St. Mary’s Patch

*NEW* Cape Verde Pelagics 🇨🇻 March 2026 - 2 spaces left on this exciting pelagic package trip in the southwest corner of the Western Palearctic! 4 full-day pelagics, night visit to a Pterodroma feae colony, day tour of Fogo - based in São Filipe. Info windshearbirding.com

Fourth night at the Gongon courtship area on Fogo(Cabo Verde). Storm !Birds remained high in the air so no pictures but their high-speed chasing flights with mid-air touching and stalling were even more spectacular than during the previous nights. Filmed with Pulsar Merger XL50

Gongon courtship flights in the "courtship bubble" (only part of the airspace is used). Thanks to Projecto Vito for the logistics support ⁦@projecto_vito⁩ . Filmed with Pulsar merger LRF XL50.

I have one space available on the 2025 Challenger Expedition to the continental shelf edge. The 2024 trip yielded Madeiran storm-petrels, barolo shearwaters, a fea’s-type petrel, & more, in British waters. Sept 14-22 from Plymouth. Email scottreid.scilly@gmail.com if interested.

@SeabirdEcology of #SEAGHOSTS has just started the fieldwork for band-rumped #stormpetrels in the Canaries with a great start: we've recovered the first geolocator during the first night of work!! More soon... @IRBioUB @BiologiaUB @UniBarcelona @FBiodiversidad @BiodiversaPlus

@dunnjons @NatureInShet @ShetlandTours @shetlandnature @peediepuss @whalesorg @Britnatureguide Excellent, Jon. Some cool beach goings-on for us today as well on St. Mary’s (although not discovered by us, it’s been there a while). A long-dead leatherback turtle (with randomly selected small person for size comparison)

Down to my #Shetland beach today for a plastic clean-up, and to look for eggcases and cowries, but found larger strand-line treasure. Am assuming Minke Whale, as they’re most numerous in our waters, but that’s really a guess. Largest vertebra was a little over 50cm in width. 🐋

The most ridiculous fifteen minutes spent alone with the Mount Todden Radde’s warbler, as I sat on the grass with it busily snaffling bugs around me 🕷️ My sixth Radde’s on Scilly but I’ve never enjoyed views even remotely as good as this!! 🔥 #ScillyBirds

@JohnGale8 Thanks John! Late autumn is always very enjoyable here.

@stmarys_patch Great birds on Scilly this week Scott, lovely pics.

An eastern-themed end to a calm and bright October on Scilly #ScillyBirds

Our September seabird expedition aboard @TallShipsYT ‘Challenger 1’ presented a rare opportunity to swim in Britain’s deepest seas! Drifting over the Whittard Channel, 185 miles southwest of the Isles of Scilly & at a depth of almost 4000m, we took the plunge! ⛵️ 🏊

@AllanConlin @scillybirds Excellent 🙌😄

News of a White r Sandpiper had me searching the local beaches with no luck. Mrs C calls to say "does this bird youre looking for look like a mini Dunlin? If so I might have it on the beach in front of our holiday flat" She did & it was 😱😉 It was a quick cycle home!! 🏝️

Belated news; Barau´s Petrel, Pterodroma baraui photographed at Cap Ferret by Guillaume Rey on 10th October 2024, confirmed from photos by Bob Flood and Hadoram Shirihai - the 1st record for France and Western Palearctic - More photos - faune-france.org/index.php?m_id…

@HelsinkiBirder You’ll love this then… 😂

I've always been a Legs man, myself. 😍

The most confiding lesser yellowlegs I’ve ever had the pleasure of spending time with - Stinking Porth, Bryher, yesterday afternoon #ScillyBirds

@BritishBirder @bbcweather Windy enough to pull in a great auk from 1825!

I know #Shetland can be windy, but I'm presuming this forecast is wrong 🌀🌪 @bbcweather

Poor social media etiquette not putting what it is…. Oleander hawk-moth (Daphnis nerii) 🙌

My most-wanted moth in Scilly (& Britain), ever since seeing them regularly whilst living in Cyprus! I’ve had to wait 15 years but today it finally happened, courtesy of Andrew Cleave’s Old Town moth trap 🙌 what a beaut!! #ScillyMoths

Slowly working through photos from an epic trip to the edge of the continental shelf courtesy of @stmarys_patch . In addition to the birds, a few cetacean highlights, such as these striped dolphins checking out the boat at dusk, magic!

@SteveBackshall @cbbc @BBCiPlayer Stunning little Accipiter, living up to its scientific name ‘badius’, perfect for Deadly 60! 😄👏

One of the many moments that never made it into the new series of #Deadly60 The Shikra, or little banded goshawk @cbbc @BBCiPlayer

A welcome home gift! Barely ashore for an hour and a paddyfield warbler is caught at Porth Hellick! #ScillyBirds