Bulgaria, Autumn 2024, Day Two

Today was mainly a work day getting the wildlife pond at the plot progressed further. The four boys were down for a couple of days so we concentrated on work before they headed home this evening. 

Before work started Kojak and I were up and at Cape Kaliakra by dawn. We only had a couple of hours but still managed 58 species HERE. Highlights included the mind blowing vis-mig with 11250 Chaffinch, 1500 White Wagtails, 300 Spanish Sparrows and smaller numbers of Alpine Swifts, Barn Swallows, Bramblings, Siskins,  Skylarks, Crested Larks, Hooded Crows, Reed Buntings, Woodpigeons, Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Red-throated Pipits, Tree Pipits and Corn Buntings. 

Meanwhile on the deck there were at least 75 Wren including birds being picked off by Yellow-legged Gulls as they flew in off the Black Sea. Seemed tragic that these tiny birds had just crossed the whole of the Black Sea only to be killed within meters of the cliffline. There were also about 40 Robin, 15 Black Redstarts, a single Red-breasted Flycatcher, 2 Red-backed Shrike and Honey Buzzard and Marsh Harrier went over. There were also 6 White Pelican on the sea. There were also a couple of Harbour Porpoise off shore. 

We also did a couple of hours in the evening around Kamen Bryag HERE. There was more in the way of insect migration than bird migrations with thousands of Silver Y and smaller numbers of Rush Veneer and Rusty-dot Pearl and two Crimson Speckled. Also tens of Red Admiral and Painted Lady. 

Four adult and two juvenile White Pelicans

Wren- a clear large fall of these today with at least 75 between the car park and the point. So plenty made it past the Yellow-legged Gulls

Juvenile dark phase Honey Buzzard

Another stunning male Black Redstart

Common Redstart

Juvenile Red-backed Shrike. It's interesting to see that some species like Red-backed Shrike, Red-breasted Flycatcher and Common Redstart are still moving through. We've recorded these on earlier autumn trips in August and September but in larger numbers so at the tail end now. However there are no Bee-eaters, Rollers, Golden Oriole, Spotted Flycatcher or Ficedula flycatcher and most surprisingly no Wheatears, no Northerns or Pieds and only one Whinchat and one Hoopoe. No Marsh Terns either or Little Gulls. Clearly there is a different suite of birds moving now dominated by finches. It's all pretty fascinating. 

Crimson Speckled- a couple of these on the steppe. Seems like I didn't pay my electricity bill as I've been cut off at the plot so not been able to have the moth trap on there. I've got it on at the guesthouse tonight so fingers crossed as the whole area here is dripping in migrant moths (mainly Silver-Ys). We also had a Convolvolus Hawk moth on the plot. 

The pond development today . Previous on this HERE

Still a work in progress- we now need to edge it and trim the membrane to shape. Within minutes there were dragonflies swarming round and in the evening the first bird- a Chiffchaff came in for a drink. There isn't much fresh surface water in this area- its limestone cliffs and karst round here so this pond hopefully will be quite a magnet for migrants. 

Bulgaria, Autumn 2024, Day One

Kojak and I started the day off at Cape Kaliakra before heading over to the project plot at Kamen Bryag to meet Dylan, Anton, Stoyan and Dobbie. We transported the pond liner to the plot and then the boys got on with doing the hay cut in the meadow and weeding the pond scrape while Kojak and I did the decent thing and carried on birding. 62 species at Cape Kaliakra, Ebird list HERE, highlights including 3 male Sardinian Warblers,  over 30 Black Redstarts, Honey Buzzard, Osprey, a late Hoopoe and some decent vis-mig. 53 species at Kamen Bryag and highlights there included Grey-headed Woodpecker, another 10 Black Redstarts and some impressive Chaffinch and White Wagtail passage, Ebird list HERE.

Male Black Redstart (above) and female (below)

Male Black Reds- saw over 40 of these today - certainly the bird of the moment 

Male Sardinian Warbler- first time I've seen these in this part of Bulgaria 

Grey-headed Woodpecker - another first for the project site 

White Stork 

A week at home

I'm off to Bulgaria tomorrow for a week on the project there, mainly to complete the wildlife pond but also to do a bit of autumn birding too.

It's been a busy week back at home, had two days in London quoting and then lots of paperwork to catch up with too and also made a bit of progress in the garden (looking forward to this winter's planting project here). 

