A bird called a ‘Chough? that is best known as the image on the Duchy of Cornwall flag was seen recently on St. Agnes. The bird is an ancient symbol of Cornwall and has been extinct from Cornish shores for some time now. The ‘Chough? was described by local birdwatcher Doug Page as “a medium size bird of the crow family with red legs and a red downward curving beak.” The bird now thrives in eastern Asia and the Pyrenees and a number also inhabit Eire, the most probable home of this particular bird. It has been guessed that the ‘Chough? was blown off course by the recent North Westerly winds and has ended up in Scilly. The sighting was recorded by post master Doug Page and Nigel Wheatly who is also a keen birdwatcher while they were out looking for birds between Troy Town maze and Santa Warna. Doug said, “It was sitting on the turf just above the rocky shore, that’s quite the normal terrain for this type of bird.” The last time that a ‘Chough? was reported in the Isles of Scilly was exactly one hundred years ago in 1901, on the island of Tresco when one was apparently shot down. That at least explains why it’s waited all this time before it came back then!
