Corvo Day Six

This is now my best trip to Corvo since the first expedition in 2005. Everywhere we go we find something new. Those familiar with Corvo will know how unusual that is, apart from in some other exceptional years we have spent days and weeks scouring this island some years only to find the odd bird and that is often with up to 40 or 50 people looking. There's just David and I and the German group on here and everyone is finding birds everywhere. Heaven knows what would be found if there were 40 or 50 birders on here now. 

Anyway, the day started off with us heading to the Lighthouse Valley were we found a Bay-breasted Warbler, an Indigo Bunting and a Wood Thrush before lunchtime ! Around lunchtime we started to re-locate to another valley when news came in from Tobias and the German group that an American Bittern had just been seen coming in off and landing near the airport. I still needed American Bittern for my WP list so we raced back down to the village (flushing two catharus thrush on the road)  but the bird had been lost. As I was scanning the airfield I noticed a dead bird on the runway. I went over to the fence with Tobias and we were trying to work out what it was- a Moorhen! We asked the Airport staff to retrieve the bird and sure enough we now, by extreme luck (or bad luck and a sad outcome for the bird) have got some vagrant Moorhen DNA. Martin Collinson has agreed to do the analysis so we should know soon for sure if we have a first for the WP- American Moorhen. What with all the supporting cast of American birds and the constant strong westerly winds I will be shocked if it is not an American Moorhen.

David and I went to the cafe for a well deserved coffee which was interrupted abruptly by news of the American Bittern now seen flying over the runway to the other side of the airport. We necked our coffees and threw some money on the table and dashed over to there and after a short search the bird flew up from long grass about 2 meters away from me and then proceeded to walk across a field and into some giant reeds for cover. Absolutely amazing !   

We decided to do De Ponte Valley for the rest of the day, a Swainson's Thrush was at the top of the road (unfortunately lost it's tail presumably to a cat). We had a Setophaga sp. calling in the valley but couldn't locate it so will try again tomorrow. 

For the last part of the day we did the Lower Fields and quickly found a Rose-breasted Grosbeak and when we got back to my bungalow, the Blackpoll Warbler was in the garden again. 

Live Ebird Trip Report HERE

Daily log on Corvo Birders Facebook Group HERE

First-winter female Bay-breasted Warbler (above and two images below) 

Wood Thrush- only seen for a few seconds on the path ahead 

American Bittern- absolute stunner! (above and below) 

First-winter male Rose-breasted Grosbeak eating a Red-veined Darter (above and below) 

Presumed American Moorhen and looks like a different bird to the one I had earlier on in the week at De Ponte. The bill looks a different colour and I couldn't see a forehead blaze on this one but there could be some damage to the head. Can certainly see that Rusty tinge to the mantle and scapulars feathers that could be diagnostic of American Moorhen. If we can confirm this bird from DNA it will be a first for the WP. Identification links from Sibley on American Moorhen identification HERE and HERE. (Thanks to Peter Adraiens for the links)