THE inaugural Isles of Scilly Pelagic Weekend was fully subscribed and was a superb birding experience for all of those who came. The group gelled extremely well and really worked as a team, and along with the considerable expertise of principal guide Bob Flood and skipper Joe Pender plus assorted helpers, we achieved everything the trip was set up for, as well as having a great time on these magical islands. As ever, we are at the forefront of exploring innovative and ground breaking new tours and we managed to get the timing of this one spot on. one thing is for certain, you don’t EVER get views of birds like you do from a smaller boat from the super ferries and that’s where this sort of trip has it’s greatest appeal. From the moment we met on the quay at Penzance in glorious sunshine and virtually no wind, we knew we were on to a winner. On the whole the weather stayed kind to us throughout our four day tour with the return cruise to Penzance feeling more like a Mediterranean cruise than UK waters such was the calmness of the sea and the intensity of the sun! The final totals of eleven Wilson’s Storm Petrels, 230+ European Storm Petrels, 26 Great Shearwaters, two Cory’s Shearwaters, fourteen Sooty Shearwaters, two Balearic Shearwaters, 25 Great Skua, one Long-tailed Skua, one Black Tern, two Little Terns, plus Arctic Terns, Common Terns, Puffin, Kittiwakes, Manx Shearwaters and are impressive enough, but when you consider that the vast majority of these birds were seen right off the back of the boat then the true sense of experiencing something special becomes apparent. Land birding also produced some exciting moments with Aquatic Warbler, Bluethroat, Spoonbill and Peregrine among the highlights as well as an unidentified Hippolais warbler that was seen briefly by some and thought to have been a Melodious Warbler. We also noted Harbour Porpoises, Atlantic Grey Seals, Common Dolphins and a lone Minke Whale. Watching the tagging and releasing of four Blue Sharks was another exciting and important aspect of the trip that does so much to try and help with the conservation and understanding of these often misunderstood creatures. For anyone with an interest in seabird identification, I can’t recommend this tour highly enough. We return next year from 17th – 20th August. STOP PRESS - Just one place remaining as of 22/12/2006
