This morning, Marc, Owen, and I headed over to St Agnes on the boat, hoping to see a Red-eyed Vireo that had been present for the last two days.
Before heading off to look for the bird, I first visited my good friend Bob Dawson, who lives on St Agnes. Bob had kindly saved two moths for me that he had trapped, a Scar Bank Gem and a Blair’s Mocha, both of which were new moths for me.
Scar Bank Gem
The Scar Bank Gem (Ctenoplusia limbirena) is a very rare migrant to Britain, with fewer than 50 records nationally. It normally occurs across Africa, parts of Asia, and the Canary Islands, but occasionally makes its way to Britain in autumn. It is a cracking-looking moth, with a distinctive violet sheen to its wings.
Blair’s Mocha
Blair’s Mocha (Cyclophora puppillaria) is another scarce migrant moth that arrives from southern Europe and North Africa. It has pale brown wings with darker lines and small eye-like markings. Both were great moths to see, so a big thank you to Bob for saving them for me.
After saying our goodbyes to Bob, we headed off to look for the vireo.
St Agnes Lighthouse
We spent the whole day searching, along with around 30 other birders, but unfortunately we just couldn't find it.
I haven't been to St Agnes for years, and I was soon reminded that the vegetation and access for birding can make it a real nightmare when trying to find birds. Despite the disappointment of missing the vireo, we did manage to see two Yellow-browed Warblers and a Black Redstart during the day.
Yellow-browed Warbler
Black RedstartJust before leaving the island, we visited a small rockpool to look for Giant Gobies, a really rare fish. We managed to find three of them, which was a nice way to finish off our visit to the island.
Giant GobieThe Giant Goby (Gobius cobitis) is a large, scarce fish found around rocky shores and shallow rockpools in parts of southern and western Europe, including the south coast of Britain and the Isles of Scilly. In Britain, it has a very restricted distribution and is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, making it an important species to look out for when exploring our rocky coastline.
Although we dipped the Red-eyed Vireo, I was made up with the two new moths from Bob and seeing three Giant Gobies. You can't win them all when birding, but at least we had a few other things to keep us going!
