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When I visited Scilly in April just a few months ago, I decided that this would be the year that I visit the islands in autumn. While I have visited Scilly every year of my life, the time we generally go as a family falls in the summer, seeing as this was when we had the longest school holidays as kids. Our strong family connection to the islands meant I fell in love with the place at a young age, and yet I was largely unaware of Scilly's global status as a birdwatching hotspot. As I grew older and became more and more interested in British birdwatching, it became obvious through national bird news alerts and the annual publication of the Isles of Scilly Bird and Natural History Review that the islands were the place to be in autumn. As such, over the last 10 years or so I have been determined to make it to The Scillies during the autumn birdwatching season. Scilly’s geographic position 30 miles off Land's End makes it one of the UK's hotspots for drawing in American species blown off course during their migrations across the Atlantic, as well as north-eastern Siberian and Scandinavian species that bottleneck down through the British Isles towards the archipelago. Mix these with the more regular migrating species that use Scilly as a stop-off between their breeding and wintering grounds, and the islands make for a hugely diverse bird haven during the autumn. As a result, Scilly has become somewhat of a mecca for birdwatchers since the mid-20th Century. My trip started with a reasonably rough (but thankfully dry) crossing on The Scillonian III, where I caught up with a few classic seabirds including manx shearwaters, gannets and shags. When I arrived, I was keen to see some black redstarts, which are beautiful little birds that, despite being relatively common in Scilly during the winter months, I had never seen on the islands before due normally visiting in the summer. Throughout the week, I would become very familiar with this species, which flock in small groups and feed busily on rocky beaches and working boatyards.  Over the next couple of days, I visited the two islands of Bryher and Tresco, which were holding on to a number of species which I had never seen before on the islands. The highlight of these was the very confiding dotterel on the heathy north-end of Bryher. This is a bird in the plover family which can be found breeding during the summer in the Scottish Highlands, before returning to their wintering grounds in Southern Europe and North Africa. Dotterels are often known to act very tamely, and the one on Bryher did not buck this trend, happily roosting within just a couple of feet of the regularly-used footpath! One of my main take-aways from visiting Scilly at this time of year was that the community of visiting and local birders were friendly, welcoming and helpful. I was slightly nervous about this, as it's not long ago that you hear bad stories of highly competitive birdwatching, leading to tendencies of grumpiness and deceit within birding communities! However, this couldn't be further from what I experienced this week. Walking along beaches, footpaths and heathland would often lead to bumping into other birdwatchers, bringing with it the familiar and often repeated phrase of "Seen anything good today?". Others birding on the islands were always willing to share news of exciting sightings, help with directions, and generally collaborate to try and experience the best of the wildlife that an autumnal Scilly has to offer. On top of this, a bird log is held at the locals' Scillonian Club every evening, where members of the Isles of Scilly Bird Group record every bird species seen by visiting and resident birders on the islands, and generally gives a great opportunity to meet other birders over a beer. It was at the bird log that I met Jim, who organises the bird ringing on St Mary's, and I was lucky enough to join for a couple of mornings. All in all, I ended my trip with 96 bird species seen, including 24 new personal species for Scilly and 4 new species globally (full eBird trip report found here)! I cannot recommend Scilly in the autumn enough for anyone who enjoys birdwatching, and I am already keen to book my trip for next year!
