My Last Scilly Birds

[JohnRostron]

We have been visiting the Isles of Scilly for fourteen out of the last fifteen years but we have decide that this will be our last. I present here a selection of the bird pics I took on our last trip, in June. All were taken with a Sony A55 with a Sigma 70-300 telephoto at 300 and mostly at maximum aperture.

Post-processing has been fairly minimal, just some cropping and tweaking in Lightroom before export.

#1 and #2: Grey Heron fishing on Lower Moors pool. Lower Moors is a small reserve on St Mary's, the largest island. We had heard that an American Blue Heron had been spotted on the island, so when we saw this heron we scrutinized it carefully. However, it would appear to be the ordinary European Grey Heron (which is very similar to the GBH). Lower Moors pool usually has lots of Eels and Grey Mullet to tempt the herons.
#1

#2


#3 Great Black-backed and a Herring Gull on Lower Moors pool. Although Herring Gulls are common inland, Great Black-backs are rarely found away from the coast. Admittedly, the coast was only a few hundred metres away from here. There were a dozen or so gulls of various kinds having a splash and clean-up in the fairly fresh (brackish) water of the pool.


#4 Guillemots (Murres) on the sea. These birds breed on many of the rocky islets around the Islands. At this time of year they have young to feed which they mostly find offshore. However, they will not turn their noses up if there are fish around close to the rocks as here. The nearest bird is a Brindled (or Spectacled) Guillemot showing the white line behind the eye. These are uncommon this far south, being much commoner further north, especially in Shetland.


#5 Peregrine. This male bird was perched on the top of the islet where it was nesting. The nest was in a cleft below invisible to prying eyes (mine and the rest of the tour boat). There are usually two pairs of Peregrine on the islands, but this is the first time that we have seen them nesting on this islet.


#6 and #7 Common Terns roosting on a buoy. Common (and other Terns) used to breed on the islands, but have not done so for some years now. They are still to be seen fishing in the waters between the islands, and roosting on the buoys. These were taken in the evening, in lower light conditions at ISO1600 in order to be able to use a fast shutter speed on a rocking boat.
#6

#7


#8 Puffins. These are the birds that everyone wants to see on boat trips around the islands. We were fortunate that the sea was very calm in the bay when we saw these. Again this was an evening shot taken at ISO1600


Comments welcome, though bear in mind I cannot go back to try again!

John

[Ziggy]

Very enjoyable series John. I would love to see the Puffins in the wild.

[Cantab]

Thank you for posting these as well as your interesting commentary. It's a good collection of photos.

[JohnRostron]

Thanks Jim and Bruce.

John

[IzzieK]

John...I like the narrative, great series too...If I am to choose a favourite, I'd prefer #1 and #2...they are all really good shots...just that I like those kind of shots...Good job with all of them...

[JohnRostron]

Thanks Izzie. #1, #2 and #3 were probably shot under the best circumstances. I was able to rest the lens on the edge of the hide window. The rest were all hand-held from a rocking boat.

John

[Dave Humphries]

Good series and informative commentary John,

Thanks, Dave

[gregj1763]

Enjoyed the photos John, thanks for posting