20 years of Corvo Birding, 2005-2024: Dutch Birding

Our new paper, 20 years of Corvo Birding, 2005-2024, with myself, David Monticelli, Vincent Legrand, Pierre-andre Crochet and Paul Dufour is published in the latest issue of Dutch Birding.  

Paddyfield Pipit Note Published Etc

I'm a bit behind with uploading published papers from this year so have added our note to Research Gate on the Paddyfield Pipit, a first for Oman that was published in the last issue of Dutch Birding. 

Full text can be read or downloaded HERE

Paddyfield Pipit on Masirah Island,Oman, in November 2025

Next up is our note on the first record of Lesser Striped Swallow for the Western Palearctic from Kuwait last year HERE

Lesser Striped Swallow at Al-Abraq, Kuwait in May 2025

We have a major paper published this month in Dutch Birding on 20 years of Corvo Birding which is exclusive to Dutch Birding readers at the moment so treat yourself to a subscription of Dutch Birding- the international journal of Western Palearctic birds - the literature epicentre of WP birding HERE. 

Easterlies

Vagrants and scarce migrants are bombarding the east coast with Rufous-tailed Robin, Black-faced Bunting, Isabelline Wheatear, Red-flanked Bluetail and loads more at Spurn yesterday and other vagrants elsewhere along the North sea coastline.

Meanwhile round here it's a long way from the action. There have been tens of thousands of Redwings on the move across the country (including along the east-west North and South Downs flyways)  but the best I could muster here was 31 over the garden on a Sunday morning skywatch HERE. Also had the autumn's first Fieldfare that day and my first 1000+ Woodpigeon day this autumn. 

Yesterday there wasn't even much in the way of garden vis-mig and it got down to 5 C at night in the north east airflow so nothing noteworthy in the moth trap either. A visit to Church Norton in the afternoon wasn't much better HERE with an increase in Brent Geese being the main observation. 

Today the north east wind was accompanied by heavy rain so with limited options I decided to do Selsey Bill from Hillfield Road carpark using the van as a hide. Mass migration was picked up over the North Sea from radars last night and indeed there was some passage of waterfowl off the bill HERE with 21 Brents, 5 Greylags, 5 Shelduck, 44 Wigeon, 38 Pintail, 277 Teal, 3 Common Scoter and 4 Red-breasted Mergansers mainly moving east. There was also a Red-throated Diver offshore and a few incoming passerines including a very frustrating probable Lapland Bunting that failed to call and also my camera wouldn't focus on it in the rain. 

With the rain still persisting I then went to Ferry hide to get some shelter there HERE. An increase in duck numbers there too with the first flock of Shoveler for the winter and more Wigeon too. 

A few more moths last night as the cloud keept the temperature a bit higher but nothing that noteworthy.

So basically the only fallout from this easterly invasion was the probable Lap Bunt - and we blew that too. The south coast in autumn is really not the place to be based- fortunately we are off to Bulgaria on Thursday. 

Juvenile Red-throated Diver (above and below) 

Ducks on the move in the murk 

Red-breasted Mergansers

Sandwich Tern

Green Brindled Crescent 

Back at the lodge and pigs on the wing

Unfortunately since I got back from Scilly I've been stuck working but I did manage to do a couple of hours vis-migging in the garden today HERE. It was actually pretty good with the first significant Woodpigeon movement of the year, plus good numbers of Stock Doves moving and a single Redpoll, Siskin, Reed Bunting, 6 Redwing, 8 Song Thrush and a garden record of 66 Skylarks over. There was also a Golden Plover and a Snipe.  

Before driving to London yesterday I got up at 4am to do the moths as it was a very mild night, the last mild night ahead of a cool period for the next few days. The traps had plenty of migrants in and some nice late autumn specialities. On the migrant front there were 2 Scarce Bordered Straws, 4 Vestals, Pearly Underwing, Palpita Vitrealis, Box-tree moth, a Diamond-back moth, 8 Rush Veneer, 4 Rusty Dots, 2 Small Mottled Willow, Angle Shades and quite a few Turnips and White-points.  

Woodpigeons on the move. 682 counted this morning.

Surprisingly there was also flocks of Stock Doves (rather than just the usual peppering of them within the Woodpigeons) with a garden record of 167 over.

Flame Brocade, Feathered Ranunculus and Merveille du Jour (above) and Barred Sallow (below)- what  a great time of year for great looking moths. Now on 567 for the year.  

A first for Sussex - Samphire Straw, Aethes Bilbaensis

An exciting result from the latest batch of dissections by Mike Bailey with a Samphire Straw, Aethes bilbaensis, confirmed by Peter Hall and confirmed as a first for Sussex by Colin Pratt. 

Very pleased indeed. 

I was feeling a bit left out because the other two main moth trappers on the Peninsula had both hit the jackpot this year with Mike having a Druid and a couple of Eastern Bordered Straws and Derek had the Maize Wainscot so now I'm in the club- although I did need the local gurus to identify it for me!  Thanks guys! 

