Western Black Eared Wheatear

Saturday the 9 th of October dawned with a strong easterly wind, low cloud and a very obvious sea swell. I dropped off my bag at the quay and wandered along the promenade to have a look at the Jubilee Pool. There were about 15 Turnstone but no Purple Sands.



Penzance sea front with the sea crashing against the sea wall



























The Scillonian set sail at 10:45 am with the captain describing sea conditions as "moderate to rough". However, the fact that the wind was behind the ship meant that it was not nearly as bumpy as I had expected and it was perfectly okay to remain on the deck.

Birds during the crossing included at least 3 Bonxie, 1 Manx Shearwater and Kittiwake, Gannet & Guillemot.

Mega alert on the pager notified of a Western Black Eared Wheatear on St Mary's and as the ferry passed the Garrison there were a number of birders already enjoying the bird.

The ferry docked at around 2pm and it was a quick drop off of the bags and a race round to the Garrison for another UK lifer. The grassy cliff edge made it difficult to get the tripod stable and the poor light and wind made photopgraphy awkward. But here are some attempts:

Female Western Black Eared Wheatear

Female Western Black Eared Wheatear 

Female Western Black Eared Wheatear

An obviously small sandy brown Wheatear with a narrow black terminal tail bar and much white on the rest of the tail .