News broke early in the afternoon of 13 October that a first-winter male Blackburnian Warbler had been found at Popplestone Fields on Bryher, Isles of Scilly. The significance was immediately obvious. This Nearctic warbler had been recorded on just three previous occasions in Britain and Ireland, and none had ever been properly twitchable.
Previous records were as follows:
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1961 – Skomer, Pembrokeshire, age and sex uncertain, 5 October
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1988 – Fair Isle, Shetland, Furse, first-winter male, 7 October
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2009 – Hirta, St Kilda, Outer Hebrides, probably first-winter male, 12–14 September
This was, without question, an absolute mega.
Unfortunately, work commitments ruled out travel the following day, but when news came through that the bird had gone to roost on Friday night, plans were hastily made to head for Scilly early the next morning with Dave Mack.
We left Little Sutton at 4:00am, arriving at Penzance Heliport around 9:00am. As is often the case with these things, nerves quickly set in — there was no fresh news, and then the dreaded update: no sign. That horrible sinking feeling kicked in, the one that tells you a major dip may be imminent.
Then salvation arrived. A message from my good friend Higgo, already on the islands, confirmed the bird was still present — just moments before we boarded the helicopter. Relief doesn’t quite cover it.
The Blackburnian Warbler showed superbly, feeding actively and offering prolonged views that left little to be desired. For the next couple of hours, we simply soaked it all in, scarcely believing how obliging this tiny Nearctic gem was. To have a bird of this calibre not only twitchable, but showing so well, felt almost surreal.
This was never a species I genuinely expected to add to my list — and certainly not with such ease.
We reluctantly left the bird around 3:30pm and began the long journey home, eventually arriving back in Cheshire just after 10:30pm. It had been a long day, but one that would be remembered for a very long time.
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