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 

Isles of Scilly 2026, Day Two- Rain Day

Unfortunately today was a bit of a wash out in the morning and a blow out by the afternoon. However we perservered and did 3.5 hours in the morning and 3 hours in the afternoon around St. Marys with 56 species logged HERE. Sadly no real highlights but a few migrants including Sedge Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Wheatear, 3 Redwing and a Yellow-browed Warbler calling from Lower Moors.

The moth trap provided a bit of additional interest with a few migrants including 12 White-speck, Silver Y, Rusty-dot, Rush Veneer with Swallow-tail Moth and a few Feathered Ranunculus the best of the rest. There was also what I presume is an Eastern Detritus moth, Opogona omoscopa which is a recent colonist on Scillies HERE. 

The magical Scilly views saved the day, Looking over Porthloo beach towards Hugh Town (above) and things getting rather wild at Peninnis by the afternoon (below) 

Sedge Warbler

Presumed Eastern Detritus moth, Opogona omoscopa- a lifer if confirmed 

Feathered Ranunculus 

Isles of Scilly 2026 Day One

I started the day off at Sullivan's Cafe (the greasy spoons portakabin in the Scillonian car park) which I couldn't believe was still there. The Scillonian crossing was pretty lively HERE with highlights including 2 Puffin, 1 Grey Phalarope, 26 European Storm Petrel, 1 Sooty Shearwater, 6 Manx Shearwater, 1000+ Razorbills, a few Guillemot, hundreds of Gannets and a Wilson's Storm Petrel candidate.  

After arriving on St. Mary's we stocked up at the Co-op and then checked into our rental house in Porthloo. Then Ian marched us all out and we did a circuit from Lower Moors to Porth Hellick back up Holy Vale and then past Rocky Hills back to the house HERE A nice haul on the first day with the first-winter Sora and Wilson's Snipe bagged and also a juv Pectoral Sandpiper and a Yellow-browed Warbler. 

Really nice to be back to Scilly and surprisingly unlike so many other places over the last 20 years, nothing has really changed. Magic. 

First-winter Sora (above and below) at Porth Hellick 

Wilson's Snipe (above) at Lower Moors 

Juv Pec at Porth Hellick- sadly got taken by a Sparrowhawk this evening. RIP. 

European Storm Petrels 

Looks like a Wilson's Storm Petrel. There's also been a suggestion for Leach's although I thought it looked roughly similar size to the European Storm Petrels- a comparison photo HERE

Razorbills and Guillemots

Wilson's Snipe, another video HERE

Journey to Scilly

I set off this morning at 530am and first stop was Davidstow Airfield where I caught up with Ian, Andrew, Paul and Robb, this week's crew. They had located the Buff-breasted Sandpiper that fortunately was still present. A few other bits there included a Ruff, 4 Ringed Plover, 8 Golden Plover, 4 Lapwing and a Yellow-legged Gull HERE.

Next stop was Victoria services for the first pasty of the week before continuing on to Drift reservoir. I set off to walk round the reservoir but the heavens opened and completely soaked me so I turned round. There was a Spotted Sandpiper and a Kumlien's Gull reported earlier in the day but after a chat with a couple of birders there was some controversy over the Sandpiper so after a break in the rain I quickly located the Iceland/Kumlien's Gull distantly and then headed off for a nostalgic visit to the Kenidjack Valley.

I did my Uni dissertation on the Kenidjack Valley so it was wonderful to revisit, despite the rather wild and windy conditions. A few birds in there HERE with highlights included Chough, Firecrests, Chiffs, a Willow Warbler and a Reed Warbler. 

I then had a quick look at the Hayle Estuary before fish and chips and then checking in to the Hayle Premier Inn ahead of the catching the Scillonian tomorrow morning .

Juv Buff-breasted Sandpiper and Juv Ruff (above) at Davidstow. Nice to see one this year in Cornwall after dipping a few weeks ago. 

Adult Yellow-legged Gull 

Iceland/Kumlien's Gull at Drift

Reed Warbler at Kendijack- they always look rare this time of year in bushes 

Kenidjack Valley- good memories 

Pre-Scilly

The journey to Scilly starts early tomorrow so I spent today getting all the work done and getting ready. I managed to get in a bit of a garden birding HERE with highlights being the autumn's first Redwing, a flock of 40 Golden Plover over the fields, a Red Kite over, 4 Chiffchaff, a Blackcap, a Goldcrest, 3 Song Thrush over, 4 Siskin, at least 9 Chaffinch,  a few Skylarks, Mipits and alba wagtails and a large gathering of Stock Dove in the field opposite. The Tawny Owl has been calling most nights recently too.