The moth was caught on 13th August, a very busy night for migrants and dispersives during the fifth heat wave HERE. 

This is the first for Sussex (both West and East) and a new addition to the Little Oak Lodge hall of fame which includes the 2nd Echium Stilt for West Sussex HERE and the first Pretty white-barred for West Sussex HERE. Good to be making a little bit of local history. The 722nd species for the garden (following a recent review). 

The species is also a national rarity. Sean Clancy has kindly informed me that there were five UK records prior to 2026 but there have been around three records this year including our record so this is the 6th,7th or 8th record for the UK so a national mega.   

Samphire Straw, Aethes bilbaensis (above and below) 

Isles of Scilly 2026, Day Five, Final Day

Sadly today (14th) was my last day on Scilly. This autumn has been a great nostalgic autumn following a visit to Devon and Cornwall in September and this visit to Scilly. It's been great to reminisce. 

I decided to go rarity hunting onn my last day after a week of social birding and twitching so I set off to the north of the island and then over to Watermill before coming down Holy Vale and then back to Porthloo via Rocky Hill HERE. Highlights included 2 Yellow-browed Warbler, 2-3 Firecrest and a few common migrants including Yellow Wagtail, Siskin, Blackaps, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat. So no rarity for me but an Isabelline-type Shrike was found at Porth Hellick and there was a new White-rumped Sandpiper, a Richard's and a Red-throated Pipit across the archipelago today so new birds were in. 

I got the Scillonian back - it was good to bump into Adam Wilson, another blast from the past. The Scillonian crossing was pretty quiet with just a few European Stormies and Puffins and a single Sooty Shearwater. 

The moth trap at the Porthloo holiday flat was interesting again. Over the three days trapping there we caught a couple of Scilly scarcities/rarities so the back up/insurance rarity finding plan kicked in again. In fact there was some massive news from back home in the dissection results that I dropped off with Mike a couple of weeks ago- more to come on that later. 

6 bird year ticks on this mini-trip taking my year list to 937 HERE. 

Firecrest 

Yellow-browed Warblers (above and below), two different birds in Holy Vale

Willow Warbler (above) and Chiffchaff (below) 

Lesser Whitethroat- not as richly marked as the St.Martin's bird but presumably most of these this time of year are Eastern birds 

Puffin from the Scillonian- the first time one has appeared (photo) on this blog

Echium Stilt, Dialectica scalariella- this tiny fella produced a small twitch in the Atlantic pub. A Scilly scarcity/rarity

Grass Webworm, Herpetogramma licarsisalis- another good one 

Madder Pearl, Mecyna asinalis- a lifer but regular on Scilly 

Marbled Fern, Musotima nitidalis- new for Cornwall in 2024 from a Scilly record, this species as gone from zero to hero with now being established on Scilly 

Blair's Mocha- not that regular on Scilly 

Whitespeck- up to 25 a night. 

Radford's Flame Shoulder (with another Opogona omoscopa) - up to three of these. Also on the migrant front had Four-spotted Footman and Pearly Underwing and up to 3 Silver-Y, 2 Rusty-dot and 4 Rush Veneer a night 

St.Mary's. Great to re-visit. Thanks to Ian, Andrew, Paul and Rob for letting me crash at theirs at St.Mary's and to Jaffa and Helen on St. Martin's. 

Isles of Scilly 2026, Days Three and Four, St.Martin's

After a morning's birding yesterday with the Selsey crew around St Mary's HERE (highlights included terrible views of both Wryneck and Jack Snipe)  I headed off to St.Martin's in the afternoon to meet up with Jaffa. 

We spent the afternoon birding around Middle Town HEREand then today we explored more of the island HERE. Highlights included Yellow-browed Warbler, 3 Pied Flycatchers, Tree Pipit and a Blythi-type Lesser Whitethroat. 

It was great to see Jaffa and Helen and recount the rarity finding stories from Jaffa's ten year 'project'. Now in his ninth year, he has spent three weeks every autumn on St.Martin's rarity hunting and collected a nice bag of cracking finds including Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Red-eyed Vireo, Pallid Harrier, Western Bonelli's Warbler, Rustic Bunting, Radde's Warblers and more. It was great to visit all the spots the magic happened.

Sadly it's my last full day on Scillies and tomorrow afternoon it's back on the Scillonian. A Red-eyed Vireo was found today on St.Agnes and a Surf Scoter on Tresco, meanwhile on Corvo, Hooded Warbler, Indigo Bunting, Dicksissel, Grey-cheeked Thrush and more REVs have been discovered and there's also a Rose-breasted Grosbeak in Ireland, so plenty of yanks this side of the Atlantic, so fingers crossed for something new tomorrow.

First-winter Pied Flycatcher

Yellow-browed Warbler

Tree Pipit

Blythi-type Lesser Whitethroat- a striking bird with rufous upperparts with a bit of imagination almost the colours of a mini Red-backed Shrike

Another shot of the cracking Pied Fly