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As a post-PhD break, I have just spent a month travelling over land around Canada and the north-east USA. It was an incredible trip, where I got to see a wide-range of cultures in different cities and towns, as well as some top quality birds. Due to the nature of the trip, I was unable to take my camera for wildlife photography, but it was still great to get out into natural spaces and explore the local wildlife! The real highlight for me was my final week at Cape May, in the southern tip of New Jersey. Cape May is famed for its birding, particularly during the spring and autumn when huge numbers of migratory species are seen. The narrow peninsula acts a bit like a funnel to the migrating songbirds, hawks and waders, channeling them towards the very tip of the peninsula where they briefly rest before making long journeys over sea or land. This effect is very noticeable when birding at specific spots, such as the Cape May Bird Observatory's Hawkwatch platform, where one morning we had 8 bird of prey species including 35 ospreys and approximately 50 turkey vultures. Having never birded this side of the Atlantic before, I decided to book onto a tour group so that I could have a little help with identifying unfamiliar species. This was much needed as I ended my time in North America with 125 species I had never seen before! My entire eBird trip report can be found here.  I'm really pleased to say that I passed my PhD Viva today without corrections, which means I am now officially a Doctor of Biology! The viva involved an interview process with two professors in similar fields of biology asking lots of questions as to the reasoning behind my research as well as my key findings. Despite being a nerve-wracking process, it was also a great opportunity to talk to experts in the field as to how my research fits into the wider context of evolutionary and ecological research. It goes without saying that I couldn't have achieved this without the professional and personal support of my supervisors (Ben, Josh and Ella) and the rest of the research group at Oxford - thank you everyone and on to the next chapter! Spotted flycatchers are very much a 'Brill bird' to me. Brill, a small village on the Buckinghamshire side of the Bucks/Oxon border, is where my parents live and where I grew up. The unusual thing about the village is that it is on top of a hill at roughly 120m altitude in an area of generally very flat land. To me, this seems a likely reason as to why it draws in a few migrating species during the autumn that hit higher land on their long flights. Spotted flycatchers are a migratory species which breed across the UK and overwinter in tropical Africa. The UK breeding population has taken a real hit over the last few years, dropping by 92% between 1967–2020, making them a red list species that aren't particularly easy to find. The reason for this severe decline is somewhat unclear, but is likely linked to climate change at their wintering sites as well as a loss of insects and suitable habitat in the UK. Despite this serious decline, I came across no less than four on a walk through the village common today, which was a real treat! I had another great trip to Scilly with my family, with plenty of time to get around the islands and take photos of nature. The birdlife is very different at this time of year compared to when I visited in April, with many fewer species that are passing through on their migrations. However, this time of year is great to see the (mostly) resident shorebird species as their feeding behaviour works like clockwork with the rising and falling of the tides. This year I was lucky enough to take part in the centuries-old tradition of the Swan Upping. This is a five-day journey up the Thames where a flotilla of traditional skiffs manned by Swan Uppers row 79 miles from Sunbury-on-Thames to Abingdon. As a child, I remember hearing that widely-told fact "Did you know the Queen owns all the swans in the country". But this is not quite the case! In fact, the Crown holds the right to claim ownership of all 'unmarked' mute swans swimming in open waters across the UK. Historically, rights of ownership were granted by the monarchy to various individuals and organisations, as swans provided a valuable food for banquets. Today, only three organisations have retained their ownership rights. Abbotsbury Swannery own the swans that they mark at their site in Dorset (where I have used data for some of my research), and two London livery companies (the Vintners and the Dyers) own those which they mark on the Thames - which is where the Swan Upping comes in! Previously, swans would have been claimed by physically marking the top of their beaks, but these days they are marked with metal leg rings that are widely-used in avian research. During the Swan Upping, every third swan found along the route is ringed and claimed by either the Crown, the Vintners, or the Dyers. However, the method of marking birds is not the only thing that has changed. While swans used to be claimed for food, they are now a protected species and are no longer eaten. The primary aim of the modern day Swan Upping is that of conservation and education. Conservation is essential for the swan population on the River Thames, as boat activity, fishing, and riverbank construction has disrupted their natural habitat. Additionally, predation by non-native species such as mink, and injuries from discarded fishing tackle, pose significant threats to swans. The King’s Swan Marker works closely with swan rescue groups to protect swans on the river, helping to ensure the population's survival. The annual Swan Upping also provides a valuable opportunity to collect data on how the population is fluctuating over time with changes in land-use, while also tracking how other bird populations (such as geese, ducks and grebes) are changing. Education also plays a large role in the Swan Upping. Children from local schools visit the Swan Uppers along the banks of the River Thames, gaining the opportunity to learn about swan biology and the habitats they need. These children also get the opportunity to see cygnets up close, which is always inspiring! Although I have recently been busy finishing-up my PhD thesis, I have had a few opportunities to do some BTO-licensed bird ringing