In the evening I popped out for a check of Ferry and Long Pool where highlights were 18 Stonechat, 1 Wheatear, 3 Yellowhammer and 4 Snipe and a Water Rail on Long Pool. 

Today was the first day this autumn I didn't see any hirundines. 

If all goes to plan, first stop tomorrow will be Davidstow to twitch Buff-breasted Sandpiper. Three days ago there were four birds, yesterday there were three birds and today only one left so it's touch and go!

Female Stonechat (above and below). The excellent autumn for Stonechat continues with 18 around Ferry and Long Pool , another 15 or so by the Horsefield, birds at North Wall and still 25 or so at Medmerry. 

Yellowhammer

Wheatear

Rain and a bit of moth mig

I was planning on sneaking in a bit of birding today in light of a good spell of scarce bird migrants at Portland and the South Coast in the last couple of days but it's raining today so decided to get on with work.

However ahead of the rain there was a nice little influx of moth migrants with the year's first Porter's Rustic and Radford's Flame Shoulder with 4 Scarce Bordered Straw, 4 Silver-Y, 2 Blair's Mocha, 2 Vestal, 10 White-points (an increase), 4 Rush Veener, 3 Rusty-dots, Small Mottled Willow and 2 Clancy's Rustic. 28 species in total of approx 150 individual moths with Beaded Chestnut and Lunar Underwing (almost equal numbers) making up the bulk of the catch. Crambus pascuella was unseasonal and a Setaceous Hebrew Character was the first in a while. There was also a Pale-lemon Sallow but I think it was the same one as the night before. 

Now on 562 garden moths for the year. 

Porter's Rustic- only the third record here (above and below)

Radford's Flmae Shoulder- surprisingly the first for the year. In my first autumn here, 2024. there were daily autumn records with double figures some days. 

Many of the recent Vestals have been very fresh and colourful. This one takes the biscuit.

After it stopped raining I popped out for a walk along the harbour. There have been at least three Marsh Harriers around recently (an adult male, adult female and at least one juv- above). It was all rather wintery in the rather cold northerly wind HERE. 

The Greens and the Zionists

The Green Party recently declared Zionism racism—a move that has deeply offended pro-Israel supporters and split the party. It's a striking reversal from when I was a member.

I once campaigned for Beddington Farmlands and even stood as a Green councillor. Back then, I landed in trouble at a tribunal for allegedly writing something antisemitic HERE. My actual offence? Pointing out that the owners destroying our local reserve were Jewish cousins—and suggesting we appeal to the Jewish community for help. This was before the more recent 'wars' in Gaza and Iran, at the peak of left-wing cancel culture.

How times change.

I've since left all political parties. Beddington taught me that democracy is a farce—we live in a corporate dictatorship wearing a democratic mask. With Trump and current world events, the mask is slipping entirely.

I now describe myself as an eco-social anarchist/natural capitalist/eco-socio technocrat—a mouthful I basically invented which translates broadly as a modern birder/naturalist. It reflects my hopelessness with party politics and my belief that family, friends, personal enterprise, and like-minded connections with the birding/natural history community are the only way forward.

The Greens are a perfect case study in why party politics fails. Under Zach Polanski and populists like Hannah Spencer, the party has morphed into a gloves-off anti-capitalist, anti-West outfit, courting Muslim and anti-Zionist voters. It was always anti-capitalist—it began as a communist brand, later buried under environmentalism and socialism.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk—the world's first trillionaire—promises global communism via Super Intelligence: abundance so great we'll only work for pleasure, all sustained by universal basic income. Good news for birders. Marx predicted communism as capitalism's inevitable end—maybe he was right. Or maybe the oligarchs are planning genocide and mass enslavement through an AI they control. Probably both.

Back to the Greens. They're the most democratic party—members vote on policy. I helped write and vote on nature conservation policy myself. Yet their leader, Polanski, didn't even vote in the Zionism referendum and reportedly opposes it. The members lead, not the leader—and that's democracy's fatal flaw.

The party has U-turned from the antisemitism stance I was disciplined over to declaring Zionism racism—the ultimate antisemitism—all to court Muslim votes prsumably. It's a testament to party politics' runaway narratives, unconstrained because it's utterly irrelevant to anyone with real power.

The Greens will never challenge the Zionist-spearheaded Western military-industrial complex before Super Intelligence arrives. Then whoever owns that intelligence controls everything—and Zionists, with their major tech holdings and global influence, will likely be major stakeholders. Unlike the UK Green Party.

Meanwhile, the real revolution—the rise of Super Intelligence, the global elite controlling it, and the undemocratic new world they're building—happens entirely outside politics, with values dictated by tech dictators and eventually non-human ones.

Party politics is just silly noise that is becoming incresaingly absurd.