Tresco |
 |
| Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) - Tresco |
Further on, possibly by Northwethel, we found a flight of Oystercatcher. These really are spectacular when in flight! Again, I'm not used to seeing this species in such large groups. Here's a couple of images of part of the group.
 |
| Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) |
Also in large numbers here were Curlew - and I'm used to only seeing them in ones and twos!
 |
| Curlew (Numenius arquata) |
We called at the waters just off Round Island with its lighthouse. There was a raptor present, which Will pointed out to us!
 |
| Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) - Round Island |
At one point there were several Little Egret fishing from a raft of weed. To which Will piped up "Egrets, I've had a few, but then again too few to mention" to which the skipper responded by asking if anyone could drive as he was departing!
 |
| Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) |
We passed to the north of the sinister rocks of Men-a-vaur, and then headed down between Tresco and Bryher, dropping off Will at Bryher, together with the small party that he was escorting round the island. After making another stop at Tresco it was a small band, indeed, that returned to St. Mary's on the "Osprey".
I've just realised that I've not given you any scenic shots yet in this post. Here's one taken on our way back to St. Mary's. I have no idea where it is!
 |
| View from the "Osprey" |
Roger and I having met up with the girls at lunch time, Lindsay and I took a stroll up to the Garrison as Lindsay had only been to the eastern entrance. As we emerged from the Sally Port, I noticed a Humming-bird Hawk-moth fly past. To my amazement it landed on a wall (I've only seen them flying/hovering before). Sadly, it landed in the shade, and I found myself regretting (once again) that I'd not taken my macro lens on holiday. My, do they look drab when at rest!
 |
| Humming-bird Hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) - The Garrison, St. Mary's |
I fared even worse when it woke up and started to visit flowers. The light was so bad I didn't stand a chance, shooting at 1/160th sec. Here's the best I could do!
 |
| Humming-bird Hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) - The Garrison, St. Mary's |
We had a very pleasant hour or so's walk round the Garrison, not seeing anything of great interest in the way of wildlife.
Several places round the walls have canon in situ.
 |
| Canon at Morning Point, the Garrison |
One of the wonderful things about The Scillies is that the climate allows exotic plants to grow. Sometimes one finds the most amazing flowers in the most unlikely places. This beautiful lily (at least, I think that is what it is) was growing on a wind-swept, but south facing, cliff top location, surrounded by brambles and ferns.
 |
| Lily (?) - the Garrison, St. Mary's |
That night, dinner was on us, as a 'thank you' to Lynne and Roger for their extreme generosity in inviting us to join them. We'd have returned to The Galley if it had been open on a Sunday, but instead settled for dinner at the Spirit Restaurant at the St. Mary's Hall Hotel. This proved to be an adequate substitute, although Roger's Roast Leg of Ryeland Lamb proved to be rather fatty.
To start with, I had Pan Fried King Prawns served with garlic butter, toasted ciabatta and dressed salad leaves, followed by Roasted Cornish Hake Fillet served with seared Cornish scallops and local crab and chive risotto (is there a pattern emerging here?), and for pud. I had Sticky Toffee Pudding served with toffee sauce & Cornish clotted cream. I confess that the dessert was a step too far!
In spite of being stuffed silly, I did sleep quite well that night!
Monday 13th October
We were up early as we had to be packed and out of the property by 10:00. Lynne and Roger departed by taxi to the airport at 09:45, leaving Lindsay and I to hand over to the owners on their arrival at 10:00. I took some farewell shots of the Oystercatchers sinking their bills deep into the sand and of a thrush in the garden, and It was then a brisk 10 minute walk to the quayside with our baggage.
 |
| Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) - Little Porth |
 |
| Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos) - Little Porth |
Our boat was not until 16:30 in the afternoon, but there was the ability to leave one's baggage at the boat between 10:00 and 11:00. Here they were loaded into a container, ready for shipment to the mainland in the afternoon. I was concerned that my (soft) case (in which I had my tablet, spare camera, and spare lens), would be at the bottom of a stack of cases six feet (2 metres) high. I was advised by the shipping company to leave my case in the waiting room and pick it up when I returned to board ship. This arrangement worked perfectly, and we left all our bags there!
Lindsay and I then had the rest of the day free. As we'd got a fairly long drive that evening after a sea crossing that's known for being uncomfortable, we wanted an easy day. We phoned for a taxi to take us for the short run to Old Town. Here we called at the Old Town Cafe for an ice cream and I left Lindsay to play on the beach whilst I went for another visit to Lower Moors. The main hide was busy but I did find room.
Although a Jack Snipe was visible when I arrived, it was well hidden in the reeds, and seemed to be asleep. I bided my time and took a photo of a (Common) Snipe that was a little more obliging, although it kept its back to me.
 |
| Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) - Lower Moors, St. Mary's |
A Grey Wagtail was tantalisingly in plain view, but a little too distant.
 |
| Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) - Lower Moors |
Eventually the Jack Snipe woke up and started moving around. However, it never put itself in an exposed position whilst I was there.
 |
| Jack Snipe (Lymnocryptes minimus) - Lower Moors, St. Mary's |
Suddenly a second Jack Snipe came into view and was far more obliging in its positioning, although somewhat further away than the original bird.
 |
| Jack Snipe (Lymnocryptes minimus) - Lower Moors, St. Mary's |
The radios suddenly sprang into life - a Red-breasted Flycatcher (Ficedula parva) was in the Memorial Gardens over the road from the northern entrance to Lower Moors. Suddenly the hide was virtually emptied. I stopped to try and get some photos of another (Common) Snipe that had appeared, before departing to the Memorial Gardens.
 |
| Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) - Lower Moors, St. Mary's |
I saw the Red-breasted Flycatcher - extremely briefly, and distant, and didn't get any photos at all. At least I'd got another 'life bird', bringing the total (I believe) to five for the holiday. It was now nearly the time that I said I'd pick up Lindsay so I had to hurry away.
After a snack lunch in the Old Town Cafe I had a quick half hour in Old Town churchyard where I only managed to find the same two stick-insects again. I'm not sure if these two images are any better than my previous efforts, but they are a bit different.
 |
| Prickly Stick-insect (Acanthoxyla geisovii) - Old Town churchyard |
After this, it was back to the quayside by taxi, and then on board the ship. They say that Scillonian III does not sail well because she is virtually flat-bottomed as she needs to be able to cope with underwater hazards round the islands. Furthermore, although equipped with stabilisers, these are only ever used in absolutely dire circumstances as their deployment greatly increases the fuel consumption of the craft. Fortunately ours was quite a calm crossing back to the mainland, and it was dark long before we reached port at around 19:15.
 |
| Scillonian III - taken on 11th October, 2014 |
Having collected our baggage from the container which eventually arrived at the inner end of the jetty, and then gone to pick up the car, it seemed strange to be driving again after more than a week without a car. I was extremely glad that we'd changed our mind and booked a Travelodge at about the half-way point of our journey. Lindsay had taken a travel pill before boarding the boat, and couldn't keep her eyes open and was certainly incapable of driving. She was still pretty much zonked out the following morning!
I'll not 'start a new day' for our trip back on the Tuesday, but just say that it threw it down with rain almost all the way home. We'd been so very lucky with the weather whilst on The Scillies.
Our grateful thanks to Roger and Lynne for a totally wonderful holiday. Hopefully we will be able to return the favour one day.
To the readers of this blog, thank you for dropping by.