over the last few weeks. These sessions have been really enjoyable, and have highlighted to me three core benefits of bird ringing. First, during a session at a new meadow site just within Oxford ring road, we caught many summer visitors to the UK, including several sedge and reed warblers. This amazingly included a reed warbler which had previously been ringed as an adult in 2019. Given the migratory behaviour of this species, this means that the bird had made the 100s-of-kilometres journey to/from Africa over twenty times already! This really highlights the incredible potential of bird ringing to further our understanding of the survival and movement patterns of long distant migrants such as this individual. Second, although I am not undertaking the full field season this year, I have spent a couple of days in Wytham helping the current fieldworkers. Getting to ring a few blue tit broods while simultaneously wrapping up my PhD thesis has reminded me of the value of bird ringing from the perspective of linking many generations of individuals to gain a better understanding of long-term changes within a population and patterns of inheritance. Finally, I recently helped at a ringing demonstration for a local environmental group. Here, we got to show those who attended the wonderful diversity of species across the site, which made me realise how sharing these types of data collection with local communities can encourage people's appreciation of the natural world, promoting conservation of key habitats even in urban settings. I have just returned from an incredible trip to The Isles of Scilly, where I had some really amazing wildlife encounters. I have been visiting Scilly every year all my life, and as mentioned many times on this blog, it is a very special place for wildlife. However, given the geography of the islands, it is a particularly special place for birdwatching during spring and autumn when it hosts a wealth of migratory species that drop down during their journeys to-and-from breeding grounds. I have only once visited the islands outside of mid-summer, and I am too young to remember much of what we saw! I started the trip with a calm crossing on the Scillonian III ferry, where the holiday began with sightings of many manx shearwaters, guillemots and razorbills in rafts between Land's End and Scilly. It's extraordinary to think of the journey these birds have made, with many of our Manxies migrating across the Atlantic from South America to breed in Scilly (and other areas along the western coast of the UK). When I arrived on St Marys, I had a few hours before my mum would join me on the islands. I walked to some of the nature reserves on the island, managing to see the stunning purple heron which had been on the islands for a few days, in addition to a soaring hen harrier - both Scilly firsts for me! Over the next few days, there were some notable 'twitches', such as the pair of pink-footed geese which had been feeding in a field next to St Nicholas Church on Tresco for a week or so. There were also many sightings of classic migratory drop-ins, including tonnes of wheatears flitting about the beaches. However, a highlight for me was an early morning walk to the north end of Tresco, where I heard a grasshopper warbler reeling along the bushes, and an absolute gem of a male ring ouzel. This was another first for me, and was a highlight of the trip. Though I didn't see it at first, I knew there was something interesting around when I heard it call. The vocalisations are similar to the 'chack' calls of fieldfare, which would've been an exciting sighting for Scilly at this time of year. But once I caught a glimpse of the bird and realised it was a ring ouzel I was even more thrilled! The next morning, I started the day by checking a small flood near St Nicholas Church on Tresco. I was keen to keep an eye on this flood, as it looked like great habitat for small waders to drop into. Although I was unsuccessful with this hope, there was a very bright male yellow wagtail preening on a fencepost. However, I wasn't prepared for the next 20 minutes, where everything seemed to happen at once! First, I picked up a large dark bird approaching from the south. It took a minute or so before it was close enough for me to identify as a black kite - a first for me within the UK! While this was being mobbed by gulls, suddenly a red kite arrived. This is a species I commonly see back home, but to see one in Scilly was somewhat surreal. Just a few minutes later, a female marsh harrier drifted over, without stopping at all. In less than half and hour, I saw three raptor species that I haven't seen on Scilly previously! It was a real highlight of the trip. Later that day, I had the opportunity to see a beautifully-poised woodchat shrike at the south end of the island. This was a species I was hoping to see during the trip, so I was very glad to get a few photos of it. Over the next few days, we took a wildlife trip around the deeper waters of Scilly, seeing many more razorbill, guillemot, shags, great northern divers and even a few puffins. We also got the chance to see quite a few grey seals, for which Scilly is a real strong-hold of the British population. Finally, on a walk around Bryher, I caught some brief views of a lovely male whinchat, a real favourite of mine! In total, I saw 85 bird species over the course of the week (eBird trip report found here) - it certainly isn't a trip I'll forget any time soon! This year I was really pleased to be shortlisted for the British Ecological Society's Elton Prize, awarded for the best research paper in Journal of Animal Ecology written by an early career researcher. As part of this shortlisting, I wrote a blog post for Animal Ecology in Focus outlining the background to our research on age-assortative mating in bird populations - read it here!
Another wonderful trip down to Portland Bird Observatory brought with it a new species for my bird life list - purple sandpiper! There was a small flock of five individuals at Portland Bill. This is a winter visiting species in the UK, and there is still much we do not understand about their migratory movements, though it is thought that many of our wintering birds come from Arctic Canada. I took some photos myself but my colleague David López Idiáquez took these even more impressive ones below! |