Managed to get out birding yesterday and a proper session today, starting off at Church Norton and then checking out the first several area before doing the spit. 81 species in nearly 5 hours, Ebird list HERE. Highlights included finally catching up with one of the local Spoonbills, four Firecrests, a fall of about 14 Stonechats, Marsh Harrier, Peregrine, the autumn's first flock of Golden Plover (50+), winter wader and duck numbers building and some nice vis mig (mostly moving east) including totals today of 36 Brent Goose (west), 200 Woodpigeon (south- it has begun), 27 Skylark, 150 Barn Swallow, 2 House Martin,  24 White/Pied Wagtail, 35 Meadow Pipit, 1 Rock Pipit, 13 Chaffinch, 2 Brambling, 65 Linnet, 62 Siskin and 12 Reed Bunting. 

Last night was cold but there were some milder nights in the week with up to 24 species of moth. 

Shame I couldn't stay on Corvo longer as a Warbling Vireo was found on Wednesday- only the 2nd for the WP. The Little Blue Heron is also reliable on Terceira again. Might just have to re-visit later in the month. 

Spoonbill 

Stonechats (above and below) along the Spit 

Dunlin, Grey Plover and Knot- numbers of winter waders are now building

Male Brambling- still in summer plumage 

Merveille du Jour- always a treat and the first one for the garden here . Moth list now on 378. 

Green Brindled Crescent- a NFY. Also recent additions to the moth list include Yellow and Red-line Quaker and Beaded Chestnuts and another Feathered Ranunculus. Radford's have been up to 8 a night, Delicates (up to 6) and the odd Clancy's Rustic, Scarce Bordered Straw (up to 4), one Blair's Mocha and a few Rusty-dot Pearl and Rush Veneer. 

Holly and Isaac and the now complete Garden Office and Shed

Main achievement this week was getting the log sheds full and getting the fire going (above and below). We also got the compost bins in and cut all the meadows/lawns. Will be planting over 200 trees in the first week of November so looking forward to that. 

The Northern Lights were showing (to the i-phone) last night 

View over the Selsey Peninsula from the plane on the way back from Corvo last weekend 

Corvo 2024, Day Eight, Game Over

I only had the morning today before the plane arrived for the 1pm flight back to Sao Miguel so I concentrated on the coast and got some good views of the Semipalmated Sandpiper.

Elsewhere on the island today a new Indigo Bunting, Philadelphia Vireo and Northern Parula were found and a briefly seen large Kingfisher was presumably a Belted. There was a new White-rumped Sandpiper on Corvo and on neighbouring Flores a Yellow-billed Cuckoo was found so new birds keep coming in. The run of westerlies continues well into next week with a new Hurricance, Hurricane Kirk affecting the region. 

I arrived on Sao Miguel at about 3pm to overnight for the early morning flight to Lisbon. I birded Ponta Delgada harbour but didn't see much, just 75 Common Tern, 1 Whimbrel, 3 Sanderling and 15 Turnstone were the only birds of note.

So that's it for 2024 and my 20th Anniversary visit. Didn't do too bad found Trindade Petrel, a Red-eyed Vireo and Semipalmated Plover (presumed) and saw Bay-breasted Warbler, Bobolink, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs, Glossy Ibises, Arctic and Great Skua, Northern Gannet, Grey Plover and also glimpsed and heard Northern Parula and Common Yellowthroat so not bad at all for a week visit and a 'weather twitch' but not as good as I had hoped and my first visit to the Azores ever with no WP or even Azores tick. I'm leaving the option open of possibly doing another weather twitch in late October if conditions look good as it would be nice to get something big for the 20th anniversary- will see.

For all the news from today and for the rest of this autumn see CORVO BIRDERS FACEBOOK

The beautiful juvenile Semipalmated Sandpiper (above and below) which allowed approach down to a couple of meters 

First-winter Common Tern off Ponta Delgada

Corvo 2024, Day Seven, Bay-breasted Warbler

Presuming the plane comes tomorrow (it's been cancelled today due the weather) today was my last day on here for this year so I made the most of it. The day started with a downburst (similar to a Tornado) in the village which ripped off the roof of Noel's house, caused a landslide , flooded the medical centre and sent the garden furntiure of our guesthouse (Vera's) flying to the church. A rare event on Corvo that made it on the Azores news. Fortunately there were no injuries. 

