September ended with a flurry of birds on the Islands, most notably a Bluethroat which resided on Friday evening in the small town park opposite the Town Hall! A supporting cast of several Wryneck, a Red Backed Shrike, a couple of Spotted Crakes and a Rosy Pastor on Bryher kept things ticking over.
Then as predicted October arrived, and so did the first American landbird, a Blackpoll Warbler in the Parsonage on St Agnes. Following a weekend of gales something special was always a possibility, so this diminutive American Wood Warbler wasn’t too much of a shock. It is the twentieth record of this species for Scilly, the first being in 1968. Most recently in 1986.
Also associated with the same weather system was a report of a Monarch Butterfly at Giants Castle, St Mary’s. Several others were noted along the south coast on Monday from Land’s End to Sussex. This giant butterfly, often reminiscent of a ten-pound note blowing in the wind, hails from North America and always causes quite a stir. How does a butterfly manage to cross the Atlantic?
Additional information from Marcus Lawson.