It seems you can’t move on Scilly these days without bumping into a huddled mass of green and khaki or tripping over a tripod; the streets are a cacophony of bleeps and ringtones and the pubs are full of talk about red eyes, long ears and yellow breasts.
There is of course a reason for this madness - October is here and Scilly’s birding season is upon us.
Birdlog kicked off this week at the Scillonian Club, an annual event which has existed on the Islands for over thirty years. The log, which lasts for up to an hour every night for most of October, features slideshows and sales of photographs and magazines, as well as the log of recent sightings.
Early highlights include a Blackpoll Warbler and Red-Eyed Vireo, both robin-sized birds from Canada.
Over 550 visitors, many of them birdwatchers, entered St Mary’s today, with more expected in the next two weeks.
For up-to-date news and photographs of the Scilly birding scene, check out the Isles of Scilly Bird Group website at www.scillybirding.co.uk