Once the downburst had passed I started off walking round the coast and lower fields and had the Glossy Ibis that's been around and then I got the car again and took Laura and Freider up to Fojo and then headed to the Lighthouse Valley.

The Bay-breasted Warbler was pretty elusive in the junipers but eventually showed well and at one point it was in reaching distance to me as I had to get into the bush it was in to hide from the rain. After the rain I walked up the valley and then headed over to de Ponte where I heard a wood warbling calling where the Parula had been a couple of days ago so presumably the same bird. 

I then played uber driver and picked up Thomas, the german group and Ilkka the elder and we all came back to the village for the evening where I found a presumed Semipalmated Plover which flew off before I could clinch the lores (but seemed to have an eye-ring and red at the base of the lower mandible) and I glimpsed the Semipalmated Sandpiper that had been touring the island today with the Grey Plover above the Black Beach pool. 

First-winter male Bay-breasted Warbler (found by Paul Dufour yesterday). The 6th for the Azores and 8th for the WP.  My third! (can't help thinking that I used up my luck on a mega that I didn't need). 

Glossy Ibis

While I was hiding in the Junipers from the rain this Blackcap popped up - one of the island's natives

Corvo 2024, Day Six, A Little Kick

The storm driven birds continue to arrive on the island and there was quite an arrival today of 2 Bay-breasted Warblers, 2 Baltimore Orioles, 1 Yellowthroat (all found by Paul and Adrian in a small area between Lighthouse Valley and the Whalewatching point) and a Black-and-White Warbler (found by Max in Fojo) that joined the Northern Parula, Bobolink and Red-eyed Vireos that were found before.

Meanwhile off shore there were no Trindade Petrel sightings today but there was a Deserta's/Zino's Petrel and Sooty Shearwater. 

I resisted the urge to twitch too much (fortunately 20 years on here means I don't 'need' a lot of american species)  and spent four hours in Fojo, partly looking for the Black-and-White but also checking the woods and then spent the afternoon checking the fields in the vicintiy of the Whalewatching point and finished up checking the Lower and Middle Fields. I basically saw bugger all expect a glimpse of the Yellowthroat, the Glossy Ibis and the Bobolink was showing well in the middle fields. Unfortunately due to the heavy rain today my camera got wet and steamed up so I even messed up the only photo opportunity of the day too. 

So a little kick for Corvo and a kick in the guts for me. My last full day tomorrow and last chance to get a WP tick or even an Azores tick. Will be the first time I've visited without an Azores or WP tick so the pressure is on. 

As usual all the news and photos of rarities from Corvo on the Corvo Birders Facebook Page HERE

Steamed up image of the Bobolink 

Corvo 2024, Day Five, Final day of Hurricane Isaac

Hurricane Isaac has now moved north of us and we are now caught up in a complex of North Atlantic low and high pressure 'eddies'  but there is still a bridge of westerlies between us and the US. However things get a bit more messy from here in and the bridge begins to break up but Isaac did bring a few bits in which were found today incuding a Northern Parula, a Bobolink and a Pectoral Sandpiper. (in addition to the Red-eyed Vireo and Lesser Yellowlegs and the Trindade Petrels earlier in the storm).  Both the pale and dark morph Trindade Petrels were seen again and there was also a Great Skua, a few Manx and a juvenile Northern Gannet. Also a Glossy Ibis came in-off and the Grey Plover was still on Black Beach. My list from today HERE - I didn't see the Parula or the Trindades today. 

Overall it's been okay (not the sensation we were hoping for) and the Trindade Petrels (including the one on Flores) are the 14th to 16th records for the Azores and 18th to 20th for the Western Palearctic - so pretty mega for the WP. There are also presumably birds on here still waiting to be found so there could be more discoveries in the next few days especially considering that the westerlies from the US keep up for a day or two more still. 

The only photo so far of the Bobolink found by Paul Dufour in the Middle Fields. Unusually it is a very skulky bird that is hiding in long grass and has only been seen in flight and calling.

Glossy Ibis getting mobbed by the Starlings as it came in off the sea- from the west rather surprisingly

Island Canary

Seawatchers at the Windmill (although it looks like everyone at that moment were looking in every single direction apart from the sea). 

Weather forecast for tomorrow (Ventusky). It's quite a complex series of system, interestingly there is a corridor of southerly winds from the deep south (almost to the actual island of Trindade where these Petrels are coming from) so who knows we might get some more tropical seabirds over the next day or two.